Chase Jennings and Kaleigh Moore talk about tips for copywriting, newsletters, efficiency through automation and customer development.
Textual Summary on Becoming a Content Marketing Pro
CONTENT MARKETING
Now that everybody is doing content marketing, a lot of people want to rush into it without a strategy. People can do without ‘Top 10 lists’ — now, people want to dive deeper into things like case studies and content that leaves you feeling like you’ve learned something; there needs to be a great level of quality that surpasses what’s already out there.
Now that everybody is doing content marketing, a lot of people want to rush into it without a strategy. People can do without ‘Top 10 lists’ — now, people want to dive deeper into things like case studies and content that leaves you feeling like you’ve learned something; there needs to be a great level of quality that surpasses what’s already out there.
Some of Kaleigh‘s favorite ways to leverage great content are getting engaged with social media. As an example, one of her clients had a selfie contest which is fun and easy to do. Another great way to provoke engagement is by brutal honest, especially regarding failure and the learning experiences that come from them.
If you want to be social, but you’re in a not a sexy industry like B2B, sometimes you need to just say ‘no.’ There are smart ways to produce meaningful content around, but it really takes an expert to build those pieces of content. In terms of analytics, determine your end goal and always experiment to push those numbers up. Facebook, Google advertising are great ways for exposure.
COPYWRITING
Upworthy gets 48M visitors a month just by replacing old headlines with irresistible ones. Consider using Campaign Monitor (out of Australia) to come up with the best headlines. Here are a few recommendations for constructing an irresistible headline:
- Build anticipation.
- Convey a sense of urgency.
- Offer something really valuable.
- Make sure what’s on the other side of the headline is as interesting as the headline. If your article is garbage, it won’t spread and you’ll ruin the trust with your reader.
- Use a tool like an EMV Index to determining the emotional value of your headline.
As far as mediums go, Medium (pun somewhat intended) is a powerful platform for posting your content. Their statistics give you a great feeling of readership and has a great community that helps boost traction. LinkedIn is another great one for reaching a professional audience.
To write a #1 Google search article, use Google’s free keyword planner for low to medium competition key words. If the site you’re writing for has great content relevant to the keywords, it’ll improve the likelihood of getting on that #1 spot. You can’t just write one article and achieve it; it’s ongoing work.
If you find your newsletter is going stale, you really have to rethink your newsletter and take a fresh outlook on it. Be very upfront, honest, and let your readers know you’re trying something new. Paul Jarvis is a great example — very conversational and down to earth… you feel like you’re an old friend when you read his emails.
THE CUSTOMER
To be efficient with your clients and various projects, learn to invest your time wisely and work with clients who see a great value in what you do. Don’t charge bottom dollar if you’re producing great work. If you’re producing the results your clients wont, that’s when you have to start incrementally increasing your prices. As you build up your work, save your numbers to share with clients. The biggest trick is learning to say ‘no.’ It’s hard, especially when you’re new, but learn to take on more quality jobs instead of smaller, one-off jobs. Look for long-term opportunities.
When pricing yourself, understand that projects are client-dependent and vary in terms of duration and scope. Work with them during a ‘pre-production stage’ to determine their budget and convey a solid understanding of your responsibilities. Don’t be afraid to ask around and get quotes from people in a similar field to assess your own worth. Do your homework to see what people charge on location vs industry base and think about the work you’re doing and go from that point. Be sure to always be firm on your comfort level. If a clients’ task exceeds the amount of work you discussed and it’s out of your realm, just refer your client to someone else.
If you don’t have a background in finance, find an accountant early on. Find someone willing to work with you on the numbers you need to keep track of the and processes you need to master. It’ll help your accountant to make their job easier when it comes time to tax season. Learn everything you can and you’ll be surprised at how great your understanding of your own business will become.
To exceed your clients’ expectations, the main priorities are turnaround, email responsiveness, and completion of projects. Get everything turned around 3-4 days before deadline so there’s time for feedback and iteration. Don’t be a freelancer putting off work — produce quality results.
Finally, beware of burnout. Learn to shut off and disconnect from your work. Decompress, take a breath, walk away, ignore emails, take a vacation… otherwise the fun will disappear. Celebrate your wins frequently!