Let’s face it.
Getting traffic, maintaining traffic, and creating content they come back for—and keeping that cycle thriving for years—is hard work.
Yet this is something we’ve been able to achieve successfully, day in and day out, at Express Writers.
We’re a content writing agency that does what we do best for ourselves, before we sell it to others—creating winning online content that brings revenue, markets a business, and informs and helps an audience.
Since I launched my website with a $75 investment in May 2011, Express Writers has relied on creating content for ourselves and publishing it online, organically, as the #1 source of all our leads, marketing, and revenue. We’ve focused on creating content without a thought to a sales funnel: and we’ve never paid a penny to advertise our services on Google. (You heard that right. We’ve never, once, invested in PPC. And the publications I write content for, guest blogs, don’t pay me a direct paycheck.)
Instead, we’ve just focused on writing and publishing useful, outstanding content, on our site, consistently. Consistent guest blogging. Creating a Twitter presence that rocks out organically.
Call me crazy, untypical, you-name-it… but it’s worked for us—extraordinarily well.
I’m about to reveal it all to you, in a case study I sat down to create across a five-week span.
We Are Our Own Success Story: How We at Express Writers Dominate Online & Outrank Competition Through Our Content
Our major form of marketing is the actual service we sell: well-written, engaging, optimized online content.
And for the first time, I’m pulling back the curtain in a major case study where we’ll reveal exactly where we stand with content, how we fare against our biggest competitors, and much more. (I’m using a pro account at SEMrush to pull every analytic.)
Here’s a quick table of contents, so you know what’s coming:
Ready for this? Sit back—you’re in for a ride!
What does our organic online presence look like vs. competition?
A five-year-old company (launched May 2011), we outrank our major competitors on average by 5% on Google. Check out this graph:
We’ve climbed to over 4,100 total keyword rankings in Google. Our estimated worth of traffic and rankings is at $13,200 (what we’ve have to spend to achieve these rankings through sponsored ads).
(Don’t worry about that dip in traffic. I have an upcoming post, How I Lost 30% of My Organic Rankings & Traffic (On Purpose) & Added 25% Additional Monthly Revenue By Going After the Traffic I Wanted, coming out soon to explain.)
Over 300 keywords are indexed in the top 10 of Google (example in point, this is from the bottom of page 3, 100 results per page, in SEMrush):
Back to our competitors. Here’s what a real-life look at our keywords vs. theirs look like—on Google, two out of four of our competitors don’t even have a presence for the keywords we rank #1 for:
Overall, at first glance it looks like there is an extremely oversaturated market if you Google “writing agencies,” but only a few are worth really comparing ourselves to. Their funding: One of our two major competitors gained $700,000 and another $4.5 million for funding since launching in 2011; and the second competitor has been around for over 16 years, raising a private amount of seed funding in 2011. Our funding: We have zero investors. We don’t have a penny in outside funding. Yet we’re doing big things. I started Express Writers in May 2011 with a pocket investment of $75. It was a five-minute business idea born from a huge load of personal freelance writing I didn’t want to turn away. I learned how to code my first website; today, Josh McCoy leads our branding, building, and all our new upcoming development has been personally funded by ourselves. And without any outside funding, we’re launching a custom-built, 200% more efficient Content Shop that we’ve developed from scratch—coming out end of 2016/early 2017. Hand-in-hand with this will be the launch of custom writer team room systems we’ve built as well. (Get on the notification list for the upcoming launch!) And Josh is knee-deep in launching a boon to all content creators, Copyfind, which will offer the deepest content checking search for originality that’s on the web. (Get on that notification list here!) Yes, we have a lot about to launch. 😛
Today, we serve more than 1,000 clients worldwide, and we easily handle 300 pages in a given week. And we outshine most of our competitors’ quality because of a very personal, one-on-one mentoring environment we’ve given our writers—and because of incredibly dedicated, uniquely qualified experts I’ve been able to hire for our management staff.
I won’t lie: to stay personally funded, I’ve put in many an 80-hour work week on my part, and invested 65% to 100% sometimes of our net profits from the company back in. It’s been hard to find good people, but thankfully, today I have just those people. It’s all been worth the intensive hard work to see growth happen this way. Organically, from hard work, without a huge million-dollar bank account solely responsible for and behind the growth—as is the reality with many, many other VC companies.
How does our content perform?
We have over 785 published blogs on our site, with the first one published live on our WordPress site in September 2012. The average word count of each is 1,500 (with the highest blogs at 3,700 words, and the lowest around 500—we’ve actually been working on adding more content to the shorter ones now). Our two most-shared posts are a blog published in December 2015, on how to do a website audit—coming in at 1k shares. An episode on my podcast with Sujan Patel, published in March 2016, coming in at 800+ shares. (But I don’t think shares mean everything! Here’s why.)
The traffic, lead, and conversions that subsequently happen from our organic rankings bring in 90% of our company revenue. That’s right. That’s a six-figure gross yearly amount. The other revenue is brought in through cold lead outreach, a unique strategy I’ll be unveiling soon in another guest blog. We’ve seen five-figure clients (including big brands) walk in through our door of organic rankings in Google; we’ve created client relationships through organic connections on social media, and have seen four-figure client conversions come in without sales pressure from those that have read my guest blog content.
We’ve never bought a single PPC ad, we’ve never relied on sponsored content, and I’ve never created a single sales funnel—instead, our organic content presence brings in thousands of clients to Express Writers every year.
You might call me crazy for not making sure a sales funnel exists, but here’s the thing: I’m so busy creating relationships and the content that is behind those relationships, that I don’t have time or even need to worry about making sure a marketing or sales funnel process is there. My blog CTAs are as simple as a unique, well-written text link back to our Content Shop on the end of a blog post.
Curious as to how we do it? Here’s the organic content marketing process I’ve followed, fully unveiled for the first time!
Our #1 Source of Marketing & Traffic Is In Consistently Creating a Ton of In-Depth, Long Form Content
Full disclosure here. We create a lot of content to win in content marketing. The majority is on our site, but our publishing schedule includes guest platforms that I blog on, too. Let’s look at how and where we’re publishing content, and where it’s gotten us.
A Split-Focus and Total of 32 Long-Form Pieces/Month Across the Web: A Huge, Consistent Amount of Quality Content (Quality over Quantity)
For the creation part, I write over 30 blogs monthly (average of each post is 2,000 words) with the help of some of my best team members, who guest author on our site. Primarily, 20 of these blogs go to our site. (You want your best content to be on your own real estate!) The other 10-12 get spread across various high-quality, large audience guest blog networks.
In-depth, specific research is key to a great topic and a great piece, and the actual writing requires time and team effort.
For the research part, I’m always on BuzzSumo, and looking up keywords in SEMrush and KWFinder to see what’s being talked about and asked the most (questions on Quora) in our industry, consistently. I’m also in Twitter chats to see what people talk about and ask each other questions on. I use all this community/research activity to find the best questions, create blog topics and then focus on highly in-depth blogs that fully answer the question in the topic.
Here’s what our EXACT content amounts and publishing times look like:
1. 20 Blogs/Month: How We Publish Content on Our Own Site (A Blog A Day, Except for Weekends)
We publish a content piece every day on our site except for weekends (5 blogs/week). Every post goes live at midnight (00:00 on WordPress scheduling) the day of. Here’s the kinds of content that involves:
I post 2-3 times a week on our own blog, with posts that range from 1,500 words minimum to 4,000 (with custom created visuals, screenshots, and even GIFs included in each). Each post I write takes about a week. I backdate my content and stay a week ahead by devoting onefull dayjust to writing, planning, and creating content. I start a whole line of new posts instead of just writing one, and flip back between documents to pen down a flow of ideas that should go in various channels. I type fast, so I can finish up to five half pieces in a day, then wrap them all up the next full day of content creation. (Sound scary? This is a unique process that I’ve found that works for me—after five years of blogging every week. My typing speed is 150 wpm.)
We just opened our blog to internal team member guest authors only (no outside bloggers). We feature 1-2 intensive guest blogs weekly from our full-time copywriters, social media managers, and strategists.
Once/week, Rachel creates and posts our Twitter chat recap. It’s always near 1,000 words. Keep in mind it’s full of tweets, which are already indexed in Twitter.
You’re already heard about our organic presence with our site, but here’s a recap: we’re at 2,600+ organic visitors monthly from 4,100 keywords, more than 300 of which are in the top 10 of Google.
I audit and review our content in the rankings weekly. Once a week, I pop in to SEMrush and check out what ranks, for what keyword. If the content is at all crappy, it gets an update! (Case study coming out soon on how I’ve been successful at auditing old posts.)
2. 12 Content Pieces/Month: How We Rock Out Guest Blogging (The ROI Is Greater Than A Paycheck)
If you would have told me “blogging for free” was worth a TON of money, in the beginning I would have laughed at you. Because I needed the paycheck then, not the exposure.
But today, the exposure is worth far more than a paycheck.
And that’s why I guest blog for free. A lot.
Personally, I limit myself to about 12-13 pieces per month. I may take on one or two more channels next year, but not many more. I’ve learned that a guest blog on an amazing platform like Search Engine Journal (with nearly a million high-value, relevant readers) is worth more in potential leads that will buy our services, than if I dilute and post five blogs that week among other channels like Social Media Today, Business 2 Community, etc. And if I tackle more, I easily get overwhelmed and lose sight of devoting quality on each one.
Here’s where I currently guest blog—I recently got accepted to the HuffingtonPost, and go live on Copyhackers in October!
Social Media Examiner: 1 piece every other quarter (I’m working on improving that, a new piece here is coming out in October)
Grammarly: I guest blogged here twice. Didn’t see results from the audience at all, despite high shares (not a marketing audience), so I stopped last year.
Copyhackers: My first blog will be live in October!
The Life Cycle of One Impactful Piece of Content
To emphasize just how impactful online content really can be, I’d like to walk you through a real lifecycle of one organic piece of guest blog content I published. This piece of content returned 100x on the content investment.
Before I show you this, keep in mind one thing: my guest blogging isn’t just a one-time post, but most of the time, it’s an ongoing column. That’s preferential for me, because of the opportunity an ongoing presence affords: a much more sustainable, long-term way to build reputation, traffic, and leads, as you’ll see from this very example.
Let’s take a look at a $5,000 sale that happened five days after someone read my column at SiteProNews.
January 1, 2015: my article How to Create Shareable, Likeable and Organic Content goes live on SiteProNews.
2:25 PM: We received this contact form. (Names blurred out. We’ll call our lead Dave.)
By January 26, after several email conversations and custom project bids from our staff, Dave purchased expert copy, our content planning, and enough content for several sites at a worth of $5,000!
A Success Story or Two: How We Implement Our Own Success Strategies for Our Clients’ Content
The content success strategy I use for our own content marketing is something I take to the bank, teach my writers, and implement for use in writing our own clients’ content.
We write everything, from bulk SEO content for agencies to resell to their clientele, to expert copy for niche firms. And in every piece we create, we implement these strategies: I teach every single writer in my team with internal, exclusive guides at Express Writers built by my staff and I the essence of great online content. From writing a meta description that reads as well as an online ad (because hey—it’s the organic PPC of Google!), to writing a blog that is oriented to the audience and uses the keywords naturally. We don’t fail: we have a 99% success rate because of the exclusive, personally mentored quality of our writers and their content. I can bet you anything that no other agency treats their writer base like we do ours.
And it’s not just a nice theory. We hear time and time again from our own clients that the content we write for them returns on investment.
Here’s a success story from one of our clients, Tom Dean, IT at www.andersonhemmat.com. For this Colorado based attorney website, we wrote brand new site pages to refresh their site; blogs; and press releases. Their results after we rewrote their content? They went up ten pages in the SERPs! With the blog posts we wrote, they also saw steady and increasing rankings in the SERPs. Our content made a tremendous difference!
Tom said:
“We’ve seen a huge jump in web traffic because of the great content you’ve done for us. We’ve gone from page 12 organic to page 2 organic since the site update. The main reason I find the content a successful investment is ROI. It costs very little to have you guys write something but in the long run if it’s on the web and written with SEO in mind it will help our rankings and possibly go viral.”
SnapInspect was another client of ours. By starting their brand new blog out with a consistency of two blogs per week minimum across six months, we were able to help them grow from a zero presence on Google to a subscriber list, active readers, social media followers, and a presence in the top five pages of Google.
There you have it! Our own clients are succeeding online with the content we write that is specifically targeted to perform well. Not just in the SERPs, but with readers.
Now, how have we been able to be successful with our content? I’m going to delve into a few strategies before revealing the last part of how we dominate online—on social media, specifically Twitter.
How to Be Consistent with Great Content
I’ve heard an echoing statement among bloggers that consistency is hard.
But the key in all of this is staying fresh, being relatable to the audience in your industry, and being consistent.
The balance? Never publish rushed, but publish as much as you can while staying within quality.
Time is what you need. If you don’t have time, a resource you can trust.
Spend the extra day to proofread, if it’s late at night and you just aren’t proofing it as thoroughly as you’d like. I’d describe my consistency of publishing as a careful balance between two constant thoughts:
The Thursday I don’t publish content is a missed content opportunity. (Thursday is one of our best posting days: early in the morning, a lot of people seem to be reading blogs.)
The Thursday I publish rushed, non-proofread content, is the Thursday I should not have published content.
What has significantly helped me in creating amazing content is to set aside one day called my “content” day. Seriously. If you are a blogger or online content marketer, you need to do that. There’s no other way.
Till the day you can hand the process off to a trusted resource, you need to allot one day to content creation. Plan your topics then. Finalize drafts. Create new drafts. Never create and publish one piece in one day. You can take breaks and create new pieces of content to break it up, but never, ever write and publish one whole piece in one single day. I never knew how much a fresh eye really mattered till I spent four weeks on one piece of content! (This piece you’re reading—six weeks. Probably my longest to-date.)
How Do We Successfully Guest Blog? 4 Simple Strategies
How do I pitch to the right platforms, and perfect the right customized content for each one?
My “secrets” to guest blogging are fairly simple. It’s a novel in and of itself, but to sum up, top strategies: 1. Less is more: I’ve noticed that if I focus on less channels, I can present better quality on each. Plus, a few top channels are worth their weight in gold, and sometimes that’s all you need to bring in serious ROI from the blogging you do. 2. Find platforms that align with who your ideal online customer is: It’s all about the right platforms—find ones with a huge audience, and readers that align with your ideal lead demographic. 3. Make a relationship with the right person: This is key in actually getting through and being published on your ideal guest blog. Think of the blog as a person you need to connect with, not an entity. This is how I made all of my guest blog spots happen (all!), from my CTO Josh personally finding Kelsey Jones, myself being invited on the #MarketingNerds podcast, and getting invited to write for Search Engine Journal, to connecting with Joanna Wiebe by offering her a podcast spot, and then getting a “yes” on the guest blog draft I sent her. Never put time and effort in a contact forms—always find a person to contact! Sometimes starting the relationship can be as simple as finding the right “managing blog editor” to contact, following them on Twitter, and tweeting or DM’ing. 4. Always give your best, most in-depth, most useful content, oriented to the guest blog audience: If you’re writing for Business Insider, for example, you don’t want to be as conversational and story-like as if you were pitching to the Huffington Post. A technical voice might do better there. Find the guidelines for each platform, and follow them to a T. Go beyond by using the right tone that fits their audience! When making points, use screenshots. Don’t short any point you make. Be as in-depth as you can!
#2 Major Way We’ve Built Up Our Online Reputation: Domination on Twitter With #ContentWritingChat, Joining Other Chats, & My Best-Selling Book
Besides content creation, which is truly our fundamental source of valuable rankings and organic traffic, we maintain a strong presence on social media, specifically on one of my favorite social platforms of all time—Twitter.
Back in January this year, on the very first Tuesday in January, I made a resolution to launch a Twitter chat. I researched a hashtag for my chat, settled on #ContentWritingChat, and registered the hashtag to @ExpWriters Twitter handle on Twubs. I created a Twitter chat account specifically for the chat, @writingchat, as well, and started following everyone I knew, as well as major influencers, from that account. My key strategy was to a) hire help! I have had a social media manager run the chat since I started it, from @ExpWriters account. Our current one is Rachel. She’s been with me since the first month of the chat! b) remind everyone who is interested, via Twitter. Rachel takes care of that as well. Reminders are a huge way to get people to hop in your chat!
The serious evolution of our graphics, which you might notice—check out the first chat graphic, and then our last one in October with Joe Pulizzi—is because I was doing them in Canva at the beginning. Now, we have an amazing in-house graphic designer who creates our weekly featured Twitter chat graphics and the blog recap graphics. Our Social Media Specialist, Rachel, creates the Tuesday questions (eight total) on writing-related imagery backgrounds in Canva.
Our last Twitter chat was with Joe Pulizzi himself!
Here’s a short timeline of the fast-track success we’ve seen happen from it:
#ContentWritingChat day 1, month 1: we climbed to #42 trending on Twitter!
Month 6: we were trending at #9 and #11!
Month 7: we were #4 on Twitter! Major influencer Brian Fanzo said yes to guest hosting one session this month.
Month 9: Major influencer Joe Pulizzi from Content Marketing Institute joined our chat to guest host!
Month 9: We pulled in a sponsor! I traded a live sponsored spot during our Twitter chat for extensive discounts on tickets to a Search Engine Journal event.
We’re at 1,000+ tweets from people around the globe during our live hour now! Want to learn more about my Twitter chat strategy? Listen in to the podcast I recorded about it with our Social Media Specialist, Rachel.
A Presence in Other High-Ranking Twitter Chats Brings in the Leads
Another way we’ve significantly grown our presence is through joining other Twitter chats. Check out the guide from Rachel with 8 chats that we love. One chat that has a huge presence is Madalyn Sklar’s #TwitterSmarter. We’ve received offline chat messages from interested people clicking through to our site, like this one, from our participation in her chat:
Get in Twitter chats, if you’re a marketer! Or pay your social media person to join for that live hour. You might just find a potential client relationship. It’ll be worth your time.
How Do We Fare on the Other Platforms?
I won’t lie. Our Facebook is a bit dead: I’ve often considered following in Copyblogger’s steps of killing their Facebook page. I still might do it unless we can hand it over to someone who revives our Facebook. We occasionally get the interested writer and client who messages here, so I don’t want to entirely kill it yet. However, I do have a Facebook group, Learn Online Writing, which I’ve grown to just under 140 members. It’s a tight-knit community that mostly comes from my book readers, staff and writers.
Our Instagram, @expwriters, has grown significantly since I created it in August of 2015. We have over 1,800 followers, and we get about 50 likes and 3-5 comments per post. A lot of the traffic on Instagram comes from our Twitter chat followers! Rachel does a great job at summarizing our blogs with unique <100 word summaries and posting that in a new Instagram post, with a themed blog visual specifically made for Instagram, created by our lead designer.
How Publishing My Book Brought Us Organic Leads
I spent literally a year of my life (all of 2015) writing a book that’s out on Amazon, So You Think You Can Write? A Definitive Guide to Successful Online Writing. It’s maintained #3 bestseller in it’s category since it launched mid-April, 2016—a feat because I haven’t been able to advertise it outside of emailing my list, sponsoring one tweet, and telling my social platforms about it!
Here’s what I’ve seen come through the forms… “I want Julia to write my content. Can I get her? She wrote her book really well and that’s why I’m here at Express Writers. I want her to write my book.” After a good chuckle, I told the lead he was in the best hands possibly with our mentored, trained writing staff! He was very pleased with the content results. We’ve had other leads that turned into clients because they read my book and were impressed, as well as writers come in to apply after reading and learning from my book. I’ve also used it as education among our own team writers.
I also have a podcast out, but it’s been hard to quantify results. I’ve had 4,000 downloads since launching it as well in April. I’ve had several appearance and interview opportunities occur because of it, and have gotten on the radar of some of my favorite influencers (an episode with Mark Traphagen will go live this October, and I’ve had the chance to interview Joanna Wiebe, Sujan Patel, and Steve Rayson)! If anything, podcasting has been a major tool in connecting with influencers for me.
Have We Spent a Penny on PPC Ads?
Not one. Ever.
Social ads?
We just started delving into Facebook and Twitter ads for the first time ever and have barely spent $75. (We’ll spend more when I launch our first-ever webinar, coming up soon.)
I belly laugh every time I think of the $75 we just started spending on ads, versus the huge organic results we’ve had so far.
Here’s what I’m going to tell you that’s solid advice to achieve a solid, strong customer base out of your online presence: it really isn’t about advertising anymore. It isn’t about creating a funnel and a sales process on rinse and repeat.
It’s about relationships. Creating meaningful content. Building a community, over time. Answering questions. Helping people.
And that’s what we’ve managed to focus on, and grown to be successful in, here at Express Writers.
Time, effort, and people (amazingly creative people) to help you out—these are the major tools you’ll need to replicate my process.
Coming back to the same piece after an hour or a full day gives you a whole new lease on your content. Typos, grammatical whoopsies, and flow issues are a few things you’ll spot in a literal second after you give your eyes (and fingers) a break from the keyboard.
In today’s content world, delivery is critical.
It could mean the difference of someone reading your content, or not.
So, whether you’re a seasoned writer or a novice, it’s important to know where you need to improve — all without wasting too much of your time.
Self-editing is your key. This not only catches those pesky grammar errors and typos, but it could dramatically improve the delivery—and ROI—of your copy.
Learn 7 quick edits that will make your copy fun, engaging, authoritative, and 100% better than the first time you drafted it. Save this and next time you craft up new content, come back to our list.
Self-Editing Is A Must No Matter What Online Content You’re Writing
It doesn’t matter what you’re writing.
Landing pages, web content, blogs, or your email responses to your bestie.
Taking the time to edit and make small (but necessary) changes will make a dramatic difference in how your copy is received.
WordStream highly recommends self-editing. In fact, they recommend editing your work ruthlessly and as if you are your harshest critic.
Why?
Everyone else will read over your copy with just as much scrutiny. If you do so first, you can catch the errors and potential lackluster statements that will turn readers away.
7 Genius Edits That Make You A Copywriting Superstar
Readers today are hard to grasp. So, you need to get their attention (and do so quickly). Once engaged, you have them at your fingertips. Of course, all it takes is a single error or loss in flow to lose their attention for good.
To avoid this very hazard, here’s what we suggest:
1. Go With The Flow
Have you ever visited a website only to see a wall of text and tap the “back” button as quickly as possible?
Most internet readers will do the same when they see such a wordy travesty.
The idea of sifting through such a massacre of words isn’t appealing to even those with tons of free time on their hands. So, don’t bombard your readers. Instead, give them what they crave.
What is that?
Readers today crave organization, easy-to-digest sentences, and small tidbits. They want it all to soak in slowly.
Nothing kills it for a reader more than improper flow, and improper flow wastes an excellent article to boot.
When you’re self-editing, purposely press that “Enter” key every few sentences. Aim for one to three sentences per paragraph max. Your grade school teacher may groan, but she’s not writing online for today’s reader; and, you’re not trying to get an “A” in English Literature 101.
A few ways to improve your flow:
Vary your sentence lengths.
Avoid choppy, awkward sentences.
Get rid of fluff or needless words.
Utilize the power of transitional words and phrases.
2. Open With Something Relatable And Oh-So-Yes-Worthy
Have you ever read an opening paragraph that made you nod in agreement?
That’s your goal here.
Open up with something relatable to the reader. They found your article or blog, but now you need to remind them what they were looking for.
Touch on emotional value here, but be honest and sincere.
Susan Gunelius at Forbes wrote an excellent piece on creating brand stories with high emotional value. In her words, stories are the perfect catalyst to building brand loyalty and brand value.”
3. Break It Up — But Keep It Organized
The more you break up the content, the easier it is to digest.
By that we mean, use sub headers. Organize your thoughts into main advantages and topics, then use those key advantages for creating sub headers.
Bold them too.
Bolding points out to the reader what they need to know and what they will learn if they stick around to read what you’ve written.
4. Don’t Be Shy With The Bullet Points
Bullet points are magical for copywriting.
They break up walls of text and make them easier to take in.
Even better, they let you jet out your ideas while keeping the reader focused.
When making bullet points, think of an outline. You’re not writing a novel here.
Organize the text and make it scannable. You can bold key points and then add tidbits after that to highlight what you’ve just said.
Copyblogger’s Robert Bruce wrote an excellent blog on creating bullet points people want to read. He recommends bullet points because they keep people reading and provide a clear benefit to the reader.
5. Avoid The Clichés and Buzzwords
Clichés are used so often that they can lose their impact.
The same goes for buzzwords. Buzzwords are overused and may irritate some readers; forcing them to leave the page.
Avoid distracting people with unnecessary wording and just stick to the facts. Sure, you can add in your own personality, but if you see a cliché or buzzword in your writing, remove it immediately.
Get extra guidance on what words to use (and which to edit out) from Oxford Dictionaries Top Tips for Word Choice.
6. Convert The Passive To The Active
Passive phrases are pesky — and we’re all guilty of using them.
Sometimes you can’t help it.
But, passive voice (or the overuse of it) can kill your content.
Purdue’s Online Writing Lab defines passive voice as the subject that is “being acted upon.” You can quickly identify a passive phrase by looking for forms of “be.” Note passive voice isn’t a grammatical error; it is a style choice.
An active voice provides brevity, clarity, and assigns responsibility. So, when active voice makes sense, use it.
7. Use Second Person Instead Of The Third Person
The third person is robotic and sterile.
It doesn’t speak to the reader.
Pronouns, like “you,” “your,” and “yours” (i.e. the second person) will help the reader picture themselves in what you are saying.
Your writing becomes more intimate, and creates a connection between you and your reader when you use the second person.
Now It’s Time To Tackle Your Work With Your Copywriting Knacks
You officially have our inside secrets for better self-editing.
Of course, now is the time to take what you’ve learned and implement it.
We recommend writing up your copy and taking a break. That way you are more apt to catch pesky errors, but also you have a break from the creative role so you can hop into the editing role.
Just remember, self-editing is a skill. Similar to your writing, you need to perfect that skill over time.
By implementing these seven quick tips, you can refine your editing and improve your writing; making you one marvelous copywriter.
Need incredible copywriters for your next project? Express Writers has a team of talented writers and equally remarkable editors to create beautiful content for your site. Visit our Content Shop to see what we can do for you!
Picture this..
You have a natural knack for writing.
You can string words together and create something fun and engaging.
But, when it comes to sales copy, writing those pieces that are meant to convert every time, you can’t seem to convey what you’re thinking into the right words.
Is that you? I get it. Writing content is not the same as writing sales copy.
As a sales copywriter, you need to speak to your reader, compel them, and force them to take action.
Think of that infamous hypnotist trick. You have a group of people the hypnotist gets to cluck like a chicken, dance funny and do just about anything they want. They are the puppet master.
You want the same power, but via words.
You want someone to read your sales copy and feel entranced. Without thinking, they will click through, sign up, or call.
While we can’t teach you how to make readers cluck like a chicken (or can we?), we can share some insight and tools that will help you transform your marketing drivel into compelling copy.
Might take a little time, and practice, but once you use these tips, you will be well on your way to sales copywriting mastery.
13 Ingenious Tools And Tips To Improve As a Sales Copywriter
1. Learn How To Build Trust
No one is going to do anything you ask if they don’t trust you.
You don’t have years to gain that confidence; you have seconds. So, every word on your sales copy has to count, and it has to compel the reader to believe what you’re saying.
Tossing in a “you can trust me” statement isn’t the way to go about this either.
Instead, you need to be authoritative and savvy. Georgina Morshdy at Copyblogger shared her ten tips for building trust with the audience, and it’s quite compelling.
How Does A Sales Copywriter Build Trust?
Give away
Be reliable and don’t disappoint the audience on what is promised.
Be consistent in quality.
Incorporate customer testimonials that are genuine.
Use case studies to show success.
Do not plagiarize the ideas and styles of others.
Avoid jargon.
Give an apology when it is due, such as correcting errors if they’re present.
Offer guarantees to customers (i.e. a money back guarantee).
2. Be A Virtual Salesperson
You have a goal to make a sale, so you need to act like a salesperson.
Put on your suit and tie and pretend you are on the sales floor talking to that customer. What would you say if you were face-to-face? What features, benefits, and reasons would you be throwing at them to get them to buy?
Whether you’re selling a car, washing machine, or a service, you need to picture yourself talking to one customer (not a mass).
According to Demian Farnworth at Copyblogger, all it takes is one bad salesperson to ruin the company; and you certainly don’t want to be that guy or gal.
So, picture yourself talking to one, but selling to many.
3. Use Compelling Headlines
A great headline is one that touches on a person’s spiritual, emotional, and intellectual levels.
What sounds great to you might not sound so great to others, and it is hard to tear yourself away from your copy and look at a headline as an outsider.
Luckily, you don’t have to.
There are tools out there that help you analyze the quality and power of your sales headlines.
Take Advanced Marketing Institute’s free headline analysis tool.
They don’t just give you a score; they tell you what you should aim for as a sales copywriter, why you’ve received the score you did, and how to improve. CoSchedule also has a headline analysis tool that is also worth trying.
They break down your headline based on the number of words, keywords, emotional value, type of headline, and even preview it in the Google search results.
They dive into your headline, tear it apart, and let you know how it performs at every angle.
Do you have to use all of this information? No.
But, if there is a particular group or emotion you’re trying to strike, they may help you identify how successful you are in doing it.
Why does all of this matter?
According to Neil Patel, 90% of your advertising dollars go to the headlines. All it takes is a single word to change the click-through rate by as much as 46%. That’s rather important.
A Few More Tips For Attention-Grabbing Headlines
Include numbers
Add a creative adjective
Use call-to-action-worthy words
When you’re struggling, HubSpot’s Marina Barayeva has shared her formulas for crafting better headlines. She shares six formulas (i.e. Call-to-Action + Keyword + Promise = Headline), which help you create a compelling headline from scratch.
Give them a whirl and see if that improves your headline creation.
4. Give Readers A Reason To Act
A great sales copywriter doesn’t just tell people what to do; they give them an overwhelming reason to do it.
Your content is designed to make someone happier, healthier, richer, more successful, etc. So, use that when creating your call-to-action statement.
Tell them what they’re getting from you for taking the action you’ve requested of them.
Example:
You want people to sign up to receive your free ebook on marketing. You’ll use those email addresses to send out your monthly newsletter and hopefully receive click-through purchases later on.
Sure, you could say “sign up to get a free marketing book,” but what reason did you give other than a free product?
Instead, focus on what that free marketing book provides the user.
“Sign up to receive a free marketing book and use these tips to transform yourself into a sales expert.” Now, you’ve provided them with their benefit and reason.
5. Quit Being So Cute With Your Words
You’re all about the cutesy phrases and words.
You love to be buzz worthy and toss in a few clichés.
Too bad your readers aren’t a fan.
Sure, you can toss in a few clever phrases here and there, but look at it as a cherry on top of a sundae. There’s no need to throw in the entire jar of cherries here. All it takes is just one to sweeten the deal.
6. Stop Yelling At Your Readers
Exclamation marks are the enemy.
You may think you’re making one killer point, but all your reader sees is you yelling at them; or worse, coming off like that obnoxious salesperson on TV. Enchanting Marketing’s own Henneke discusses how the exclamation mark is not as powerful or useful as you think; in fact, she calls it the mark of a lazy sales copywriter. Instead of the exclamation mark, she recommends:
Using strategically placed pauses in your copy.
Adding more spaces in between sentences and experimenting with the flow of your content.
Posing questions instead of using exclamation marks.
7. Use Your Word Count Wisely
As a sales copywriter, you may be bound by a particular word count.
This shouldn’t strike fear in your eyes (especially when you’re being pigeon-holed into a short word count).
Instead, it should be an opportunity to build up your sales pitch while not getting too wordy.
When you’re writing short sales copy (i.e. something under 1,000 words), you don’t have a lot of white space to convince your reader to take action.
Instead, you must:
Know your target audience
Remember the power of tight and compelling copy
Be clear about what your goal is and the benefits
Tell the reader the promise early on
Include a rock-solid guarantee
Remove fluff and cut the excess
When you’re working with a longer copy, you have the opportunity to build up your audience and build up their interest. But, you have to do this wisely.
According to a stat sheet provided by HubSpot, when a post has more than 1,500 words, it receives 68.1% more Twitter shares and 22.6% more Facebook likes than a post under 1,500 words. This is a lot of power!
As we’ve already said before when you’re a sales copywriter, you’re speaking to one, but selling to many. So, if you structure and present your information just right, a long form sales copy could potentially reach more readers and customers.
Putting The Right Information Above The Fold
The term “above the fold,” used to apply to newspapers. This was the information that showed up after you opened the paper and kept reading past the captivating front headlines.
According to Moz’s Tim Allen, above the fold is highly relevant for online writing and the theory still applies today.
You must put your most interesting, captivating information above the fold so that readers scroll down to continue.
With long-form sales copy, this is a must. Moz suggests leaving clutter out. Instead, your above the fold region needs valuable information, a strong value proposition, and a clear definition of what the user is going to get from the page if they continue to read.
Be “My Person”
The inspiration here comes from Grey’s Anatomy (true fans would already know this).
To write excellent copy, you need a bond like Christina and Meredith Grey. No, we’re not saying you need to become long-term best friend’s and survive plane crashes with your readers, but it might help to picture a bond with them that has gone through all of that.
Your readers need to feel as though you know them.
You should establish a close bond with them that lets them know you understand them. Your writing must convey how you know them, dig deep into their problems, and offer solutions.
Most importantly, you should speak to them as though they are your person (e.g. your best friend). You should have a natural conversation, the words should flow, and you shouldn’t sound like a disjointed robot trying to sell an entirely unrelated product.
How Can You Be Their Person?
Boost their self-esteem
Ask questions that you know they’ll answer “yes” to
Make them feel special; as if you hand-selected them
Make the opportunity seem exclusive (even if it’s not)
Add emotional value and sentiment to your writing
9. Drop The Weasel Words
Eddie Shleyner at HubSpot said it best when he suggested to his readers to drop the “weasel” words.
Weasel words are statements that are definitive and promise something.
While you want to make guarantees to gain trust, you have to be careful about what you’re guaranteeing.
Never guarantee what cannot be delivered.
For example, promising a product will “fight” acne. What if it doesn’t?
They are empty promises that cannot be validated.
The statements themselves are delicate, and your content is weak and useless.
If you use a weasel word, make sure you can back it up with real data showing that you’re doing more than fluffing up a phrase. If you can’t, get rid of the word.
10. While You’re At It, Drop Superlatives Too
Superlatives are adjectives or adverbs that exaggerate.
Unfortunately, these are useless fluff that weakens the copy and are a common copywriting mistake.
While you make think a superlatives add power to your words, your readers take them as insincerity.
Here’s a superlative-filled statement:
“We’re here to provide you with the best service in town.”
Can you prove that you are the best?
Instead of using an empty superlative, tell the reader why they should come use your company’s service without just tossing in the word “best.”
Example:
“With us, you will receive responses within 24 hours or receive a 10% discount off your order.”
Now, you have just told the reader what they can expect, and what they get if you cannot deliver the best service.
11. Be Persuasive In Your Call To Action
The best call to action statements are irresistible.
You feel compelled to click.
Most likely you have already seen great call-to-action statements out there, and some may have already tricked you into clicking.
Take Evernote for example.
They pull you in by reminding you of something simple: inspiration happens anywhere.
As a sales copywriter, you probably already know this fact.
But, imagine being able to capture that inspiration on your phone, computer, or tablet? Evernote highlights that concern and tells you how they can fix it.
Brilliant.
Elements Of An Enticing Call-To-Action
Jeremy Smith at CrazyEgg shares his insights for creating killer CTAs after comparing tons of call-to-action statements on the web and in print. He suggests:
Including a no-obligation statement; people like when they have nothing to lose.
Encouragement to respond immediately because there’s little time to take advantage (i.e. sense of urgency).
Offer up a “why not” argument that can help you create a great CTA even when there is no sense of urgency.
Make it all about the benefits.
Lead with the CTA too — meaning toss that CTA in your headline.
12. Incorporate Stellar Sound Bites
Have you ever watched a news interview and observed how they have taken away bits that trend all over the web?
Sound bites apply to copy, too.
The best sales copywriters out there know how to sneak in these creative sound bites that make the copy easy to remember, and in some cases, easier to share.
A sound bite is easy to quote, and will be shared by other bloggers and websites, according to Social Triggers. Derek from Social Triggers highlights a particular article in their post that had a stellar sound bite. This post was shared more than 200 times on Twitter, 100 times on Facebook and took over 9,000 hits.
To create sound bites, Derek suggest:
Using the power of contrasting statements
Using the power of three (i.e. I Came, I Saw, I Conquered)
Violating the user’s expectations
13. Find Your Writing Mojo
The best sales copywriters aren’t sitting at their keyboard waiting for the words to spew out. Instead, they’re moving, thinking, and going about their lives.
They also find that magic writing hour.
Whether it is 2:00 AM or 7 AM in the morning with coffee brewing in the background, they sit down and write their first draft of copy when their writing mojo is at its peak.
Only you can decide when your writing mojo hour is, and you may have to play around with different times of the day. When you write during your optimum time, you may notice the words flow easier, you’re more conversational, and your writing is effective.
Be The Best Sales Copywriter You Can Be: Write Up Something Crafty Today
Now that you have learned 13 tidbits to improve yourself as a sales copywriter, now is the time to put them to work.
These best practices are designed for copywriters of all levels; seasoned and novice alike.
When you find yourself struggling to write something brilliant, come back to this guide and see what you might be missing.
And, always look for areas where you can improve.
If you implement these tips and activate your drive for success, you will notice your copy turns from boring drivel into compelling works of art.
Express Writers employs some of the most talented sales copywriters, and they are ready to create inspiring content for your website. Check out our Content Shop to see what we can do for your company today.
If you’re in the market to improve your copy and make your digital advertising more effective than it’s ever been, there’s one man who can offer some serious inspiration.
David Ogilvy.
One of the most successful advertisers of all time, Ogilvy is considered the father of information-dense advertising.
First, let’s look at his life story–how he started one of the most famous, industry-shaping agencies of all time without prior experience writing a single line of ad copy, and one of his most famous high-ROI ads. Then, we’ll delve into 7 key lessons Ogilvy has left with us.
Sit back and enjoy!
A Nutshell Life Story of the Inspirational Copywriting Hero, David Ogilvy
Born in 1911, the man was a literal genius, despite being a “college dropout” at England’s Christ Church, Oxford.
He could sell anything, to anyone–a skill he learned at 24 years old when he decided to quit working at his “slavish” job in a hotel kitchen. Ogilvy started selling stoves, and got everyone to buy — from nuns and drunkards.In 1935, he wrote a guide that’s been named “the best sales manual ever written,” by Fortune. One of the best quotes from the guide:
“The more prospects you talk to, the more sales you expose yourself to, the more orders you will get. But never mistake quantity of calls for quality of salesmanship.”
In 1938, he emigrated to the US from England, and worked for George Gallup’s Audience Research Institute in New Jersey. This is where he learned meticulous research methods and unique copywriting techniques. In WWII, he worked with the Intelligence Service in Washington, where he wrote a ton of high-level content, making recommendations on matters of diplomacy and security.
He applied techniques he learned at Gallup into a report for the fields of secret intelligence, which was picked up by Eisenhower’s Psychological Warfare Board and successfully put to work at Europe during the final year of WWII.
Without a single ad penned in his lifetime, but simply a natural talent in sales, he came on and dominated the ad copywriting scene in the early 50s. After a quiet few years living with the Amish in Pennsylvania, Ogilvy founded the New York-based ad agency Hewitt, Ogilvy, Benson & Mather in 1948 (which later evolved into Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide). He launched with financial aid from London-based Mather & Crowther. He had never written an advertisement in his life, and in their first twenty years, Shell gave him their entire business; Sears hired him for their first national ad campaign; and other clients included Lever Brothers, General Foods and American Express. It became to a point where Ogilvy said:
“Getting clients was like shooting fish in a barrel.”
One of his most famous ads was also one of his most unorthodox ones. He believed in spur-of-the-moment inspiration, and on a whim decided to take on a small-budget client, a shirtmaker from Maine, in 1951. Within a week after the following ad went live, featuring Ogilvy’s “whim” of using an eyepatch on the model, every Hathaway shirt was sold out.
He passed away in 1999, at 88 years old. Sadly, his two greatest dreams never came true: he wanted ten children (he only had one), and he wanted knighthood (he was made commander of the British empire, close enough, in 1967). He was also inducted in the US Advertising Hall of Fame in 1977.
The copywriting lessons he’s left with us have stood the tests of time and apply just as much today as they did in Ogilvy’s lifetime.
Let’s dissect a few.
7 Mantras for Better Copywriting, Courtesy of David Ogilvy
Prepare to be inspired by some of Ogilvy’s finest statements.
1. Invest the time in continually learning how to write well
If there’s one quote he’s said that rings 100% true with the process of my writing career, it’s this one.
Most people who are attracted to copywriting have at least some experience with writing.
Whether that’s an English degree or a past as a high school journalist, writing experience comes in all shapes and sizes.
However, even the best writers need continual practice in order to hone their craft and excel at writing.
With this in mind, never stop working to improve your craft. Read books, take seminars, and study the masters. Not only will your writing improve, but your scope of knowledge will, as well.
2. Learn who you are writing for
According to Ogilvy, researching the competition, product, and customer is critical for long-term copywriting success.
While virtually anyone can create copy, only truly skilled copywriters who have invested the effort into learning their market can create targeted, highly effective content that influences audiences and sells things.
3. Do your homework and know what you’re writing about, but don’t be afraid to break the rules
Good writing is harder without a great plan and the right research, which Ogilvy says so well.
Yet, as Ogilvy puts it (and as he put to real life use in his work), don’t be afraid to break the rules–never abide by one set of rules:
For best results, ensure your outline has the following components:
1. A headline. Your headline should capture your reader’s attention and make them want to click into your content. Boring, dry headlines need not apply here.
2. A sub-headline. This sub-headline is designed to offer a simple explanation of what you (or your content) does and for whom it does it. Perfect for converting the on-the-fence reader, this can help boost your conversions hugely.
3. Plenty of quality visuals. Use your outline to determine where you’ll place visuals and what the visuals will support. In addition to boosting your audience’s understanding of a topic, visuals also make content more compelling and can serve to improve its shares on social media.
4. A bulleted list of key points. To make your content outline as effective as possible, include a bulleted list of key points. (You can focus on creating a listicle or how-to, two hot forms of content, this way.) This helps you ensure you’re not leaving anything out while also serving to organize your content.
5. An outline of your call to action. To cap your outline off, include a sketch of your call to action. Remember that each call to action you write should be unique to your content and relevant to the specific piece you’re publishing.
4. Avoid being a bore in your writing
In the words of Ogilvy himself, “the worst fault a salesman can commit is to be a bore.”
With this in mind, take pains to ensure that your content is interesting and engaging rather than uninspired and boring.
While this makes your content more fun for your readers to interact with, it can also serve to strengthen your brand voice and help you define your tone, approach, and audience.
Keep in mind that peoples’ attention spans are limited, as is their time, so they don’t have the resources or energy to wade through dense, dry content. As such, it’s your job as a copywriter to create unique, meaningful content they want to interact with.
5. Make your content as specific as possible
Specific content performs better, and Ogilvy learned throughout his career that being more specific provides more value for the reader and more relevance for the audience.
With this in mind, bring specificity into every facet of your content creation – from your headline to your body copy.
This will boost your authority and help you stand out as a leader in your industry. In the words of the master himself, “The more informative your advertising, the more persuasive it will be.”
6. Write to one person and one person only
Possibly the most valuable lesson Ogilvy has to teach is to write your content as if you were writing to one person.
Here are his words on the matter: “When people read your copy, they are alone. Pretend you are writing to each of them a letter on behalf of your client.”
By breaking your target audience down into individuals rather than one massive group, you can create more personalized content that serves your readers more effectively.
7. Write to your readers’ level
I don’t think this could have been said any better.
Seriously: the best advice any content creator starting out could get is the tip where they should create to their audience’s level. Speak in their words.
Not speak down, or up, or some other descriptive nonsense—but in their language.
Improved Copywriting: Be Inspired, Have Fun, & Break Traditional Rules Starting Now
There you have it!
Seven amazing tips from the living, breathing legend that is David Ogilvy.
Remember:
Being a copywriter means being a lifelong student.
Improve your online content and your skills as a writer all at once by taking inspiration from the greats.
Today, long-form content rules the roost.
But here’s what you didn’t know: could the head honcho in said roost quite possibly be the ebook?
Today, the average content length of material that ranks #1 in Google sits at 2,450 words (see more stats on long-form content).
While many people put out long-form blog posts, ebooks are a fantastic way to provide long-form content that does what most long-form blogs don’t—or an amazing way to build a “content upgrade” onto an existing post.
In addition to the fact that ebooks are ideal for providing relevance and value for consumers, they’re also a highly trusted form of content that has the potential to boost the image and authority of your brand hugely.
Let’s discuss how you can improve your brand across the board by creating compelling business ebooks.
[bctt tweet=”Learn how to improve your brand across the board by creating compelling business #ebooks. ?” username=”ExpWriters”]
Why Business Ebooks, & Why Now
Right now, 57% of marketers think that ebooks are a very effective marketing tactic.
Even back in 2013, 34% of B2B marketers were using ebooks, and that number has exploded since then.
In addition to their widespread use and perceived effectiveness (one study revealed that including a free ebook download on a website could increase conversion rates by 10.8%), there’s also the fact that ebooks are easy to produce, highly interactive, convenient for users, and in-depth enough to offer real value on a particular topic, concern, or problem.
Readers love the comprehensive, easily accessible approach to a particular topic that is the ebook.
One ebook has the opportunity for far more traction than one long-form content piece. Why?
You can create a landing page for your ebook which can be re-shared, and re-linked to in multiple blog pieces, social media posts, and landing pages
The best part: you get personal email addresses every single time someone wants to get a copy (time to do some email marketing and start conversion funnels to your readers’ inboxes!)
While most people imagine ebooks to be cheap or sales-y, the modern marketing-centric business ebooks of today are highly researched, well thought-out pieces of material that include things like graphics, links, important stats, and truly useful information.
Because of all of these things, ebooks claim a unique position that allows them to drive leads to a brand and make it easier than ever before for companies to enjoy the traffic, conversions, and engagement that long-form content so often produces.
How to Create Your Own Highly Successful, In-Depth Business Ebooks
There’s plenty to be gained from a great business ebook, and marketers who want to produce them successfully need to follow several steps:
1. Develop a plan for your upcoming ebook
Because ebooks are often several thousand words long, it doesn’t behoove anyone to go into the project blindly. Instead of assuming that you can just write the ebook as you go, sit down and develop a plan right now.
For your plan to function well as a guide throughout the writing process, it will have to cover a few key points.
These are as follows:
Topic. First of all, you’ll have to decide which issue you’re going to tackle in the ebook and how you’ll approach it. To flesh this out, consider consulting your Q&A section or the comments on your blog or social media pages. More likely than not, readers are already giving you a great glimpse into the type of content they’d like addressed, and paying attention to these sections can provide valuable insight into the direction of your book.
Target audience. Once you’ve decided on your topic, you’ll need to determine who your ebook is directed at. If you don’t already have a target audience or a series of target personas drawn up, take some time to do that now. This is a simple step, but it’s one that will ultimately impact the effectiveness and relevance of your ebook.
Target keywords. Ebooks are more impactful when they’re optimized for SEO. To ensure that your ebook makes a splash with your readers, research your target keywords before you drop into the writing process. By researching keywords and discovering which ones your readers are searching for, you’ll be much more readily able to deliver highly targeted content that appears in search results and can go a long way toward boosting your conversions.
General outline. Aside from the things mentioned above, your ebook plan will also need to include a general outline of the content you’re proposing to cover. Consider drawing up a map of sections; content included, sources, and key points. While this may seem unneeded, it can be an essential foundation when it comes time to write the ebook.
2. Get to writing your content
Now that you’ve developed an outline for your ebook and a plan for its execution, it’s time to start writing.
Without question, this is the most difficult part of ebook production. Writing a great ebook takes time, and you can’t expect to rush through it and turn out a quality product. Instead, spend as much time as is needed to craft a quality piece of content that displays your expertise, relevance, and authority.
If you don’t have time to write the ebook on your own, consider hiring professional copywriters to do it for you. By working with copywriters who are familiar with ebook structure and outline, you can quickly produce a quality piece of content without shouldering the burden of its creation on your own.
Once your ebook is written, it’s time to get to work editing it.
While you should be sure to read through the ebook several times on your own, you’ll also need to consider hiring a professional editor to check it through for you. This helps cut down on mistakes and ensure that your final product is a streamlined and professional as it needs to be.
Once you’ve reached this point, it’s time to begin to promote your ebook. This will make your launch easier and streamline your marketing process down the road.
3. Improve the text with visuals
The best marketing ebooks of today include quality visuals throughout. To ensure that your ebook is as useful and relevant as possible for your readers, dress up the text with quality visuals you either produce or purchase. While stock photos have their place in ebooks, you’ll be better off opting for unique, high-quality images that are relevant to your specific content.
Once you’ve peppered your content with relevant visuals, put the icing on the cake by including a compelling call-to-action at the end of your content. Examples include “Download X today,” “Like this ebook? Share it with your friends!” and “Contact us today for an X.”
4. Design a beautiful cover (or have one designed for you!)
While they say to never judge a book by its cover, many people do.
This is particularly the case with ebooks, since most people are viewing thumbnail images of a cover. If the thumbnail image is grainy or low-quality, it’s highly likely that the buyer in question won’t opt for your ebook, and will head to a separate site instead.
Because of this, it’s critical to spend the time and money needed to create a cover that actually reflects your brand. For best results, the cover should be simple, attractive, professional-looking, and consistent with the rest of your brand.
Check out the cover page we custom-designed for a client:
Stay away from kitschy covers or covers that aren’t relevant to your book’s content. Don’t rely only on stock photos, either. Our team uses a paid subscription to the Adobe suite and creates every image from scratch.
5. Publish and market your ebook
Now that the hard part is done, it’s time to get to work publishing and marketing your ebook.
Once you’ve published your ebook in either PDF or e-reader format, you have actual content to market, and it’s time to get busy doing so.
If you’ve already begun promoting your ebook, the chances are that you have an email list, or a group of followers interested already. If so, send a notification out to these fans to let them know the ebook is live and then ask them to review it once they’ve finished.
Once you’ve done that, it’s time to take steps like releasing chapters of your ebook on your blog or social platforms, sharing ebook related visuals, offering free promotional downloads, or getting industry influencers to review the ebook.
When it comes to sharing your ebook, you’ll want to spread the word on your personal website’s homepage, your blog, and all of your social media pages.
You’ll also want to consider constructing a landing page to advertise the ebook, sending out email newsletters, and writing about the ebook in guests posts on related sites.
When you combine all of these things, you’re well-equipped to create a quality, informative promotional strategy that helps your ebook go far.
The Case for Business Ebooks
Designed to be useful, relevant, informative, and highly accessible, business ebooks are the perfect marketing strategy for your company.
While ebooks can’t and shouldn’t be the only content you rely on, they’re a wonderful way to dig deeper with your audience and provide unique value that’s hard to come by in other formats.
Because of this, they’re gaining prominence throughout the marketing community and becoming virtually synonymous with successful marketers in all industries and specialties.
When You Need Amazing Ebooks – Contact Us!
Ebooks can be difficult to create on your own. Luckily, we can help. Our skilled team of marketing copywriters specializes in helping our clients craft creative, professional ebooks.
From our ebook copywriting to design services, we do it all, and we’re here to help you develop and produce an ebook that will drive leads and boost your business in the long run.
Check out what we’re capable of: see a full example ebook! Need ebook services? Request them through our Content Shop.
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