content marketing Archives

October 22, 2018 by LJ Sedgwick Leave a Comment

Review of Master Content Strategy by Pamela Wilson

I’ve long been a follower of Pamela Wilson, avidly reading her content on Copyblogger and now her BIG Brand System site. I also loved the previous book, Master Content Marketing. But there comes a point where you’ve learned all you can of writing blog posts and you need something more. Something bigger. In essence, you need a strategy.

Master Content Strategy is the new book by Pamela Wilson. — Master Content Strategy

Not all websites are created equal.

If your website is less than a year old, then your strategy will be different from someone running an 8-year-old site. That’s not because there’s anything wrong with one or the other, they just have different needs. And that’s where this book comes in. Wilson helps you diagnose which content marketing phase your own website is in and, crucially, what content marketing tasks you should focus on. She also provides plenty of ideas for repurposing content and generating ideas for content. That’s before I even mention the bonuses.

Master Content Strategy has LOTS of bonuses.

Unlike other books that focus on platform-dependent tactics that go out of date before you’ve finished reading the book, Master Content Strategy provides you with an evergreen toolkit of best practices that will stand the test of time throughout the lifespan of your website. I read it with the book in one hand, and a pen in the other to make plenty of notes. This website is only a couple of years old, but the main website I run supports Icy Sedgwick, my fiction writer alter-ego. I’ve had that one since 2009 but I stepped up my content marketing efforts in 2016. So the goals for that website are different than my content marketing goals for this one.

Indeed, that’s how I would recommend you use this book. Don’t just read it. Use it to design a strategy of your own. It’s definitely a resource I’ll return to again and again as my websites proceed into the next phase!

Buy your copy of Master Content Strategy on Amazon (affiliate link).

July 19, 2018 by LJ Sedgwick 4 Comments

Copywriter vs content writer: Which one do you actually need?

The blank document is open. The cursor blinks, taunting you. It’s like that oh-so-helpful paperclip in Word – completely annoying. But this blog post won’t write itself. And your about page needs a good polish. It hasn’t been updated since 2008.

If only you had a content writer to handle this stuff for you. Or maybe you need a copywriter.

You pause, thankful for any interruption from staring at a blank screen. Exactly what is the difference between copy and content?

Look at any internet sales page. Or advert. Hell, even read the script of a radio ad. Now look at a blog post. Or a magazine article. Or a Youtube video.

Notice any key differences?

Copy sells. Content speaks.

That’s the main difference between the two. Copy is the written word, used to sell something. Don’t get me wrong, content can sell things too, it’s just less overt about it. But you’d hire a copywriter to sell.

Just to confuse things, copy isn’t just selling stuff. It can also sell ideas. Look at this famous NHS poster for basic hygiene practices.

Do you need a copywriter or a content writer? Learn the differences between the two here before you hire your next freelance writer. — Copy sells IDEAS.

Sure, it’s not selling a swanky new car or a luxury villa. But it’s still communicating an idea that will change a behaviour.

Which is really all selling is. You want your potential client or customer to do something different, whether that’s installing an app, using your software, or even just remembering to back up their files.

You can find a copywriter that will also write content. Just like a content writer may write copy. But most writers will have a preferred specialism that they’re good at. That makes them far more likely to be able to help you.

When would you hire a copywriter?

A copywriter is fantastic for web pages, particularly sales pages. They know how to drill down into the needs of your target users and speak to them on a fundamental level. Part writer, part psychologist, and part alchemist, good copywriters speak your user’s language.

A copywriter will do a ton of research into your target audience before they start writing anything. They need to, so they can fluently speak their language.

By speaking their language, copywriters can tap into their hopes, fears, problems, and desires. Notice that’s their issues, not yours. If you can show that you understand what those problems are, your users are more likely to trust that you can help solve them.

You can hire copywriters to write taglines, sales brochures, product descriptions, even your sales emails.

Why would you hire a content writer?

Content is a different kettle of fish. You need a content writer if you need white papers, case studies, blog posts, even emails. User guides and how-to tutorials are an educational form of content. Specialist content writers can create scripts for videos. Content writers are also adept at creating content for email marketing campaigns if you’re looking to build relationships with your subscribers.

A content writer will do a ton of research into your product/service before they start writing anything.

So this blog post is content. I’m not trying to directly sell to you. I’m trying to help you make better decisions when hiring writers in future. Sure, I want you to pick me for your user guides, blog posts, and white papers. But I’m not selling that. I’m just giving you useful information. Like this testimonial.

LJ makes writing for the web seem effortless. She has a very shareable and engaging style and a fantastic understanding of technology and marketing that works together to deliver incredible value to her clients. I’d been looking for a long time for a content writer and I’m so glad I found LJ!

Claire Wingfield

Think of content as a consumable for your audience. I’ve put together a 1-page guide to my 5-step method for writing blog posts, including a checklist to keep you on track if you want to be your own content writer. Just add your email below and get your PDF.

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Content is how you start a conversation with your audience. Or you can use it to connect with them in other ways. what improves your website.

But be warned. Content won’t sell immediately the way copy does.

Copy is supposed to sell from the word go. If you land on a sales page, you expect to find out more about the product or service it’s selling.

Content is different. It’s how you get noticed among the noise. Think of content like the friendly barista who learns your name, and your favourite type of coffee. You start looking for that barista every day because they provide value. But you’ll also use that brand more often because of that barista.

By comparison, copy is the salesperson you go looking for in the store when you’re ready to buy a new TV.

Content has other advantages. Google likes regularly updated websites. What better way to push out new updates than blogging? It lets Google know that you’re still relevant to an audience – and worth sending traffic to.

Let me put this into perspective for you. WordPress developer Robert Ryan stopped blogging for 251 days. His organic traffic (visitors sent by Google) dropped by 42%. He dropped from ranking first for his keyword to 6th.

That doesn’t sound like a lot, but the top spot gets 33% of all search traffic. Just because he stopped blogging.

So which is it that you need to hire?

Do you need sales pages, brochures, descriptions, sales emails, or web copy? Then you need a copywriter. Leave a comment if you need some recommendations.

Or do you need blog posts, white papers, downloadables, e-books, or online course content? You need a content writer.

LJ is an excellent writer who always delivers top-notch content and routinely exceeds deadlines. There were never any issues contacting her (me being in North America and her in the UK) and she’s so dedicated she even came home early from an anniversary dinner to take on and deliver a last minute project! I would highly recommend her writing services to anyone who needs actionable and engaging and content for their business.

Elna Cain

If you’ve decided you need a content writer, then drop me a line and we’ll discuss your needs.

I’m standing by!

February 1, 2018 by LJ Sedgwick Leave a Comment

5 simple (but effective) ways to find time for your company blog

You’re sitting at your desk, fingers flying over the keyboard as you send your last email of the day. A notification pops up on your to-do list. Your blog post for that week is due. It’s almost 5 pm on Friday – how will you find time to write something?

You move the task to next week’s to-do list. You’ll look at it again on Monday.

Trouble is, this is getting to be a common occurrence. It’s making you hate your company’s blog. But you’re not alone.

Many tech companies feel they need to blog continually. A regular blog habit is a great way to hone your writing skills and nail the voice that resonates with your target customers.

But ‘regular’ doesn’t need to mean a daily posting schedule. You could just blog once a week and you’d still reap some benefits.

So why should you do all of this hard work? What are the benefits of blogging?

The benefits to you are pretty simple. The more blog posts you publish, the better you get at writing. You’ll also hone the voice you need to talk to your customers or users.

It’s also a numbers game – you stand a better chance at getting those elusive social shares, and the more posts you put out there, the more chances you have for your customers to see them. I’m not saying you should put out just any content. But ten well-written, optimised blog posts are better than one.

Don’t forget, customers often need to see your name 7 times (or more) before they think of you when they want to buy. They also need the chance to get to know you in order to trust you. Your blog provides those opportunities.

Many tech companies put off blogging because they're not sure how to find time to write posts. Here are 5 ways to do just that - and you can get started today. — This is what we want to see!

Not only that, but it’s good for your SEO. WordPress developer Robert Ryan ran an experiment in which he stopped blogging for 251 days. In that time, he dropped from the top spot for his chosen keyword to 6th place in the search engine results. Given the top spot in Google gets an average of 36.4% of search traffic, and no.6 only gets 4.1%, that’s a massive drop.

Organic traffic fell by a whopping 42%. His overall site conversions dropped by 28%.

All because he stopped blogging.

OK. So you get why you should blog regularly. But how do you find time?

Here are five simple ways to find time for your startup’s blog. And I know they work because I use all of them!

1) Think beyond long form posts

You’ve no doubt read all of the blog posts that say ‘size matters’. From an SEO point of view, long-form posts perform better than short posts (i.e. those less than 1000 words).

Studies have shown that posts over 1000 words long receive more shares and backlinks. Translated into English; more people seeing your content, and Google pushing your site up the search results because those backlinks prove you’re a trusted publisher.

But you might not have the time to write a 2000 word post every week. Luckily, it’s okay to give your users or customers other types of content that have their own value.

Remember. Your blog can be entertaining or inspirational as much as it can be educational.

So mix those long-form posts in with other types of content, including photo posts taking your customers behind the scenes of your startup. Post tutorials to help them get the best out of your solution. Show them how to do something that doesn’t require your solution…but your solution makes it faster.

You can reuse videos from Facebook Live or Youtube. Embed the videos into posts (as I did in this post on using strategy for your blog). Pay for transcription and put the scripts underneath (this is great for SEO). Host podcasts and the accompanying show notes on your blog.

Don’t worry about repeating yourself. Not everyone will follow you on every platform. And it’s good to have everything in one place.

2) Find time in small snippets

You’re a busy person. So it’s difficult to find an hour or two to write that week’s blog post.

But it’s much easier to find time in snippets of 10-20 minutes.

You might find it;

Between meetings
During your morning coffee
On your commute
Even in the gym (dictation can be your friend on the treadmill)

No matter where you find time, make sure you use it. In one snippet, you can write down bullet points to expand later. In another, you can craft the introduction. Elsewhere, you might locate images for the post. Later that day, you might write several calls-to-action until you find the right one.

However you do it, you’ve managed to compose a blog post across several sessions. Does the reader need to know you did that? No. They just need to read your post. And now they can!

Grab my checklist below to find out how I write blog posts.

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3) Stop thinking of your blog as a sales tool

It’s unlikely that you’ll make a sale from a first-time visitor to your blog. Before you close the browser tab and leave this post, let me explain.

Your blog is not your entire sales funnel. It’s often the entry to the funnel instead. The content exists to get eyeballs on your website. Sure, you might have diehard existing users that read everything you post. They’re the ones who’ll share it on social media and bring in new visitors.

(Think social media is dying? Check out these social media marketing stats and think again!)

But that random person who stumbles across you from a Google search? They don’t know who you are. So they might not know they have a problem yet. If they do, they’re not sure how you provide the solution.

Yet.

Draw them in with your blog – so your content can be fun, informative, educational, helpful, or just plain awesome. Teach them, make them laugh, inflame their passions – but make them do something. Then get them to sign up to your email list so you can send them future posts.

Remember that 47% of buyers view between 3 and 5 pieces of content before they speak to a sales rep.

That first post they view just has to get them onto your list. It doesn’t have to make them buy straightaway.

4) Make your blog a priority

Sad thing is, unless you make your blog a priority, you’ll keep finding excuses not to find time. You know why you need to blog. You probably even want to blog.

But your blog needs to be a key factor on your to-do list. Not a holdover item that skips from one week to the next without getting done.

You might schedule blog time on your calendar. Set aside half an hour once a week to draft your posts, the same way you’d block in a meeting. You can always polish them later in the week – but at least you have the draft to start with.

5) Stop writing posts every week

This may sound controversial but the easiest way to find time to write is to write less often. Much of the accepted wisdom around blogging is that you need quality content, rather than lots of content.

Maybe you drop your posting schedule to once a fortnight. Perhaps you write one long-form post a month, but you supplement with other content, such as podcast show notes or Facebook Live videos in the other weeks.

You need to find the schedule that works best for you. One company might find it easy to create a blog post responding to industry changes or future predictions every week. Another company might prefer to take longer, creating thought leader pieces once a month.

Whichever option you go for, make creating content a priority on your to-do list and stick to your schedule.

Alternatively…

If you still don’t feel you can devote the time to your blog, let me handle it for you. I have 4 spots available for my retainer services so click here to secure your spot. I’m standing by!

October 19, 2017 by LJ Sedgwick Leave a Comment

Selling Tech? Don’t Make These 3 Mistakes Made On The Apprentice

Watching The Apprentice sometimes feels like an exercise in cringing. The cocky contestants and their idiotic soundbites. Lord Sugar’s ‘hilarious’ boardroom jokes. The inability of anyone to perform a task better than an average four-year-old. Everyone’s insistence on having a creative background (and no, finger painting as a toddler doesn’t count).

And don’t get me started on the “marketing experts”.

On The Apprentice UK, contestants had to sell robots. They made 3 crucial mistakes. Find out what they are - and how to avoid them in your own marketing! — I’m convinced Lord Sugar can do better… Image by Taylor Herring

Yet weirdly, last night’s episode can teach 3 valuable lessons for the tech sector. If you didn’t see it, Lord Sugar asked the contestants to sell two robots. One was a straightforward toy. The other was a programmable robot. The teams would decide on its function and its name before pitching to retailers.

I won’t tell you who he fired but let’s look at their three mistakes – and how you can avoid them.

Mistake #1 – Not Knowing Your Audience

Lord Sugar mentioned the kids market in his opening brief. In response, the boys’ team decided to aim their robot at the over-60 market.

Their robot would;

help with recipes
remind the user to take medication and
take them through yoga poses.

They chose those functions based on their flawed assumptions of their target market.

We won’t mention the extortionate price. All you need to know was it was well beyond the reach of an average pensioner.

The team didn’t actually speak to anyone over the age of 60 at any point in the process.

True, the girls didn’t talk to any children. But they had a vague idea of what parents would want in a robot toy.

The boys went for stereotypes of their target market. Which tends to be what candidates on The Apprentice do anyway.

During one of the pitches, Elliott tried to include a fabricated story about an ageing relative. I commend him for his attempt to bring some humanity into the pitch. But they should have spoken to actual humans and woven their needs into the product. And, by extension, the pitch.

Lesson Learned?

Talk to your customers. Forget about what you think they want. Find out what it is they actually want.

Discover their problems. Then use your content to show them how your tech solves those problems.

Look at Evernote and their blog. They post useful content about productivity, integrations with other software, or helpful templates. Their articles are handy whether you use Evernote or not, but if you weren’t a user before…chances are, you’ll become one.

Mistake #2 – Not Knowing Your Competition

As we saw earlier, the boys decided their robot would;

help with recipes
remind the user to take medication and
guide them through a series of yoga poses.

As Karren Brady pointed out, they’re not a natural collection of services. There’s no obvious end user.

It also doesn’t help that there are already products to do those things. The ASUS Zenbo springs to mind.

You can already ask the Amazon Echo for help with recipes. Proteus Digital Health makes sensors to measure a patient’s use of medication. A casual browse of the Android Play store reveals dozens of yoga apps.

The team didn’t do any research into any competitors. They couldn’t explain why their robot was different (or necessary). If they’d done some research, they might have spotted other gaps in the market better suited to their robot.

@Lord_Sugar are the candidates on #theapprentice allowed to use the internet for market research in any of the tasks? #curious

— Camara Henderson (@CamaraHenderson) October 19, 2017

Lesson Learned?

Know your competition. It’s difficult to be unique in the marketplace but you can be different. Find out how your competitors sell themselves. Ensure your content marketing is better than theirs.

Mistake #3 – Having A Terrible Tagline

Half of the boys’ team decided to call their robot Jeffrii. Project manager Michaela (yes, the only woman on the team) pointed out it looked awful. The sub-team went ahead anyway and programmed the robot as Jeffrii. Michaela changed the name to the equally terrible Siimon and mocked up the pitch board.

Late to this week’s #TheApprentice but my over 60s mother would HATE something that looked like it’s name was spelt wrong ??#SiiMon #Jeffrii

— Sarah Terry (@seztez) October 19, 2017

We’ll ignore the horrendous grammatical error on the pitch board. And we won’t mention the ghastly absence of any graphic design principles.

No, we’re interested in the godawful tagline.

Your helping hand for life.

Seriously? You people from The Apprentice shouldn’t be allowed near a keyboard.

Jeffrii/Siimon didn’t lift, carry, or generally perform the functions of a hand. That throws ‘helping hand’ into question. It also had somewhat questionable connotations…

Is it just me or does: ‘Siimon: your helping hand for life’ sound like a sexbot for men… #TheApprentice

— Sarah Parry (@sarahparry88) October 18, 2017

What, exactly, did it even help with?

Your tagline is your opportunity to communicate a key benefit of your product. That might just be the feeling the user will get. Or it could be a way for the customer to justify their purchase.

The best a man can get – Gillette
Because you’re worth it – L’Oreal
Think Different – Apple

You need to use an actual copywriter to come up with this stuff. Sadly the fact the contestants didn’t know the difference between ‘you’re’ and ‘your’ proved writing was beyond them.

Not sure what the difference is between a copywriter and a content writer? My handy guide should help.

Lesson Learned?

Hire a writer to keep your writing correct. Or use a tool like Grammarly or ProWritingAid. Not sure if you need one? Check out this review of ProWritingAid. Even Word would pick up a clanger like the wrong use of ‘your’.

Pinpoint the fundamental benefit of your product (or emotion you want people to feel). Use the tagline as an opportunity to communicate that. Turn your tagline into a mission statement that underpins all of your content.

Don’t be like the contestants on The Apprentice.

Your content is the bridge between you and your customers. But it starts with knowing your audience and your competition. Craft the perfect tagline to appeal to the former and stand out from the latter.

And for God’s sake, proofread everything before it goes into the public domain!

Need help creating content to sell your software? Want to tantalise customers with your tech? Grab my handy guide and checklist to help you master blog posts below!

October 5, 2017 by LJ Sedgwick Leave a Comment

What can tech firms learn from Carl Sagan about marketing?

You want to find new ways to market your tech company. So you need to find people to learn from. I’d bet you £1 that Carl Sagan would not be on your list of potential mentors.

But he really should be.

In 1977, two spacecraft launched to explore the solar system. Part of the Voyager mission, both craft beamed stunning shots back to Earth. Without Voyager, we may never have known about Jupiter’s giant storms, the moons of Uranus, or the composition of Neptune.

In 2013, Voyager 1 entered interstellar space. Five of its eleven instruments still send data back to NASA, though it’s likely to run out of energy after 2025.

At the closest point in its orbit, Jupiter is 365 million miles away from Earth. How do you get the public to buy into a mission that won’t bear fruit for years, and takes place in the far reaches of space?

In the 1970s, Carl Sagan revolutionised public opinion of the Voyager mission. What can tech firms learn about marketing from his elegant solution? — Voyager 1’s 1979 photo of Jupiter. Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

That was the problem Carl Sagan faced…and solved.

Technology often faces a buy-in problem.

You may have seen this with your own technology solution. It could solve a given problem, but buyers are either unaware of the problem, or reluctant to give up their existing solution. Perhaps your technology is more of a ‘long term’ product. Or your software solves a problem that’s not particularly fun or sexy (like accounting).

Or worse. Potential buyers are scared of your technology.

Tech and software can be confusing. To many people, it’s an alien, clinical, inhuman force. People don’t think of Wall-E or Johnny 5 – they think of the Terminator or the machines in The Matrix. When it goes wrong, it leaves users frustrated, embarrassed, or angry.

You need to make technology more human.

Let’s go back to Voyager for a moment. How was a tech-heavy, scientific mission going to appeal to the public at large?

NASA brought in Carl Sagan to help with public buy-in. He came up with a simple solution.

The Voyager Golden Record.

As a child, Sagan visited the 1939 World’s Fair in New York. The time capsule project captivated the youngster. The Time Capsule contained books, artifacts and newspapers from 1939, preserved for posterity beneath Flushing Meadows.

Voyager’s image problem recalled this beloved memory. Sagan realised the human need to make our mark on the world, or even the cosmos. We build monuments to remind those who will come later that we were here. Even having children helps to satisfy the urge towards immortality.

Why not connect that deeply-rooted psychological human compulsion with another human need, the desire to explore?

The spacecraft will be encountered and the record played only if there are advanced space-faring civilizations in interstellar space, but the launching of this ‘bottle’ into the cosmic ‘ocean’ says something very hopeful about life on this planet – Carl Sagan

The record contains scientific graphs and charts, as well as music, greetings in a range of languages, and images of life on earth. Designed as a giant “Hello there!” to any passing alien civilisations, the record also ensures humanity’s immortality. Even after humanity ceases to exist, a record of our achievements will be floating through space.

In essence, he made Voyager human.

Which is ironic, since no human will ever play those golden records.

What can you learn from Carl Sagan for your own marketing?

Let’s back up a second. It’s unlikely you’ll be able to launch something into space just to get people to buy your solution. (Though if that’s an option, you might want to look into it)

The key thing you can learn from Carl Sagan’s elegant solution is this;

Find a way to appeal to the emotions of your customers.

In Sagan’s case, he wanted to generate an emotional response in millions of Americans. People always make decisions based on emotions, before justifying them later with logic. If NASA could make people feel something about Voyager, they’d be able to logically justify the cost of the program.

How can you appeal to the emotions?

Your automated scheduling tool isn’t clever software driven by AI. It’s time spent at home instead of the office. It’s birthday dinners attended, instead of missed.

The smart light bulbs aren’t just energy efficient. They’re the parent able to turn off the light in the room of a sleeping infant without going in and waking them up.

Your fitness wearable isn’t just a heart rate tracker and pedometer. It’s your user losing weight on her terms so she looks amazing for that high school reunion.

Use your content to turn your solution into something human.

Use your content to give your technology a memorable name. Go behind the scenes – let your customers get behind the curtain so they realise they’re not quivering at the feet of Oz the Great and Powerful, they’re dealing with a regular person…just like themselves. Show customers the benefit of using your solution. Let them meet the creators of this mysterious technology.

By making your technology more human, you’re making it easier for your customers to relate to it. Which makes them way more likely to buy – and benefit from – it.

Not sure how to write blog posts to do all of these things? Grab my handy guide/checklist combo below and get cracking.

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Review of Master Content Strategy by Pamela Wilson

Not all websites are created equal.

Master Content Strategy has LOTS of bonuses.

Copywriter vs content writer: Which one do you actually need?

Copy sells. Content speaks.

When would you hire a copywriter?

Why would you hire a content writer?

But be warned. Content won’t sell immediately the way copy does.

So which is it that you need to hire?

5 simple (but effective) ways to find time for your company blog

So why should you do all of this hard work? What are the benefits of blogging?

OK. So you get why you should blog regularly. But how do you find time?

1) Think beyond long form posts

2) Find time in small snippets

3) Stop thinking of your blog as a sales tool

4) Make your blog a priority

5) Stop writing posts every week

Alternatively…

Selling Tech? Don’t Make These 3 Mistakes Made On The Apprentice

Mistake #1 – Not Knowing Your Audience

Lesson Learned?

Mistake #2 – Not Knowing Your Competition

Lesson Learned?

Mistake #3 – Having A Terrible Tagline

Lesson Learned?

Don’t be like the contestants on The Apprentice.

What can tech firms learn from Carl Sagan about marketing?

Technology often faces a buy-in problem.

You need to make technology more human.

What can you learn from Carl Sagan for your own marketing?

How can you appeal to the emotions?

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