According to a well-known HubSpot study, businesses who blog generate more indexed pages in Google than those who don’t blog. Plus, those extra indexed pages literally lead to more leads.
Blogging is a big deal. It can quickly lead to more exposure online to the exact right people (read: future customers).
The only issues that could possibly get in your way?
Lack of time
Lack of writing skills
Lack of SEO blogging knowledge
No biggie. The solution is obvious:
You need a blog ghost writer.
This is a writer who can seamlessly step into your brand’s voice and style, write blogs that appeal to your target audience, and position you as an authority with high-quality, optimized, amazing written content.
Sounds great, right?
Not So Fast: There’s a Common Problem Inherent in Working with Blog Ghost Writers
If you get that outsourcing your blog writing is going to help you or your clients gain more traffic/leads/conversions/sales, that’s great.
However, there’s another problem that may pop up:
How do you work with a ghostwriter (or a team of ghostwriters) so you get to the scenario we described above?
More often than not, marketing agencies and small businesses turn to ghostwriters hoping to achieve that amazing ROI, but what they get is significantly less than they expected, like:
Poor writing or obvious clues a non-native English speaker wrote the piece
Bland, general blogs that don’t show off any industry expertise
Writing riddled with silly errors and inconsistencies
Writing that doesn’t match up with the desired brand style/tone
An example of bad content. Did a human even write this?
For a few of these examples, the problem is obviously with the quality of writer you’re hiring. (Cheap writer = cheap content. See above.)
As for the rest, what if I told you the problem might not be with the writer’s skill set? What if the problem (ghostwritten content that doesn’t live up to expectations) stems from the way you’re working with your ghost writer?
It’s possible.
That’s because there is a right way to communicate and work with your writer so you get the best outcome possible: Amazing content that brings in ROI, so you more than recoup what you originally invested in its creation.
That’s what we’re discussing today: How to work with your blog ghost writer to get the best results possible. Results like:
Content that hits the bullseye for your brand voice
Writing that draws in the right readers
Optimization that ensures search engines love your blogs
High-quality content that converts
Ready to get into it?
Working with Blog Ghostwriters: 6 Keys to Remember to Get the Best Content Possible
1. Be Willing to Collaborate
Let’s get something straight.
In your industry, business, or profession, you’re the expert – not the writer.
Don’t get me wrong. Ghostwriters are exceptionally good at research, and they excel at taking on the tone and voice you want. Many also have years of experience behind them, including a background in your industry.
Despite all this, the writer still can’t ghostwrite for you without any guidance.
You can’t just hand them the wheel with no direction and expect magnificence.
You must – I repeat, must – be willing to collaborate with your ghostwriting partner. You are the one with ideas, knowledge, and experience to gift to the wider world.
Ghostwriters are just the vehicle, there to help you clearly communicate all of that in ways that are readable and interesting.
So, to start off, come to your ghost writers with ideas, direction, and purpose for what you want them to produce. Talk with them, collaborate, be willing to answer questions and provide guidance. The end result will be a much better product, and will lead to higher ROI.
2. Respect the Writer’s Process…
Although online writing has become more common as a profession, the job itself still doesn’t get much respect (unless you’re a Stephen King-type penning best-selling novels).
Proof: The median pay for online writing, content writing, and ghostwriting is still absurdly low. Well-paying jobs are the exception, not the norm.
You’ve got your content factory workers, who make bottom-of-the-rung pay (literal pennies per word written).
Then you have the other end of the spectrum: The highly-paid experts who can make upwards of $50/hour.
In the middle are the majority.
Perhaps this pay situation stems from the fact that writing looks deceptively unlike work.
That’s a sad misconception, because, as any writer will tell you:
Writing is hard.
You probably have a good grasp on that fact – after all, you attempted to sit down and write your own blogs, but couldn’t figure out how to do it profitably.
You need a ghostwriter for a reason, so respect their work, their process, and their time. You’ll end up with a loyal partner who will be glad to continue a long-term working relationship with you.
3. …But Don’t Give Your Ghost Writer Too Much Free Rein
Give creative work like writing too much free time, and it will run amok.
For most, open-ended assignments are a recipe for disaster. Writers can edit something forever and get stuck in a loop without clear deadlines.
For instance, did you know the more familiar you are with a written work – like your own writing – the more likely you’ll miss obvious errors and mistakes? (A study from the Journal of Research & Reading proved it.)
Boundaries, on the other hand, help encourage the kind of honed creativity that results in stellar content. Set them for your writer for better results, like so:
When working with a blog ghostwriter, always set deadlines. Don’t just say you need the piece “A.S.A.P.” – specify a day on the calendar when you would like it ready.
If you can, it’s helpful to identify a window of time for when the writer can hand in the completed piece.
This is because each writer has their own individual process and works at their own individual pace. They likely have multiple projects on their plate at once, so a deadline window helps them figure out what to prioritize and lessens the pressure, so they can do better work.
It’s additionally wise to check in on your writer periodically, especially if the deadline is weeks or months away.
A pro will happily provide progress reports and updates – just don’t bombard your writer daily with messages asking if the piece is finished yet if the deadline is still in the future. That’s a recipe for a harried writer who won’t produce their best work.
4. Include Extras in the Contract (Like Revisions and Keyword Research)
Many people who hire ghostwriters for the first time are unaware of the little details that come with the territory.
Think edits/revisions, research time, and deadlines/turnaround time.
For example, you may need to send a piece back to a writer to make specific changes. Are these revisions included in the agreed-upon rate?
The writer may also need to spend a significant amount of time researching your topic and gathering sources. This is time for which they will want to be compensated, because it’s often an essential part of the process.
Making sure these extras are covered, either in the agreed-upon pay rate or in the contract, is essential to avoid hiccups down the road.
For example, at Express Writers, our policy is to include two free revisions with each project. This is clearly stipulated so there are no questions later.
5. Chat One-on-One with your Blog Ghost Writer About the Project
A huge part of collaboration is communication, but what if you’re struggling to get your ghostwriter to understand what you want?
Furthermore, what if you have an easier time explaining concepts in speech rather than writing (which may be one of the reasons you need a ghostwriter in the first place)?
In these scenarios, talking with your writer one-on-one can be an immense help. Whether you meet with them in-person, chat on the phone, or connect virtually via Skype or some other tool, sometimes a quick talk can immediately clear things up.
This is also a great time to bounce ideas back and forth, answer questions, and help the writer get an even more intimate feel for your style, perspective, and unique voice.
Of course, you want your content to look and sound a certain way – that’s why you hired a ghostwriter.
However, there are reasonable expectations and unreasonable ones.
For example, don’t send a piece back to your ghostwriter for a revision if they misspelled a word or forgot to add a link. That wastes everybody’s time.
Instead, include these small changes you made in your feedback to the writer. A good one will note what they missed and double-check that everything is in order before they submit next time.
In the end, the big picture of the content is more important than the niggling details. If the writer nails your style and voice, hits all the points you want covered, and produces an engaging read that addresses your target readers, a few tiny errors that are quickly fixed are no big deal.
You + Your Blog Ghost Writer = Content Magic
If you dream of content magic but don’t have the time or the skills to make it happen, a ghost writer could be your ticket to greatness.
You just have to know how to work with your writer to get the best results.
Take some time to understand the writing process, give your writer plenty of direction, and communicate.
After all, your ghostwriter is on your team. Are you on theirs?
If you’re a technical writer engaging in content marketing, you may not be reaching all of your possible readers.
Technical writers are great at writing for other tech experts, but what about the average person?
The person with basic computing knowledge (they can navigate word processing software, cloud storage, and basic photo editing, and can set up online accounts)
The person who is handy with their phone as long as they have the right app
The person who is adept at social media
Someone who can build a website as long as they go through a platform with a drag-and-drop editor
These people have some basic tech knowledge.
It doesn’t go very deep, though. They have never tinkered with HTML, XML, or CSS; they don’t understand how back-end development works, and they don’t have the technical vocabulary required to understand your more in-depth blog posts.
So, why are they worth your attention?
Sometimes, these people are the big decision-makers. They’re the bosses who have the final say on whether the tech expert you’re writing for can buy that new software.
Or, they’re the higher-ups who have the last word on whether their company invests in your technology.
Their tech knowledge may be basic, but their clout is BIG.
So, if you’re only blogging and writing for other developers and tech-savvy experts like you, you may want to rethink that approach.
By all means, continue writing in-depth articles and how-tos on nitty-gritty tech processes, workflows, and developments.
If you’re in a tech industry, you also absolutely must consider writing for the tech layperson every once in a while to help them understand the value of certain technologies, including how they work.
With that said, we’re sharing tips to help you come down to earth and write for people with average tech knowledge and know-how.
[bctt tweet=”Are you writing tech content for your audience (tech layperson) or tech experts (people like you, and probably NOT your reader base)? Find out the difference in @JuliaEMcCoy’s guide.” username=”ExpWriters”]
The Technical Writer’s Blog Guide to Writing for a General Audience: 5 Key Tips
1. Imagine Explaining Your Topic to a Person You Know
It can be hard to sit down and write a blog post with a “general audience” in mind. It’s not specific enough to help guide your writing.
Instead, when you sit down to write the post, focus on explaining the topic like you would to someone outside your field who has average tech knowledge – like a family member or a friend.
How would you approach helping them understand the subject?
For starters, you wouldn’t use a technical vocabulary. If you had to use technical terms at all, you would need to explain them first, and maybe put them into contexts your listener would understand. (See tips #2 and #3.)
As you can see, thinking of a specific person can help direct your approach to explaining complex topics. It gives you a starting point because you’ll have a good idea of what that person knows and doesn’t know about your subject.
Just remember to choose someone to write for who matches up with the base knowledge of the general audience you want to address. (Note: This is a good opportunity to develop a new audience persona for future use!)
2. Use Analogies, Comparisons, and Examples
One of the best ways to introduce complex topics to a general audience is to relate them to concepts or ideas your readers already know intimately.
One apt comparison or example can neatly illustrate a difficult point much more effectively than you’d think.
For example (see what I’m doing, here?), look at this blog post from an IT services company. The post topic is the present-day use of the cloud.
The technical blog writer could have said “It seems every company out there has to have some product or service with ‘cloud’ attached to it” and left it at that. Or, they could have reeled off a list of companies with cloud technology and stopped there.
That wouldn’t work, though, because that approach wouldn’t help the audience put the concept of cloud computing in context with their everyday lives.
Instead, the writer uses multiple examples of how his readers might be using the cloud without even realizing it: The music they listen to, the fitness trackers they wear on their wrists, the pictures they share on social media, and even their fancy new refrigerator implement cloud technology in some shape or form.
For many people, this is a huge key to unlocking comprehension of a concept. As soon as they can relate it to what they already know and understand, the lightbulb clicks on.
As such, sprinkle plenty of real-world examples, analogies, and comparisons into your content to make complex ideas relatable and easier to understand.
The vocabulary used here is way over a general audience’s head, but that’s because the writer is talking to other developers.
If you don’t have any of these terms in your word bank, this post isn’t for you. However, if you’re the one knee-deep in terms like these day-in and day out, it can become second-nature to include them in your speech. You may forget what a general audience knows and doesn’t know.
To write for the masses, you don’t have to dumb yourself down; you just need to adjust your vocabulary.
Avoid specialized terms and industry jargon. If you do use them, offer definitions and explanations.
Try to find simpler terms that are easier to understand to replace specialized vocabulary.
If you find you can’t explain a concept without using specialized terms, you may need to broaden your topic to explain it more generally.
Look at how WebsiteSetup.org highlights specialized terms in the text and takes ample time to explain what they mean:
4. Start Broad
Complex topics are easier to explain if you begin with broad, basic facts to set up a foundation for understanding. Then, once your readers get the basics, you can drill down to specifics.
Setting up your explanations this way is called the cone principle:
Start with the most basic concepts you can assume your general audience already understands.
For example, if I wanted to write a blog about setting up a website from scratch with WordPress, I would begin with these basic assumptions:
My audience has heard of this platform
They have a very basic understanding of HTML
They know how to carry out basic internet tasks, like downloading and uploading files
In the blog above, the writer assumes his audience understands these basics, which lets him start his explanation of website setup by going over the function and use of a content management system as an alternative to coding a website.
He doesn’t have to teach them how to boot up a computer, how to use the internet, or what the heck WordPress is. They have a broad baseline of understanding the writer can use to walk them into new concepts.
That said, the writer is still starting by explaining fairly broad concepts, but he needs to do this to orient his readers. Once he walks them through the landscape of that topic, he can introduce them to specific parts of the scenery.
For example, once the writer explains the broad concept of a content management system, this sets up the reader with a baseline of knowledge so they can later learn how to customize and tweak their website within that system.
5. Break Up Your Content into Manageable Chunks
The final tip for simplifying and clarifying your writing is the easiest:
Break up your content.
Yet, in school, we’re trained to write differently. We’re told that each paragraph should contain a topic sentence, plus 5-6 supporting sentences.
Long paragraphs full of complicated explanations are hard to read, hard to understand, and, because your readers are staring at an electronic screen, hard on the eyes.
Your audience isn’t reading a printed page, so don’t treat your content like you’re writing a book.
Help aid ease-of-reading and shorten your paragraphs – significantly.
Look at this example, a blog about how to set up an email campaign. It’s nice that they have bolded key terms, but the paragraphs are way too long:
Paragraph #2 alone could be divided into 4-6 separate paragraphs, which would make it easier to read and understand.
In contrast, look at this blog on a similar topic. Paragraphs are very short, and each one is limited to a single key point:
As a result, it’s a much clearer, easier read.
When you’re writing about complex topics or addressing a general audience, you need to make sure you are as clear as possible. Shorter paragraphs can help immensely.
This is the easiest way to make your writing more readable right away, so don’t neglect it.
Technical Writers CAN Blog for General Readers – And They Should
If it makes sense for your business, blogging for a wider, general audience can do a lot for you. It can:
Help expand your online presence
Introduce newbies to your technology or software
Help the tech experts you usually write for to get buy-in from their non-techie bosses or higher-ups
Before you dive in, analyze your audience. Are there readers you’re ignoring with your content? If this is the case, implement the above steps to help you write technical posts in a down-to-earth way. Dedicate one or two posts every month to this group.
You never know what opportunities may come from your technical writer blog as a result.
This year, I went to CMWorld — again. (It was so great last year that I decided to go again in 2018! And I plan on going in 2019, too.)
I brought our Content Director with me. And we had a blast.
Content marketers getting together, talking about content, is always a good thing in my book.
The event happened Tuesday, September 4 — Friday, September 7, in beautiful Cleveland, Ohio. Hannah and I attended the kickoff party at the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame, the keynotes and sessions in the Main Conference Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and took flights home Thursday night.
Besides the sessions and speakers, it was absolutely wonderful to see friendly faces while there — hug friends, meet online friends IRL, talk content, and chat over breakfast and dinner.
I walked away with some great insights from the event. Here are my major takeaways from this year’s trip to Content Marketing World.
Have you heard? My Expert SEO Content Writer Course is now open for beta launch — for a limited time only. Save your seat here!
This year’s keynote speaker to start the event was Andrew Davis, and to wrap up the event was Tina Fey, aka Liz Lemon, a huge attraction for many of us marketers.
(Also, YAY for #girlpower and bringing a woman to deliver the main and final keynote! Kudos, Content Marketing Institute team.)
Before Andrew Davis opened with the first keynote, Robert Rose and Joe Pulizzi took to the stage.
And it was awesome.
1. Today’s Most Important Marketing Element is Trust
First: Robert Rose introduced the “player” to fit well into this year’s theme at CMWorld, Game On.
Player 2 in today’s marketing, he revealed, is trust.
As marketers, he said, we’ve entered the game of talent, trust, and technology. AI is out there. Tech is sophisticated. But the values we have will come from talent driven by trust.
The media trust isn’t there. We’ve got to create it and deliver on it, as marketers.
2. Record, Repeat, Remove & FOCUS for More Success in Marketing
Joe Pulizzi took to the stage next, amidst many whoops of joy from the crowd (I may have added to the noise — he is, after all, one of my all-time favorite content marketing heroes). We all miss him, ever since he ended the PNR With This Old Marketing Podcast and stepped down from CMI after it was acquired by UBM.
Of course, even if he did sell CMI, he sure didn’t let go of any of his stylish orange outfits.
Two new things I learned about Joe:
He majored in rhetoric
His favorite book: Stranger in a Strange Land (I bought it and plan to read it!)
Joe said that on his first few months off (the first time in years he’s had that much time off!), he studied success. And here’s what he learned.
First, he asked this of all of us: Have you made a positive impact in the world? During his sabbatical, Joe studied success, and he found that most of us have programmed our brains in a way that precludes success. We have a great opportunity to start with a clean slate.
Success (in marketing and life in general) only takes three things:
Record
Repeat
Remove
These three things will make us successful. They will also make our marketing successful.
Joe said that if we lead our mission statement with “making money,” we’ve got it wrong. We need to serve. Serve our audience first.
[bctt tweet=”#CMWorld 2018 highlight: @joepulizzi saying ‘If we lead our mission statement with making money, we’ve got it wrong. We need to serve our audience first.’ @JuliaEMcCoy ” username=”ExpWriters”]
He recommends we review our goals every night and when we wake up in the morning to be successful.
Why marketing fails:
Our recorded goals aren’t big enough
We do not put in enough repetition (consistency)
We don’t clear the garbage that stops us from achieving our goals
Joe said that in all the content marketing strategies he’s helped implement, and the ones he’s studied, the minimum time was 9 months, average 18 months or longer, of implementing content to see success.
[bctt tweet=”Out of hundreds of #contentmarketing strategies studied, @joepulizzi said at #CMWorld that the minimum time is 9 months, average 18 months or longer, of implementing content to see success. – @JuliaEMcCoy” username=”ExpWriters”]
Joe recommends focusing in on the right things and cutting the clutter. When he hears, “Not enough time to hit my goal,” he answers: the average American watches 3 hours of TV a day, which becomes a decade at 80 years old. We have the time, it’s what we choose to make time for.
[bctt tweet=”.@joepulizzi says that focusing is key to success in #marketing and life. He recommends we clear all distractions to make an impact. #CMWorld #recap @JuliaEMcCoy” username=”ExpWriters”]
Content run amuck was the most common error when he and Robert Rose consulted and helped brands build content marketing strategies. Focus. Choose one thing.
Even if it’s a big, scary goal. In 2009, no one knew what content marketing was. Joe wanted 150 people to come to the first CMWorld, and 600 did.
Whatever you do, if you believe it to be true, it’s true. — Bill Durham.
3. Forget About Snackable Content: Create Binge-Worthy Content that Focuses on the Curiosity Gap
A repeated takeaway I heard in many sessions this year at CMWorld was this one: comprehensive content > bite-size / snackable content. In fact, I heard many marketers recommend that those two words — bite-size and snackable! — should die. Andrew Davis, a highly-rated speaker at last year’s CMWorld, took to the stage as the opening keynote for Content Marketing World 2018. He’s a bestselling author and keynote speaker. And what he shared was terrific.
First, Andrew asks, have you heard this from marketers? “I wanna gut it and create snackable content.”
Andrew recommends that we forget about creating “snackable content.”
Quit blaming the goldfish and focusing on the short “attention span.”
Our audience has “no time” — but they can binge watch Stranger Things.
So, what they’re really saying is that will MAKE TIME to consume content that holds their interest.
[bctt tweet=”Quit blaming the goldfish and focusing on the short ‘attention span.’ Our audience has ‘no time’ — but they can binge watch Stranger Things. They will MAKE TIME to consume content that holds their interest. @DrewDavisHere #CMWorld” username=”ExpWriters”]
Forget “grab their attention! It’s all about the headline!”
…Maybe we need to make more content like Stranger Things.
Andrew brought in the example of a “mystery box.” Creating mystery around your products, services or content, is a great way to build retention and engagement.
For example, there are over 36,000 mystery boxes available for sale on Amazon and eBay! People buy and sell these daily just for the fun of knowing what’s in a “mystery box.”
Another example: one of IKEA’s highest-performing ads is “Where Life Happens.” It’s also a YouTube ad with one of the highest retention rates. 39% of people watched the whole 4-minute ad — centered around one person doing nothing.
Andrew says you cannot buy attention. It’s actually earned over time. We need to slow down and let people consume our content.
[bctt tweet=”You cannot buy attention. It’s actually earned over time. We need to slow down and let people consume our content. @DrewDavisHere #CMWorld ” username=”ExpWriters”]
He said, “What ingredient does the IKEA ad use to draw and maintain interest?”
Curiosity gap.
Marketers should be creating more curiosity gaps. This is “the void” between what people know and what people want to know.
One of the best examples Andrew brought up:
800,000 viewers for a Buzzfeed watermelon explosion video recorded live on Facebook. One man: “I forgot to pick my kid up from school! What am I doing with my life waiting for this watermelon to explode?”
THAT is creating a successful curiosity gap. And curiosity gaps create tension, which builds interest and heightens retention.
[bctt tweet=”Create tension to earn time from your audience. @DrewDavisHere #CMWorld” username=”ExpWriters”]
Take them through wanting to needing to know.
The need for closure comes after you’ve built up the right tension.
He also said that your content must deliver what was promised. The payoff must be proportional to what was built.
However, this success element can be used for good or evil.
Andrew said, don’t do clickbait. Instead, earn attention by inviting our audience to chase answers. Don’t leave your audience with zero questions. For example: Testimonials and case studies have NO tension. Some big brands have spent $2.6 million on creating hundreds of these ugly, boring testimonial reels.
Think like a reality TV editor.
Learn to raise the stakes. Show the audience something they love and threaten it.
Excellent talk, Andrew!
4. When It Comes to Content, Focus on Results > Attention (Featuring A CoSchedule Case Study)
One of my top favorite breakout sessions at this year’s CMWorld was from Garrett Moon (CEO of CoSchedule), on How to Find Your Content Core & Actually Drive Revenue from Content.
He opened his talk with a convicting statement: Our success metrics are wrong. We focus on attention instead of results.
[bctt tweet=”Our success metrics are wrong. We focus on attention instead of results. @garrett_moon of @CoSchedule #CMWorld” username=”ExpWriters”]
A simple framework for content success can make all the difference. He recommends a content core. At CoSchedule, content marketing is 100% their engine for growth (much like how it is for us at Express Writers!).
One of Garrett’s most impactful point was a case study of one of the most successful posts in terms of conversion, vs. their highest “shared” post. Shares do not equal conversions! What a wake-up call.
Garrett recommends doing your due diligence in keyword research and strategic thinking before publishing a post, to make sure it fits into the content core, a sweet spot between what your audience cares about + the value your business provides.
Your product needs to fit into your content.
The softer your CTAs, the softer your sales. Have a direct connection.
Connect your content to the value your company provides. This is the extra step BESIDES creating great content that people care about.
Orient your blog around one call to action.
Optimize to amplify what’s working.
I loved his point about a CTV > CTA: Joanna Wiebe calls her CTAs a Call to Value, not Call to Action.
An example of a CTV: “Find the best marketing tool for the job in 20 minutes.” This shares the value in signing up for CoSchedule for a free trial (the CTA).
Garrett recommends target customer interviews. This is a GENIUS way to interview a customer: CoSchedule gets their guest invited to their podcast and then spends 10 minutes asking them questions. Getting real pain points from an interview net you a deep, high-level place to write for your audience from.
The audience Q&As sparked some great answers from Garrett, as well. I wrote a few notes down just from this 10-minute session at the end.
Q: Is there trust lost if you’re doing CTAs in each blog?
CoSchedule’s CTAs are to a free piece of content, so they don’t do a “hard sell.” This is important. They don’t try to get them on a demo right now. If they can get the reader to think like they do, it will lead them down the customer path. You can do more than you think and not break that trust.
Q. What about paid vs. organic traffic?
CoSchedule does not do any paid promotion. It’s not enough to get people to see your content. If you’re paying for that traffic, you’re throwing money out the window if your conversions are zero. Garrett says his brand targets organic search completely. (Another reason I love CoSchedule! We believe the same about organic search > paid traffic.)
5. Don’t Fret About Email Unsubscribes — #NotMyDoris
Ann Handley delivered an amazing keynote called, “What Gives? How a Reader Challenge Kicked Me in the Patootie (and What We Can Learn From It)!”, and it was awesome.
During CMWorld ’18 and right before her keynote on this topic, Ann was also awarded with CMI’s very first Hall of Fame Hero Award, an exciting moment for all of us watching.
I loved Ann’s face when she won this award. She was totally taken by surprise. #ourhero
Ann discussed how a reader from Amsterdam asked her “do you have a secret email list?” She realized the importance of consistent email campaigns, and now sends out a bi-weekly Sunday email.
Ann shared three reasons why email is a content marketing backbone:
1. Newsletters are the OG.
2. Newsletters done well = ?
3. Email is the only place where people, not algorithms, are in control.
She gave us some history: in 1439, humankind was served its first ad. The first printing press came about in 59 BC. The first “media” was a gossipy column providing news about Romans and their day-to-day lives, printed under the byline Julius Caesar.
Ann said that in today’s newsletters and mail campaigns, the most important part of the newsletter is the LETTER.
[bctt tweet=”The most important part of your newsletter is the LETTER. @annhandley #CMWorld #Recap #Bestof” username=”ExpWriters”]
We like letters that make us feel like we matter, Ann said. Great point.
Warren Buffet’s annual letter to shareholders was addressed to his wife, Doris, and read like a fun, interesting letter.
Ann says:
Write to Doris
And don’t fret about “not my Doris”
Meaning, don’t worry about the haters or the unsubscribes.
Love it!
6. Reframe Obstacles into Opportunities
One of my favorite talks of the entire week was from photographer Dewitt Jones, who spent 20 years with National Geographic taking photographs all around the world. His home is on top of a mountain in a Hawaii island. Dewitt lives to catch moments that portray the beauty of life.
He was a truly inspiring speaker (a top-rated lecturer). I typically never get emotional listening to someone speak, but I was nearly in tears at the end of this talk — it was that beautiful.
Reframe obstacles into opportunities. There is no one right answer.
The picture above — incredibly beautiful — was his case study on this point. He waited too long on a field of dandelions for pictures and got that incredible shot.
Dewitt says instead of asking, What will I take today? ask, What will I give today?
Celebrate what’s right in the situation. Life is about continually finding the next right answer. Keeping our extraordinary vision in focus.
What’s your extraordinary vision?
7. Make Your Content Mean Something
One keynote I really enjoyed was called Making Content Mean Something, and the speaker was Kathleen Diamantakis, Managing Director of Strategy at The NY Times.
I took one point away from this talk that was critical.
Kathleen first raised a really good point: Nike’s controversial ad revealed that we are looking for more meaning in our content.
My favorite takeaway from her talk: Content has become noise. Let’s not add to the noise. Let’s create meaningful content.
[bctt tweet=”Build content that has meaning. – Kathleen from @TBrandStudio & NYTimes, at #CMWorld” username=”ExpWriters”]
8. Human Connections & Knowing Your Audience Will Help You Outperform AI
Hannah, our Content Director, caught an important session called The Future of Content. Speaking was Pete Winter, Managing Partner USA, Tomorrow People.
These were our favorite takeaways from Pete’s session:
You don’t need to outrun the tiger, you just need to outrun the other person in the jungle with you
The key to understanding your audience is a human connection that AI can’t do (yet)
The most important part of content creation is understanding your audience and what they want
[bctt tweet=”The key to understanding your audience is a human connection that AI can’t do (yet), says @petejwinter of tomorrow-people.com #CMWorld #recap @HannahDarlingEW ” username=”ExpWriters”]
How well do you actually know your audience? Well, Pete says, you need to know more about your target audience than they know about themselves.
He recommended knowing your audience’s:
demographics
what their challenges are
where they hang out
what their business plans are
what their needs are
what language do they use, words, terms
what does success look like
what is stopping them from achieving success
How?
Ask them directly!
Use social media (great way to see what questions are being asked!) hashtags are a great way.
Industry publications: magazines and blogs relevant to your audience.
Network. Go to events like this and build connections. Find out what problems they’ve faced.
Sadly, I had to take a flight home and missed getting to see Tina Fey. ?But I watched the CMWorld tweets, and this quote would have to be my favorite: “What all writers know is that writing is the worst.” Especially GOOD writing. Good writing is hella hard.
“What all writers know is that writing is the worst! *Printing* is fun. Command + P is the best. Everything up to that point is the worst.” – Tina Fey at #CMWorldpic.twitter.com/wKX8ltJwe3
Conclusion: CMWorld ’18 Was Awesome & We Learned a Lot
A cool panorama I took from the main stage audience seats.
This year’s Content Marketing World was not one to miss. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
If you’re going to CMWorld ’19, connect with me on LinkedIn and let’s say hi next year. I will definitely be there!
This well-known quote from Theodore Roosevelt is often repeated, but not necessarily heeded.
We live in a technological age that breeds comparison, whether we fight it or not.
Your social media feeds are full of your peers and colleagues showing off the very best of their professional lives. You know what I’m talking about…
“How I Increased My Facebook Followers by 124871 Zillion”
“How I got 3123095 Bajillion Page Views and Increased Conversions by Eleventy-Gajillion%”
“112049 Awesome Templates That Worked for Me and WILL WORK FOR YOU”
It’s easy to get caught up in this “success stream.”
When we see others’ success, we want that for ourselves. If the uber-successful offer us a way in, we’re likely to take the bait.
Unfortunately, that quote we talked about earlier is as true as any truth that’s ever been told.
However, we might phrase it this way:
Comparison is the thief of joy and creative, success-driving innovation for your business.
If you’re constantly comparing your success to the influencers, thought leaders, and gurus, if you’re constantly buying into what they’re selling and eschewing your own creative ideas to do it…
Something is wrong.
If you’re only focusing on your competitor and not your original ideas, you could be missing out on truly standing out.
Take it from me; I learned this the hard way.
[bctt tweet=”If you’re only focusing on your competitor and not your original ideas, you could be missing out on truly standing out. @JuliaEMcCoy ” username=”ExpWriters”]
Personal Case Study: How Focusing on Your Competitor Can Kill Your Creativity and Conversions
Fact:
To help my launch follow more “proven” techniques, and thus, be more successful (or so I thought), I used to copy “email formulas” and bounce off “successful templates” to create emails to market The Content Strategy & Marketing Course.
I’d use a pasted “proven template” to send infrequent coupons and updates to my list.
The formulas that industry gurus touted seemed to be so set-in-stone and guaranteed — and as a “launch newbie,” I was so worried about not using “the correct formula.”
In doing so, I made a mistake. I left my own ideas behind.
These emails, however, were not converting.
Then, one afternoon when I was exercising, I came home and had a “lightbulb moment.”
Inspired by nothing but a spark in my own brain, I came up with this email:
Guess what.
We had a 4x conversion rate on this email, whereas my past emails that relied on the experts converted zero people.
[bctt tweet=”Read about @JuliaEMcCoy’s #emailmarketing story: she left proven templates and examples behind and focused on 100% original content… and had a 4x growth in ROI” username=”ExpWriters”]
My single email, written straight from my heart with no inspiration from competitors and no templates, converted 4 readers into course enrollees.
Meanwhile, the other templated/competitor-inspired emails converted nobody.
Take this as a hard-earned lesson:
Make sure you’re tapping into your own brain for creative ideas!
And don’t doubt yourself. Don’t let fear of the unknown slow you down. You’re in the marketing game for a reason – you’ve got smart, creative ideas in that head of yours.
I recommend that you start finding more “me-time” so you can get out of the day-to-day rut you’re stuck in, and tap into the power of using your own creativity!
[bctt tweet=”Julia’s #1 tip: find more ‘me-time’, quit getting stuck in a daily rut, and tap into your own creativity to see more success from your content endeavors. @JuliaEMcCoy” username=”ExpWriters”]
Here are some tips that might help.
3 Tips to Stop Comparing and Let Your Creativity Breathe
1. Unglue Yourself from Social Media
With your eyeballs constantly taking in other people’s thoughts, opinions, and ideas, you’re crowding out your own.
Step away from your social feeds. For instance, if you usually wake up every morning and check Twitter first-thing, stop. Leave your phone on the nightstand and go make your coffee, instead. Or, read a little bit, take a walk, make breakfast… anything else!
Maybe don’t do this, though.
You’d be surprised at how refreshing it can be to skip even one scroll session during your day.
[bctt tweet=”Unglue yourself from social media to find more inspiration, says @JuliaEMcCoy” username=”ExpWriters”]
2. Get Some Fresh Air and Exercise
According to a neuroscientist, exercise could give your brain the creative boost it needs.
According to this Quartz article, “Exercise could make students more imaginative at school and adults more creative at work.”
Refresh your body and mind and get moving. If you can, go outside and drink in some fresh air to clear your head.
[bctt tweet=”Exercise is key to more creativity, says @JuliaEMcCoy” username=”ExpWriters”]
3. Indulge Your Creativity
Constantly comparing yourself to others, and constantly following by rote, can stifle your creativity. To help loosen the stranglehold these voices have on your brain, do a simple creative activity.
Doodle something on whatever spare paper you have lying around (according to Harvard Health, spontaneous drawing has tons of brain benefits, like easing stress and improving your focus).
Color with markers.
Write a 300-word short story.
Go outside and experiment with phone photography.
Don’t focus on perfection, but rather the act of creation itself. Nobody will ever see your efforts, so go wild.
[bctt tweet=”Constantly comparing yourself to others, and constantly following by rote, can stifle your creativity, says @JuliaEMcCoy” username=”ExpWriters”]
Everyone Has a Unique Story – Let Yours Unfold
A key thing to remember is everyone’s path is different.
Your success will not look like anyone else’s, because it will be uniquely yours – a result of YOUR hard work, personality, skills, and goals.
Is a carbon-copy of success from following an expert’s advice or system nearly as satisfying as straying from the beaten path and forging your own story?
I don’t think so.
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
It can be hard to make your way out of the comparison game to free your individual creativity. If you have additional tips, share them in the comments!
Here’s a truth for all content marketers: connecting your content marketing to the sales funnel is easy to ignore, but important to do.
You need a sales strategy for your content if you’re trying to generate brand awareness, increase engagement, or sell more products or services from the content you publish.
Have you heard about my all-NEW writing course? We’re about to open enrollment! See more here.
And now, to continue my habit of staying brutally honest with you, here’s a second truth when it comes to content marketing and a typical sales funnel…
Written online content, when done well, is valuable, relevant, and attractive to your leads (a.k.a real humans)
Many “sales funnels” are sleazy, downright annoying, and sometimes paint a false picture just to gain your money
So, today, we’re not talking about the sleazy kind of funnel built inside of software with a surrounding campaign of 15 annoying emails and a “timer” on your money. (See my vlog on the Content Strategy & Marketing Course site to learn just how anti- sleazy sales funnel I am.)
We’re talking about the physical strategies behind attaching your content marketing to sales. This sales funnel is critical. Having a low or zero connection from your content to sales can mean low or no sales. And that’s something you (or/and your boss) definitely don’t want to experience after investing in and publishing content.
Never fear, we’ve got you covered today with a new, engaging way of looking at how content marketing drives sales, sure to help you achieve your marketing goals.
Ready for the big reveal?
The Bucket List: 3 Way to Stronger Sales Through Content
Who doesn’t love a bucket? Buckets are fun!
You can fill them with sand at the beach to build a sand castle, use them to carry your shampoo into the shower, plant them with flowers, or use them in any number of creative ways to enhance your life.
But in content marketing and sales conversion, buckets are critical.
Using our unique three-bucket strategy to fill in your online strategy and built a well-developed intricate castle of content will help supercharge your sales and boost your content’s ROI. Read my full post explaining the three-bucket topic strategy.
Each bucket represents a goal you need to achieve for outstanding keyword research and online content success.
As the image shows, you’ll want to work on filling your buckets with strong content for three main goals:
SEO rankings
Sales and connections
Brand awareness
This is the step that most brand strategists gloss over in a hurry to get out there and start creating content.
But skipping the bucket step would be a mistake.
This is the foundation for your content marketing sales process and the one that’s going to make sure your return on investment (ROI) is sky-high.
Let’s look at it this way.
According to Wolfgang Digital’s 2017 report on e-commerce, the average conversion rate was 1.56%.
That means in order to get high ROI content out there, you must assist your visitors at every lifecycle stage — even the one that comes before the funnel!
So, let’s see what we should put in each of our buckets.
[bctt tweet=”Discover a new, engaging way of looking at how content marketing drives sales that is sure to help you achieve your marketing goals in today’s blog via @JuliaEMcCoy ” username=”ExpWriters”]
Bucket #1: SEO Rankings
At this stage, you’ll want to fill your bucket with all the keywords you want to rank for.
You don’t have to be super-focused, but you do want to have a good understanding of keywords that are hot in your industry.
After you get a solid number of keywords, you can fill your bucket to the brim by including broad match or broad stem keywords for this task.
Broad stem keywords are relevant variations of your keywords that will help your website attract more visitors.
They’ll also save you time on building lists of keywords before you get a good persona in place (more on that later).
These keyword variations include singular and plural forms, synonyms, stemmings (such as make and making), related searches, and even possible misspellings.
You can generate these on your own or use a Keyword Variation Tool, as shown below.
Once you’ve filled this bucket, move on to the next step.
Bucket #2: Sales and Connections
Here’s where you start to delve into the area where sales and content marketing become fully integrated.
This is where you’ll build the kind of engagement and connections that drive sales and keep clients coming back for more.
Take time here to focus on how you’re going to build trust. To do this, you can put a wide variety of things in this bucket, including:
Company announcements and product reveals
Interviews with top influencers
Spotlight on how your employees work as a team
A case study focused on customer success
Customer-focused interviews or articles
There’s really no end to this kind of content that focuses on developing a personal relationship with your prospects.
A personal relationship is going to give a tremendous boost to brand awareness — which brings us to the final bucket.
Bucket #3: Brand Awareness
This is one big bucket.
Brand awareness helps your content generate more sales leads per impression and leads to enduring customer loyalty, which then translates into repeat business.
In fact, working hard on determining how to fill this bucket properly ensures you’ll get the maximum Lifetime Value (LTV) from your customers.
In a nutshell, LTV represents the amount of money generated by a customer over their lifetime.
The screenshot from smile.io shows an easy way to calculate this for your business. You start with the first calculation:
Then build on it, for the final figure:
But, to get high LTV, you need to boost loyalty. To boost loyalty, you must become a resource that your customer trusts.
You can increase loyalty through a number of tactics, including:
Outstanding customer service (and content that promotes it)
Rewards and loyalty programs
Customer content marketing that focuses on trust-building
A great example of a company that wows in the loyalty department is Apple.
Apple has filled their third bucket with extensive brand-awareness-focused content that perpetuates their stronghold on owners of their products.
In fact, their brand awareness campaign is so effective that 59% of iPhone owners responding to a survey claimed they bought their phone out of “blind loyalty.”
As this screenshot demonstrates, die-hard Apple customers buy Apple products — no matter what.
— ???????????????????? (@jesuisjoy_xo) May 18, 2018
Now that’s the kind of loyalty — and sales — you want your content to generate.
This is only possible by building a strong pre-funnel strategy that will help your content follow your customers, hand-in-hand, guiding them through the sales funnel.
Now that you’ve gotten a broad outline of what you need to know before you even consider building a sales funnel, you’re ready to move from the bucket to funnel itself.
If you want more details on how to develop a strong three-bucket topic strategy — and a sales-producing funnel — visit my comprehensive course, The Content Strategy & Marketing Course.
The 4 Fundamentals of the Content Marketing Funnel
Sales and marketing are not only about crunching numbers and researching tactics. They’re dynamic and ever-changing – just like your audience.
And there’s no reason that content marketing that drives sales, even for dry, data-heavy businesses — can’t be creative and out-of-the-box.
In a word, fun.
As Pratik Dohlakiya of Copyblogger so aptly put it:
There is no boring content, only boring content creators.
The idea of creating content brings us to the very top of our funnel – the widest part.
Before you peek over the lip of that funnel, though, you’ll want to tackle the most critical task for this segment — finding your audience.
1) Build It So They Will Come
You want to build your funnel so that your audience is irresistibly drawn to take the next step in the customer’s journey — the journey that will lead them directly to your product or service.
The first step in this journey is a doozy — and it’s one of the most interesting and fun parts of how a sales funnel works — determining who your audience is.
Unfortunately, it’s one of the most often-missed steps in building a content marketing funnel that converts.
So, how do you figure out who you’re creating content for and connect them to sales?
You build a persona. The one, below, is from xtensio.
A persona is a conglomeration of attributes that make up an “average” member of your target audience. It includes demographic and psychographic elements.
But here’s the thing — even those content marketers and brand strategists that make it this far often use outdated information for their persona.
Don’t do it.
[bctt tweet=”Don’t rely on an outdated persona. Get out there and interact with your real audience. @JuliaEMcCoy” username=”ExpWriters”]
Get out there and interact with your real audience. Explore forums and chat rooms. Meet them in person. Ask them questions on your website. Develop surveys to find out what makes them tick.
Then — and only then — can you create marketing content that leads to sales. Examples of great content marketing formats for building brand awareness are:
Blog posts
Long-form content
Guides
Interactive content
Videos
Webinars
Courses
Email newsletters
Want a real-world example of persona-centered marketing content?
You’re reading it right now.
At Express Writers, we’re not trying to only sell you a service or two in our blog posts.
We truly want you to succeed at content marketing and build an awesome sales funnel that drives traffic better than a cowboy moves Longhorns down Exchange Avenue.
Because – surprise! – that will actually prepare you to be a great client when you come our way. 😉
But, if you ever get stuck creating or need more content than you can generate, we hope that you’ll see us as a knowledgeable source of crazy good writing.
You know, the people who know so much about the realm of content marketing that you won’t have to waste time — or money — telling us how to do it.
Anyway, enough about us. So, now, you’ve defined your customer and created an entire array of targeted content just for them.
It’s strong. It’s sturdy. It’s a houseful of authoritative content.
They’re interested in you.
You’ve demonstrated your authority and they feel comfortable relying on you for accurate information on what moves them.
Time to squeeze down into the next funnel level, pulling your audience even closer to you. Think of it as a content marketing bear hug.
2) They’re Here — Now What?
You’ve got your audience thinking hard about what you offer.
But buyers are taking even longer to educate themselves before making a sales decision, so don’t rush things here.
They already buy into your authority, but now you want them to really focus on the ways that you stand out from your competition.
Often called the “consideration” phase, this time period is the perfect opportunity to publish hard-core authority pieces like how-to content, tutorial videos, and even case studies where your product or service was able to help someone just like them.
I say, “and even case studies,” but I mean, “You should really think about using case studies.”
Here’s why. In an RSW/US survey of US agency executives, client case studies and website-resident content marketing were most often used promotional tactics for generating leads, with 62.6% of respondents using them with success.
Influencer Neil Patel would agree, as he claims to have increased his ratio of deal closings by 70%. In fact, he says sales grew 185% overall by testing three case studies on his site.
If case studies don’t seem like a good match for your business, don’t sweat it. This is supposed to be fun, remember?
Besides, a brief customer success story with statistics can make a great mini-case study.
Like this one:
If you don’t have any testimonials, dig deep into product benefits and create some content that showcases them.
Put yourself into your customers’ shoes and ask:
“What would make me buy this product/service?”
Then, create content that helps them reach the decision that they need your help.
[bctt tweet=”Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and ask, what would make me buy this product or service? @JuliaEMcCoy” username=”ExpWriters”]
Think interactive (fun!) content, as it packs more punch.
This kind of content, which can include quizzes, configurators, apps, assessments, and more generates conversions at 70%, rather than the 36% seen with passive content.
And, let’s face it. Interactive content boosts the fun factor on your website — and boosts sales and engagement as well.
There are easy ways to create stunning infographics and interactive content without having to spend hours searching images only to end up with something that looks cobbled together.
Here’s a link to some of those tools. You’re welcome!
And here’s an example of a piece of fun, interactive content made up by Orbitz to appeal specifically for their business traveler persona.
Remember, you can still be picking up cues regarding pain points at this point of the funnel.
This isn’t the time to be shy — step right up and tell your clients how your strategy can help them tackle their pain points and problems.
During this phase, you’ll start narrowing your focus, honing your product or service down to its most important attributes.
This narrowing process further squeezes your audience through the funnel, weeding out the tire-kickers and ho-hum shoppers and leaving you with a core group of hot prospects.
Now, the real fun begins! Ready?
3) The Big Finish: How Content Marketing Leads to Sales
Your audience is primed.
They know they’re interested in what you’re selling — you just need to offer them a bit more content to get them to take the final step in the sales funnel — conversion.
You finally get to make a direct pitch.
It’s the place that puts the “sales” in “sales funnel.”
Here, you can show how your products or service clearly help your clients solve their problems by outlining your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) as clearly as possible.
This is the perfect place to put all those glowing testimonials, video clips of satisfied clients, and screenshots of online reviews. Like this one:
And don’t forget a clear call-to-action (CTA).
For content marketing to increase sales, you must include direct requests for customers to purchase, click, download, or engage.
[bctt tweet=”Don’t forget a clear CTA with a direct link to a clear action. @JuliaEMcCoy” username=”ExpWriters”]
4) The Fun Never Ends — How to Increase Retention and Sales with Content Marketing
Strong relationships with your customers are not only fun — they’re profitable.
[bctt tweet=”Strong relationships with your customers are not only fun – they’re profitable. @JuliaEMcCoy ” username=”ExpWriters”]
While you a new customer might buy something 5% of the time, a repeat customer will make a purchase 60%-70% of the time.
That translates into higher ROI, so repeat customers should be a goal. This picture from smile.io gives you another way to look at it.
There it is. The more customers buy — the more they buy!
And there are other things you can do at this stage to improve ROI.
For example, even if you reduce customer loss (when your customers decide to stop doing business with you) by just 5%, you will increase revenue by 100%.
And marketing costs? Check this out — a customer retention rates of just 2% more translate into 10% less cost in marketing.
Now, that’s ROI in action.
And when you’re learning how to design a sales funnel, it’s the cherry on the top, or in this case, the bottom, of the funnel.
Content you create for your die-hard fans is some of the most rewarding of all, a nice way to celebrate helping your clients achieve their dreams and solve their problems.
Examples of content that drives loyalty includes:
Special offers
Email outreach
Insider tips and tricks
Special offers
Customer support and help documentation
And what’s totally cool about this final process is that through learning more about your audience through outreach and support, you’re adding to an environment where sales and content marketing become fully integrated.
Because the new pain points and problem areas you discover through outreach will allow you to create even more targeted content that can drive future sales.
This screenshot from Wordstream says it all:
Your outreach may even touch a nerve for some of the clients you lost in the middle of the funnel and sweep them back along for the ride.
From Bucket to Funnel: Your New Roadmap for a Content Marketing Sales Cycle that Performs
Now you’ve got a new, exciting way to guide your visitors through your sales funnel with dynamic, proven content marketing strategies.
Take these tips and individualize them to your process for best results!
If you want to really dig deep into how to create — and deploy — this kind of sales-producing strategy, visit my comprehensive course, The Content Strategy & Marketing Course.
You’ll find everything you need to know laid out for you in brilliant detail to make getting sales-funnel savvy easy — and of course, fun!
Don’t let an uninspired content marketing and sales funnel interfere with getting the highest ROI possible — learn to create content and planning for all stages of the customer sales funnel lifecycle and watch your business boom.
If you’re in the market to learn more about SEO content writing, you need my new course. Sign up to get notified when it launches here.
