There’s a new social network out there that makes everyone sound like the little worm from Labyrinth, “Ello! Wouldn’t you like to come in and meet the missus?” However, this is more than a Jim Henson character’s accent, it is the new wave of social media.
Just what is Ello? Well, you won’t see any little worms asking you to come to tea (sorry to disappoint you). This blog is going to explore what this new social network is, why everyone is going cuckoo for Ello, and whether or not you should join it.
What Is Ello?
Ello is a new social media site that has yet to leave the beta (or testing) stage. With the popularity of social media, new social sites are always popping up with things such as Path, Snapchat, and others that aren’t quite as popular. However, Ello has a significant draw to it. First of all, it is a new social site that helps connect you with people who have similar interests, as well as those you know in real life.
Second, it is ad free and promises to not have all of the annoying posts people see on social sites like Facebook or Twitter. If you get consistently annoyed with how many odd Facebook memes your uncle or third cousin shares, you can either not add them on Ello, or simply file them away under the “noise” portion of the network. As for being ad free, they are keeping it this way by making sure it stays a private company and giving people the ability to purchase add-ons for their profiles.
Ello also offers a great guide to help newbies out with their site, helping people understand the difference between the “friends” and “noise” sections. Just a quick explanation, the “friends” option is for people you want to see regular posts from, the “noise” section is for those who you feel you need to add, but don’t want to see everything they post.
It is obvious from the design down to the titles of their pages that they are reaching out to younger generations. All you have to do is take a gander at the title of their help section “WTF.” Not every generation is going to get a kick out of that, but Millennials, many Gen-Xers, and new generations for sure will.
Why Is Everyone So Crazy About Ello?
Ello is receiving almost 40,000 requests every hour for an invite and there are currently over 1 million people waiting for an invite to the beta stage. There are only a few people who are lucky enough to know someone already on there with a few invites available. Just why are people so crazy about this site? Well, because it is pushed as a completely ad-free social site. In their manifesto, they make sure people understand that Ello is not like an ordinary social site that collects your data and sells it to further their company. They want to create a genuinely great place for online social interaction that doesn’t revolve around which ad they can choose specifically for you.
Should You And When Can You Join Ello?
It might be quite beneficial if you can join it soon, but the main problem right now is whether or not you will get an invite. Sure, you can fill out a request for one, but you are going to be waitlisted for quite a while. No one really knows when you will be able to get onto the social site without an invite. However, one thing to keep in mind is that this is, as we mentioned, the beta stage of the network. This means that those who are on the site right now are bound to see several major and small tweaks that aim to make this page the best ever. Another thing about the beta stage is that current users can help Ello develop the best site possible for its official release, prepping it to be ready in time for you to join. They even inform those who have recently joined that there will be several changes every day and week until it is ready through emails sent out to users.
The Pros Of Ello
Obviously, the biggest pro to this site is the fact that it is ad-free and it doesn’t sneakily gather up your information to improve the site and advertisements like Facebook and Twitter do. They do mention that they have the option for you to allow them to gather data, but you can choose to not have that happen. This caught a few people off guard, but Ello points out Facebook and Twitter never give you the option to opt out. If you are simply looking for a new, personal social space, this might be the thing for you. There are already several users who have said they are switching to Ello simply to get away from the family posts, political posts, and advertisements they see every day on Facebook or Twitter.
However, what about pros for businesses? You might be worried that you can’t share your ads on Ello because it is “ad-free” but according to Marketing Land, you are more than able to do this. The great thing about sharing your ads on Ello is that you aren’t being charged for them like you would be on Facebook and Twitter. When you get a chance, you can set up a page for your business and start using it to your advantage.
The Cons Of Ello
While you can share any of your ads that you would like to for free, a major drawback for small businesses would be no promoted ads, yet. You would have to encourage people through your other social accounts to follow you on Ello to see your ads and updates. The problem with this is that you could very likely be filed under the noise category. Basically, you will have people who follow you, but they won’t see your updates unless they head over to their noise file and take a look.
Another con to Ello is that many people are worried that once it grows and allows for the million and more people to join, Ello will eventually start becoming overrun with ads and selling information. There have been other social sites out there that promise to be better than Facebook whether it be ad-free, easier to navigate or whichever the latest complaint is. In the end, people will have the same complaints about those sites as they did with Facebook.
What Does This Mean For Marketing?
It is hard to tell just what this means for marketing since it is still in beta, but hopefully people will be able to figure out whether or not this social site will have any marketing benefits. Some people are hoping that this site stays content-driven, which will be great for companies who want to push their content, not just pay for pay per click ads. Yes, those PPC ads can bring in some revenue, but the more content-driven your campaign goes, the more success you are likely to see. In fact, it is a wise idea to start spending more on content, especially with the need for more content-driven posts instead of advertisements. A few steps you can consider as you prepare to use this site are:
Start tweaking your current campaigns and add more content-driven posts instead of relying on PPC ads.
Work on your social media relationship skills. The way that Ello is laid out, you will need to be able to communicate directly with followers and communicate well. We aren’t saying just a simple, “Thanks!” Instead, you will have to start coming up with decent, longer answers.
Make sure you have a content campaign that will reach younger generations as it seems younger individuals are who will be using this social site.
Will It Succeed?
Just like with any new social site, only time will tell whether or not Ello will succeed. As you can see from some of the articles shared throughout this piece, there are people who think this site is doomed already. Many are comparing it to the less than successful release of G+ and G+ Circles. The main problem with this if it fails is Ello doesn’t have Google behind it to make it important in ranking your site and content.
Public Profiles To Follow
If you are one of the lucky ducks who is able to get onto Ello before it is out of its beta stage, then you should make sure to follow a few of these public profiles. Many of these will help you as you learn how to use this site, as well as any new additions made to it.
Until Next Time
Are you going to try to get into Ello beta or wait for it to go public? In addition, do you think you will ever join the Ello community? It will be an interesting adventure to watch as this social site grows. Will it be the next to flounder or will it really be an alternative and the killer of Facebook? Only time will tell.
There is no shortage of studies attesting the crucial importance brand awareness has in swaying a consumer’s choice towards one product or another. We form the deepest attachments to products that speak to us on a personal level and a brand is supposed to do just that, to spark positive associations in our mind and encourage us to relate to it on a deeply personal level.
Even though there are fewer consensuses as to what makes a successful brand, many people in the industry would agree it hinges on nailing copywriting. And the best way to do that is to learn from the best.
So, without further ado, let’s have a look at 4 brands that totally nailed copywriting and at the strategies they used in some of their most effective campaigns.
1. Apple: Think Different
Apple’s iconic “Think Different” campaign serves to illustrate the importance of finding a strong central concept and building around it. Once you hit upon that core concept that you feel perfectly sums up your company’s identity and values, everything falls into place.
The 1997 campaign kicked off with an ad featuring short clips of influential 20th century figures, including the likes of Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, John Lennon or Pablo Picasso. The clips were accompanied by a voice-over commentary, read by Richard Dreyfuss, celebrating these people as rebellious, anti-establishment figures, whose boldness and insubordination brought about revolutionary change in the world. The ad ends with a small Apple logo at the end and the slogan “Think different” – the only clue as to what it is actually about.
It was followed by a series of black-and-white posters of the personalities featured in the ad (and other iconic figures), with the same logo and slogan. It is worth noting that neither the ad, nor the posters, gives any clue as to the identity of the people they represent. The viewer is expected to recognize them and, through that recognition, is encouraged to feel a sense of community with them. Through this campaign Apple effectively put across the notion that the company was at the forefront of a paradigm-shifting movement, providing a niche product that only the most discerning consumers would appreciate.
Another important lesson we can derive from this is that sharing cultural allusions can enhance the viewer’s sense of community and affinity with a particular brand, while implicitly commending him for being cultured enough to “get it”.
2. Macy’s: Believe
While Macy’s has the advantage that comes with a long-standing prestige brand, it’s been doing a great job of playing up the nostalgia factor, most notably through its running “Believe” campaign and its iconic “The Magic of Macy’s: 150 Years” ad.
Both were launched in 2008, when Macy’s celebrated its 150 anniversary. The “Believe” is based on the famous “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” editorial, published by the editor of the New York Sun in response to a letter from an eight-year-old girl who asked if Santa is real. Macy’s declared December 6 National Believe Day and, every year since 2008, it has invited “believers” to drop off their letters to Santa in the vintage-looking Santa Mail letterboxes awaiting them at any Macy’s store. And here is where the “Magic of Macy’s” comes in: the company vowed to donate $1 to Make-A-Wish, for every letter received, to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. Not only is this a great way to spread the holiday cheer, but it’s also a surefire way to boost your social responsibility credentials.
The ad the company used to promote the “Believe” campaign exploits its association with Miracle on 34th Street, hardly surprising, as what the campaign proposed to do was to bank on Macy’s nostalgia capital. Its “The Magic of Macy’s: 150 Years” ad, featuring mentions of Macy’s in popular culture and evoking its involvement in the life of the community (the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, organized since 1924, and its contribution to the annual 4th of July fireworks display), served a similar purpose, reinforcing its association with solid American values.
3. Target: Around for Good
While Target has a consistent history of developing original campaigns, the freshly launched “Around for Good” is its first ever campaign to focus on the company’s commitment to the community and to the environment. Through human interest, documentary-style ads like It Comes from the Heart, Target evokes ways it gives back to the community, through the programs it runs in schools and elsewhere. In the words of vice president Jeff Jones, the campaign is meant to build “brand love” and make buyers feel “they’re part of something bigger than a transaction”. This campaign, which “isn’t trying to sell you anything”, ties in neatly with the marketing strategy practiced through its online magazine, A Bullseye View, which is to focus on “behind the scenes” and lifestyle stories, rather than product pitches. This, in turn, is part of a wider trend in brand building, turning from old-school advertising to an approach that emphasizes the personal and social responsibility dimension.
4. Newcastle Brown Ale: Independence Eve
While Apple, Macy’s and Target resorted to high-brow cultural allusion, nostalgia and the human interest element, Newcastle Brown Ale’s distinctive ingredients are humor and self-irony. Its “Independence Eve” and “If We Made It” campaigns are excellent examples of clever, tongue-in-cheek copywriting. The “Independence Eve” campaign, launched this year, promoted the Newcastle Brown Ale brand to an American market by “hijacking” the momentum building around the Fourth of July and inviting people to join them in celebrating the alternative, entirely made-up, Independence Eve, on July 3. Alternatively promoted under the #IfWeWon hashtag, the campaign urges people to “imagine how great it could have been and imagine how much beer we could have sold. If we won.” In a series of hilarious spoof ads, featuring Brits Elizabeth Hurley and Stephen Merchant and American thespian Zachary Quinto, Newcastle Brown Ale revisits American trademarks and celebrates “all things British that Americans gave up when they signed the Declaration of Independence”. However, with tongue-in-cheek taglines like “If Britain had won the war, English Muffins would just be called ‘muffins’ and French Fries wouldn’t be spoken of” and “If the Brits ran this country, you would have one less reason to go to whichever Dakota Mount Rushmore is in”, good-humoredly poking fun at the Brits and Americans alike, it would be very hard to take offence at this campaign.
What Newcastle Brown Ale did through this campaign was to align itself with the finest tradition of British humor, which manages to strike a perfect balance between cheeky and self-deprecating, while tapping into the American public’s increasing fascination with all things British, from the British accent to British TV shows.
The same distinctive humor comes across in their “If We Made It” ad series, Newcastle Brown Ale’s spoof on the Super Bowl ads, as well as on the company’s Facebook page, with a cover picture that says “The Newcastle Facebook Place: Your Place to Complain About Our Ads”.
To sum up, while top-notch copywriting comes in many flavors, these brands nailed it by creating their own distinctive flavor and identifying the ingredients best suited to bring out that flavor, whether it’s the equivalent of a high-end Asian fusion sushi bar, chestnuts roasted on an open fire, or English muffins with a side of British humor.
No one can deny that our relationship with Google has been a love / hate one, sometimes bordering on a total hate / hate rapport—because sometimes it feels as if Google is testing our patience right alongside our ability to adapt!
It can be downright frustrating, especially for those of us running online businesses, trying our best to do all of the right things in a concentrated effort to land our brand smack in the middle of the top results on those coveted search engine results pages.
Therefore, it is not too surprising to hear about Google testing new ranking signals, but the latest news is a little unexpected: Google wants to use what’s on TV as a ranking signal.
Google’s New Patent
According to a recent report by Matt Southern of Search Engine Journal, Google has landed a patent indicating that they’re actively working on a method to leverage what’s airing on TV in your local area as a ranking signal. Say what? How is that supposed to work? It sounds a little crazy, but if you think about it, so did mobile devices about 10 years ago! So, instead of frowning and thinking it’s just another piece of science fiction, let’s take a more educated look at the idea itself.
The Idea Behind the Idea
In a recent article by Search Engine Land, the consensus is that Google is attempting to provide relevant search results by detecting the TV shows you’re viewing. Farfetched? Not really. The article goes on to state that Google is gearing up to use a “variety of signals” to govern how to rank search results. The “variety” is said to include:
Linking patterns on the Web
The user’s geographic location, search history, etc.
And it looks like what you’re watching on TV is about to become the next big local factor. Now, this doesn’t mean Google is turning into Big Brother, watching your every move in a huge invasion of privacy, and then handing you the most relevant search results based on a load of personal information. On the contrary, they are taking advantage of pure human nature.
The Psychology behind the Ranking Signal
When’s the last time you grabbed your Smartphone or device while watching television and looked something up related to the content you were watching? I got to thinking about this, and it occurred to me that I do this a lot more than I realize. I am so accustomed to having my Smartphone right beside me that I don’t even stop to think about how many times I grab it and search for something based on a television show, movie, or commercial that’s playing on my television. If I had to guess, I probably do this at least twice during prime time. What about you?
Here’s something else I contemplated: How often I conduct an Internet search based on what I’m watching and hit a brick wall. For example, back when I used to watch Shark Tank on a regular basis, it wasn’t uncommon for me to search the Internet for what I saw on the entrepreneur-geared show that intrigued me. I would see a company or product that I wanted to learn some more about. I’d grab my phone, Google it, and stare at the results wondering what on earth I was looking at.
In this particular instance, it would have been nice to have been greeted by relevant results. Sometimes the business I was trying to find wasn’t all that well placed on my search results simply because their SEO wasn’t super intense. Regardless of exactly why they didn’t pop on a search result, it would have been incredible if this patent had been active and Google had been using television viewing as a search signal. It just might have made my search for more information a little more productive, not to mention accurate. And I’m sure other businesses who wanted to buy a product they saw on the show would have appreciated a quick means of searching what they were watching and getting an accurate (not to mention relevant) return on their search engine results.
According to WebPro News, Google filed the patent in 2011. Although it was just granted this week, it is a fair assumption that Google’s been dabbling with implementation ideas surrounding this concept for a while. WebPro News provided the following breakdown of how this signal might work:
What Does This Mean To You?
That’s the big question, isn’t it? Whenever Google starts moving towards the application of a new ranking signal, we all want to know what it means for us, and we want to know as soon as humanly possible so we can prepare before implementation goes live.
According to WebPro News, Google has already been “listening in” to your TV from your mobile device via the “Listen to TV” feature, which was launched in 2013. It is certainly possible that TV viewing could become a rather significant factor of how Google delivers results to users for certain types of queries. The technology titan is already capable of monitoring user’s TV viewing preferences through Google TV, an application that can be seamlessly integrated with your current television. Google TV provides quick and easy access to your favorites on Google Play, YouTube, and Chrome.
However, it’s also noteworthy to keep in mind that just because Google currently holds the patent, it does not mean that they will actually use the process for search rankings. It’s too early to tell exactly what the approval of this patent will mean for the future of search engine results. But one thing is for sure: It makes you stop and think about what the future of SEO could hold.
The Effect on Content
Content is quickly becoming the future of search engine optimization, which for most of us isn’t incredibly surprising. High quality, relevant, and engaging content has been at the heart of awesome websites since the dawn of the Internet. It’s been the tested and true method of raising search ranking without dabbling in questionable tactics known as black hat SEO. Therefore, if television viewing is about to become a significant search ranking factor, it stands to reason that our content will somehow need to reflect local television.
Truth be told, it’s too early to predict exactly how this new ranking signal will affect things like content marketing, and in the end our online content.
What we could see is a new avenue of sending out strong ranking signals by tying in local television shows and trends with our business.
For example, over the past few months we’ve been rolling out blogs with the tag “Great Copywriting in Action.” Several of these pieces have talked about valuable lessons those of us in the content industry (and even us business owners seeking to expand and improve our content) can learn from various television shows, movies, plays, books, etc. Spinning pieces like this toward popular television shows airing in the locale of your target audience just might become a means of sending off a ranking signal that will get you seen when a user conducts a search that relates to that television show.
At the end of the day, it’s highly likely that should television viewing become a strong ranking signal, it will become increasingly important to learn even more about your target audience. What television shows do they favor and why? How can your brand or business become relevant to their television viewing preferences, and is it feasible to build some content around local television viewing trends?
Southern’s article in SEJ makes the prediction that using television viewing as a ranking signal has the potential to change our TV viewing experience dramatically. Imagine asking Google about something you’re watching on television, and it’s able to return accurate results by combining your location- and time-specific information. It’s a pretty radical and amazing concept. A concept that would be pretty cool if ultimately implemented.
A Challenge on the Horizon
You can depend on the simple fact that there’s one aspect of content this news won’t eventually affect, and that’s the production and publication of high quality, relevant, and engaging content. This basic staple of SEO has proven over the years that it isn’t going anywhere.
With the patent being so freshly approved, there’s no solid indicator of when or how we’ll see changes in the SERPs. The idea certainly brings into question how relevancy will tie in. Regardless of just how this new signal will affect content, one thing will remain certain: Relevancy will likely still be crucial, and it will become a challenge. We’re just going to have to get more imaginative. It just might be the next big challenge in content, finding creative ways to tie your brand or business into popular, local television watching habits.
What do you think of this new ranking signal? How do you think it could eventually impact both content and search engine optimization techniques?
Some people are afraid of spiders, some people are afraid of clowns (that’s understandable), while others are afraid of buttons (weird, but true—I knew one such person). I have a more rational fear: crazy rollercoasters, and drowning. Luckily, both are easy to deal with. I can choose what rollercoasters to ride on (unless my husband tries to trick me into one, which he did quite successfully Christmas 2013). For the latter, I know how to swim, but I avoid going far out at sea. What I can’t avoid, however, is the sea of content that’s all around us. Are we in danger of drowning in a sea of blandness?
Content is more important than ever. People love to read things on the Internet, and that’s why businesses devote so much of their time to publishing fresh content on their website, blogs, and social media profiles. The problem is that the majority of this copy isn’t very good. In fact, there’s only one word to describe most of the content on the web. Actually, there are more, but let’s keep this PG-13. A majority of the content on the Internet today is crappy. There’s nothing I hate more than crappy content, and Google isn’t a big fan of it either.
The Quality Content Days Are In
The days when you could stuff meaningless content with keywords, and wait for it to be stumbled upon by unlucky consumers, are long gone. Google is looking for content that’s original, high quality, and informative. If your business is still relying on generic or, to use our adage, crappy content, then you’re wasting your time.
So there’s the problem. You know that you need fresh, exciting content, but how do you create it when there are so many words already out there?
It’s not easy, but then when has anything worth doing ever been easy? Take my hand. I’m going to show you 25 ways to come up with fresh and engaging content.
1. Become The Customer
Today, we’re going to be looking at creating content from a commercial point of view, but it can help you with everything from writing a love letter, to creating a resume, or penning your life story. There’s nothing wrong with commercial writing. If that’s what you do for a living, embrace it and be proud of it. Your words can help someone discover and then buy a fantastic product or service that can change their life. Who needs a Pulitzer Prize?
To become a successful copywriter, you have to see things from the customer’s point of view. Let’s imagine your writing about a new bed. Don’t see it from the bed maker’s point of view (our beds cost from $899, and the mattresses come with extra deep rust resistant springs, and stain resistant fabrics – boring!), but from the customer’s point of view. Today, there’s nothing you want more than a new bed. What are you looking for? What will excite you about a bed? How about ‘our beds come with 20% added fun, our super spring technology means you can bounce up and down on it for the rest of your life, and it won’t let you down’?
2. Write From The Heart
To create good content, you have to believe in what you’re writing. I’m talking ethics here, so watch out. A copywriter has to be honest to be believable. Never try to push something that you wouldn’t use yourself. If you don’t smoke, how can you write compellingly about a cigarette brand? If you’re not married, how can you write about the joy of getting an hour’s peace on your own? You get the idea. Modern consumers are intelligent and sophisticated, despite what you may think after watching ‘Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?’, and they can smell falseness a mile away.
Before you start writing, immerse yourself in the brand. Get to know what’s truly great about it. Have you convinced yourself of its merits so much, that you want to rush to the store and buy one? The store can wait, it’s time to pick up the pen.
3. Question Everything
Children question everything. Why is the sun round? Why can’t frogs speak? Why is water wet? Why do I have to go to bed? Why was mom shouting at you? It’s one of their most annoying, er, I mean endearing attributes. You were once that way too, but as we get older we tend to go with the flow and accept things more. It’s time to rediscover your inner child.
I’m not talking about climbing back into your shorts and smearing jam across your face. Leave that for later. What you need to do is question everything. Why is this car dealership so great? Why do I need a new car? What difference will a new set of wheels make to my life? Once you find the right questions, you’ll be able to create high quality copy by coming up with the answers.
4. Learn From The Great Writers
It’s often said that there are only seven basic plots, and they make up all of the books ever written. That’s nonsense, of course, or else all books would be the same. Do you see the similarities between ‘Wuthering Heights’ and ‘Gone Girl’. If you said ‘no, there aren’t any’, then go to the top of the class. If you said ‘yes, they’re both about a woman’, then put the dunce’s cap on. Great writers know that there are an infinite number of stories waiting to be written. Every year, fantastic new books come out, that put a completely new twist on a perhaps familiar theme.
As it is for novels, so it is for Internet content. Just because you’re writing about a subject that’s already been covered, doesn’t mean that your piece can’t be unique. Never plagiarize, that’s writing poison. You’re an individual with your own personal take on things that’s different to that of anybody else. Now get typing, and get it out there. That’s what our great writers did, from Homer to Hemingway.
5. Seek Out Fresh Content
How many times a day do you see potential content? If you said less than a hundred, then you’re either not trying hard enough, or you never leave your bed. Content is in everything we see, and in everything we do. One of today’s SEO gurus and a principal member of Stone Temple Consulting, posted a useful Moz Whiteboard Friday Video on this very subject. Watch it and learn.
As an example, just yesterday I was in a famous coffee shop. I won’t give their name away, but they treat you like a star, and the drinks don’t cost big bucks. When I went for a second cup, the barista smiled at me and said, ‘I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten your name?’ I’d never been there before. Later, she brought my drink over and called me my name as if I was an old acquaintance. I thought to myself, ‘what a great example of providing exceptional customer service by creating familiarity, I must use it in my writing’. And now, my friend, I have. Content is everywhere.
6. Shun The Sequel
It’s easy to churn out the same thing again and again, but if you do that your writing’s going to be staler than last week’s bread. Sequels are the enemy of creativity, and I should know because tomorrow I’m writing ’25 more fresh content ideas, revenge of the content’. No, I’m not. It’s a temptation that every copywriter faces. Why not stick to writing about the same subject every time? Why not simply change the words around a little? Because by doing that, you’re diluting and lowering the quality of the content. Remember, content quality is key to achieving high search rankings.
7. Read A Lot, Learn A Little
Do you read other articles on copywriting, and marketing? You should. Every time I read, I learn something new. I devour the articles and blogs on sites such as Moz and Mashable. The great thing about them is that the best ones are always well written, and interesting to read. You’re learning at the same time as you’re having fun. It’s like being back at school without having the dread of a double math lesson looming on the horizon. There are great content writers out there, follow their work, learn from it, and one day you can be a great content writer too.
8. Become An Inventor
Are you full of great ideas? My husband is one of these types of people. He is a problem solver, just loves to think of new ideas, and I think he would be a great inventor. In fact, he has something on his mind now that would solve probably millions of people’s problems. It’s just getting off the ground with the idea that is hard. When you create fresh content, the great thing is you can come up with any idea and produce it simply through writing. So, don’t be afraid to invent. Try to create something completely new every time you write, and one day you’ll succeed.
9. Brain Storm Your Content
Do you share your ideas with your audience before you commit them to paper (or screen)? If not, then you’re missing out on high quality feedback that’s freely available. You probably already have writer or marketing contacts via social media platforms or email. It only takes a moment to run titles and ideas past them. The most important thing about feedback is to listen to it, not ignore it. By taking on board suggestions that your peers make, you can create content that’s as fresh and exciting as a cross between Game Of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Lost and Mad Men. I don’t know how that would work (drug running advertising execs running around an island with swords?), but I know that it would be fresh and exciting.
10. Keep Up With The News
What’s the best thing about the news? The clue’s in the title. It’s new everyday (even if you’re watching Fox). By tailoring your content so that it relates to a current news story, you can make it up to the minute and relevant. Again, that’s going to score you points from that mysterious Google algorithm. Do you want an example? I’m here to help. Kira Kazantsev has just become the third Miss New York in a row to win Miss America. It doesn’t take much to work that into a story about how the New York economy is recovering from the recession, or it could be linked to a product or service that’s associated with NYC. ‘It’s great news for the city that never sleeps, if you’re having trouble sleeping, you need our new bed with super spring technology’. Something like that.
11. Travel Broadens The Mind
We all love our vacations, right? Whether you holiday in the States or travel abroad, you’re sure to pick up lots of interesting facts. Work them naturally into your writing, to spice up your content. I’m going to Japan soon. In Japan they used to use conch shells to communicate across the battlefield, how much easier would it have been if they’d had social media? There’s a content idea right there: ’10 ways a ninja would use the Internet’.
12. Hire A Professional
This blog is all about coming up with fresh content ideas, you know that, you read the title. It doesn’t mean that you have to write them yourself. We all have different skills, so don’t feel ashamed if you don’t have the ability to write the content yourself. Don’t be scared to hire a professional copywriter, and always seek out the best. High quality professional copywriters are battle hardened professionals. They laugh in the face of a 3000-word report on fruit consumption in North America. They can make your rough ideas shine like a brilliant diamond around the neck of Scarlett Johansson at the Academy Awards.
How do you find the best quality content writers? There’s a lot of average writers out there, remember the crappy content? The best way to get the writer you need is to approach a reputable writing company, they’ll take time to find the best content writers in the world today.
13. Tell A Story
Business and marketing are exciting subjects, really they are, but it may not come across that way. If your content is too reliant on statistics, facts and figures, you’re going to go from brilliant to boring in twenty seconds. Forget the figures, and tell a story. Grab your reader’s interest. They can be as excited by a blog about fresh content ideas, as they can by the latest Lee Child novel.
14. Look To The Future
There’s one sure way to create fresh and exciting content, and that’s by looking to the future rather than dwelling on the present. Are you writing about a new social media platform that’s being launched. Don’t talk about how many users it has at the present, look at how it’s going to transform the way we live in ten year’s time. Go for the big story. The great thing about writing about the future is that it encourages you to unleash your imagination, and you can never be proved wrong. Unless you’re one of those authors who wrote about how robots would take over the world in 2000. That’s actually going to happen in 2016.
15. Learn From The Past
Look to the future, learn from the past—by now you must be feeling dizzy. By learning from the past, I’m not talking about copying things that have been done before. You can use the past as a reference point for the present. Contrasts are always an interesting starting point for content. For example, 43% of people using online dating sites actually met up in 2005, but now that figure is around 66%. What’s caused the leap? Whatever the answer is, it can be content gold.
16. Go Fishing
Do you love Twitter? I do. Not only is it one of my best marketing tools, but there are little things that make it fun. You can see what’s trending right now, tailor it to different cities, and different countries. Basically, Twitter can show you what the world cares about at any given time. The results may scare you, but there you are.
Once you know what people are excited about, you can work that into your content. It means that people will be interested in what you have to say, and your content is at the cutting edge of what’s happening today. You could write about national constitution day for example, and talk about how rules and regulations influence our lives.
17. Excite Yourself
Are you excited about what you’ve written? No? Then press that delete button and try again. Deadline be damned, if you want to write fresh content, you have to be excited by it. Whatever you write, always ask yourself how you could inject a little more pizazz.
18. Hold On To Your Ideas
Do you find that while you’re writing about one subject, ideas on other subjects keep coming into your head? That’s good! It shows you’re well on the way to becoming a content king or queen. But what happens if you forget that idea? It’s lost forever.
The great poet Coleridge once woke from a drug fueled sleep (that’s how poets behaved back then) to find that he’d composed an epic poem in his head. He remembered all 300 lines word for word, and it was the best thing he’d ever written. He set down to commit the words to paper. After 54 lines, he heard a knock on the door. What happened next? All we know is that ‘a person from Porlock’ was there. After they’d finished their conversation, Coleridge had forgotten every word of the poem to come. The poem, ‘Kubla Khan’, remains brilliant but unfinished to this day. Don’t let a person from Porlock rob you of your great ideas. Write down every idea, good or bad, that comes into your head. You now have a treasure trove for future content creation.
19. Build A Brand
Content writing is a great way to build brand awareness, if used correctly. To do this, you have to fully understand the brand that you’re writing for, or about. Let the business influence your writing, so that your words complement and enhance the corporate values they already have.
20. Enforce A No Waffle Zone
We have a million distractions in our life today, but people still love to read. What they don’t love to read is waffle. If you’re droning on about some academic point, they’ll start to think about what they’re going to eat later, or who might make the Superbowl this year. Go back through your work with a fine tooth comb, and cut out the words that don’t need to be there. In this way your content will be lean and fresh.
21. A Picture Tells A Thousand Words
A good starting point when you’re writing on a subject, is to hop over to Google, and find images on the subject. Pictures speak to us in a more direct way than words ever can. What are the pictures saying to you? What emotions are stirring? Put these emotions into your content, and if you feel yourself flagging, look at the images again.
22. Go The Extra Mile
If you think that writing is something you can do as a hobby, then you’re never going to succeed. Commit to it. Write as much as you can, and build up your writing muscle. Don’t succumb to distractions, and by that I mean that you should never have a radio on while you’re working. Before you know it, the rhythms of the latest Miley Cyrus song will have seeped into your writing, and nobody wants that. Be prepared to go the extra mile, and your content will love you for it.
23. Let The Keywords Sweep You Away
Keywords are still important, but they have to be used naturally and in the context of high value content. A great way to find relevant keywords is by using a tool such as Wordstream or the Google Keyword Tool. Long-tail keywords are another clue as to what people are really excited by and looking for. Never build content around keywords, but you can use these keywords to inspire a fresh take on established ideas.
24. Reverse The Perspective
If you ride rollercoasters, do you feel fresh when you’re turned on your head? Not really, but your content will do. By reversing the perspective you can take your readers on an exhilarating rollercoaster ride. Instead of writing ‘5 ways that quality content can grow your business’, why not create something much fresher by writing ‘5 ways that bad content will destroy a business’?
25. Make It The Last Thing You Ever Write
I don’t want to get morbid here, but none of us know how much time we’ve got left. Do you often wonder how prisoners on death row choose their last meal? I think I’d have to choose something that took a really long time to eat. Or maybe a cheese omelet. What would you write if you knew that it was the last thing you would ever write? You’d really put your heart and soul into it, and make it as good as it possibly could be. You should do this with every single piece of content you write, and always finish with a bang!
With over 91% of marketers embracing content marketing today, in-house is out when it comes to content creation!
But what exactly does this mean? Does it mean your in-house writers are defunct and outsourcing is the only way to get content today? Of course not! Most companies have use for in-house writers, and they won’t be entirely defunct anytime soon.
That said, though, outsourcing your blog writing is becoming a popular decision, and many companies are utilizing a mix of in-house and outsourced content creation to run their businesses and boost their content output.
In 2014, 62% of companies outsourced their content marketing. Today, marketers around the country are outsourcing a whopping 18% of their total content, and writing stands out as one of the most-commonly outsourced duties.
While it seems obvious that outsourcing your blog writing can save companies time and money, the impact goes far deeper than that! Read on to learn more about why you should consider outsourcing your blog writing, and how it can help your company grow.
Why Should You be Outsourcing Your Blog Writing?
The biggest drawback of content creation is that it’s time-consuming. Today, 10% of marketers spend between 16-20 hours each week on their social media content alone. When you expand that to blog writing, article publication, and graphic creation, it becomes obvious just how much of a burden creating great content can be for busy managers and business owners.
For many companies, this burden is just too much. Unfortunately, content is also too valuable to ignore. Companies that invest in content stand to enjoy the following benefits:
A bigger audience
Established authority
A rapport and engagement with viewers
Opportunities to turn leads into customers
The ability to tell your story
A platform to meet new people
The ability to stand out
Capacity to brand yourself as an expert in your industry
The opportunity to make money and increase the company’s bottom line
Companies who are outsourcing blog writing have more time to work on the business rather than in the business. In fact, professional blog writing can work to enhance all these vital benefits.
What Can You Outsource?
Today, you can outsource just about anything. Modern content creation is primarily web-based. It’s the process of researching, organizing, writing, and editing information for cyber publication. It’s not just writing, either. Aside from written material, content creation can include the following:
Graphics and pictures
Video Creation
Podcasts
Twitter Chats and other social interactions
Some of the most foundational components of content creation include:
Social media
Blogging
Web content
Landing pages
Sales pages
White papers
Press releases
Articles and documents
The creation of SlideShare presentations
And the list goes on!
While most companies want to create all these types of content for their online presence, few have time. This is where the decision for outsourcing your blog writing and other content creation responsibilities comes in!
25 Smart Reasons for Outsourcing Your Blog Writing
Whether you’re an old outsourcing pro or you’re looking at making the decision for the first time, here are the 25 top reasons for outsourcing blog writing:
1. Outsourcing Passes Content Creation Along To Professionals
If you don’t specialize in content creation, you’ll find yourself at a marked disadvantage. Professionals who specialize in the content industry know every nook and cranny, hidden detail, and trend. They understand every kind of content, and they work to best leverage it for their clients. This allows you to create better content across the board.
2. Not Everyone Can Write
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Not everyone can write, and that’s okay! Writing is a complex, learned task, and it’s often best left to the professionals.
We’ve always been advocates of investing in the right copywriter to enhance your content development efforts, and the skilled writers working behind the scenes of content creation companies can help you skip the stress, pain, and investment of doing it yourself.
3. Outsourced Content = Quality Content
When you work with an outsourced content creation team, you get a team of professionals that includes editors and writers. This helps ensure quality.
Each piece of content you outsource gets a detail-oriented review before it goes live. This helps prevent spelling and grammar mistakes and ensures that all your content is material your brand is proud to attach its name to.
4. Increased Reliability
When you work with in-house content creators, your projects can easily be stalled by someone getting sick or missing work. When you outsource, though, you’re working with a team, which means there’s always another writer to step in if someone drops out
5. Hands-Off Ease
Ever wanted to create a situation where you don’t have to think about your content at all? Outsourcing your blog writing can make it happen.
Content creation teams can create, manage, and post all your content for you, allowing you to kick back and enjoy the ride, without the hassle and burden of managing a team.
6. Quality SEO and Technical Knowledge
Outsourced content teams keep up-to-date on the latest content trends and understand the best strategies to further your business in the digital age. By working with them, you can enjoy quality, SEO-optimized content that adheres to Google’s current standards and ranks well online.
7. Lower Costs
Companies thinking about staffing an in-house content curation team need to consider the cost. It’s not simply a matter of finding and hiring qualified team members. This number also includes finding the space, tools, and budget for the entire department.
Outsourcing gives you the ability to reduce your overhead and focus on what matters the most: talented, professional assistance.
8. Large Talent Pools
Today, the best talent might be across the country from you. Fortunately, outsourcing your content allows you to access it. This is one of the many reasons outsourcing is such a positive move. It allows you to track down that perfect fit, whether it’s down the street or on the other side of the US.
9. Simplicity
If writing isn’t your thing or you just don’t have the time to manage an in-house staff, it’s fine to admit it that. But you must find a solution. An expert (outsourced) trade composed of writers who love their trade is the perfect fix.
10. Increased Output
If you’re looking to increase your content output, the decision to outsource blog writing could be the perfect approach. While in-house teams can only do so much, the sky is the limit with remote content creation.
11. Outsourcing Content Allows you to Focus on Other Things
Einstein was a terrible speller. His genius laid elsewhere. He was successful because he realized his time was best spent in the areas where he could excel. The same applies to you. It’s important to keep your focus. If you don’t excel in content development, it’s time to outsource and focus on what you’re good at.
12. Efficiency
As a business owner, you can’t do it all. The sooner you accept this fact, the better. You’re not a superhero. No one can do everything, and no one team can hope to manage every facet of your business—that’s why outsourcing is growing: it’s delegation without the additional overhead.
13. More Pronounced Web Presences
The more content you create, the better. HubSpot reports that companies that blog at least sixteen times a month earn 3.5x the traffic of companies who only blog between 0-4 times a month. When you outsource content, you can work with 5, 10, or 20 writers at a time to increase your web output and grow your online presence.
14. Time Savings
In-house content creation and development takes time. And let’s face it; it takes money, too! You’re paying your in-house employees (at least, we hope you are). It’s likely either you’re upping their pay to cover the new workload, or you’re overloading them at the same pay rate.
Either way, you’re not enjoying maximum productivity. Outsourcing allows the opportunity to create a robust, scalable, profitable content development machine for your business.
15. Outsourcing Blog Writing Makes Google Happy
Google wants high quality results for their search engine users. They even took special pains to mention the need for expert content in their 2015 Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines!
If your website is packed full of high quality, relevant copy, you’re going to be in good standing with the Google Gods and generate better SERP ranking.
16. Stronger Content
Partnering with a content development company, content marketing firm, or copywriting agency gives you immediate access to expertise, specialization (did you know you can hire expert content creators, who can write about financial, legal, medical, and other professional topics?) and proficiency it can be difficult or impossible to create in-house. This equips your brand with much stronger content, right off the bat.
17. More Productive Topic Brainstorming
Having trouble coming up with fresh topics for your company? You’re not alone. Keeping content fresh and unique can get challenging, after a while. Fortunately, an outsourced content team can help you enjoy more productive topic brainstorming, both now and in the future.
18. Fresh Perspective
One of the most invaluable benefits of outsourcing content creation is the fresh perspective offered by a team that isn’t in-house. Even if you live and breathe for your company, there is such a thing as being too close to it to see it objectively. An outsider’s perspective can improve and strengthen your current and future content.
19. Updated Knowledge
Teams that specialize in content, especially web content, are industry followers. If you hire an industry specialist to create your web content, you’ll get the pleasure of working with someone who is up-to-date on essentials like SEO, content standards, and, most importantly, the trends in your industry.
20. Access to a Natural-Born Storyteller
According to Krystian Wlodarczyk of Search Engine Journal, content is most successful when the writer tells a compelling story. Unfortunately, storytelling is a talent. Some people have it, some people don’t. Natural-born storytellers are the heart of great content teams, and outsourcing your blog writing allows you to connect with them more immediately.
21. Better Quality, Without The Learning Curve
If you’re not overly familiar with how to create engaging content, how to format a press release, how to use backlinks to boost your SEO, or how to optimize images in blog posts, you’ll need to invest some serious time and resources in learning. Or, you could just hire someone who already knows all that to do it for you!
22. Content While You do Other Things
Outsourcing blog writing allows you to create content while you sleep, exercise, or enjoy a nice dinner with your family. Send out an assignment, have it completed while you go about your business. No muss, no fuss. How cool is that?
23. Peace of Mind
Managing a team is one of the most challenging aspects of content creation. This is especially true if you’re trying to train your team while you manage it. With an outsourced content team, though, all you need to do is send out your assignment details. Your team will take it from there, and you get the peace of mind that comes with knowing you’ll enjoy a job well done every time.
24. Access to Additional Capabilities
Even if you can’t write, design, or record video, there’s a content expert out there who can. Hiring or partnering with them allows you to access needed skills that you might not possess.
25. You Can’t Afford to Fail
The ultimate reason to outsource is this: failure is not an option! Your content affects everything from conversion rates to search engine rankings. You wouldn’t trust your company’s finances to just anyone, so why skimp on content development? You can’t afford to fail in this critical regard.
Prepare For Success With Your Outsourced Content Team
Content is essential for all great businesses today. In addition to establishing your expertise, it also exposes your company to potential buyers and drives potential customers to act.
As such, it’s way too important to let it fall by the wayside. When you outsource your blog writing, you equip yourself with a strong, professional team that’s at your beck and call. A smart use of your resources and time, outsourcing content creation is a functional business move that can set you up for a future of success.
Looking for the perfect team to help with outsourcing blog writing? Look no further than Express Writers – your one-stop-shop for an outsourced content marketing program. Visit our Content Shop today to learn more.
