Posts about Writing and Editing (2)

Creating content is the foundation of a successful content marketing strategy. You need to continuously put out new material because the internet never takes the day off. It’s an everyday battle to stay relevant! This can be especially tiring if you are a social media manager as social media is always “on.” Here are a few content creation tips to improve your workflow, no matter how busy your schedule becomes.

The statement “Email marketing is dead” is something that I hear time and time again, and I am sure a few if you have been told this too. Well, today I am here to tell you that not only is it alive and well, but it’s making a lot of businesses money!

Anyone who has ever written content for email campaigns, social media posts, or any other marketing vehicle knows how exciting it can be. However, the excitement can quickly come to a screeching halt when you are juggling four email campaigns, three social media posts, the internal company newsletter, and a PR release. When you look at it this way, it’s quite easy to see how things can quickly get out of hand amongst the chaos.

Based on the feedback from how to get started with podcasts, we understand that a lot of time and effort goes into creating a podcast episode. They can be an effective way to promote your brand. 32% of Americans listen to podcasts at least once a month (that’s approximately 150 million people!). Repurposing your podcast into different formats can help you reach that 68% of Americans who aren’t frequent podcast listeners.

As we’ve written about in our recent blog posts, all writers are selling something. Whether that be a physical product or service, or selling their content and asking you to pay for it with your time and attention. Whether you’ve been doing this for one day or ten years, you’ve probably noticed that selling online is an entirely different ball game. Today, online sales teams can track your buying patterns and tailor content or offers just for you. Likewise, consumers can investigate you and compare your content, products, or services to those of your competitors. With all this info at their fingertips, consumers now expect personalization.

The rise of content marketing has propelled blogging to new heights. And while blogging is an effective way to deliver content to your audience, there’s another method that doesn’t quite get the attention it deserves. Enter the humble podcast. Data released by Edison Research and Triton Digital states that 22% of Americans listen to podcasts on a weekly basis. That’s more than 72 million people!

All writers sell something. You might not always notice it, but a transaction takes place every time you read a piece of content. Right now, you’re buying information and you’re paying for it with your time. People say that time is our most valuable resource. If that’s true, then right now you’re spending some of your most valuable currency learning how to write persuasive copy! That tells me a lot about you.

Backlinks are vital to the success of your site, and if you’re unfamiliar with the word, you’ve at least heard it tossed around a couple of times. But despite their importance, there are distractions and misconceptions at every turn. Today we hope to explain the importance of backlinks and how you can harness their power to take your SEO efforts to the next level.

2019 saw a lot of changes in the SEO world. Search engine marketing is growing at such a rapid pace that it can be incredibly difficult for small brands to stand out. In an effort to dominate the search engine space, Google has created a platform that is great for consumers but terrible for publishers. But there’s still hope for aspiring brands!

Guest post by Stefan Debois, the founder and CEO of Survey Anyplace, an online software tool to create engaging surveys, quizzes and assessments. Besides kitesurfing, Stefan is passionate about the use of technology to build professional relationships with people, at scale. Connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn 📩 As the year is drawing to a close, it’s time to rethink your content marketing strategy for next year. What worked? What didn’t? What can we do better in 2020?

We’ve all experienced it at one point or another-- whether that was finishing your Creative Writing midterm paper back in college, or writing your next article for your blog or company’s website…writer’s block finds us all at some point. It’s just part of the job! Before we jump into some of the common reasons for writer’s block and how to overcome them, I want to quickly share a few ways to not overcome writer’s block, commonly mistaken for solutions. You do not overcome writer’s block by avoiding writing until you feel “inspired” or by watching TV (or really any form of procrastination). You won’t beat the block by wallowing in self-pity, either. At the end of the day, there is always one fail-proof way to overcome writer’s block, and it is one that you already know. It’s just the answer that you’ve been avoiding, the one you don’t want to hear: The key to beating writer’s block is by writing.

As writers, digital publishers, marketers, and networkers, you’re constantly crafting your next blog post, composing upcoming newsletters, and brainstorming captivating social media captions. No matter what the project is, it’s always important to promote your work, making sure readers can relate to the content you're publishing. Digital publishers are regularly thinking about how they can convert their readers into subscribers or converting their audience into loyal, paying customers. Audiences today expect creative, educational, and even entertaining copy. Ignoring this demand would be a disservice to your hard work-- at the end of the day, writing effective copy is writing words that result in better conversions. Here are 5 common copywriting mistakes to avoid: