writing services - Express Writers

Dear Return Clients: Here’s Why We Can’t Accommodate Your Old Rates

January 1, 2021July 25, 2017 by Adam Oakley

Recently, we received this message from a past client in our inbox. “It’s been awhile since we worked together, and I went to buy from you guys again today. Wow. Your writing fees increased by double?! I won’t be using you anymore.” *shudder* Anyone else find the incorrect contraction as grating as I did? Okay, moving past the grammar-Nazi that makes up part of my inner core… This client note. Seriously needs to be addressed, publicly. Back when we received it in our inbox, I wrote a short letter for our staff to send to the client. I summed up the main reasons why our prices don’t stay at one level year-after-year. But, the question itself smoldered in my mind for days, and eventually kindled an entire letter. Dear Return Client (A Personal Letter on Why The Industry, and Our Rates, Will Never Stop Evolving) Dear Client, Content marketing has evolved so much in the past few years. The evolution is the very reason our rates cannot stay the same. That’s the expertise area of my team and me, so we’re not BS’ing you here, not by a long shot. For instance… Check out this infographic we created showing how the last 40 updates in SEO apply to content marketing: A Timeline History of Google’s Major SEO Content Updates & What We Learned from it As A Content Agency (Infographic) Did you know that Google actually updates 500 times per year? (Moz) Last year, I wrote a bestseller on successful online writing, and I was also named a top content marketer for 2016. My passion, as the creator of this agency, is truly in this very industry of content marketing. It’s been my full-time career for nearly seven years now. I personally help recruit every single person that makes up our team (I can’t tell you how much I love finding a “gem!”). I read the latest books by content marketers, test and try SEO and content theories for myself, and have established incredible rankings for our own content. My staff and I create exclusive, internal training resources to keep my writers growing, and their skills sharp. We have a 5-point editing process I’ve put together that ensures we edit for exceptional content. And, our writing levels are created to exceed our industry competition in getting our clients their best-fit copywriters. Easily, I’ve increased my own content standards (and budget) for my brand content tenfold in the last few years, year-after-year. I’ll never drop my standards. My goal is that every client of ours can be sure of this foundation when they interact with and purchase services from Express Writers. You’re working with a team that cares about: Evolution and adapting to today’s standards, both in terms of reader expectation and ever-evolving search engine criteria. Quality. Personally head-hunting for the best of the best, in writers. Molding our writing to current standards. Constant innovation. Matching the client’s need, not just their want – even if we tell them “no” because our content isn’t a fit for their business stage. Creating content that is at the forefront of all the other results in Google. Launching the best writing level in the industry with Authority Content, which I created as a service in 2016 to answer the “skyscraper content” need. Developing new products, services, and even a course to match new industry standards. Ensuring a higher standard of content that will elevate your brand online every time the web demands higher standards.. Dear client, I’m afraid you’re right on one thing you said. It’s the elephant in the room. Our content prices have increased, yes – in the last week, our general blog rates went from $35/500w to $45/500w. (Expert rates are $90/500-600w.) But not to price gouge you. Not by a long shot. Think about this…it’s the truth: If we were here to price gouge you (charge an inflated cost for services that aren’t worth it), in reality we’d charge the same fee, give you crap content that’s not worth a dime in real ROI with Google (not to mention lets down your reader, and fails to support your business by offering content not within industry standards). Do you see the truth now? Our fees come from an honest place that reflects how we truly care about the content we deliver for our clients and how our writing standards fit today’s demand. In reality, our prices are actually more than fair. Our rates are equal to – or even lower than – the market value charged by many of our competitors, whose rates have doubled (or in some cases, tripled) in the past two years. But, cheap Textbroker rates just wouldn’t cover what our quality process is now – the process you need for content that matters. It wouldn’t cover: – Myself head-hunting for your best writer, and then testing and proving them before we bring them into the team. (See our Values.) – Our Content Director personally assigning your content to a best-fit writer. – Our content-marketing specialists and high-level editors reviewing every single one of your pages. – Halting production of your content mid-stream if it doesn’t match quality standards, and taking the time to revise and re-edit. ‘Nuff said. To end this letter on a very valid, marketer-mindset point: What worked years ago in simple, average, link-bait content will not work today. You won’t get a second glance from Google or a real, human reader for average content. Our content, even at the “General” level, is created by writers hand-picked and mentored by yours truly in best writing practices, and we continually head hunt, refine, and re-initiate our guidelines to match the ever-evolving trends of content marketing. And that makes the biggest difference. Because we care. Our goal is to serve our clients content at all levels in a way that works. We don’t want to serve up crap content that will be a waste of your time and money. I would encourage increasing your content marketing budget to allow for quality. If not, there are certainly competitors that offer cheaper content (a double-edged sword, though, it’s lesser in both quality and price). Yours in content, Julia McCoy … Read more

How Copywriting Works: A 101 to the Writing that Fuels the Web

December 31, 2020February 16, 2017 by Adam Oakley

Most copywriters know exactly what this conversation feels like: “What do you do?” “I’m an SEO copywriter!” “Oh…great! So, what do you do?” When you say you’re a writer, most people assume you’re an aspiring Hemingway, tapping away at your typewriter in pursuit of the next great American novel. Unless someone has experience in the digital marketing, content marketing, or online world, few people know what a copywriter does. (Not a copyright-er. I have another post on that.) That said, though, everyone is familiar with the work of copywriters, whether they know it or not. In a world as marketing-dense as ours, copywriters essentially make the digital web spin. They write the scripts for television commercials, radio ads, mail and email marketing materials, and articles that help people find answers to problems and learn new things. In other words, copywriters are everywhere! As such, it’s never been more critical than it is right now to understand how copywriting works, and what a massive role it plays in our modern world. What Copywriters Are (and What We Aren’t) First things first: not all copywriters are clones of Don Draper. Although romantic to imagine, that was way back when. Today, it’s 2017. There’s much less drama, smoking, and drinking in the office in this industry than what you see in the Mad Men series. 😉 That said, however, copywriters today fulfill a vast selection of positions. Here are just a few of the things that define what copywriters are: 1. Copywriters Write Copy for Various Industries and Specialties Depending on a copywriter’s unique job description, he or she might create marketing copy for a website or work one-on-one with an SEO company to write their website or create their Facebook posts. In other cases, copywriters write physical text material, like books, pamphlets, and educational sheets. No matter what industry they work in, copywriters work with words daily. 2. Copywriters Work with Other Teams to Create Marketing Copy In most cases, copywriters work with other specialists, like SEOs and sales teams, to create well-rounded marketing copy that fulfills a broad series of goals. 3. Copywriters Wear Many Hats A great copywriter is also a part-time marketer, editor, and publisher. While copywriters typically work with teams of editors, these skills are indispensable, and the best copywriters must know how to evaluate their content for quality and figure out what will and will not work for a client. What today’s copywriters are NOT: 1. Novelists. While copywriters do sometimes create text copy, they’re not developing books that sell as novels. Those are typically ghostwriters or other forms of writers. Instead, copywriters may create ebooks, articles, or white papers. 2. Machines. Good copywriters pay a lot of attention to each piece they create. They don’t just churn out work in a one-size-fits-all manner. Instead, they collaborate closely with teams and managers to build customized material for each client. 3. Outbound Marketers. The wheelhouse of copywriters is to create material that makes people want to connect with a company. They don’t typically push themselves or their content on other people. Instead, they work hard to create content that delights readers and makes them want to interact with a brand. The following graphic applies very much. 😉 What’s Under the Hood at a Copywriting Agency: What Express Writers Does Here at Express Writers, we know a thing or two about copywriters. Not only do we hire them – we are them! Before I founded my company, I worked as a copywriter on various freelancing platforms. I landed hundreds of gigs and dozens of clients, and within three months of self-teaching as an online copywriter, I went on to start my agency. (Check out my full story here.) Today, my agency has a full-service Content Shop with over 40 products: And our content agency staffs a team of more than 50 copywriters, strategists, and editors, handpicked by moi (more on our standards here), who specialize in writing, creating, and publishing the following types of content: Blogs and blogging packages Web pages, landing pages Product descriptions Infographics Meta copy Interviews (with our writers, strategists, project managers) Research In-line and developmental editing Keyword strategy Content planning/editorial calendars Expert copywriting in all areas, including Financial, Technical, Creative, Legal, Medical, & more Press Releases Ebooks Slides (PowerPoint or PDF) Ad Copy Slogans/Taglines Scripts Sales Pages Whitepapers Email content Social media posts and custom imagery Social media plans, profile creation Here’s an example of what we create in a year, per our year-end report for 2016: ALL this content is created by our handpicked copywriters, strategists, and editors, who specialize in different industries, content types, and services. This gives you a pretty good idea of exactly how diverse copy offerings can get! What Qualifications do Good Copywriters Have? The field of copywriters is a very diverse one. While some copywriters attended school for degrees in English or Journalism, others have spent their pre-copywriting lives working as attorneys, cooks, or dog mushers! Copywriters come in all shapes and sizes, and this unique assortment of backgrounds allows copywriters to bring their experiences into the field, creating more diverse and interesting copy. As it stands today, there is no one-size-fits-all educational program for copywriters. Instead, a copywriter that’s going to succeed in the industry just needs to possess a few key traits. These are as follows: 1. Creativity First off, copywriters need to be creative. While many people assume creativity is only necessary for people writing novels and short stories, and not people writing marketing copy, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Since copywriters write for such a diverse selection of clients, they need to be agile enough to think on their feet. Storytelling is central to great copywriting, and the best experts out there know how to access their creativity to weave compelling, unique copy that will engage an audience and help a brand meet its goals. 2. Strong Writing Skills While copywriters don’t need a college degree to excel in the field, they do need strong writing skills. While it’s true that copywriters write about everything from firearm … Read more