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Content Marketing

5 Writing Tools to Maximize the Impact of Your Content

Marketing Automation Tools, Content Marketing Tools & AI Content Creation

GrowthTribe shares great content marketing tips on their YouTube Channel. In light of the topic, I think the video below is worth sharing.

 

5 Writing Tools to Maximize the Impact of Your Content

Some people might like to think that writing happens organically. It sure would be nice if we could just sit down in front of the blank page and get paid for whatever pours from our minds. Sadly, being a professional writer requires a great deal more.

Research, fact checking, keyword strategizing, search engine optimization, influencer outreach –- these are all crucial elements of successful writing for the web. Not to mention the tedious proofreading, revision, and polishing process that goes into crafting a publication-ready piece. Luckily there are some excellent tools and services out there to help you master this process efficiently, such as the use of a Marketing company in Miami that can help promote your services and products.

BlogSearchEngine.org

Image via BlogSearchEngine.org

Before you even begin to write a piece, you should know exactly who you want to read and promote it once it’s published. Content doesn’t just go viral or start trending on its own. There are movers and shakers who are connected with the audience you need to reach. In order to get your piece in front of readers’ eyes, you’ll first need to find where your ideal audience already hangs out.

Click on over to BlogSearchEngine.org and type in a keyword phrase pertaining to your piece. For example, if you want to write a piece about a new way to approach writing press releases, you might type in “press releases.” The top three results are PR Newswire, HubSpot, and CopyBlogger. This tells you that people who might care about your article are already reading these three blogs.

The next step is to connect with these blogs –- this is what we call “pre-outreach.” Request an interview with one of their top contributors or ask for their opinion on your idea. By getting the leaders in your topic involved before you even write the piece, you can guarantee more success than if you go it alone.

BuzzSumo

Image via BuzzSumo.com

BuzzSumo is synonymous with keyword optimization. However, how to use it isn’t obvious. In a nutshell, BuzzSumo allows you to search for a keyword or phrase and see what content related to that search term is being shared the most. You can sort the results by social media platform or type of content. For example, if you wanted to see what blog posts and articles people on Facebook were most interested in related to Lynda.com, BuzzSumo could tell you.

Keywords rule the world now. Know how to use them. BuzzSumo lets you see if the keyword you’re planning on using is being shared around the net. For instance, if you were to write a piece about LinkedIn’s online learning platform, you could search for either “LinkedIn Learning” or “Lynda.com.” While the two are heavily integrated, they do have separate spaces online. However, BuzzSumo tells us that “LinkedIn Learning” has more sharing potential lately. Now you know where to focus your keyword usage in your article.

BuzzSumo can also tell you who the key influencers are on that very topic. This helps you with your influencer outreach as well as your keyword planning.

CoSchedule Blog Post Headline Analyzer

Image via CoSchedule.com

Headlines are the most important part of any online content. Whether it’s an infographic, blog post, or news story, the headline has to be a winner. Readers only click on articles that sound interesting, and they only read (rather than stockpile dozens of “saved” articles for later – whenever that may be) what they feel is relevant to them immediately. Don’t miss your chance to snare your audience.

CoSchedule’s Blog Post Headline Analyzer helps you craft perfect headlines every time. The Headline Analyzer scrutinizes your headline for word balance, headline type, length, keywords, word quality, and how your headline and its meta description will appear on a Google search. The Headline Analyzer will even show you what readers will focus on when they see the headline appear in their email inbox. To delete or not to delete, eh?

CoSchedule gives your headline a score on a scale of zero to 100. Depending on where your weaknesses lie, the tool will make recommendations. Perhaps you have too many common words and need more sentimental or powerful choices. Maybe it’s too long and Google won’t be able to display the whole title as is. Get your headline into the green zone and you’ll be more likely to see your post go viral.

One Stop for Writers

Image via OneStopForWriters.com

Now that you have a solid promotional base with your influencer outreach, killer keywords, and a dazzling headline, it’s time to do the writing. For some writers, the blank page is the most daunting part of the job. The same words roll around in our heads and seem to make an appearance over and over again. But readers don’t like the same ol’ language.

One Stop for Writers is an online library of better-writing resources. Though most of One Stop’s tools are designed with fiction writing in mind, everything One Stop has to offer can be adapted for non-fiction writing for the web. If you want your piece to be share worthy, it has to be memorable. That’s where One Stop can help.

“Understanding how to describe content in a way that allows the reader to form a vivid picture is really important,” says Angela Ackerman, one of the three co-founders of One Stop for Writers. One Stop is all about making the writing process easier with powerful word thesauri, mapping and outlining tools, an idea generator, and tons of templates and worksheets to get your creative juices flowing.

A writer-favorite, the Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus can help you craft headlines that will hold readers’ attention and carry them through to the comments, liking, and Tweeting. Readers want excitement, even if the topic is how to take care of a car engine. Give it to them.

(Bonus: another One Stop co-founder is Lee Powell, the creator of the game-changing writing program Scrivener for Windows.)

Expresso

Image via Expresso.com

Finally. Your piece is researched and written. Now on to editing. Expresso is your editing sidekick. Just copy-and-paste your piece into Expresso and the online app will tidy up that cluttered writing. Expresso is on the lookout for lengthy or complex sentences, unclear language, and easy-to-miss grammar and punctuation problems.

Once you click “Analyze Text,” you’ll see stats on problems such as weak verbs, filler words, entity substitutions, passive voice, frequent words, stems, and phrases, and a readability score. Don’t submit a draft without a last look through Expresso.

Even the most talented writers need a hand sometimes. The key is knowing where to look for help. Use these tools and watch your content come to life with greater clicks, engagement, and social media shares.

The post Creative Spotlight: 5 Writing Tools to Maximize the Impact of Your Content appeared first on CopyPressed.

 

Categories
Content Marketing

How To Create a Diverse Content Marketing Strategy

Content Marketing Strategy – 14 Tips For Success

Back in the good old days, blogging served as the primary vehicle for content marketing. That ship has sailed. Now you need a more diverse content marketing strategy if you hope to increase brand awareness and boost your sales. You have many options, depending on the type of business you run, and you might need a partner to help you select proper content channels and manage them effectively.

Blogging Isn’t Dead

Image via Flickr by Anonymous Account

It’s true that you can’t sustain an effective content marketing strategy on blogging alone, don’t abandon your blog entirely. Writing for Doz, Dylan Kissane affirms that blogging hasn’t died. Conversely, it’s simply changed course to meet the modern content consumption patterns.

For instance, Kissane predicts that blog post length will continue to increase. Readers want in-depth articles that answer all of their questions so they don’t have to follow Google results after Google results in search of valuable data. If you’re creating blog posts shorter than 500 words, you might disappoint your readers. Aim for 1,000 words or more if possible.

Kissane also notes that conversations that used to take place in blog posts’ comments sections now occur on social media. The blogger posts a photo and link on Facebook, for instance, and readers share their thoughts on the social media site itself. While some bloggers still leave comments open, monitoring those comments has become far too much work for the potential payoff.

Imagery Needs to Accompany Text

People learn in different ways. Some can read a few paragraphs of text and keep a clear memory of the words. Others need to hear someone else speak on an issue, while still more prefer to see visual representations of data or information.

There’s another type of learner: the kinesthetic learner. These people need to take a hands-on approach to learn if they want to fully absorb the information. You can’t necessarily target these learners through diverse content marketing, but you can help by asking them to follow along.

Imagery targets visual learners. For instance, you could give a list of statistics in paragraph form, which would appease reading and writing learners. However, a simple graph that displays those statistics in a visual format will target visual learners and increase your content’s effectiveness.

Audio and Video Content Can Engage Viewers

Have you ever clicked on a YouTube link or a favorite podcast, then looked at the clock several hours later in complete surprise? People consume audio and video content at stunning rates. They get absorbed by the movement, colors, sounds, and voices that these mediums offer.

Best of all, you can share video and audio content via multiple channels. Post a video on YouTube, for instance, or post a podcast. You can also post the content on your blog or in an email marketing message to give it even more visibility.

You can now use video content on sites like Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook. Audio content works particularly well, even if it’s an exclusive webinar for which interested consumers must sign up. You’re targeting a different set of learners here, which diversifies your content strategy and opens up a whole new audience.

Data Can Attract Links

Everyone wants to know specifics these days. What percentage of Americans commute to work every day? What percentage of customer service workers like their jobs? How many men get prostate cancer every year? Specifics always beat generalities, especially when it comes to content marketing.

While data satisfies your readers and engenders trust, it also helps attract high-quality backlinks. More than anything else, backlinks correlate strongly with Google rankings. However, backlink volume doesn’t necessarily matter as much as backlink quality.

For instance, which site would you rather link to your latest blog post: an educational institution or a generic site with three pages of content?

The educational institution is the correct choice. Fortunately, you can often attract backlinks from high-quality sources if you back up your content with relevant data.

To reel in the visual learners, consider adding infographics to your content. Not only does it engage the reader with imagery, but it also provides lots of interesting data that others might want to know about.

Email Marketing Still Matters

It’s often the black sheep of the content marketing game, but it still matters. Email marketing allows you to speak directly to your audience. The recipient doesn’t have to click on a link or scroll down a website to find your message. Neither does he or she have to give the email any attention right away.

Think of email marketing as the modern equivalent of telemarketing. It offers all the advantages of cold calling prospects, but without the drawbacks. You’re not interrupting customers during dinner or waking them up from a sound sleep. They can consume your content when they wish.

It’s also a form of permission marketing. Unless you take the low road and buy email addresses, your contact list is made of people who have asked to receive messages from you. Since you’re not violating any social norms, you can expect a high open rate.

Diverse Content Marketing Demands Your Full Attention

Most firms don’t have the staff or the time to create a full-scale, diverse content marketing strategy. You need a well-known partner who can help you generate great content. Whether you’re interested in interactive media or intriguing blog posts, the experts can take these tasks off your plate so you can focus on what you do best: running your business.

Hiring an in-house content marketing team can quickly get expensive. You have to pay salaries and benefits, and you’ll need to train your staff. By working with a third-party provider, you get results faster and enjoy higher-quality content, which boosts your content marketing efforts. The best providers even help you create a diverse content strategy so you reach the broadest possible audience.

If you’ve already started a blog, you’re on the path to greatness. However, diversifying your content makes you more appealing and visible. Try these other types of content to see how well they do in your industry.

The post Creating a Diverse Content Marketing Strategy appeared first on CopyPressed.

 

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