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how to use seo writing for blogs and websites

How to Use SEO Writing for Your Blog and Website to Earn More Traffic From Google (Video)

March 16, 2020/92 Comments/in Video /by Julia McCoy

With the stay-at-home mandatory isolation upon us due to the unexpected spread of coronavirus, now is a good time to watch a brand new video that gives you (real) information on how to write, structure, and publish SEO writing in a way that.

The epidemic is bringing lots of shifts.

For one, the trend of search-friendly, user-first, awesome content will emerge as no longer a trend. More like, a must-have.

Before COVD-19 and the social distancing, we were already looking at statistics like this:

71%+ of the world’s online traffic comes from a search. 3/4 of the internet is reading blogs.

Think about that for a minute…

Then think about the fact that 140 countries (WHO stat) are impacted by COVD-19. There are 195 countries in the world. This is already impacting 72% of the world’s population. 72%!

(FYI: That’s not how many are sick. Much less than that are sick. For example, in the U.S., there are just over 2,100+ cases. See the facts about actual cases via the Washington Post’s reputable, real-time graph to ease your worried heart.)

But given how much of the world this is impacting, and how many countries have made it mandatory to stay at home as much as possible…

Creating content to pull in your online audience just got 10x more valuable.

And that happens to be the topic of today’s YouTube video — a video I’ve been spending the last three weeks on creating.

In today’s brand-new YouTube video, I’m covering a valuable topic for us in the economy we’re in today: What you need to know when it comes to SEO writing for your blogs and websites, in a way that produces REAL results.

This is an evergreen how-to video built on tactical methods that work. You’ll learn evergreen strategies that you can immediately put to use to get more results and Google traffic from your blog and site content.

I’ve tested and tried these strategies over nine years and throughout 1,500 blog posts to earn over 20,000 keyword positions in Google (and that’s just on one of my five sites). Watch this video, focus in and implement these tips, and you WILL see results — guaranteed. 🔥

How to Use SEO Writing for Your Blog and Website for More Traffic From Google (Video)

…Who likes checklists? 🤚🏻 Good, me too!

This video is checklist-style, focusing on SEO writing optimization tips that work to rank your blog and website high in Google.

Let’s go!

Watch @JuliaEMcCoy check off everything you need to know to nail SEO writing for your blogs and websites in a way that produces REAL results 💯 Click To Tweet

Video Notes: How to Use SEO Writing for Your Blog and Website for More Traffic From Google

But first, a quick recap of “a day in the life of Julia.”

The last time I talked to you guys, it was book launch day for Woman Rising: A True Story. WOW! WHAT a rewarding book launch! This is my third book, the true story of escaping my father’s cult and building a life I love. It was an incredibly hard book to write, but I believe it will change and transform lives, and give hope to those who read it.

We had over 1,000 people pick up a copy from Amazon in the first three weeks since launch day February 10. We also hit #1 Amazon New Release and #1 Amazon Best Seller! My first local book signing event on February 29, at the Springhill Suites in Cedar Park, was a tremendous success.

I did all this while running my agency and my personal brand, so this past month was a bit hectic. We’re planning a roadtrip and a beach retreat when the kiddo is off of school for spring break. Time to chill a little and celebrate!

Now back to today’s video!

How to Use SEO Writing for Blogs and Website for More Traffic From Google

First, we’re going to run through the checklist, and then I’m going to switch over to my site and a high-ranking blog to show you how this was actually applied.

Example I use: My ultimate guide on my one-year-old site, Content Hacker, ranking #1 for “content marketing writer” in Google.

Step 1. Do your research before you write.

Everything in SEO writing for your blog and website begins by finding the right focus keyword. This is a must!

The top tools I recommend using are: AHrefs, SEMrush, KWFinder. Avoid using free tools. They can give you misleading data.

You can’t go wrong if you use any one of these three top tools to research your keyword.

The top two metrics to focus in on would be:

Keyword difficulty score (aim for 40 or less if you have a new site), and
High relevancy of the keyword to your actual customers/buyers.

For example, a keyword I targeted from my personal brand, Content Hacker, was “content marketing writer.” This is considered a long-tail keyword. It’s relevant to my buyers because it may down the road pull in a potential course student for me, someone searching content marketing writing advice and help. It was extremely low in keyword difficulty, so it wasn’t hard to create amazing content that ranked in #1 of Google for this.

Step 2. Create 10x content.

This step is your most important.

First, quick reminder of how to use your keywords.

Use the focus keyword as the TOPIC, & synonymous keywords throughout.

How do you find synonymous keywords? Go to Google and look up Searches Related to after plugging in your actual keyword. This works better than any tool, because you’re mining real, people-populated data.

Know WHERE to put the keywords. Keyword placement matters far more than keyword density. Keyword density is an outdated concept — forget it! Place your keywords in your:

Headlines (all H2s, H3s)
Intro
Throughout the content naturally with synonymous keywords (once per every 1-2 paras)
Conclusion

Use relevant secondary keywords to frame your H2s and H3s (also called LSI or synonymous keywords).

Here’s my checklist of important points to know in your SEO content.

Forget keyword density and think keyword placements. Your keyworde needs to be placed in headers, naturally in the first sentence, and conclusion.
Remember the focus keyword should guide your topics. Your content must be topical. Don’t get distracted! Stay on the topic.
In the meta description, keep the keyword far left at the meta title, BUT also keep it natural. Web page meta content can be a bit more branded, promotional. Use the vertical bar for cleanliness (Google reads it as a space).
- Blog Example: Meta title: How to Be a Content Marketing Writer: The Future of Freelance Writing & Meta Description: Have you heard? Content marketing will be worth $412 by 2021. Learn what a content marketing writer is, and how they could be the future of online writers.
- Web Page Example: Express Writers | Your Content Creation Writing Partner

Your subheaders should be created out of related, synonymous keywords.
The URL must be the focus keyword alone. The shorter your URL, the higher the likelihood you’re going to rank for that term.
You must mention the keyword naturally throughout your content.
Citations are critical — link out using 2-3 words to your TOP resources. This adds TRUST.
Your content quality is everything. You must create effective, helpful, guide-style content to rank well for your focus keyword.
Think of content quality as 10x content. In 2015, Rand Fishkin talked about this and coined the term 10x content. Make your content 10x better than the average.
As Pat Flynn says, write for people reading on the internet. Completely avoid boring, essay style. I have an SEO writing course that teaches you the modern-day, readable style.
Include GIFs. Emojis. Be fun. This isn’t your stuffy professor’s AP class… This is content for an online reader.
Work on your opener and closer. Remember: your conclusion paragraph should be a full conclusion with a CTA. Your opener should be a hook.

Step 3. Keep your content evergreen and optimize your images.

Finally, let’s discuss how to keep your content evergreen (so you don’t have to do heavy maintenance down the road), and how to optimize your images.

Avoid dates in headline or content. This will mean less updating and headaches down the road. If you must date (i.e. 2020 trends), come back and update the next year.
URLS should be SHORT.

Here’s how to optimize your images:

Alt text must be focus keyword, and also relate to the image.
Be very clear on what the images are in your keywords.
Rename them the keyword before and after uploading.

How to get more traffic from Google with SEO writing via @JuliaEMcCoy: 1) Research *before* you write. 🕵️‍♀️ 2) Create 10x content. 💯 3) Keep your content evergreen 🌲, and optimize those images. Click To Tweet

For more on the 6 types of content, watch: You Need These 6 Content Types For Powerful Inbound Lead Generation

Need some help? I teach The Expert SEO Content Writer Course and The Content Strategy & Marketing Course. The latter teaches you the strategy of content marketing writing and digital content creation, and I would highly recommend it to grow your fundamental knowledge. Learn more about both courses.

How to Use SEO Writing for Your Blog and Website for More Traffic From Google (Video)

See the example of my Content Hacker blog ranking #1 for the focus keyword: How to Be a Content Marketing Writer: The Future of Freelance Writing.

Are you in search of remote work? Here’s a handy link to a public post I wrote on Facebook containing resources.

Stay safe, sane, and well!

seo writing success with ryan stewart and Express Writers

SEO Writing Success: How We Helped Ryan Stewart Create Epic Content (Client Testimonial)

February 28, 2020/30 Comments/in Video /by Julia McCoy

Ryan Stewart of the SEO Blueprint had epic ideas.

He’d written about 60% of his book by the same name.

There was just one little snag.

The book wasn’t where he wanted it to be, and he wasn’t sure how to push it to the next level.

So, he reached out to me.

His book project was a collection of ten years of evergreen SEO knowledge. I’d known and followed Ryan for years, and had always been blown away by his incredible grasp on the art of good SEO. So, I knew he knew his stuff — and I knew this book had to be expert, authority-level content at a minimum.

By Ryan’s admission, writing this book was not an easy undertaking.

When we started working together, Ryan had written 30,000 words that needed editing, and was looking for between 20-30,000 words of expansion through ghostwriting. He had no time or writing patience to take his book from draft -> done.

After hiring us, he’s now getting ready to publish his book in just a matter of two weeks. (It’s available now for pre-order on Amazon.)

How did his content get to the next level?

Ryan kindly gave us permission to use his testimonial as a Write Blog feature. Let’s get into it!

@ryanwashere of The SEO Blueprint had epic ideas. 🗻 60% of his book was done. Just one little snag...finishing was HARD! Read (and watch!) how our team helped him get there in this Write Blog #client recap 🔥 👉 Click To Tweet

Epic Content Takes Epic Effort: The Process of Generating Amazing Work

“My agency doesn’t do content creation anymore,” Ryan told me.

Why? It’s a huge undertaking to create great content. There are lots of cycles of back and forth — generating, rewriting, polishing, honing, and more — all to get the content ready to go out into the world.

That’s why generating excellent content is our sole focus at Express Writers. We don’t build websites, design full pages, or build “backlinks.” We focus solely on content creation.

In our full interview, Ryan asked me how I find and retain good writers.

I shared one “secret” that still surprises many people.

In eight years of hiring and interviewing, I’ve learned to completely stop looking at experience.

Say what?

We go through thousands of resumes every month. Our efficient alternative to studying experience, which can be inflated or straight up faked on a resume, is that every writer undergoes a rigorous writing test. This helps us see writers’ actual skills. This way, we ensure we only hire writers best-equipped to create killer content.

@JuliaEMcCoy champions skills vs. experience when hiring writers. 🤯 As she says, experience can be inflated or straight-up faked on a resume. 🙅‍♀️ Click To Tweet

The cream of the crop – our creator-base of 90 writers and eight part-time editors – collaborate across time zones around the world under the supervision of our Content Manager, Korilynn. She watches deadlines and manages the editorial queue to make sure content gets through the whole process one time. And as a self-proclaimed Cat-Herder, she’s no stranger to shepherding lots of moving parts in the right direction.

When clients send us a new project, we ask the right questions so we get the right answers in specific input forms. Our writers start writing immediately. After that, it’s 5-7 days to done, depending on the timeline the client needs and the length of the content.

We only send publish-ready content, which cuts way down on revision time on the client-side.

Epic Content Can Come at an Epic Cost (But It Doesn’t Have To)

Let’s be frank: Amazing content often comes at a high cost.

“For advanced SEO…it’s really hard to find writers,” Ryan told me, “Sometimes we’ll [pay] upwards of $1,200 to get a long-form blog post written.”

For advanced SEO…it’s really hard to find writers. Sometimes we’ll pay upwards of $1,200 to get a long-form blog post written. - @ryanwashere on the difficulty of finding affordable yet skilled content writers. More on the Write Blog ➡ Click To Tweet

An average long-form blog post clocks in somewhere between 2,000 to 3,000 words. Let’s estimate high and call it 3,000 words. That’s at least 40 cents per word.

Magnify that to a book with the vast scope of about 60,000 words and you’re looking at $24,000!

Whoa.

For Ryan, we hacked that cost drastically. The project fell in the $13,000-14,000 range: roughly half the rate he was paying elsewhere.

That’s not to say we’re cheap. We just like to keep the costs in an “affordable” ballpark.

With lasting principles on essential topics like executing high-quality (read: killer ROI) SEO campaigns, Ryan’s manuscript had a message that needed to get out there.

We paired him up with one of our writers, Alexander C., a trained Authority Writer in my team.

In 3.5 months, the project was finished and publish-ready.

Ryan told me, “I can vouch for the quality [of content]. I’m really impressed… you guys have done a tremendous job. Unless you have somebody in-house, it’s definitely worth it to go out and contract a company like [Express Writers] to get the right stuff done.”

For the full video, check out Ryan’s awesome recap.

Need authority-building content? Get a quick quote in our Content Shop.

The Future is Content Marketing Writers: How to Write Content for Digital Marketing (Video)

January 20, 2020/54 Comments/in Video /by Julia McCoy

Want to learn how to write content for digital marketing, or become a content marketing writer?

You’re in a good place.

The content marketing industry has reached an incredible high: it’s about to be worth $412 billion in 2021. What’s more: 91% of B2B marketers are using and implementing content marketing. 🙋‍♀‍🙋‍♂‍

This demand naturally correlates to a demand for expert content marketing and digital marketing writers.

Content marketing is increasing as a $400+ billion industry = content marketing writers are needed!

Sadly, the fact though is that AP English and online content are two very different practices — and not enough writers are graduating with the right kind of knowledge to break into content marketing.

Despite the gap, it’s humans, not bots, who will craft the authority-driven, engaging written content that builds the trust and loyalty necessary for results.

Without content marketing writers, none of it would work.

But… what IS a content marketing writer?

What do they do?

What type of content do they write?

Who hires content marketing writers?

In today’s video, learn all about a content marketing writer, sometimes also called a digital marketing writer — and what they do! I’m going to cover easy ways that show you how to write content for digital and content marketing. This is a trade I taught myself back in 2011, and a method I’ve personally used full-time to grow four businesses. Let’s get into it!

The Future is Content Marketing Writers: How to Write Content for Digital Marketing (Video)

The content marketing industry will be worth $412 billion in 2021 = MORE demand for expert content marketing writers! 🤯 But what's a content marketing writer? @JuliaEMcCoy defines this on-demand job and teaches you how to be one! ✍🏽 Click To Tweet

First, what IS a content marketing writer, if you define it in terms that a business looking to hire one would relate to?

A content marketing writer is an expert communicator who is responsible for creating online written content – blogs, articles, ebooks, white papers, social media copy, infographic copy, and more – that builds trust and loyalty with readers while engaging and informing them.

So if you’re a newbie writer looking to break into this space, what do you need?

Recap: 5 Ways to Become a Digital Marketing or Content Marketing Writer

Here are five points to know if you want to become a digital or content marketing writer.

1. Develop a Content Marketing Writer Background

Study the greats. I recommend reading and absorbing posts from SmartBlogger and Content Marketing Institute, and you can check out my blogs which focus on content marketing advice at Express Writer’s The Write Blog and Content Hacker.

Secondly, you need some experience! Remember, action is critical. There’s no better first step then, well, taking the first step. The best way to learn is just to get started. Make a profile on a freelance site like Upwork, Freelancer, ProBlogger, job boards, and apply to writing gigs. (We’re hiring! Send samples here.)

I wrote a guide on how to find the 50+ best freelance opportunities — check it out at Content Hacker.

2. Understand Strategic Content Marketing & Why It Matters

Get some skills under your belt.

I recommend books, courses, and classes.

I wrote Practical Content Strategy & Marketing for new marketers, writers, and entrepreneurs that want to emerge and make a real difference in this field as a growth-focused content marketer, and it was recently listed as one of the top 100 marketing books of all time by BookAuthority, and an ultimate content marketing pick by Content Marketing Institute. Those two book lists also have fantastic book recommendations in the same genre!

Ann Handley, Andy Crestodina, Mark Schaefer are top authors I recommend who will share nothing but practical, useful advice with you — a must if you’re going to work in the content marketing industry. (Be careful. There are a lot of ‘fluff’ marketers and content out there trying to ‘guide’ in this industry.)

Shoutout to my amazing producer, Renata, for inserting this in today’s YouTube video — a quick slide of my recommended authors:

[email protected] recommends @markwschaefer, @annhandley, and @crestodina to learn and absorb practical content marketing advice from. Click To Tweet

Courses are a great way to go in depth and learn. I teach The Expert SEO Content Writer Course and The Content Strategy & Marketing Course. The latter teaches you the strategy of content marketing writing and digital content creation, and I would highly recommend it to grow your fundamental knowledge. Visit contentstrategycourse.com to learn more.

3. Find Your Niche of Expertise

Picking an industry sets you apart from all the rest of the digital marketing and content marketing writers out there. Is there any industry you had a previous life in? Were you an attorney, a customer service representation, maybe you worked at a software firm? You could write blog content for law firms. You could specialize in an angle; if you worked in customer service for years, position yourself as a writer that thinks of the customer. You could write blog, web and ad copy for SaaS brands. This list of opportunities goes on and on. It’s important to pick something that you’ll enjoy doing.

4. Know Your Worth (The Average Content Marketing Writer Salary)

Indeed, Glassdoor and PayScale offer good baseline ideas on salary, if you’re looking for employment. Freelance pay can be all over the place. If you’re going solo and freelancing, price based on your skills. Clients will pay good money, for example $100/500w, if you’re an amazing writer and know both content creation and your industry.

Here’s an easy way to price your writing expertise in a way that is both fair and makes solid income. If you’ve chosen an industry, match your rate to the hourly rate of an expert in your industry. For example, an accountant or attorney can charge upwards of $100-250/hour or more. However, avoid charging hourly. Charge by the project and word count, so you can get it done in less time as you pick up practice and writing speed and still make great income. As an industry expert, you can easily charge $250/1000 words.

How many words can you write in an hour? 1,000? Think of matching your hourly rate to offering a ‘fixed-rate service.’ However, hot tip: Never, ever charge hourly. Know what you can produce or do in an hour, then put a ‘fixed price’ rate and offering on that. As you get good at your content marketing writing craft, you should be picking up speed at what you do (and it’s okay if it’s never done in one day — content should, and will, take days plural — I’m talking more about your process overall getting quicker), you don’t want to lose money and time unnecessarily for getting locked into time, rather than project rates.

5. Demonstrate What You Can Do as a Content Marketing Writer

You need a portfolio! Show off your best samples, and prove that you can create great content for your clients’ digital and content marketing campaigns.

6 Types of Content & Copy You Need to For-Sure Know as a Content Marketing Writer

1. Headlines

2. Blogs and Guides

3. Ebooks and Lead Magnets

4. Creative Copy

5. Landing Pages

6. Calls-to-Action

For more on the 6 types of content, see my video: You Need These 6 Content Types For Powerful Inbound Lead Generation

5 points to know to be a kick-ass content marketing writer 🔥⌨️: develop a content marketing writer background, understand content strategy, find your niche of expertise, price your writing expertise, and create great content! Click To Tweet

The Future is Content Marketing Writers: How to Write Content for Digital Marketing (Video)

For more on this entire topic, because we could go on and on! 😅Check out my Content Hacker mega-guide: How to Be a Content Marketing Writer: The Future of Freelance Writing.

See you around!

Inbound Lead Generation With These 6 Content Types (Video)

December 16, 2019/1 Comment/in Video /by Julia McCoy

Today, I’m super excited about the topic I’m sharing with you — how to get powerful organic lead generation results with six inbound content must-haves.

These are the six we’ll go over in today’s video:

Web pages
Blog Posts
Call to Actions (CTAs)
Ebooks and Lead Magnets
Lead Forms
Conversation App (live chat)

In today’s video, I’m sharing how all six work together like an ecosystem to bring you massive results and pull in ideal clients. You just need to know what to do with each, and how to set them up properly. Let’s get into it!

Power Up Your Inbound Lead Generation With These 6 Content Types (Video)

Inbound lead methods, especially through content marketing, are hot for marketers today. 🔥 But how do you set up content that will bring you results? @JuliaEMcCoy's video on the six content types to use for lead gen is a must-watch. 🎞 Click To Tweet

If you’re a content marketer — or even a marketer, in general — looking to pivot into inbound, you’re in a good place.

Inbound taps into a major traffic potential stemming from Google search (70.6% of ALL web traffic on the entire web originates from Google, according to Backlinko/Sparktoro).
Publishing strategic content generates 67% more leads than NOT publishing strategic content, says a HubSpot study.
And more than 71% of B2B buyers read blog content during their buying journeys (3-5 blogs is the norm).
Meanwhile, the ROA on an ad funnel is as low as .66x.

So, inbound marketing as a channel works!

But, how do you actually set up content in a way that will bring you results?

That’s what we’re here to talk about.

I’ve been practicing content marketing for eight years, using my own businesses to test the best content marketing practices. I’ve launched four different brands that are all profitable. What I’ve found, especially with my primary income source — my agency, Express Writers, where we handle on average 200 client projects every month — is that you need these six inbound tools, so to speak, to get real results.

Three are content formats, the other three are more or less tools to help that content work.

Web pages
Blog Posts
Call to Actions (CTAs)
Ebooks and Lead Magnets
Lead Forms
Conversation App (live chat)

Think of all of these things like an ecosystem. Without all six, you won’t hit massive inbound results.

There are six inbound marketing tools that you'll need to get the results that you've always wanted 😋: web pages, blog posts, CTAs, ebooks and lead magnets, lead forms, and a conversation app! 🌐📈 Click To Tweet

When and How Do You Create These Six Content Types for Inbound Lead Generation?

Here are the answers to that question.

Two of these should be created every week: blogs and CTAs.
One of these should be created once per quarter at a minimum: ebooks or lead magnets.
The other three need to be created and then maintained at least once every quarter: your web pages, lead forms, and you should set up an app on your site for live prospect conversations. We use Drift.

Here’s how all six work to bring in live prospects. See below for a real pathway example of all six working together to pull in prospects (via my agency, Express Writers). I’ve put a number for our list of six content types next to each to identify how all six work together in this “cycle” of pulling in an ideal lead.

#2 Blogs — Example of a 2,000w search-optimized blog post (found through SEO keywords we’ve researched that tie into searches our prospects make on Google, like ‘how to write SEO content’)
#3 CTA inside the blog goes to two forms (#5): Form #1 — Client Registration (captures live prospects). Form #2 — Free Ebook
#1 and #4 Web Page & Ebook: — Ebook on a Landing Page (hooked up to an email sequence that triggers once they enroll, housed in ConvertKit).
#6 Conversation App — Installed and sits on the pages on our site (we use Drift).

Remember, a massive trend I’ve been talking about everywhere these days, as we head into 2020 and beyond, is that your content must be AMAZING for it to actually work and earn results.

This 2020, one great trend you shouldn't miss is creating AMAZING content. 🤩 @JuliaEMcCoy shares the 6 inbound lead generation content types to create, and when and how you should create them -- all in this video. 📼 Click To Tweet

So, when you apply the tips I’ll show you for setting up an inbound lead engine that WORKS, you must create content that doesn’t fall short of amazing. If it does fall short for your readers, unfortunately, you really won’t see the kind of results I’m talking about.

Final tips:

Conversion paths are key — think about what a prospect needs to contact and/or buy from you
Make the buyer’s journey clear and easy
Grow an audience that wants what you have to sell with the right keyword terms and content created around those consistently

Hope you enjoyed today’s video!

Need great content to fuel your inbound presence? That’s our specialty. Sign up as a client for free.

Introducing My Upcoming Third Book, Woman Rising: A True Story (Video)

November 19, 2019/18 Comments/in Video /by Julia McCoy

I’m positively THRILLED to share with you that after two years of writing (I’ve lost count of the hours put in), my third book is in the final stages of publication! Woman Rising: A True Story is about to hit the bookstores and Amazon Prime in all formats — audiobook, hardback, paperback, e-book! — February 10, 2020. Sign up for the launch at womanrisingproject.org.

I’m feeling all the feels today. This book has been a cathartic journey, my heart and soul wrapped up inside its pages. It’s incredible to be able to come out of the writing closet, so to speak, and finally share my story with the world.

February 10, 2020 is the official release date!

Woman Rising is a left turn from the other two I’ve written, which were in non-fiction, marketing genres.

With this new book, I’ve returned to my writing roots – narrative storytelling – to share one of the craziest stories I’ll probably ever pen. It is the harrowing true story of my childhood within a cult, of creating a business online and my escape at age 21. And, it’s the story of what happened after. How I built multiple businesses, a life I love living, and found joy and restoration.

I wrote this true story of my crazy life to inspire and change lives. If I can be who I am today, you can build your own dreams into reality, too.

I wrote this true story of my crazy life (escaping a cult, finding happiness, building successful businesses) to inspire and change lives. If I can be who I am today, YOU can build your own dreams into reality, too. @JuliaEMcCoy on her… Click To Tweet

I’m super excited because this is more than just a book. It’s a cause, too: The Woman Rising Project, Inc. (more on this in the video interview). My cause is in the final stages of being filed as a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit. My goal is to be a voice for those that have none – because I was once that child, adrift in the torrential sea of parental abuse, done in the name of religion, without a single ally on my side. I will be partnering with seven other nonprofits that have come personally recommended, making real changes in the issues of hidden abuses at home. I want to impact and help abused yet “invisible” children and women that grew up in, or experienced, trauma and abuse at home. I also want to touch on and make a difference for women and children in slavery, religion-based domestic violence, sex trafficking, and starvation.

I will be sharing my time, donating copies of Woman Rising, and lending my creative energy to these nonprofits to make a real difference in these issues happening right here inside the United States.

Today’s video is an interview-style story of my book. My husband, Josh interviewed me. We had fun, and it was pretty crazy diving into what my life used to look like. Enjoy.

P.S. I’d love your help with the message and cause of this book. Join the Facebook Woman Rising Project page and the private Facebook group associated with that page, if you want to be a part of my launch team and beta readers (for a limited time only).

Woman Rising, A True Story (Video Story Behind the Book, Coming February 2020)

[email protected]'s NEW book, Woman Rising, is coming out February 10, 2020! Learn all about it and watch the video interview here. 🎬📚 Click To Tweet

The Book: Woman Rising, A True Story (Coming February 2020)

As a child, I had a perfect life – from the outside.

To everyone around us, we were lovely. I was an A-student, had close bonds with my siblings and we were all exceedingly well-mannered. Yet, if you looked closely, you might have spotted a few unusual things about me. I only wore long skirts, only ever sported certain colors, and I always seemed to run on a disciplined, precise schedule.

Those were the only clues of the fear and terror with which my father ruled his family – a full-fledged religious household molded by his twisted interpretation of the Bible.

It was a reality that no one saw – because no one realized that my life of perfection was a façade.

Woman Rising: A True Story is a narrative of my life growing up in that household that looked perfect from the outside. I’ve shed light on my past and my history with this visceral retelling of all the pain and horror that you’d expect of life inside a cult.

Against this backdrop, I share the story of my curious rise to success as an internet entrepreneur – at first seen by my father as a way to fund his Church, and later, become the means of my escape.

After failing college and an attempt to get an R.N. degree, a degree my parents forced me to pursue, my way out came almost accidentally. First, by meeting Josh – the man destined to be both my business partner and my husband – then by stumbling into the creation of a business where seemed like all the odds stood against success. But once the door was open, it was destined to forever and completely change the rest of my life, giving me a road to adulthood and a life of forever freedom. And above all, a life I truly loved living. (Which was an unthinkable, unattainable reality. When I left the cult, I believed I was broken for good.)

Ever have one of those split-second moments of “let’s just run with it” moments of inspiration?

That was Express Writers, and I never dreamed that it would last beyond a year. Not just last, but thrive it did – eight years later, I’ve gotten further than I ever dared to dream. I’ve launched three more revenue-earning brands since, including The Content Strategy & Marketing Course, The Expert SEO Content Writer, and Content Hacker. Today, Woman Rising launches. (Well, the announcement that it is on the way launches. 😉)

Part 2 of Woman Rising is the true story of building four brands from scratch, including all the downs – momentous failures that taught me incredible lessons on the way to success as I started the hard journey of healing. I hope to share this as my “entrepreneurial manual” for success. In it, I hold nothing back in sharing each of the steps I took, including the steps that were backward, in building my brands out of nothing.

I know my story isn’t singular – in fact, as the media routinely reveals, abusive religious households are scattered across the US, hidden behind a façade of normalcy. Woman Rising is a story meant to be fuel, an inspiration for those who are searching for a way to embrace and manifest their dreams in the face of terror and abuse. I hope that my story helps anyone struggling in similar conditions to realize that you’re powerful and you’re enough.

I’m completely thrilled to share it with you!

'Ever have one of those split-second moments of 'let's just do it' inspiration? That was @expwriters, and I never dreamed that it would last beyond a year. Not just last, but thrive it did.' @JuliaEMcCoy on her new book, Woman Rising. Click To Tweet

Be A Part of the Woman Rising Project

I’ve shared my story of what can happen beyond the label of victim in the hopes that others can find their voice. I was once a child, living inside of a home that terrified me. No one helped me. Everyone was fooled by our exterior. With this book, I want to bring a voice to an issue that is prevalent right here in America. I want to make a real, positive, lasting change for good.

Besides her new book about her real-life story living and escaping from a cult leader, @JuliaEMcCoy created The Woman Rising Project, Inc., a 501 c3, to help children and women living in domestic abuse. 🤝👩‍👧‍👧 Join the project too! 🙏 Click To Tweet

To join the project, go to womanrisingproject.org and get signed up for the beta launch.

Then, go follow The Woman Rising Project page on Facebook! (While we still have access to the private group, I’d love to invite you in, so look for that group as it will be posted on that Facebook page.)

Finally, set your calendar – and sign up for an email reminder! – for February 2020.

If you can’t be a part of our beta reader/launch team group, a simple “Julia’s book is out, go buy it!” will spread the word and help us get this important, potentially life-changing message out.

One person’s life forever changed for the better – one at a time. Imagine if you were responsible for that? 👏 Just by getting one reader involved, you could be.

Thanks for sticking around to read the news of my book. I cannot wait to hear your thoughts when you read it!

– Julia

What is Content Marketing? (Video)

November 11, 2019/44 Comments/in Video /by Julia McCoy

I’ve been practicing content marketing for nearly nine years now — and I’m not the only one. There are thousands of us content marketers out there. Not to mention, the industry itself is worth over $400 billion!

But, time and time again, I still hear the question asked: “So what exactly IS content marketing?”

This video was created to answer that question. My goal is that this big, burning question is thoroughly answered in a way that inspires you to get started on your content marketing journey! 💡

What is Content Marketing? (Video)

What is content marketing? If you're still confused about what it is and how it could be your business's winning formula 🧪, watch @JuliaEMcCoy's latest video on Youtube featuring @JoePulizzi and @cmicontent. ✨ Click To Tweet

To get a solid, accurate definition of content marketing, let’s turn to industry leaders that have been an influential part of this industry today.

So, let’s start there. Then, we’ll head into a down-to-earth discussion of what this type of marketing really is!

Unless you’re living under a content marketing rock, you’ve probably heard of Content Marketing Institute. The founder of CMI, Joe Pulizzi, is known as the “Godfather of Content Marketing.”

The literal ‘godfather’ of content marketing himself. Credits to my amazing video producer, Renata Franco.

Back in 2011, Joe started Content Marketing World, a world-leading content marketing event today with over 4,000 content marketers in attendance. When Joe had the idea to start the event, he reserved a room that fit 125 people in the Cleveland Renaissance Hotel. Over 600 people showed up. It grew and grew every year from there.

Content Marketing Institute says that content marketing is:

A strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action. Instead of pitching your products or services, you are providing truly relevant and useful content to your prospects and customers to help them solve their issues.

Let’s look at a few other sources. Wikipedia used over 34 sources for their definition of content marketing:

Content marketing is a form of marketing focused on creating, publishing, and distributing content for a targeted audience online. It is often used by businesses in order to:

Attract attention and generate leads

Expand their customer base

Generate or increase online sales

Increase brand awareness or credibility

Engage an online community of users

Marketo says:

Content marketing is the process of creating valuable, relevant content to attract, acquire, and engage your audience. Buyers and customers today are inundated by more marketing messages than ever before — more than 2,900 per day, by current estimations. This creates an environment of attention scarcity, challenging marketers with the task of producing engaging content that won’t get lost in the static. A well-crafted content marketing strategy places your business in the position of a thought leader.

When content marketing works BEST, it usually has two core elements:

When the main purpose of content marketing is to grow and build an engaged, happy audience
When the creator/creators (brand, publication, entrepreneur, marketer) are ready for a long-term commitment

Some say the first example of content marketing goes way back to Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard Almanack, first published in 1732, which Franklin published in order to get people hooked on his printing service.

In the 19th century, John Deere started a magazine called the Furrow with the goal of providing accurate, unbiased information for farmers to improve their operation, according to a Content Marketing Institute documentary.

If you study the best examples of brands grown through content today, even the Content Marketing Institute, this was their goal — build an audience before selling anything. Typically, content was created for 12 to 18, 24 months before an offer was ever made to that audience.

This is true for my agency, Express Writers. 99% of our leads and revenue come from our blogging. We’ve never once not published a blog per week in eight years of blogging.

So, if this is ever backwards — the offer and sale come ahead of the audience — content marketing simply put, doesn’t work.

To win at content marketing, the type of content you publish should be the BEST in your industry. Think in terms of mastering what you do.

This means being the best in…

Best in author voice (expert writer, researcher, creator – outsource this to make life easy)
Best in topics and concepts (thought leader – avoid outsourcing this part)
Best in optimization and visibility (to be found on Google, research the right keywords and topics before creating)

Focusing on mastering on one channel is better than jumping to all the shiny objects. Study the benchmarks you’re up against, and create better content! More comprehensive, more long-form, more unique.

Focusing on mastering on one channel is better than jumping to all the shiny objects. Study the benchmarks you’re up against, and create better content to win. 💯 Click To Tweet

Any company, big or small, from tech to manufacturing, can produce content marketing.

How Does Content Marketing Differ from Traditional Advertising?

Content marketing’s goal is to build an audience, and then, turn that audience into buyers. (Without that, there is not a ton of profit and ROI.)

Why it’s different than ads: content marketing that works puts the buyer in the driver’s seat. It completely obliterates the annoying, pushy “look-at-me, look-at-me” attitude of traditional advertising. Instead, content is used to build a relationship.

The costs of content-marketing can be low, as compared to ads. You can publish on your own site, your own blog — unlike traditional advertising, where companies pay a third party, like Facebook, to include an ad.

Brands like Kraft have said that content marketing’s ROI was 4x that of traditional ROI.

Some successfully use content marketing in tandem with paid ads. So, that can be done to great success.

What Does a Content Marketing Plan Include?

Usually, these are the six content types included in a content marketing plan:

Web pages (onsite: Home, About, etc.)
Blogs (onsite: consistent fresh content)
Social media (consistent fresh content on social profiles)
Email copy (build your list, send out new content)
News/ad/sales copy (sales pages, ad campaigns, PRs)
Creative (video scripts, etc. as needed for different campaigns)

The best content to publish consistently is blog content (weekly), emails (weekly), and your social media content (daily).

Don’t Go Crazy in Doing All of That Content — Manage and Delegate It

This can get overwhelming, fast. You have to have a method to the madness.

The key is managing. Instead of “doing” all the content, think in terms of “managing” all the content. Delegate to the right partners, the right expert writers and creators.

It’s easy to worry, “Do I have to do all the things?” In short, the answer is yes, you DO have to do a lot, but if you think about managing rather than doing you won’t be burnt out all the time and risk content marketing failure. Also, think of your complete content marketing as an ecosystem.

That’s about it for today’s video! If you have any questions on content marketing that I didn’t address in today’s video, tell me in the comments.

Hit that Subscribe button for my new videos every other Monday!

My 8-Step WordPress Blog Post Optimization Checklist for SEO (Video)

October 21, 2019/48 Comments/in Video /by Julia McCoy

Are you search optimizing, or SEO’ing, your blog posts correctly in WordPress before you hit that Publish or Schedule button?

Pre-publish optimization in WordPress is SO important, I can’t even stress how much.

It’s almost a crime to spend all your time producing a wonderful piece of content around a focus keyword, just to let it get published without optimization in WordPress first.

In today’s video, sit down with me at my computer and watch as I show you EVERY step I take before I publish a blog in WordPress, in my WordPress blog post optimization checklist for SEO.

From how to switch to “text editor,” format your subheaders properly, to knowing if you should use H4s or not, to “should I worry about the Yoast smiley face color?”… I answer it all! ✅

Watch this detailed, practical video to learn how to optimize your blogs before you hit Publish or Schedule on WordPress.

Time and time again, I see a clear pattern — #1 SEO rankings for blog posts that have a focus keyword comes from how much effort you put into your pre-publish optimization. The devil is in those details, and that couldn’t be truer for WordPress blog optimization.

My 8-Step WordPress Blog Post Optimization Checklist for SEO (Video)

If you follow each of the steps I share in this video, you’re much more likely to see results from your SEO content, especially if you publish regular blogs on WordPress, which is my personal favorite platform. I’ll even share with you an example of one of our content pieces, optimized following these exact steps, ranking at the top of Google for a major keyword in just 30 days. Let’s get going!

Before you hit that Publish button, are you sure that your blog post is in its perfect shape to climb up to the top spot? @JuliaEMcCoy teaches you how to optimize content with her 8-step WordPress blog post optimization checklist. 📋✔ Click To Tweet

Make Sure Your Site Foundations Are Right (Pre-Optimization Step)

Before we get into the checklist, a quick word of advice:

It helps to have a fast, clean site. Just like you can’t build a strong house if your foundations are shaky, you simply cannot expect to publish an optimized post on an icky website and see great results.

So, disclaimer: as you head into these tips, if you don’t have a strong, fast, secure, beautiful website, with page load speeds under 3 seconds per page, a beautiful, seamless experience for your end-user, you won’t see results. I recommend working with a top-rated freelance website developer to help get all your tech issues fixed, if you think you might have foundational site issues to fix first. Check out my recent Write Blog guide on how to rank in the top of Google.

Let’s head over to my computer and I’ll show you, step-by-step, the 8 steps to use every single time you schedule a WordPress blog. First, here’s the checklist itself.

How to SEO Optimize Blog Posts in WordPress: 8 Steps

Load the Blog: Edit, Proofread, Upload All Corresponding Images
Add & Proof-check Subheader Optimization for Readability and SEO
Check All Links to Open in New Windows
Include CTAs
Add Easy One-Click Social Shares
Add Meta Title and Description with Yoast
Upload SEO Alt-Text Feature Images in the Right Spots
Optimize Your Blog for Social Sharing with Yoast

Additional Bonus Tips on SEO Optimization:

The permalink (URL) for your blog should be your focus keyword. Keep it to five or less words!
Categorize your blog in one clear category. Avoid too many tags. 1-5 tags describing the topic, as long as they don’t duplicate the category, are fine.

1. Load the Blog: Edit, Proofread, Upload All Corresponding Images

Load your blog in WordPress. Edit and proofread the content as you upload and insert any corresponding screenshots, images, etc.

Images for blogs should be at most 1 megabyte, unless you’re uploading an infographic or a key high-res image that absolutely has to be at the resolution it was created at.

When you upload the content, proofread it. You want a clean, error-free blog post for obvious reasons. (Google says the quality of your content directly impacts your rankings. (More on their EAT, or Expertise Authoritativeness, and Trust factors.)

2. Add & Proof-check Subheader Optimization for Readability and SEO

Now that the post is in, you need to properly add subheaders — H2s, H3s.

Adding subheaders and making sure the content is readable are the top two considerations so people (and search engines) can read and understand your post easily.

Go in the Text editor of WordPress to make sure all H2s, H3s, etc. are coded correctly (use WordPress’s formatting!).

Proof check them all on the Visual editor to make sure they transferred correctly.

3. Check All Links to Open in New Windows

This is proven to significantly lower bounce rate, so, it’s worth the trouble! Make sure all your links are set to open in a new browser window.

4. Include CTAs

Above all, avoid being annoying with your CTAs. Don’t put too many in, and don’t put them too high up. I’ve tested a variety of placements, and find that text CTAs are great for inner CTAs, and image CTAs best kept to 1, 2, or at most, 3 in one long-form blog. Always make sure your blog at least ends with a strong CTA that directs the reader to take action.

5. Add Easy One-Click Social Shares

Know your platform, first of all. For us at the Write Blog, Twitter is a huge platform for engagement. We’ve kept up a Twitter chat, #ContentWritingChat, for years now on Twitter that has helped us grow a solid Twitter presence. So, knowing that Twitter is a hot platform, we’ve chosen to use a plugin that enables us to add “Click to Tweets” to every post — which we do. These are punchy phrases or takeaways from the blog that readers can share to Twitter with one click.

We use the Better Click to Tweet plugin for WordPress. This adds a little Twitter bird icon to the top of your WordPress editor.

Just avoid putting too many in, or putting them above your first H2 (that placement can actually interfere with rankings). You want to avoid any “extra code” in a blog as much as possible, which helps your content stay more visible for rankings.

6. Add Meta Title and Description with Yoast

Don’t forget to plug in a good meta title and description! The “green” on the meta title and description is a good indicator for the right length for both.

Regarding the “overall” Yoast SEO, that comes with a color-coded smiley face (that may not be smiling if he’s orange or red), bear in mind that this may not correlate to actual content results. After publishing over 1,000 blogs, some of our top-ranked blogs are orange, if not red! Nothing beats a real human eye reviewing the content before it goes out, and the focus should be on the quality of content, not a fallible color-coded score by a software.

Other questions you should be asking instead of “is this color green?” 😉

Does my blog read well? Is it typo-free? Is it formatted and readable?
Will my blog actually engage my audience?
Does my blog have a clear CTA that tells the reader how to take “next steps” with me?

7. Upload SEO Alt-Text Feature Images in the Right Spots

We always have our images for our blogs custom-designed, so, we upload correctly sized and branded images to our blogs.

SEO alt-text is important for image visibility in Google. Alternate text is a descriptive text that provides context for people who are visually impaired or need to use a screen reader to browse the web. Alternate text (or “alt text”) describes your images to search engines, as well, so they’ll potentially show up in image searches.

8. Optimize Your Blog for Social Sharing with Yoast

Make sure you’re sharing the right image with your blog link on social media by completing this step. This is especially important if you’ve created custom, share-worthy graphics to accompany the post.

In the Yoast SEO options, click on the “Social sharing” icon.
Skip over the title and description fields – Yoast will pull the information for these from the main snippet fields you already filled out.
Scroll to “Facebook image” or “Twitter image.” Upload your custom image here.

Make sure the image you use has an alternate text and a title specified.

Why Is WordPress SEO Blog Optimization So Important?

Let me show you an example of a blog that earned a top spot in Google, optimized with the steps I’m about to show you. Now you might already know this, but we have over 1,100+ blogs published on Express Writers’ Write Blog across eight years, which have earned over 21,000 keyword positions in Google (case study here).

Here’s an example of just one of those, created this year. Within 30 days of publishing this blog, “How to Build a Strong Digital Content Strategy in 2019”, we earned a #1 organic ranking for the keyword “how to build a digital content strategy:”

One key player for this blog’s ranking power is the work we did on optimization before publishing. From the title to the copy to the subheaders to the images, CTAs, links, metas, and more — everything is optimized for search engines.

Time and time again, brands that edge into top positions on SERPs get the lion’s share of the spoils, including higher click-through rates and more traffic.

Why does being in #1 matter so much? According to Advanced Web Ranking, the CTR for organic position 1 on Google is 31.19%. Meanwhile, the CTR for position 10 is 1.12%. One or 31 percent? I’ll let you decide!

Bonus: search traffic is climbing past 70% of all the world’s online traffic right now. That means the majority of internet traffic comes from a Google search. Google alone processes over 40,000 search queries every second. In short, you need to be found where your people are searching.

Additional Resources

How to Optimize a Blog Post for SEO Ranking Ability (On-Page Optimization) Ryan Robinson’s 17-minute video on YouTube is a great additional resource on this topic.

Conclusion

Taking care of all these small pieces of your blog post may seem like busywork, but it’s not.

Instead, each step is essential for making your content the best version of itself. Attention to detail may be the differentiator between two posts vying for the #1 or #2 spots on a SERP. If your post has better signals, both readers and Google will take note.

The devil is in the details. A sharp eye and a few extra minutes of your time before hitting “publish” could make all the difference.

Need great content to fuel your blogging presence? We offer packaged blogging plans. See pricing here.

3 Content Writing Tools to Help You Create Awesome Content (Video)

September 16, 2019/49 Comments/in Video /by Julia McCoy

I’m so excited to be back creating more videos for you!

I had to take a two-month hiatus from YouTube, but I’m back today with a brand new video (and super excited to be in the hot seat, filming again). 🔥

Today’s topic?

How to use my favorite content writing tools to help you create content that NEVER falls flat.

In today’s video, I’ll spend under a minute recapping my last two months, so you get a little glimpse into my life and the behind-the-scenes. Then, we’ll dive right into today’s topic with practical advice on my top three favorite content writing tools.

3 Content Writing Tools to Help You Create Awesome Content (Video)

Video Notes: Behind-The-Scenes in the Life of a Full-Time Content Creator

My August was one of the craziest, most unexpected months I’ve had all year.

We went through three managers in the agency. It was an extremely rough patch, but we got through it. With Korilynn back and a new team member, Marisa, added in the support department, we’re stronger than ever. Then, I started taking on a few initial gigs through Content Hacker, I ran into a completely unexpected nightmare client situation. I had to fire them for my own sanity. (Thankfully, that was only one out of four clients — the other three have been dreams!)

Then, the first week of September was a massive highlight. I went to Content Marketing World: it was the first year I went as a speaker, third year going to the conference.

I co-presented with good friend Jason Schemmel, and created an actionable talk called A Masterclass on Creating and Publishing Authority-Building Blogs. Our room was packed out with a line out the door. The CMWorld team put my books out in the Expo Hall, and they ended up selling out of all my books early! See my blog recap of the event here.

Okay, on to today’s topic. Are you ready?

3 Content Writing Tools to Help You Create Awesome Content

We’re going to cover three of my favorite, most-used content creation tools to help you in the ideation stage.

Ideation is arguably one of the most important stages in your content creation process.

Ideation is arguably one of the most important stages in your content creation process. @JuliaEMcCoy Watch her video on the top three tools she uses for her #contentmarketing creation process 📹 Click To Tweet

Back in 2016, after five years of creating content and hundreds of blogs created, I realized a lot of my content was falling flat. I decided to stand back and get more strategic about it.

That’s when I came up with what I call the three-bucket topic strategy. Read about my three-bucket topic strategy.

Basically, once you have a source of never-ending ideas that come from REAL places, like your customer pain points or relevant keyword research, you map each topic to a clear goal.

Ask yourself and your team creating this content, Can I rank in Google? Can I build sales and connections? Can I build my brand name in the industry? If you can’t map it to a goal, you put the topic in the trash can.

So what I’ll talk about in the next few minutes are tools to give you sources for content ideas and inspiration to create better content day in, day out.

Tool #1: Mangools’ KWFinder

70.6% of all traffic on the web today starts with a Google search (Backlinko & Sparktoro). 71% of B2B buyers are reading 3-5 blogs in their buying journey (The Economist Group), and the ROA on ad funnels as low as .6x (Ad Strategist).

It’s worth your time to research and write around keywords that you can compete for and win a ranking for in Google.

70.6% of all traffic on the web today starts with a Google search. Stat from @backlinko and @sparktoro #SEO #contentmarketing Click To Tweet

Mangools’ KWFinder is one of my favorite keyword research tools.

Let’s say we’re looking up a keyword related to “how to blog.”

Here’s what that looks like in KWFinder:

The #1 factor you need is relevancy when looking up the right keyword. Once you know these are keywords your ideal prospect is actually searching, run them through Mangools’ KWFinder to hunt for a keyword you can actually rank for. Then, you want to find “easy to rank for” keywords. So, right away, how to blog is out. It’s hard, and I’d have to go up against sites like neilpatel.com, which has a super high DA. But right below it we have how to become a blogger, which scores as 43, or possible. Since these scores change all the time, you’d want to create content on this keyword and publish it within 15 or 20 days. I would recommend a 3,000w guide on the topic.

Once you have a focus keyword to pull in synonymous keywords to help you structure a great article, use Google’s Searches Related to. Use these in your subheaders and throughout your content.

Tool #2: BuzzSumo

It’s important to look through a content analysis tool for insights on trending topics, and BuzzSumo is one of the best out there. You can use it in a few ones. For one, search your own domain to see your most-shared content. This will give you topic umbrella ideas to write more content under. For example, our top-shared post is a thought-leadership blog I wrote on how to find your “content differentiation factor,” a unique concept I came up with. Interesting! So, I could write a follow-up post with more current insights and new details on that topic.

You can also use BuzzSumo if you’re writing guest blogs to scout out for your publication’s most-shared pieces. Chances are, they’ll be more likely to accept a topic with proof that a similar topic to yours was extremely popular on their site. Just don’t copy topics. Take inspiration from them, but use your own data/slant/opinion on the topic.

Finally, use the Topic Explorer to identify topics in your industry that could be worth writing on.

Tool #3: Advanced Marketing Institute’s Headline Analyzer

AMI’s Headline Analyzer is a super simple, free tool that gives you on a 1-100 score the emotional impact of your headline.

Just insert your headline idea, pick your category, hit Search, and repeat until you achieve a score of 40+. 50, 70 and beyond are unicorn scores.

I had no idea I’d hit a 70 on the first try in the video! 😅

That’s It for Today’s Video!

That’s it, for today! I’ll have links and timestamps in the description so you can quickly get to the tools I mentioned and learn more about them.

Want me to address your questions about content? Put a burning question you have for me in the comments, and I might make a video about it with a shoutout to you!

Don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss a new one. See you around!

Sneak Peek at My Upcoming On-Stage Talk at #CMWorld 2019 (Video)

July 30, 2019/2 Comments/in Video /by Julia McCoy

Hey, YouTube viewers!

It’s been a while since I’ve come on my YouTube channel, so I wanted to start by giving you a quick update in my life.

This June, I finished writing my next book — it’s in editing stages as we speak!

Then, in July, my hubby and I took our 5-year-old to San Diego’s Zoo and Safari Park in California, which was amazing. (See a few video clips from our San Diego trip in today’s video!)

Next, I’m buckling down to work on my stage presentation for one of the industry’s BIGGEST conferences: Content Marketing World in Cleveland, Ohio.

Join me in today’s video for a fun “life” update!

Sneak Peek at My Upcoming On-Stage Talk at #CMWorld 2019 (Video)

See @JuliaEMcCoy this September in one of the biggest content marketing conferences: Content Marketing World in Cleveland, Ohio! Here's a sneak peek -- and a bonus offer -- on her upcoming on-stage talk. Click To Tweet

This September, I’m taking the stage at one of the biggest conferences in my industry of content marketing — Content Marketing World in Cleveland, Ohio!

Founded by Joe Pulizzi, who is one of the most authentic and real influencers in (as well as the “godfather” of) content marketing, CMWorld is my all-time favorite conference.

Thousands of marketers getting together around content marketing — what could be better? This will be my third year in a row attending CMWorld, and my first year speaking!

The last time I attended CMWorld, in 2018, I lost count of how many people suggested I should speak this year.

One of those persons? Joe Pulizzi himself. When the godfather of content marketing himself recommends a next step for you, well… you should do what he says.

My session is very unique. I’m co-presenting with a funny, awesome, genuine content marketer Jason Schemmel, who’s been my friend in the space for a while. I’m super excited to take the stage with a good friend.

Over the past weeks, I’ve been structuring and creating all the content for this session.

It’s going to be one-of-a-kind and unique because I’ve formulated it like an intensive, yet easy-to-follow, masterclass!

I will be teaching you how to create and publish authority-building content — and inspiring you along the way to get it done! You’ll learn what growth-focused content looks like, you’ll hear from top content marketers that we’ve interviewed for exclusive insights on what it takes to put together a high-converting content marketing campaign. You’ll see the difference between “sexy” vs. “high-ROI” content in real-life. You’ll learn what drives real content growth, the right KPIs to track, what content tools I use every day and what metrics to look for, and how to get executive buy-in for your content campaign.

I’ve spent weeks working on this session. It’s going to be one of my best educational masterclasses on authority-building content, ever!

Come join me at CMWorld. Learn more at ContentMarketingWorld.com, and use code MCCOY to save $100 if you decide to join me. We could meet at the opening party at the Rock ‘ N Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio! 😁

Don’t forget to subscribe and catch new videos that hit my YouTube channel.

Till fall, I’ll publish less frequently while I focus on my new book and this massive speaking gig; but I plan to get back on consistent video creation after September. And don’t forget to stay up to date with my new projects! Follow me on Twitter @JuliaEMcCoy.

See you around!

– Julia

The Story Behind My New Brand, The Content Hacker™ (Video)

July 2, 2019/5 Comments/in Video /by Julia McCoy

I’m so excited to reveal my new brand, Content Hacker™.

After a ton of work, it finally went live on Friday, June 28.

This was a project that came after eight years of hard work in content marketing, leading my content agency Express Writers, writing two books, teaching and leading two courses, not to mention writing over a thousand blog posts!

I couldn’t be more thrilled to share this adventure with you.

In today’s video, walk with me down memory lane a minute and listen as I share the full story behind this new brand I’m launching.

[email protected]_hackers is here! Watch and read the story behind @JuliaEMcCoy's new brand for growth-focused content marketers ⭐️ Click To Tweet

The Story Behind The Content Hacker: Video

I remember taking one of my first ever reading comprehension tests, back when I was in homeschooling in the early 2000s.

It felt like so much fun, I thought I was playing a game the whole time.

I earned an A+ on that test. That was when my love for writing stories and narratives begin.

I’ll also never forget when I heard a dialup modem connect us to the internet when I was 7 years old.

I’ll never forget when I heard a dialup modem connect us to the internet when I was 7 years old. 📞 @JuliaEMcCoy shares the story behind @content_hackers launch Click To Tweet

I watched my mom connect to the internet, and saw her send an email to someone online for the first time. That person emailed her back in minutes. I was blown away at the power of the internet. Ever since then, I’ve pretty much loved the internet. I figured out how to make money online at 12 years old.

Today, finding an avenue to connect “making money online” to “writing content online” simply delights me.

It’s a wonder that I can get online, craft thoughtful words or teach others to, and make more in a month than my parents did in a year back in the ’90s.

Online content has been my favorite realm–a creativity outlet, and a full-time living–ever since I dropped out of college and a nursing degree back in 2011 at 19 years old to seek my passion.

My Competitive Edge in Content: How It Was My Only Financial Means Out of a Cult

Here’s the thing about how I learned to create content.

When I started diving into following my dreams and building my writing agency, Express Writers, at 19 years old, every single dollar I earned had to go towards paying my way. Otherwise, I was broke.

And in 2012, at 20 years old, I used those hard-earned dollars to help get out and escape my dad’s religious cult.

I escaped and finally built the life I always dreamed of by growing my company Express Writers to over $4.5 million in sales in the past 8 years.

(This is a story I’m telling in a book I just finished writing. I can’t wait to share when that comes out. If you follow me on social media, you’ll hear all about it!)

So, there’s no doubt.

I’m a hard-knocks, bottom-line focused, reality-checking content creator.

My success comes from the hard work I put in.

Nothing I do comes from luck.

I have zero time or patience for what doesn’t work, and I’m motivated by results.

I have zero time or patience for what doesn’t work, and I’m motivated by results. @JuliaEMcCoy on @content_hackers launch #story Click To Tweet

It helps that I have a passion for what I do. I love the science of the internet, and I love making magic with words.

Where Does ‘Content Hacker’ Come From?

When I first heard the term content hacker, it was from Garrett Moon at CoSchedule. He coined it in 2014, simply defining it as a ‘growth-focused content marketer’ and taking inspiration from Sean Ellis’ term, growth hacking, originally coined in 2010.

I can’t think of a better term than content hacking to describe my day-to-day content lifestyle.

Ever since I began my journey in content creation in 2011, I’ve worked hard to create and execute content in a lean way that directly relates to bottom-line growth.

We have over 16,000 organic keyword positions and a million yearly site visitors at Express Writers. Plus, the clients we’ve written for have also seen incredible success with our content.

But, here’s the thing.

My content wasn’t always successful.

In fact, many of my best life lessons have come from the “Ph.D. in Failure” university. But, as I’ve worked in content for the past eight years, I’ve noticed a truth.

There is a serious lack of true growth-focused content in the enormous efforts and investments by marketers and brands in content marketing today.

Backlinko did a study revealing that 94% of content doesn’t get noticed enough to earn even a single backlink.

I see a ton of same-old, same-old.

I see marketers trying a few tricks here and there, hoping to tape-and-glue it — and content efforts failing, time and time again.

I see content falling flat. Budgets fizzling out. No profits earned.

But here’s the thing.

I believe our broken content marketing is fixable.

Because it is.

Content marketing, done right, is magical.

Seriously.

And that’s why it’s time for Content Hacker.

Elite, proven, working content marketing methodologies are needed — more than ever.

Our standards in marketing, both as practitioners and in the education arena, need to be guided to a new level.

I’m thankful and honored to know more than a few brands, marketers, and agencies that are breaking the mold.

But there are far too many today that still aren’t.

And that’s why Content Hacker™ is here.

What Content Hacker Will Be All About

My new brand serves several purposes.

First, Content Hacker is a resource for elite content marketing education. From our graduates in high school considering a marketing degree, to the marketer, agency, or freelancer that desperately needs this kind of help, to the entrepreneur growing their brand from scratch — this education will be offered to all who need it.

Secondly, Content Hacker is the community I never had when I was a hard-knocks content creator, learning to build strong content the hard way. I want to inspire and bring in others besides myself who will help shine the light on the way forward. And that’s why I’ve invited over 20 leading marketers to be interviewed in a special blog category we’re showcasing, Content Hacker Spotlights, telling the stories of those truly making a difference in marketing. I cannot wait to unveil and share who we have that’s said an emphatic “yes” to these upcoming blog interviews. Prepare to have your mind blown. 🎉

Thirdly, Content Hacker is my new “personal brand.” This will be a resource-heavy, inspiration-heavy site, first and foremost: never built to simply spam or sell you. But, alongside a schedule that includes over 50 amazing content pieces launching in the first six months, I’ve put together some great offerings with this brand, bringing you the best of my training, offerings, mentoring, consulting, and books within fingertips’ reach.

Did you get your FREE copy of my launch freebie, The Content Hacker Starter Kit? If not, go grab it on our beautiful new site now (credits to Jill Lynn Design for such an amazing site!).

And, don’t forget to leave me a comment and let me know what you think of the new brand.

I can’t wait to hear what you think!

– Julia