Has this ever happened to you while on your entrepreneurial journey?

You see a great subject line, click through, and spend time reading the article only to discover that it's way too basic or far too advanced for you.

Frustrating, right? I’ve often felt the same way!

And then, recently, it became super obvious how often this happens. Let me tell you what I mean...

Before social distancing hit, my husband and I began planning a cross-country RV trip. It was to be our first.

I was so excited; we both love to travel!

We’ve sat idly by the last several years watching the annual RVing adventures of my sister-in-law and her husband https://millerluckycharm.blogspot.com/.

We decided we were done being jealous. It was time to give it a try for ourselves.

Before rushing out to spend a good chunk of our savings on a rig, we decided it would be a good idea to rent for the first trip just to make sure the RVing life is really something for us. 

We were going to fly to Minneapolis, pick up the RV, and then stop at as many interesting places as we could along the route back home to Arizona.

We booked the RV, jumped up and down like little kids a few times, and then sat down to plan our adventure.

We started strong. How hard can this be, right? We’ve planned tons of trips. But the further along we got the more we discovered things we definitely didn’t know. 

I Just Want MY Golden Nugget

Who knew there are length restrictions on certain highways? The pros tell ya not to drive more than 330 miles a day but that sometimes gets you driving in circles to reach some of your top destinations.

And it turns out there is a really important difference between black and grey water. Not to mention something known as dry docking; we thought that was boat storage - not so much.

One delivery pizza, a large veggie tray, a few Moscow Mules, and 9 hours later our original jumping up and down enthusiasm had turned into more of an ‘Eeek…we might have bitten off more than we can chew’ feeling.

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 my husband and I had to cancel our inaugural RV trip. But I’m so grateful for the experience of planning that trip. Because in the process I had an epiphany.

The Epiphany

As I was researching, I was running across articles with "way above my novice head" information and then others that left me saying, “Yes. I know how to pack a suitcase. Thank you. I’m way past that."

I was spending too much time reading through content desperately searching for the golden nugget of information that applied to me.

In my frustration, I thought, “I just want one website that says” 

• If you’re a beginner, click here.
• Got a few trips under your belt, click here.
• RV every year? Click here.

I wanted a site that offered me the ability to find content applicable to where I was at in my RV-life journey.

That got me thinking more. It wasn’t restricted to this RV thing. I felt that way whenever I wanted to learn how to do just about anything from how to use Photoshop to creating an online membership program! It's certainly been something I've noticed on my own entrepreneurial journey.

The Struggle Is Real

This is the information overload age. We get so much thrown at us from every direction.

Being the productivity expert that I am I pondered on how much precious time we are all spending while we struggle to consume content that is either way over our head, or stuff we already know.

And then it hit me…does Virtual A Team content do that? 

Calling a meeting

I called a team meeting and asked our experts, “Do you think we help our clients use their time more productively by guiding them to content that applies to where they are in their personal entrepreneurial journey?”

Collectively we decided the answer was no, we don’t. We all agreed that it is frustrating to spend time reading an article only to realize at the end there was nothing in it that was applicable to us.

Let the brainstorming begin! The team was invigorated by the challenge and felt like this could be a game-changer for our clients and subscribers. 

We went back through blog posts since the beginning of Virtual A Team time. We publish blogs weekly that answer your questions about:

• Growing your business
• Marketing
• Personal growth
• Productivity
• Sales
• Social media marketing
• Management
• Building a team
• And of course, outsourcing

We answer critical who, what, when, where, and why questions.  Lots of how-to tips. ‘Are you ready to implement this?’ tips and, ‘these are the best tools out there’ tips.

But we realized that one size does not fit all.

Just like the difference between myself, a novice RV enthusiast, and my well-seasoned RVing sister-in-law, Virtual A Team has clients in the early stages of their business journey and others who are much further along in building. And both are searching for their respective ‘click here’ buttons.

It was so clear to me and the team what needed to happen. We needed to become the kind of resource like the one I was searching for.

We set out to build something that would help our readers easily find the content that meets them where they’re at in their entrepreneurial journey.

KNOWING YOUR STARTING POINT

Are you ready? Ready to hear what Virtual A Team built? We believe it is going to help inform and educate you in the best possible way.

Ok, it all starts with knowing where you’re at on the entrepreneurial journey map.

Rest Stop 1: “I’m going!”

You’ve decided to embark on your journey. You grab your backpack, fill it full of your dreams, and set out to revolutionize the world. You’re building and creating your framework. You know there is growth potential here, but you’re most likely struggling to know just where to start. There are so many decisions and you don’t know where to get help, or possibly in what areas you could use some help.

Rest Stop 2: “I can do this!” 

You’ve gained some experience and tools. Your backpack can no longer hold everything, so you’ve upgraded to a duffle bag. It’s full of lessons learned, new systems, connections, and knowledge that is helping you continue your travel toward huge success. The future's looking bright and full of opportunities. But you’re feeling the weight of the bigger bag. You start thinking, “Yikes! I could use some help.”

Rest Stop 3: “Are we there yet?” 

It’s been a tough journey and there is a lot more to carry now. You tried holding on to the heavy bag but soon realized you couldn’t carry that alone. You’ve tossed that duffle bag to the curb in exchange for the helpful rolling suitcase with pivoting wheels. You’ve lightened your load. You’re walking tall and can see your destination again. You’ve given away a few hats allowing you to spend more time in your zone of genius.

Rest Stop 4: “Go ME!” 

After leaving the last stop you realized that if you could lighten your load even more, you could go that much further. You gave away more hats and the tasks that were draining your energy. You’ve offloaded enough that you can continue your journey carrying only a briefcase. You have a team. You’ve tested and proven that you have what it takes to grow a successful business and the results show. You have more time to focus on new ideas and passions while supporting the teams that will keep the business traveling towards huge success.

To find out what Rest Stop you’re at, take the quiz …

Hosting a blog is an essential way of bringing traffic to your website. If you've been handling this project on your own you know it can present unique challenges that might make getting help from a professional blog manager a good idea for your coaching or consulting business.

Is Your Blog Content of Decent Quality?

One challenge coaches experience is keeping their content consistent both in theme and timing. It's easy to see a variety of content on other blogs and decide to pursue the same path. And having the infrastructure for a blog is great. But often posts aren't consistent enough to make a difference. Both challenges deliver mixed results.

Professionals who manage blogs know how to overcome these particular problems. They understand the unique challenges that coaches face getting traffic to their websites. 

Blog managers work with you to help ensure that your blog has plenty of content to entice your visitors. They make sure the content is suitable for your business. You want to get the traffic, but you don't want your business going off in multiple directions, either.

Loving or Hating the Writing Part

Do you have a love or hate relationship with writing? No matter your answer, there are challenges that come with how you feel about writing your own content.

If you love to write, you likely struggle with not having ideas for your blog or not having the time to write quality posts.

If you hate writing, your understanding of the need for an excellent blog is in a constant battle with your aversion to the task. 

Blog management is useful in both situations. Getting the help of a professional is a good idea for anyone lacking either the time or passion needed to write quality blog posts on a regular schedule. Visitors to your website will notice the difference that dedication makes.

Think about your blog from the perspective of a visitor to your website. Would you want to use the services advertised on your site based on the content of your blog? If not, the time might be right for some changes in your strategy.

Coming Up with Ideas

Having a steady supply of ideas is essential for a blog to deliver results. However, running out of ideas or not being able to translate them into decent blog posts is a common challenge. The right content is essential to building your blog's following.

One of the most time-saving benefits of hiring a blog manager is content curation. They focus on coming up with the right ideas for posts that will get attention. They get to know your ideal client and then search for the right topics to keep your ideal client interested and engaged. Turning that task over to a professional blog manager means you'll have more time to devote to other parts of running your business.

When you don't have to brainstorm to find ideas for blog posts, you can devote more of your time to other essentials. Blog management professionals will help you maintain that proper balance for your business needs.

Do You Publish on a Regular Schedule?

Publishing blog posts on a regular schedule is important, yet this is an area where many website owners fall short. There isn't one single way of choosing when to publish posts. However, a few tips are worth remembering:

• The publication schedule should be consistent
• Posts should have a regular style
• All posts should read as though they had the same writer or group of writers

One of the advantages of using a blog manager is having someone available to write the posts who knows what the best schedule is to use. We can arrange a schedule that works well for your business needs.

Keywords and Titles Make a Difference

Keywords and titles make are more important than most business owners realize. As search engines like Google regularly change their requirements, it can be difficult for consultants and other business owners to keep up.

Although exact keyword usage may vary depending on your business focus and geographical area, some of the factors that might determine the best search terms include:

• Phrases including your company name, if applicable
• City, state or county-related keywords
• Terms related to business and life coaching

Blog managers can make a big difference in this area. They bring knowledge of the most recent updates and help determine the most impactful keywords and post titles will make a difference in helping the search engines deliver your answer at the top of the list when your client goes searching. 

Writing the Content You Need

Regardless of whether you lack time to write or don't enjoy writing, we can help. Your blog's content is an integral part of how you will reach clients. The right approach makes all the difference in whether you make that crucial connection.

There's no doubt that to attract your ideal client you must have a professional-looking website. In addition to looking professional, the site should also help provide a sense of confidence in your ability to handle their needs.

Using blogging experts to write your posts helps ensure that everything is grammatically sound. Because your posts are in the hands of an expert team, you don't need to worry about the quality of your posts suffering because you have additional obligations for your business.

The Importance of Good Editing

Getting your content written is just one part of the story where when it comes to your blog. Without editing your posts, you're running a genuine chance of missing major grammar or spelling errors. Such errors can make your posts appear unprofessional.

Using blog-related services is a good solution when you compose your own posts but require someone to check them for errors. This solution is a good alternative for professionals who feel comfortable writing content but need grammar and spelling help.

Creating Graphics for Use

Graphics can make a difference in how much attention blog posts attract. In some cases, website owners have the best chances of making an impact with specially-created graphics. However, many business owners lack the skills necessary to create such graphics.

Examples of graphics that can make a difference include:

• Infographics that help explain key concepts
• Charts and diagrams to demonstrate numbers
• Animated clips to supplement information on the site

Blog managers can help with creating the right graphics for attention-getting posts. You will find this solution useful because it allows maximum impact without you having to acquire a new skill.

Sourcing Graphics for Use

You can likely find the ideal graphic for your blog post with a simple Google search. However, it is important to respect copyright law when using such images. Sometimes it can be challenging to determine who the image's copyright holder is.

Blog managers are diligent about ensuring proper sourcing of images. You don't want your business hindered due to a copyright issue.

Proper Formatting for Timely Posting

Getting your formatting right matters when you're publishing a new blog post. First impressions matter and posts with bad formatting will not project the professional image that you need.

Proper formatting also helps ensure that your posts are published on your schedule. Taking the time to make corrections to a post because of a formatting error can be very disruptive for your schedule.

Analyzing Metrics and Determining the Pivots

Another skill that a blog manager will possess is measuring metrics to determine the efficacy of posts. Many businesses lack either the time or necessary knowledge of how to measure such things on their own. Experts can make all the difference in these types of situations.

Blog managers will also be able to decide when to pivot or shift your blog posts to a new focus. Pivoting is often a necessary strategy when your posts aren't generating the traffic you need. Blog managers know when and how to strategically take this vital step.

In Conclusion

Although blog managers are not necessary for every business, they can be a valuable resource for professionals such as business or life coaches. You might be surprised at how much time a blog manager can save you resulting in a greater return on your investment. 

You must have heard that you need to create unique content for your blog often, right? Whether you are an unwilling or a natural blogger, it’s important to maximize blog content to make the most of every post's visibility.

Here’s an all too familiar scenario: 

You finish writing engaging content for your blog and you joyfully post it on your site. You then promote it on your social media accounts - once…

Next, you question why it's not generating leads and traffic. No comments, no engagements. Nada!

There's nothing like that sinking feeling when you've put a lot of hard work into a blog and no one sees it.

 “What is it that I'm not doing? Is it the article? Why is no one interested? "Do I need to change the approach?”  Well, maybe.

Why Your Blog Content Isn't Generating Leads

Many bloggers stop putting in any effort to promote their content after they publish an article. They tend to wonder why no one visits the blog or hit the share button. Maximizing blog content by promoting it across different social media sounds difficult. But if you and your team put it in the work and add it to the routine, it'll be worth the effort.

Download our Ultimate Guide to Delegating for More Tips & Tools on How to Delegate as a Solopreneur

Leading your social audience back to your blog can work magic. You need to create quality content for your blog, do keyword research and draft a social sharing strategy. Hold on...we don't mean to overwhelm you. We understand that it’s a complicated process. But it works. And it isn't so bad when you have a team.

10 Steps to Maximize Blog Content and Boost Traffic

When it's time to maximize blog content, work smarter, not harder. No worries, we are with you - here are 10 steps you can take to maximize blog content and boost blog traffic!

1. Create Great Content for Your Blog

If we want to boost blog traffic, we must create quality content. You may have heard the term “content is king.”  In actuality, it's thrown around more than a baseball in a ball game. But do you know that creating quality content isn’t only about quality? It includes developing content marketing strategies.

Good content satisfies a particular need. Consider your audience and find out what they love. Presently, articles fall into these categories:  Useful and informative or modern and funny. Pick one, and you’ve laid a foundation.

Smart Tip: Mental block? No problem. Check Quora to know the questions asked, which relate to your business subject. Also, Buzzsumo contains contents written by others in your industry. Go through them as they'll help you can craft better contents. We've also discovered that these blog topic generators are useful.

In terms of style, aim for mind-boggling statistics, superb storytelling through video, and appealing infographics. In essence, create stuff your audience will want to click and share.

Want to learn how videos can help market your business? Click here

Create Evergreen Content for Your Blog

Evergreen contents? Yes, evergreen! Evergreen contents are timeless. It's a great way to maximize blog content by generating traffic that keeps coming.

For instance, an article about this year’s Easter event will become irrelevant later. But an article about the pros and cons of something, the history of something, or statistics will remain relevant, making it evergreen.

So let's make certain that most of our contents are evergreen. For evergreen content ideas, click here.

Create Awesome Headlines

It's about time we started creating compelling headlines. The internet is full of junk, let's not add more, a great headline is what captures the interest of visitors.

Truthfully, a headline is more powerful than the main post! If engaging content hides behind a poor headline, it won't survive. Appearance is key.

Can you show up at a party wearing an apron or a sick cloth? I guess not. It applies to content too.  We shouldn't rely on dull headlines to improve our blog posts.

Try to test many headlines. Share your blog content many times with different headlines to select the best style.

Do you want more blog traffic? Read: Blog management, Read up why you should hire a VA.

Start a Newsletter to Display Quality Articles

Do you know what needs a large part of our content strategy? Promotion! If you're wondering why? Well, we need it so our articles can drive traffic to our site!

An easy way to maximize blog content and begin directing traffic to your site is to send emails for a blog newsletter. After collecting those contacts, send them emails monthly or weekly. 

We recommend that you include a link to your recent blog post below your email signature. Try WiseStamp. Set it up one time, and it will update through RSS feed.

2. Use Keywords

Want to drive massive traffic to your site? Make Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and keywords a big part of your strategy. People get nervous when we suggest the use of Keywords and SEO, but remember this; SEO works when it’s done right. In other words, you’ll get real traffic from Google. Additionally, your users get the information they’re looking for.

So do you know what to do now? No? Shout, “I'll always value keywords” and shout it out loud! But remember to use keywords in moderation.

DOs

• Add keywords in your content
• Include links to other articles you’ve written, especially related articles.
• Allow keywords to guide your outline and help envision your articles

DON'Ts

•  Don't stuff your content with keywords to saturate them entirely with search queries
• Avoid adding a lot of links so that every other sentence is marked with blue hyperlinks.
• Don't put search bots and keywords before user experience.

Google drives many searches daily. You need keywords to rank on the result page.

With many advertisers and websites online, and competing for the successful keywords, do you stand a chance? Yes. How?

Wait for it....

Long Tailed Keywords Explained:

These keywords are search phrases with more than three keywords. It's simpler to target long-tail keywords since the struggle for these phrases is less. Using long-tail keywords can help us get a top Search Engine Results Pages (SERP) spot on Google.

If you’d want to rank high in Google for “exercise gadgets”, you need long tail keywords. “Exercise gadgets” is a competitive phrase.

But, if you concentrate on “affordable exercise gadgets” or “exercise gadgets for running,” you'll rank higher.

Now how do we conceive these excellent long-tail keywords? Begin with Google. Start writing in a phrase on Google and see what its auto-complete suggestions are. 

 Next, put some of the auto-complete suggestions into Google to get few related search suggestions. They're positioned towards the end of the page.

Are you done with that? If yes, take every long-tail phrase you want and input them in the Google Keyword Planner.

Get the phrases that push the most traffic and extract the keywords with low competition and high search volume. Voila! You've gotten your long-tail keywords! Next, we suggest creating content around those keywords.

3. Find Your Audience

If we want to drive more traffic and maximize blog content, we need to go where our target audience hangs out. Knowing your audience can help you build excellent referral links from reputable websites. 

Use Google Analytics to determine the sites pushing the most traffic. Look for the sites and forums your audience frequents, and get active.

Discuss topics, comment on blogs and post links when suitable. Don't pass as spammy. Let them see you as an essential member who brings in vital information.

If a member needs advice about weekly exercise plans, point them to your website! If it's something unrelated to your business, you can move along.

The moment you find your audience, go all in.

If you need more traffic, you can ask. A study shows that people who requested their followers to retweet their posts on Twitter get 73.48 average retweets. People who didn’t ask only got 2.09 retweets.

If you want users to share your post, all you need to do is ask! It's that simple.

4.  Optimize for Mobile and Speed

 Viewers won't wait around for your site to load. If your page doesn't load up fast enough, they’ll try the next or even a competitor’s site. Remember, time waits for no one.

If you want to check the speed of your site, Google’s Page Speed Insights tool (link) will help.  It gives the speed score and tips on what to do to give your website what it needs to improve.

Likewise, users spend about 3 hours a day on a mobile device or tablets (link). Going mobile is an easy task for website owners. If your current blog isn't sufficiently good, explore any of these Wordpress plugins. They help build a better style of your blog that's optimized for tablets mobile phones.

Jetpack by Wordpress 

WPtouch Mobile Plugin

5. Establish Good Relationships with Other Bloggers

If you want to build traffic online, good habits can go a long way. We recommend building solid ties with other bloggers in your field. Teaming up with your competition is a good strategy. If you've seen Game of Thrones, then you know what I mean.

Stay active in different forums and comment on other blogs. Think about interviewing key industry bloggers or add other bloggers in a “Top 5 or Top 10” post style. For instance, Top 5 Blogs for health and lifestyle.

Once you feature or cite a blogger in any posts, tag them in your social media to let them know. They'll likely share or retweet the post mentioning them. This act will give you more shares and of course, more traffic in turn.

6. Include Interlinks

Yes, linking to your site is right for SEO. But it’s vital to link to other sources too. This shows that you’re not a spammer. It also tells Google that you're helping to build a real relationship with other websites you’re linking to.

Also, links within your articles to other sections of your site, using keywords, inspire visitors to explore. Note that you’re building an experience for readers and adding value.

If there’s an article written from another website that can add value, link to it. Yes, if your audience knows that you're a source for relevant content, they’ll come to you for more.

7.  Use Videos

Do you want to add a little pizzazz to your blog post? If so, we recommend using video. Combining written content with videos can distinguish you from your competitors.

Further, articles with videos create more inbound links and boost viewership than a content without.

8. Include a Call to Action (CTA)

“A call-to-action or CTA is a line of text or image that (prompts your consumers, leads, and visitors to take action.

We advise that you include a CTA at the end of a Google+ post, Facebook post, blog post or any anywhere you want the audience to take action.

 Although your aim may appear clear to you, restating the course of action for audiences raises the plausibility that they’ll follow through.

9. Share New Contents on Social Media Accounts

Establish a schedule that you're comfortable with. For example, you can post more often on Facebook than on Twitter, and you won't lose your audience. Consider what works better on each platform. Learn the best social media for business here.

10. Incite Subscriptions and Comments

Encourage visitors to comment, and reply to the comments in a meaningful. Interaction builds rapport—and offers opportunities to add engagement, long-tail keywords,  and new content for your blog. One strategy to encourage comments is to conclude blog posts with a call to respond.

We recommend adding visible buttons for subscribing via email. Subscribers will have access to your blog without visiting it.

Final Thoughts

We shouldn't let our contents to wither in the back of beyond. Follow these rules and watch how your traffic will soar to your website in no time!

Get more content like this on our website or click the following related articles below:

Why You Need to Have a Target Audience and How to Find One

Why your Newsletter Opt-in needs one

What We Think Of the Top Social Media Management Tools

Content Writer vs Copywriter: What you need to know

I am so happy to write today’s post! After I describe who a content creator is and how they help businesses and bloggers grow their online presence via content marketing, the expression will be “Hey, I need a content creator!”

Why is a Content Creator Critical for Success?

Content creation is closely involved in every part of the Internet and data. Think about it; the Internet contains a vast catalog of content. Content is what we save, tag, share, and consume. Also, it's what we consume on social media.

Quality content turns potential audience members and resolute purchasers. As the saying goes — behind all viral content is a talented content creator.

If we want good content for marketing goals, we need a good ‘content creator.’ 

The Importance of Quality Content

Brands and businesses have witnessed better Return of Investment (ROI) using quality content creation as an approach. 

When we say content, we're referring to all visual and written material we use to interact with our target audience.

Content includes written materials like articles, landing pages, blog posts, email newsletters, instructional videos, Instagram stories, and so much more.

It's vital for most businesses, irrespective of offerings and scale. Content can help our businesses rank higher in Google search result pages.  It also lets us reach potential audiences regularly. That said, here are some key reasons why content is vital for our brands.

• It's Important for Branding

Content creation is a good way to market our brand and our business values. Social media content marketing (blink) can allow us to be less formal and playful. Great, right?  This connects potential clients and our brand.

Social media contents can highlight the tender side of our business. On the other hand, long-form articles allow potential customers to know how our products can solve their issues.

• Content Helps Us Target Potential Clients

The essential step in digital content creation is knowing who our audience is. Professional content creators understand the consumer's persona. They know their pain points, who they are, and the kind of content they want.

Producing good content frequently can help us reach our target audience. Good content provides solutions and helps rank our content on Google's result page. 

Content helps us reach our target audience and create a relationship with them. Further, sharing user reviews and guest posts can help boost our credibility and build trust.

Hiring a technical writer to craft a comprehensive guide to our products shows our audience that we care. It shows that we want to help them learn how to use our products before they buy any.

Download our Ultimate Guide to Delegating for More Tips & Tools on How to Delegate as a Solopreneur

• Boosts Traffic and Visibility

It's no news that content is a great way to maximize the number of visitors to our site. Yes, visual marketing adds a human touch to our marketing tactics. But written content also helps rank high in search engines.

By carrying out keyword research in a niche, we can write articles that boost our visibility. We advise starting with tools like Ahrefs to perfect the keywords that work well in a niche. After getting the keywords, plug them into Buzzsumo or Clearscope to make most of the content performance.

•  It Can Save Time and Money

Professional content writers can create new content effectively and faster than most business owners.

They can build products in a particular context. Also, they can accent how specific offerings can ease pain points and provide solutions for customers. By saving us time, we can concentrate on building our business.

• Better Return on Investment (ROI)

A content creator can help ensure that the material we develop delivers the highest ROI. Remember, content creators are not equal. So we may employ many writers to meet our company's needs like:

• A social media content writer for creating viral or appealing content
• A web designer for designing infographics
• A digital media for using the information developed by a content writer

What is a Content Creator?

A content creator contributes information to digital media or any other media (link). They target a specific audience in particular contexts. Additionally, a content creator provides the following:

•       Email newsletters
•       Blog posts
•       Video marketing
•       Social media copy
•       Graphic design
•       eBooks...and so much more!

Further, they build offline content like client packets, brochures, and so much more.

Their goal is to take our opinions and turn them into valuable content for our business. All we need to do is send them a project brief and ask them to complete it.

We can give them complete control and trust them to develop content for our business.

Why Hire a Content Creator?

To many, hiring a content creator is irrelevant. Why hire a content creator when we can write our own content?

It's simple! Content creators specialize in creating content regularly.

If we don't want to manage two job roles simultaneously, it's best to hire a professional content writer. Meeting a complete content strategy requires full attention.

If we want to reap the benefits of creating content, it shouldn’t be a box to check on our list. We need someone enthusiastic about developing our brand.

We also need someone that can produce working strategies and carry out those strategies.

Still not satisfied? Read on to learn why hiring a content creator is important:

• It’s Cost-Effective

We don't  often come across ways to save money and grow our business. But hiring a content creation agency or a freelance writer will save us training cost and time. Content creation has the largest percentage of outsourced content marketing.

Some content creators may be expensive, but you can devise a strategy before hiring them. The strategy includes the type of content we want and what we’re willing to pay. Remember that behind a successful content marketing strategy, is quality content.

We can get an affordable deal on Upwork or Fiverr. But never compromise quality for affordability. You’ll end up doing more damage than good.

• It Saves us Time

Content writing goes beyond producing blogs at our convenience. It requires time to craft high-quality content since it involves a whole lot more than just sitting down and writing.

It's is a blend of research, proofreading, editing, and formatting to create high-ranking content important to our business.

If we don’t have the time to learn the latest SEO techniques for 2019, a content writer can take care of that.

• Quality Content Preserves our Brand

Hiring a content writer to give our brand a voice will provide audiences with a unique perspective.

Content creators will learn about our company, and what it's about. They'll learn the intricate details of our business identity. Next, they'll transform it into a conversational piece to pass to our audience.

Furthermore, regular content will keep our online presence current. Uploading new material on all platforms will help rank our website high on Google search.

Convinced yet? If yes, that's great! But before we employ a content creator, we need to know what we want. We must define our goals so that we can relate them:

What kind of content do we need and how do we want to sell our brand?

Do we have a budget?

Do we want to outsource?

If we can answer these questions, it will point us in the right direction.

Creating quality content is more than an article or blog. What happens when we spend a few minutes scanning through articles? It's possible that we'll soak in vital information.

In essence, good content speaks directly to our target audience. A content writer knows what's essential to our audience.

Their words reach past the time we use reading their content. Sometimes we don't even know it.

Expert content creators search for things that are at the core of what they're selling and highlight that.

The Dos Equis example...

Dos Equis wasn't linked with anything interesting until a daring mascot came in. If we place creativity at the top of a content strategy, we'll reach buyers without over-promoting our brand.

Nanette Burstein (a content creator) changed the negative meaning of “like a girl” in the Always marketing campaign. The content she developed linked Always with female empowerment. She used it to empower women while selling a lot of feminine products.

Metro Trains had a straight forward message for travelers. It says: don’t mess around on trains. Their content creator designed a video portraying “Dumb Ways to Die” with an appealing jingle and matching attractive characters.

The outcome? About 160 million views (if not more) on YouTube. They had successfully communicated their message.

Content doesn't have to be connected with what we're selling. It involves creating content that interests our target audience. Indeed, creating relevant content reaches beyond our products and services. In the end, we’re developing a relationship between our brand and audience.

 

Picking a Content Creator

We often prioritize content creators with expertise in a specific industry. It's simpler to teach a writer branding style and voice. But it's hard to bring them up to speed on expertise if they don't know the subject.

We advise using writers with experience in your niche. If a company specializes in advanced technology, get a writer with a college degree in technology. For other businesses, a college degree may be an extra benefit, not a prerequisite. Draft a list of essential qualifications. Remove writers without these qualifications.

Don’t Underrate the Value of Marketing

Yes, content marketing is that important, don’t underestimate it!  Content creation concerning inbound marketing, SEO, and brand awareness can help grow our business. Likewise, don’t trivialize the value of hiring a content creator to manage it all.

A content creator can craft about 5000 words of content daily. And even more!

That's not all...

The content will be suited for SEO and written for consumers to engage with. If we want to reap the benefits of inbound marketing strategy and achieve brand awareness, we need a content creator!

It's that simple.

Related Articles

Wondering about the difference between a content writer and a copywriter? Find out right here.

Read using a video marketing assistant here and what you need to know before hiring a writer here.

Every piece of content you create takes time, effort, and sometimes money. 

First, we need to come up with a great idea, write/record/film the idea, edit, publish and promote it.

This goes on and on with content we create and honestly, could get resource-consuming and tiring. But do you know with a little strategy and effort, we can get the most out of every piece of content we create?

How do you get the most out of the content you create? Repurposing.

Repurposing our content can stretch our yield. It’s a work smart, not hard formula. All we need to do is repurpose the content we’ve already created so that it will extend our reach and audience.

This can be done by ensuring every one of our content pieces can be reused across different channels, platforms, formats, and campaigns.

But, before you repurpose content, it has to be great. Let’s start by talking about strategies to make great content.

Ways to Make Great Content

1. Idea Concept

Thinking of an idea is one of the most important parts of the content you create, it is also the first thing.  Let's think up original and intriguing topics that will resonate with our audience. 

Not only that, no one wants to read content they aren’t benefiting from. Therefore, you will want to start with a topic that will be of value to your audience.

Already, we know what our platform is about and who our audiences are and their interests. Therefore, before creating content, it is important to ask yourself questions like, what value will my audience get from this? What does my audience need? What problem can my content solve for them?

Asking questions like these will give you ideas you can work on. And not just any idea, original ideas with the aim of creating content of value, content that converts.

2. Research

The accuracy of our content matters a lot. Imagine the impression you make if a reader finds out there's some kind of inaccuracy in the information you present.

So, once we get the idea for our contents, let's research before working on it. See what other people have done on that topic and add that to the information we already have.

3. Focus On Your Headlines

Many times, people lose their potential audience, because their titles aren’t catching enough. In fact, more people read the headline than the content itself. No, that isn’t such a bad thing. It just means our headlines are as important as the article.

Our headlines will determine how likely the audience will click on the post.  Thus, we should think up catchy and intriguing titles for our posts before publishing them. Also, this guide by Neil Patel on how to create intriguing headlines is very helpful.

4. Engage

Engaging and thought-provoking content will better than content that is dull or repetitive. If you make everything you say or write important, the audience will likely hang onto your every word.

When writing content, consider these points:

• Have a conversational tone, tell stories -- storytelling is an engaging tool.
• Write content that sparks people so they want to leave comments and opinions.
• Leave questions on your posts to generate reactions, answers or make people reflect on how your content has helped them.

Another way to engage readers is by writing short and pointed content. Leave out unnecessary details. Help the readers know how you can help them immediately upon reading the introduction.

5. Share and Distribute

Creating content is king, but sharing and distributing is very important. How else will people see the king if they don’t even know of its existence?

Without proper sharing and distribution, your content may not get the result and reach they deserve.

We should work on this by strategizing our sharing efforts. If we have different platforms for our content, we shouldn't focus on just promoting one platform.

For example, if you have a YouTube channel and a blog, promote both. Promote your blog on YouTube and vice versa. Promote all content on all platforms you have.

Download our Ultimate Guide to Delegating Here for More Tips & Tools on How to Delegate as a Solopreneur

Repurposing Your Content

Repurposing is a very effective way to turn the content you create into something new and unique. This means your old content can be altered and recreated into other pieces of content. It’s like recycling of content.

In return, each piece of content gets more audience and appears on new platforms, while saving time and resources. Below, we will discuss a few things to know about repurposing.

How to Repurpose Your Content

There are multiple platforms for content creation and the beauty of creating content is that we don’t have to stick to one way. Perhaps, you always write your content, you can make that same written content into a video, a slide share, an eBook, an infographic, etc.

The point is, our content doesn’t have to be in one format and platform. We can make use of different formats and platforms. Subsequently, every content can be repurposed to fit every platform.

So once we have an idea for a new post, we should plan how to distribute it on different channels. It doesn’t even have to be a new post; it could be an old one. 

What Contents Should I Repurpose?

As said earlier, we don’t have to come up with new ideas. Old publications are good to go too. We can look for those content that got a wider engagement on any of our platforms.

If it’s on social media, we should check likes and comments. If it’s on a blog, the insights, and analytics. For podcasts and videos; the number of views, for emails newsletters; the number of click rates and so on.

After identifying the content that got the most engagement, we can now start repurposing all that content you create. For example, a twitter post that got a lot of engagement can be posted on your Instagram feed.

A blog post can be turned into a podcast and/or video. Videos aren't even hard to create and they get a lot more engagement. 

Check out this detailed post on how to create DIY videos.

Meanwhile, repurposing shouldn't be exclusive to posts that got high engagement alone. We can also go for;

1. Evergreen contents:

Contents that will continue to provide valuable information and long-lasting value.

2. Long Content

We can dissect long content to a chunk of smaller posts and information.

3. Shallow Content

Contents that were not fully developed or created for small-content platforms can be developed into a new stronger piece.

How to Repurpose Your Content Across Multiple Platforms

Below are some ways to repurpose our content into different platforms and formats;

1. Convert Your Blog Posts into Guides

Old blog posts don’t have to stay old, the knowledge can still be shared and made useful for the audience. We can put together some of our old blog posts after identifying those you want to repurpose.

With this, we can, for example, create a guide by collating information on a particular topic from our blogs.

For instance, if you’ve written several articles on SEO, you can amass all the contents you’ve done on it. Make them into a neat, easy-to-follow guide, re-edit it and start sharing and redistributing.

It could be an e-book or a new blog post with hyperlinks to the original content or more.

2. Chop up Longer Blog Posts

We can promote a new content piece, or extend the visibility of an older one by chopping them into smaller bits. And then share the bits across different channels.

A very long post can be made into smaller variations and shared on small-content platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or other sites like Quora, LinkedIn, SlideShare, etc.

3. Turn Your (Old) Posts into Podcasts

Podcasts are really good and flexible. Contrary to popular opinion, many people listen to podcasts.

The beauty of podcasts is its flexibility and convenience. People can listen while doing laundry, while driving -- they basically choose the time they want to listen, unlike a radio program.

Using this, we can turn some old posts or new ones into podcasts. You can create a podcast channel if you don’t have one already.

Remember, the point is to have more visibility and reach with our contents. Having multiple platforms for our contents is the ideal way to achieve that.

Therefore, we should have podcast channels for our blog posts. Captivate the audience with our content and make something worthwhile. Something that attracts them so they keep coming back.

Also, we could transcribe a podcast to a blog post and/or a video. This is done so that one content in the form of a podcast can be on iTunes, a video of the same content on YouTube and a blog post on our sites.

4. Create a Slide of your post and Upload to SlideShare

We can also turn your content into slides and upload them to sites like SlideShare. To encourage engagement, we should make beautifully designed slides that can easily impress readers.

5. Build Custom Infographics

Infographic is about turning facts, statistics into a visual representation. Also, infographics get more engagement and are the most shared type of content. Pictures get more attention and that’s the concept behind infographics.

Such infographics can then be shared across different platforms, used on slideshows, or added to an email newsletter to engage readers.

A good infographic should show relevant information, be well crafted, catchy and good looking.

Meanwhile, infographics are not that difficult to create. There are templates and tools one can easily use to start one. For example, with Canva, we can create an amazing infographic in a few minutes. This post will show you how.

6. Find Your Strongest Introductions

The snippets of our contents matter too. We can repurpose a previously published content by rewriting a post introduction and sharing across different platforms.

For example, if you are posting a link of your content on social media, you can add an irresistible introduction that makes people want to view the rest of the content.

Identify the top introductions and repurpose them across different platforms: in an email newsletter, a YouTube video/ podcast description or social media posts.

7. Write Guest Post on Topics Related to Your Expertise

We don’t have to be confined to our platforms only, we can widen our reach on others’ platforms too. If we’re good at a particular niche or topic, we can guest post for other content creators who may have a different audience from us. Guest posts will introduce us to their audience.

There are different websites that accept guest posting, Writing Cooperative did a list of 54  sites that accept guest posts.

8. Share The Best of Your Content Through a Newsletter

Newsletters are still as good as they were in the past. Apart from creating content, we need to curate an email list of our audience too.

This can be done by platforms like Active Campaign that allow people to sign up with their emails. Read more about how to get the most out of your email list in our article.

Once we have an email list, we can now work towards using the content we create in other areas as content for our email newsletters.

Newsletters don’t have to be an everyday thing, it could be a once in a week, month, 2 months thing. Next, share the best content in your email newsletters.

9. Pull out Quotes and Paragraphs as Micro Contents

More than videos and blog posts, the internet loves quotes. We should pull out awesome and unique quotes out of original content. Then promote these quotes across different platforms where they can reach our target audiences.

10. Don’t Sleep On the Power of Social Media

As said earlier, distribution and sharing are key to getting your post to a wider audience. If you haven’t been using social media, you should start now and use it effectively. Social media help us promote our brands, get a wider reach and makes it easy to engage with potential audiences.

We can post our content or snippets or links on our social media sites. It could be infographics from a blog post followed with a short introduction, or it could be a short video, a snippet of a podcast.

Social media should be a must for all content creators. Also, it's the number one way to drive traffic to our published contents and make people keep up with your new contents. This detailed blog post explained how to track our social media results.

In Conclusion:

There are different ways to get the most out of the content you create. It all starts with thinking of awesome ideas, sharing and comes down to repurposing.

Why create new contents every time when we can repurpose the existing contents and redistribute them across different platforms?

We can start repurposing content by;

• Creating a list of content that can be repurposed
• Transcribing posts into different formats. For example, from video to audio, from written to audio, etc.
• Using social media efficiently. Creating infographics and use them to get more engagement
• Guest posting for other platforms
• Using strong introductions and pull out quotes to make your contents promotable

It's best to implement these strategies for effective mastery of how we can repurpose our content. This way, we will get the most out of every piece we create without getting exhausted or working too hard.

You are stuck, a blank page and no idea what to write. Or, you are overwhelmed by what many ideas, so many topics and you can’t even come out with the ideal topic. If only this was already done and plugged into a social media content calendar.

Totally relatable.

These are the types of scenario content creators experience from time to time. The thing is, if we continue like this, what used to be fun for may become a chore. No, we don’t want that. We want to reap the rewards of what we love doing while enjoying the process.

So what’s the Solution?

There’s no doubt that blogs and social media are essential platforms to create content. This implies that we shouldn’t only worry about creating content, but working on strategies to keep these content organized. From scheduling and timing posts to keeping up and monitoring deadlines, we should keep our contents organized. We can achieve this by creating content calendars.

Why We Need Social Media Content Calendars

A content calendar is arguably the best way to manage and organize your contents online. Some of the challenges we face are planning content, worrying about consistency and doing everything by ourselves. Editing, writing, social media design, marketing and possibly another job and responsibilities that require our time and energy.

But it doesn’t have to be so hard or complicated. There are several successful blogs with fantastic content that people devour at a high rate. These blogs amidst other reasons achieve this because they plan and prepare their content. Thankfully, you can too with a content calendar.

However easy creating a content calendar that schedules and plans our posts may sound like, the point is to stick to it. If we don’t stick to it, it might work out in the end.

Download our Ultimate Guide to Delegating Here for More Tips & Tools on How to Delegate as a Solopreneur

In summary, a content calendar can help grow our blogs and social media. It’s like a system to keep our contents on the track without suffering bumps or oversights that could be avoided.

How Content Calendars Can Help Blogs and Social Media Grow

1.     Keeps Us Organized

How many times did you have a blog post idea and forgot about it after another topic popped up in your heads? Now, imagine if you start writing all your content topics ideas in a place (whether a note and a pen or electronically), won’t it be easy to find and work on them?

Instead of mismanaging content ideas, we can use a content calendar to write down our thoughts and plan. Would I need a graphic designer to execute this topic?

Should I start finding links I’ll be adding to this topic when I write it? This way, we can store topics and plan what we need to execute ahead before it gets overwhelming during a rush.

2.     Helps You Stay Consistent

Research confirms that people achieve their goals when they write them down. Writing down goals is the first way to stick to them and hold ourselves accountable should we lose focus.

A social media content calendar will allow you to plan your posts. We can write down posts ideas and assign dates, set deadlines to them. This reduces blogger’s block or racking our heads at the dying minutes for a new topic.

3.     Can Help Re-strategize Your Type of Content

All content creators want engagements, and having a content strategy is the path to get there. This way we can understand our audience, what they like and how we can improve. To get the results we want, each of our contents needs to be deliberate, organized and optimized for the SEO.

A content calendar can help us work on this. For example, if you're a food blogger and you find that the recipe for seafood got lots of engagement, plan to write another recipe for seafood.

4.     Organize Your Writers and Contributors

If you have people who write and contribute to your blog, a content calendar is a way to track them and organize them. In essence, they're working when you need it. We can write down topics idea, assign topics to writers or collate posts from our contributors and plan how and when you'll post.

Also, a social media content calendar will help us review posts before they’re published and make it convenient to share our strategy with our teams.

5.     Foster Creativity

Content calendars apart from making your works easier and saving time will also improve our creativity. When you aren’t overwhelmed or always in a rush, you'll have space to think up new creative ideas.

Also, it helps us assign a purpose to everything we want to publish or post. We'll be posting because we've planned why we need the post, and how it can help us with engagement.

How to Build a Content Calendar

We can decide to build a content calendar ourselves using tools like Google Sheets. However, there are scheduling and social media management tools that help plan posts ahead. Yet, knowing the basis and need for a calendar is just as important as using the calendar itself.

The following are tips on how to create a social media content calendar;

1.     Conduct a Social Media or Blog Audit

Before using that scheduling tool or template we download, know what channel we're posting on, who our audience is, what they want. Also, we need to know which platform gets the most engagement for your content and what content is best for each platform type.

 For example, a longer content won’t get much engagement on social media compared to a shorter one. People prefer easy-to-read information on social media. Also, we need to decide what format our contents will be in, audio, video, text?

2.     Build a Content Strategy

We need a content strategy. What type of post do you want to produce for your social media channel? How are we sharing them? How frequently do we want to be posting? These are questions that’ll help organize content calendars.

Also, it is helpful to note and plan the type of content we’ll be sharing. It could be blog posts, videos, infographics, news announcements.

Further, we also need a strategy as it can help make our content calendars feasibility. For example, if you know you'll be posting pictures twice a week in the coming week, start finding ways to get a graphic designer or stock images on the internet.

3.     Establish Your Posting Schedule

There is always the best time to post content. For example, a post about the best stores to buy the perfect gift for Christmas will do well in December than in June. We should always try to find the best time that fits our content.

Social media like Facebook, Instagram have in-built analytics that help track the best time to post, which post got the most engagement and information that can help us schedule posts accordingly.

We can use scheduling tools to schedule our posts ahead after writing them. As we go on with our daily activities, the post we planned five days ago has been posted and getting engagement from the audience.

4.     Have a Content Repository

As stated earlier, sometimes you lose and forget topics you want to talk about because you didn’t store them. Apart from that, topics you’ve already worked on can be stored and written down too.

A repository is exactly what it is -- a place to store all topic ideas so that when building a content calendar, we know what content you're choosing from.

It could be a notebook, a Google doc or spreadsheet. We need to make sure it’s detailed. We may include in the repository the following:

•         Title of content
•         Content format
•         Images (this is feasible when you use electronic tools)
•         Snippets (especially for social media posts)

5.     Find out What You Want for Your Calendar

Different content creators with different needs right? While I may need a content calendar with topics and dates only, you may need a calendar with the following:

•         Due dates
•         Publish dates
•         Writers assigned (for those with writers and contributor,
•         SEO keywords, platform (for those with more than one platform)
•         The status of each post (Published, approved, written, edited, draft)
•         Links and so on

Identifying how your social media content calendar will look like will help you create a perfect one or choose a perfect template.

6.     Start Building or Filling out Your Calendar

There are several websites where one can get free calendar templates. Also, we can use tools like DivvyHQ, CoSchedule, Google Calendar and Trello to plan posts and schedule them.

With tools like these, we can easily customize to our taste and brainstorm to our fill. Check this post out for awesome tools to use as content calendars.

Now let's start filling up this calendar, publish and due date, the topics, SEO keywords and other information we want to include.

7.     Stick to It

No doubt, it may be hard to follow our calendars, especially if we're starting. That’s why it’s best to set workable goals, goals we can quickly meet. The point of the calendar is to get rid of the stress and have a space to breathe.

You Don’t Have to Do the Job Yourself

Hiring a social media manager can help our businesses. Apart from being professionals in such areas, they reduce the workload;

•         Improve customer service
•         Help us develop relevant content
•         Schedule our post
•         Understand our analytics and come up with strategies to reach target customers
•         Monitor, listen and engage our audience and much more.

That means all the workload doesn’t have to be on our shoulders. We can hire a social media manager and in return, we have someone monitoring or promoting our business. Someone with professional skills that understands what works and what doesn’t.

Worried about investing in social media? Don't be! You'll reap favorable results from one. Want to know how to hire a social media manager? Click here.

Time to Get Your Blog and Social Media in Order

Hopefully, you’ve now realized the benefits of content calendars – why you need it and how it can help. So what are you waiting for? It’s time to create one!

Having a social media content calendar can help with planning, managing time and reducing workload. It’s best we start considering using one now for positive results. We can build one using Google sheets or use paid tools like Trello and CoSchedule.

Meanwhile, sticking to the content calendar is the goal. Are you meeting our goals? If you have a team, is your calendar clear and comprehensive?

In conclusion, remember success doesn’t happen overnight. Hopefully, the tips above will help create a plan that works well and gives results that make every time and input worthwhile.

Related Articles:

Using Stock Photos for Marketing?

Our Review of the Best Online Scheduling Tools

How to Know When You Need To Hire A Virtual Assistant

Is it finally time to hire a copywriter? Do you have a lot of great thoughts to share but it’s become a full-time job keeping up with writing all that content that you could really use a content writer. Or maybe you have a sales page to create and you know selling isn’t where you shine.  

I was recently having a conversation with a very close friend of mine. She's a brilliant writer. But she's new at marketing her skills. We were chatting about the different types of writers and she asked me a very important question.

"How am I supposed to compete with writers on the other side of the world that charge 1/2 cent per word when I charge 10 cents a word?"

As you begin to look into hiring someone to take on the writing for your business, you run across different terms and vastly different rates. So how do you know who to hire and what to pay?

The terms content writer and copywriter are often used interchangeably but they aren't the same thing. The old saying, apples to apples, just doesn't work here. If you've ever bit into a Fiji apple expecting it to taste like a red delicious, you totally understand what I mean.

Before you hire any writer, it’s important to know the difference.

Keep reading or watch the video for a quick summary.

Copywriting Vs. Content Writer

Both content writing and copywriting are considered important components of marketing. The difference lies in the purpose and approach of each.

What is Content Writing?

The purpose of content writing is to entertain the reader and keep them engaged with your business. Think of content writing for things like:

• Blog posts
• Email newsletters
• Podcast scripts
• Ebooks
• Social media posts
• Guest blog posts

Download our Ultimate Guide to Delegating Here for More Tips & Tools on How to Delegate as a Solopreneur

In your coaching business, writing content can be a great way turn leads into prospects and maintaining the loyalty of your customers. Not only is it a cost-effective approach, but time-effective as well compared to traditional methods of lead generation. When done properly, it can improve the credibility and authority of your brand in a given topic.

When you hire a content writer, they focus on content marketing. They write with the aim of sharing information about a specific topic.

For example, they can write an article about the benefits of coaching with the aim of grabbing and holding the attention of potential clients. The article helps to influence your audience by providing educational information. This can help your coaching business to form trust and authority in the mind of the audience. They will then be more likely to buy your products.

Although you may not achieve a one-time sale this way, your audience may also be engaged and motivated to share your content on their social media account. This helps to spread awareness of what you do. It is also a great way of encouraging your audience to stay in touch with your business.

What is Copywriting?

Copywriting, on the other hand, is based on the old forms of advertising like direct mail and print ads. Think Mad Men (a show I still need to take the time to watch…)

Copywriting is used to market or promote your products or services. It is more sales oriented. Think of copywriting for things like:

• Sales pages
• Email sales funnels
• Social media ads
• Marketing video scripts
• Bios and About us pages

The aim of copywriting is to write in a way that helps to sell more stuff. The write-ups help your potential clients/customers see the value of your products or services so they are more willing to buy from you. It can also portray your product as the ultimate solution for the client’s needs.

You might think of a free webinar as a combination of the two. It’s 1 part content writing for the valuable information you’ll be sharing and 1 part copywriting for the close or sales pitch at the end.

Let’s take a look at each technique in more detail to help you understand the differences.

Purpose of Content Writing

In your coaching business, writing content can be a great way turn leads into prospects and maintaining the loyalty of your customers. Not only is it a cost-effective approach, but time-effective as well compared to traditional methods of lead generation. When done properly, it can improve the credibility and authority of your brand in a given topic.

Although you may not achieve a one-time sale this way, your audience will be engaged and motivated to share the content on their social media account. This means that your brand becomes more popular and attract more potential customers. It is also a great way of encouraging your audience to stay in touch with your business.

Purpose of Copywriting

Copywriting helps educate your audience on why a specific product or service would work for their needs. Great copy seeks to attract the attention of the audience. But it goes further to convince them why they should buy from your brand. So, it grabs the attention of the audience, and at the same time entices them into taking action. The aim is to achieve a one-time transaction rather than keeping the audience engaged.

To convert readers into customers, the writer will choose a compelling headline and use an attractive call to action. These elements reveal the greatness of your brand, invoking the need of the audience to be associated with your brand. They also explain why customers should buy from your brand and not any other.

Image compliments of Marketing Profs.

Do I Need a Content Writer or a Copywriter?

Who are Content Writers?

In dating, content writers would be the courters, the ones that take their time and build a strong relationship before popping the question.

They are also the marathoners. Their content tends to be longer than 1000 words. Their written pieces are usually long-form and detailed.

These writers create different types of content ranging from simple articles to search engine optimized rich-content. In their writing, they consider the use of keywords, meta, and the likelihood of the content being shared now and in the future. They possess editorial skills that allow them to write with intricate details and word counts. Since the aim is to grab the attention of their audience, content is designed to be easily consumed, interesting and informative.

Some content writers are journalistic in nature.  This type of writer does the research and reports on the information. Think of the basic how-to articles or "listicles". Writers of this type are much more common and often charge less for their work.

Other writers are far more creative and focus on delivering the content via a story or message. The content may still be a how-to but it's spun in a much more memorable way. These skills are much more unique and this type of writer often charges a premium for their services.

Who are Copywriters?

Copywriters are the ones who make a proposal on the first date. It’s all about the spring or the quick win for these writers.

These are the sprinters. Their copy is generally short and to the point.

Writers focused on copy will write with the intention of increasing customer conversion. They are wordsmiths who craft compelling headlines and content to prompt prospects to take action. A well-written piece of copy will prompt the audience to buy a product, schedule a tour, subscribe to a service or submit vital information for follow-up.

Copywriters are adept at using psychology to sell.

Finding the Right Person for the Job

Content writers and copywriters have certain basic skills required to do their jobs well. These skills include:

• Excellent grammar.
• Outstanding proofreading skills.
• The ability to write for their target audience.
• An understanding of your specific industry.
• Uses language the reader understands.
• They can take feedback and implement requested changes.

But let’s look at what unique abilities each has.

Skills of a Content Writer

If you are looking for someone to write articles for your blog or newsletter or to create engaging social media posts, then look for a writer with the following skills:

• The ability to write content that is engaging, not boring.
• Can write in a tone that mimics your “voice”.
• Enjoys brainstorming new content ideas.
• Knows how to research and reference articles without plagiarizing.
• Understands how to write for search engines while not losing readers.

To me, the number one requirement for hiring a content writer is the ability to write fluently in the native language of the audience. There are many sites where you can hire an inexpensive writer but a large number of these writers are not fluent in English. And the writing shows it.

The next most important quality is the ability to write engaging content. It should have a hook from the very beginning that draws me in and makes me want to read more. If the first paragraph of text is boring, I’m highly unlikely to keep reading. And I’m not alone…

Let’s face it, there’s so much content on the internet already that it is HIGHLY unlikely that your article will be an original idea. What will set it apart is how well it’s written.

Skills of a Copywriter

When you are ready to create compelling copy for your landing page, sales emails or even your About Us page, it’s time to hire a copywriter. Here are the necessary skills to focus on:

• An understanding of human psychology and why people buy.
• The ability to deliver powerful messages in a small amount of text.
• Knowing the needs of the target audience.
• The ability to use emotion to sell and logic to reinforce the decision.
• A knowledge of how to break complex concepts into simple terms.

I always find the best copywriters are always studying their craft. They are always researching the best triggers to use at any point in time. They know how to create something that doesn’t feel salesy while still having the ability to persuade. This isn’t about being the used car salesman that promises the car will work (long enough to get it off the lot). It’s more about the trusted advisor helping you to take action that will truly improve your life.

As you prepare to hire your first writer, check out our tips to hire a writer.

Tips for Working with Writers

You may argue that the two types of writing are almost the same. But the differences are clear and should be the basis for making your choice. Knowing the difference between the two enables you to hire the right person for the job.

Once you’ve hired a writer, is there a difference between how you work with the different types?

Content writers generally work best with long deadlines and few details. They want to freely express themselves in their writing while still fulfilling the necessary details and voice you are looking for.

Copywriters work better with specific details and information.

Content writers will often work with long term strategies.

Copywriters work with short term projects.

With both types of writers, expect a learning curve as they learn about your business, audience, brand, and voice. Take your time and offer suggestions and feedback. They’ll thank you for it and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by their ability to adapt to your needs.

There is no one best writer for your writing needs. In fact, most businesses find it ideal to hire both writers to work together in the organization. While one will be focused on informing the audience about a specific topic, the other will sell your brand out.

Summary

Hiring someone to help you with your writing needs may sound like a difficult task. Once you understand the differences, it’s more simple than you think. All you need is an understanding of the purpose, format, and goals of your writing needs.

If you want to gain an audience or inform people about your brand, go for a content writer.

If the goal is to increase sales or customer conversions, then hire a copywriter.

Still confused on what works the best for your coaching business? Virtual A Team has a team of both content and copywriters to meet your needs. Set up a complimentary strategy session to see how hiring a writer can benefit you.

Whether you’ve been working for years to grow your online presence or you’re just starting out, written content is bound to make up a huge percentage of the work you’ll be doing to promote your website. But do you really need to be writing every word or can you hire a writer?

Hiring help online is easier now than it’s ever been before. In this article, we’ll go over the pros and cons of outsourcing your websites written content to freelance writers. Check out these pointers to see if taking on help from a freelancer or content management team sounds like the right move for you. We’ll take a look at the negatives first:

The Potential Downside When You Hire a Writer

Outsourcing can damage your brand if it’s not managed effectively

If you've been running your blog or website for some time, you've probably spent countless hours pumping out glorious content, honing your voice and steadily building a readership that connects with your work on quite a personal level. It'll be very hard to find another writer that'll match your tone a style precisely. So if you have a blog and its main selling point is the unique character and tone of voice in your articles, then letting someone else take the rains is going to be a hard pill to swallow.

Hire someone without being careful enough and the work they produce could end up having a negative impact on your online presence. Did you put in all that work just to have it ruined by someone else's lesser contributions? No dice!

We regularly hire writers here at Virtual A Team. We’ve had stories where articles submitted wreaked with political commentary (a NO go for our brand). There were also the submissions that looked like a mishmash of other articles not relevant to our target audience.

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The Fix

Content management tools like Google Docs will allow you to collaborate with freelancers on projects and pieces of content to ensure you keep a firm grip on the level quality being produced. Google Docs allows people using different computers to access and work on the same document in real time. It makes it easy for editors to leave comments, make adjustments as needed, and share files instantly.

It can take time to find the right fit

This point leads on perfectly from the last one. When you hire a writer to take over your work, expect it to be more of a process than a one-time action. It takes trial and error to find the perfect writer for your project. Expect to have to hire and fire a boatload of prospects before you land one that really ticks all the right boxes.

Every writer tends to have their own style, so it can take a bit of time to train each new writer to understand your brand and write with the tone of voice you’re aiming for. However, most quality writers are flexible and can adapt to your voice with some guidance. In an ideal world, you’d be putting in this initial investment of time to then save bundles of time going forward once the writer is molded to your liking. Find the right writer in the first place and your return on this investment could be long-term and transformational for your business.

Freelancers move on

One of the best things about working with freelancers is how little you owe them. There are no employment contracts to deal with, no benefits to offer, and next to no responsibility on your part. When you need them, they're yours. As soon as you don't, they're gone.

This loose connection is also a double edge sword. You could end up working for months to try and find the right writer, only for them to suddenly decide your project isn't quite right for them anymore, or they could be lured by better options elsewhere.

When it comes to your constant need for content, this stop and start routine can become a new dynamic to worry about in itself.

The Fix

There are, of course, ways to reduce your freelance writer turnover as much as you can.

• Offer generous rates for the work you require,
• check the profiles of candidates to see if they have a knack for long-term projects,
• make sure you hire a writer that clearly loves your niche,
• review other projects they have written, and
• create a style guide to help onboarding when you hire a writer.

These are all important parts of keeping the good writers on board.

Even once you've found Mr or Mrs right, it’s still important to be prepared for the likely eventuality of them hitting the road. In the future, you may even find it hugely beneficial to hire an online business manager to handle your reoccurring recruitment and training needs.

Those are the potential issues, now let's take a peek at some of the best advantages of handing your content work over to a freelance writer.

The Upside When You Hire a Writer

Outsourcing saves you time

One of the biggest and most crucial advantages of hiring others is time-saving. Writing is a laborious and time-consuming part of digital marketing. When you're managing a blog alongside everything else, you'll no doubt find yourself on the verge of complete burn-out before long. Some people love being overly busy and see it as one of the best things about running an online business. But most of us long for a little bit more time, as little hassle as possible, and easier profits.

When you hire a writer, you free up more of your precious time. Maybe you wanna spend more time with family. Or perhaps you want to devote more of your working hours to other projects. For some, they just want to cut down on the list of things they need to do each and every day. Whatever your ambitions, your day-to-day lifestyle has to be manageable and having someone else do a huge chunk of your daily legwork can certainly play a big part in getting more done much faster.

Flexible costs to fit your budget

A steady flow of content is important for your website, but can you afford to take on someone full-time? When you hire a writer, you’re only hiring them to complete the level of work you need at any given time, so it’s easy to keep the cost perfectly in line with your needs. As things change you can simply order more or less depending on how your business evolves.

Taking on permanent contracted staff is more of a commitment, whereas freelance writers can be entirely flexible around your budget and production scale.

Freelance writers can deliver a variety of specialities

Are you wiz at putting together top class blog posts filled with the latest information and bags of personality? If so, good for you! How about website sales content, press releases or paid ad copy? Your online presence can require very different types of work that require specific expertise for best results. You could try and learn how to do all of these things but you’ve already got a million things on your ever-growing list, why add to it? If you wanna stick to what you do best while experts handle other areas, you can hire freelancers with specialities to get things done right.  

Some types of writing you may consider when you hire a writer include:

• In-depth, well-researched articles
• Shorter, informal articles
• Copywriting for web pages, landing pages, etc…
• Copy for social media posts
• Newsletters
• e-Books
• Press releases

You’ll be allowed to chase growth for your business

It's hard to pursue opportunities for growth when you're bogged down doing all the work it takes for your online business to simply survive. Letting someone else handle your content means giving yourself the freedom and focus to explore your business's path to bigger and better things.

If you run a blog and your target is to publish new content every day, you'll be spending the majority of each day creating tomorrow's piece. So how much time and energy are you then able to allocate to monetization, competitor research or user analysis? If you're doing all the writing yourself, probably not enough.

Every online presence needs to be managed as if it were a business, and business is all about profitability. If your ambition is to make as much money as possible from your digital projects, then most of your time needs to go into planning and executing the strategies that bring you maximum return on your investments.

In the vast majority of cases, growth only occurs when you have a very detailed and up-to-date understanding of your current market including all competitors, and you actively nail the moves necessary to place your brand in a better position relative to these rivals. This can take serious amounts of research and dedication.

Things tend to change very quickly in the online world no matter what industry you're in, so managing your business's growth strategy can prove to be a whole other full-time job. Is it possible to stay on top of all this extra work while your head is buried knocking out great posts day to day? Maybe, if you don't allow yourself time for things like sleep and food.

The Fix

When you hire a writer to take over your content duties, you put yourself back in the driving seat and can focus a lot more of your energy toward steering your business upwards. Whether you aim to spend more of your efforts hunting down prospects for sponsorship or advertising, researching gaps in the market or keeping your head wrapped around the latest market trends, with the right help by your side, the world is your oyster.

Quality freelancers can potentially improve the quality of your content

If you’re a literary ace and have a very particular style that you know connects with your audience, you’ll find it hard to let someone else take over. But if writing isn't really your thing, hiring help can actually be a great step in improving your presence. If you’re more of an ideas person, you’ll be able to concentrate on coming up with all the bright ideas while you let someone more inclined with the words get it all down nice and smooth.

Nervous about having to check through everything with a fine comb? There are a wealth of specialist apps out there designed to make proofreading and editing a piece of cake.

Grammarly

Grammarly is one of the world's most sophisticated spell check and grammar platforms. It's free and super user-friendly, so whatever level of writer you are, it'll make your editing duties a darn sight less draining.

Hemmingway App

Hemmingway App is another tool to use to verify that content is readable for your audience. Unless you are writing for a highly professional or technical crowd, your readability needs to be below a 7th grade level for maximum impact.

CopyScape

Plagiarism is another threat you'll need to look out for when others are doing your writing for you. Go for the cheapest writers out there, and you should be expected to come across more than your fair share of dodgy dealings. Copyscape is another world leading platform in the content management space that helps identify whether or not a piece of writing is genuine or copied from another source. This service isn't free if you want your scans to cover the entire world wide web, but since Copyscape launched their new price structure, checking every post that ever touches your site is more affordable than ever!

That’s a Wrap!

We hope you've found this quick guide to hire a writer helpful! Everyone's needs are different so the most important thing to do is work out the priorities for your business and plan accordingly. Think you have the patience to continuously scour the globe for the right talent? Then go for it! Otherwise, if you think it's best to keep the writing in your hands, you can think about outsourcing other tasks that you'd rather not face yourself. There's no better way to see if it's right for you than getting out there and giving it a good whirl! Stay objective and the right options are bound to pop up. Good luck!