3 Things to Look for in a Freelance Copywriter

Written by on February 1, 2012 ·

Outsourcing your writing to a freelance copywriter can be a challenging task. The wrong writer can cause project delays, increase your workload and even cost you more in the long run. However, the right writer can make your life easier and improve your marketing ROI.

Many marketing professionals work with several copywriters before they find the best fit. You can make your search easier by looking for the following 3 qualities in a freelance copywriter:

Experience in Your Industry

Some copywriters are generalists,  which means they write about everything from cosmetics to automotive parts. Generalists can be a good choice for agencies that work in a variety of sectors and need writers who can take on anything. However, a generalist may not be the best option for businesses with complex or highly technical offers.

If your product or service has a steep learning curve, you’ll need a writer who has prior experience in your industry. I’ve had several clients come to me after working with generalists who didn’t understand their industry. This caused delays as the copywriters missed deadlines, dropped out of the project or handed in copy that couldn’t be used.

Working with someone who has experience in your industry can decrease the amount of time you spend briefing the writer and providing feedback on drafts. This can also make your projects run more smoothly and bring you better results.

You can find a freelance copywriter with experience in your industry by asking for referrals or searching online for “copywriter” plus your industry.

Reliability

One of the biggest concerns that marketers have when they hire a freelance copywriter is if they will get their copy on time. After all, the freelancer isn’t located in your office where you can keep an eye on them! Plus, American Writers & Artists once revealed that 75% of copywriters miss their deadlines.

One way to determine if a copywriter will meet your deadlines is by asking for testimonials or references that speak to their reliability. You can even ask the copywriter to put the project deadline in their contract, which should increase your chances of receiving your copy on time.

You can also help your copywriter by sending them all your background info and quickly responding to any questions. If you don’t give them the info they need until the day before the project is due, your copywriter may not be able to meet your deadline.

A Proven Process

Your project will flow much more smoothly if your copywriter has a process for completing projects successfully. This process can include asking you the right questions, providing you with a creative brief if you don’t have one and keeping in touch throughout the project.

Your copywriter should also have a system for handling revisions, as this can greatly affect your project timelines. For example, how many rounds of revisions do you need your copywriter to provide at no extra charge? How long does it typically take them to turn around edits?

If you know in advance that you’ll need to outsource a lot of your marketing copy, you can “test” a new copywriter with a small project. If the project goes well, you can feel confident moving forward.

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How to Increase the Conversion Rates on Your B2B Product Pages

Written by on January 25, 2012 ·

According to MarketingSherpaʼs 2011 B2B Marketing Benchmark Report, generating high-quality leads is still the #1 challenge faced by B2B marketers. If you work for a B2B organization, much of your marketing probably aims to drive high-quality leads to landing pages for your products or services. However, once leads arrive at these pages, how many of them are turning into customers?

Since the report also stated that 69% of B2B marketers plan to increase their budgets for website design, management and optimization, I wanted to address how you can put your budget to good use and increase the conversion rates of your websiteʼs key pages.

1. Provide leads with multiple options and valuable content

One of the biggest mistakes B2B marketers make on their landing pages is to only give visitors one option – contact a sales representative to learn more. By doing this, you may drive away people who are interested in your offer but aren’t ready to speak with a sales representative at this point. You need to provide these early- or mid-stage leads with other options and a way to get on your list, so you can continue sending them information.

To do this, you should offer your leads valuable content that helps them understand their challenges – such as white papers, videos or other educational materials. You can also offer case studies, online demos, comparison charts and other materials that make it easier for your leads to make an informed purchasing decision.

2. Donʼt overwhelm your leads with too much information

Lots of B2B technology marketers love to discuss all of their productsʼ cool features. However, loading your pages with too much technical content up front can scare off leads who want to get a quick overview of how your product can help them solve a business challenge – as opposed to a technical challenge.

One way you can work around this problem is to break your product pages into sections. The first section can contain the high-level business benefits that would appeal to business owners and non-technical decision makers. Then, leads can click links or download spec sheets to learn more about the productʼs features. This allows you to give both your technical and non-technical leads all the information they need.

3. Understand your different audiences

In addition to creating content for technical and non-technical decision makers, you may also need to speak to different audiences. For example, are you selling a customer relationship management tool that both marketing and sales teams will use? If so, your product pages should contain content that addresses the needs and concerns of both marketing and sales. You may need to add tabs to your page for each separate audience. You can also create custom brochures, white papers, case studies and demo videos that leads can access through your product pages.

Also, always remember to check your analytics and see how your B2B landing pages are performing. This will let you know if you are engaging your visitors and getting them to take the next step or if you need to make changes to your website.

What About You?

How do you improve the conversion rates on your landing pages? Feel free to share your thoughts and comments below.

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How to Bring New Life to Your B2B White Papers

Written by on January 18, 2012 ·

Most Measurement SUCKS Cover 350x454 How to Bring New Life to Your B2B White PapersThere’s a debate happening about the value of white papers. In an effort to produce more content, many businesses are pushing out poorly-written white papers that do little to engage their target audiences. This is flooding people’s inboxes with boring content and causing marketers to question the format’s ROI.

However, recent research has shown that white papers can still be a valuable part of your marketing mix. The B2B Content Marketing 2012 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends report revealed that 60% of marketers find white papers effective. If you market technology products or services, white papers are even more important. According to the Eccolo 2010 B2B Technology Collateral Survey Report, 83% of technology buyers said “white papers were moderately to extremely influential in helping them make their final purchase decision.”

So, how can you create white papers that excite and influence your target audience?

One answer is to use technology to reimagine the classic white paper. My feature article in Chief Content Officer Magazine explores how interactive white papers and video white papers are reviving the reputation of the B2B marketing workhorse. You can click here to check out the article and learn how new white paper technology is helping marketers make their content more memorable and relevant – and in turn increase their ROI.

Also, feel free to share your thoughts about white papers below.

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3 Things a DJ Can Teach You About Content Marketing

Written by on January 11, 2012 ·

One of my hobbies is Lindy Hop – the original form of swing dancing that came out of Harlem in the 1930s. I’ve recently been learning how to DJ for dance events. DJing for dancers is challenging, because you have to read the crowd during every song to determine what they want to hear next. For example, do they want to pick up the tempo with a fast Charleston or slow it down with the blues? If you ignore the crowd and play only what you like, you may face an empty dance floor – never a good sign at a dance.

Since I spend a great deal of time thinking about both marketing and Lindy Hop, it’s not surprising that learning how to DJ reminds me of marketing. Some marketers are like inexperienced DJs. They blast out a message when their audience may want something completely different. However, if you don’t pay attention to your audience and give them what they want, they will ignore you and go to your competitors.

Here are 3 ways to play to your crowd:

  • Do your homework. Before a DJ attends an event, they learn about the venue and who will be there. Before you put out any kind of message, you should also learn as much as possible about your crowd. Who are they? What are their key concerns? What types of content do they prefer (e.g. video, white papers, blogs)? How do they prefer to receive their messages (e.g. social media, email, direct mail, etc.)? Doing your research in advance will ensure that your messages are relevant to your audience and are more likely to get read, viewed or shared.
  • Be flexible. When I DJ, I usually bring a short list of songs I’d like to play. However, if people aren’t dancing, I may need to switch to a completely different playlist. You’ll need to allow for the same flexibility in your marketing. Using analytics or marketing automation software can give you instant insight into what pages people are accessing on your website, how long they spend on each page and which campaigns are performing the best. Use your analytics as a guide and do what it takes to keep your conversion rates high – whether this means changing the header on a landing page or updating your social media strategy.

Try some of these tips to make your marketing more relevant and keep your audience coming back for more. Plus, feel free to share your thoughts below.

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3 Ways to Break Out of a Content Marketing Rut

Written by on January 4, 2012 · 2 Comments

This article was originally published by the Content Marketing Institute.

Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” If your content marketing is on autopilot and you’re not getting the results you want, I wouldn’t say you’re insane, but you could certainly use some fresh ideas.

Unremarkable content can also be a big problem if you’re in an industry, such as technology, that relies on innovation.  If your marketing does not reflect the innovation that goes into your products or services, it can put you at a disadvantage by making you look either boring or too complex.

Here are three tips to help you break out of your content marketing rut.

Look Outside Your Industry

One of my friends, Krister Shalm, works in quantum physics — a topic most people would say they don’t understand. However, Krister has a gift for making physics accessible and entertaining. He recently held a talk called, “Quantum Physics and the Magic of Harry Potter.” By showing how quantum physics was used in the popular series, he sold out his two-night show and educated people of all ages about his field. Krister even timed the talks to coincide with the release of the final Harry Potter movie,  which also helped increase his audience.

If you can relate your content to something that is popular or newsworthy, you may attract more publicity and a larger audience.

Try a Different Medium

Does your organization always publish data sheets when your audience really prefers white papers? If your content isn’t reaching your ideal audience, you may need to change your delivery method. Determine what kind of content works best for communicating with your audience. For example, if they are auditory learners, you may want to record podcasts; if they typically spend a lot of their time on YouTube, you can consider using your content as the basis of a video series.

You can also repurpose your content in ways that might attract an expanded audience. For example, you can turn one of your webinars into a white paper, video series, blog posts, or social media updates. This means that if people missed a live webinar you offered, they could still find the content through their favorite social media networks or other channels.

Try Something New Within an Existing Medium

I recently wrote an article for Chief Content Officer Magazine called “Reimaging the Tried-and-True White Paper.” The article explores how new technology, such as interactive white papers and video white papers, is helping marketers improve the ROI from their lead-generation campaigns.

Experimenting with newer content features and options is a great way to put a fresh spin on the content you offer through a reliable medium like print. For example, try adding interactive components to your next white paper such as video or custom content that is relevant to each reader’s industry or role. You can also make your existing content more social by encouraging comments and adding social sharing features. This can make your message more exciting or accessible while giving you an opportunity to share more information about your organization.

Remember: Although there are endless ways to make your message stand out, you must always keep your focus on creating content that is relevant to your buyers’ needs. If your content is not relevant, all the extras will be a waste of your marketing effort and budget.

Did you enjoy this article? If so, subscribe to the Fresh Marketing e-newsletter for monthly B2B marketing tips that will help you attract more leads and convert them into sales. Click here to get your FREE subscription.

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5 Keys to an Editorial Calendar that Keeps Your Content on Track

Written by on November 4, 2011 ·

If you had the opportunity to attend Content Marketing World, or if you’ve been checking out all of the Content Marketing Institute’s amazing videos from the event, you may have lots of ideas on how to improve your content marketing.

However, many organizations fail to see ROI from their content marketing because they don’t create a plan for getting everything done.

This blog post will show you how to get your content marketing efforts moving forward with the help of an editorial calendar. An editorial calendar provides you with a quick overview of your content marketing strategy and outlines exactly what tasks need to be completed.

Here are five things you must do when you create an editorial calendar for content marketing:

1. Know your audience

One thing I mention in almost all of my blog posts is the importance of making your content relevant to your buyers’ needs. If your audience doesn’t think your content is geared specifically toward them, they won’t be interested in it.

Before you develop an editorial calendar, you’ll need to understand who your target audience is, what their biggest concerns are and what types of content they want. You can do this by creating buyer personas, surveying your target audience to understand their needs, or asking your customer service team about the conversations they have with buyers. Once you understand your target audience, you can come up with content that helps to meet their needs and solve their challenges.

2. Identify the gaps in your content

When you make an editorial calendar, you should anticipate any content gaps you’ll have in the upcoming year. For example, if you are planning a major product launch or event, you’ll need content to support these items. It’s better to plan for these gaps early on so that you don’t panic when deadlines are approaching and you don’t have the right content on hand.

3. Plan for special themes

Many magazines highlight different themes each month. You can apply a similar approach to your content marketing. For example, you can pick the top 12 biggest concerns your target audience has and address a different concern each month. You can also make predictions for the upcoming year or tie some of your content into holidays or seasonal concerns.

Themes not only make it easier for your in-house team to develop content, but they are also useful for advertisers and guest contributors. Anyone who advertises on your blog or in your other materials will need to know your editorial themes in advance so they can see if their ads will be a match for your audience at a given time. Guest contributors can also connect the topics of their blog posts and articles to your themes.

4. Decide on your publishing schedule

As you plan an editorial calendar, you’ll need to answer the following questions:

  • What are you going to publish and how content do you plan to publish for each effort?
  • How often are you going to publish?
  • Who will be responsible for researching, writing, designing, approving, publishing, and sharing the content?

 5.     Keep multiple editorial calendars

Last year, Michele Linn wrote a great post in which she suggested creating multiple editorial calendars. The first one should be a master calendar that provides a quick overview of all the content you have planned, broken down by day and week. The other calendars should focus on tasks for specific projects such as your blog or newsletter. Multiple calendars allow you to see the big picture as well as ensure each project is on track.

Your editorial calendar doesn’t need to be complicated. You can keep it in an Excel file and use different tabs for each project. You can also try Google Calendar or another team collaboration tool to automatically send out reminders when deadlines are approaching.

What about you? Do you use an editorial calendar to keep track of your content marketing? If not, are you thinking about using one? Feel free to share your thoughts below.

This post was originally published by the Content Marketing Institute.

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5 Ways to Improve Your Landing Pages for Better Conversions

Written by on October 20, 2011 ·

As a B2B marketer, you put a lot of effort into getting your target audience to visit your website and opt in for your white papers, videos and reports. However, if your landing pages don’t entice people to request your content, a lot of your hard work will be lost.

That’s why I wanted to provide advice on how to improve your landing pages. For this article, I’m focusing on tips that will get people to download your free content, as the techniques for selling premium content can be different.

Here are 5 ways to increase your landing pages’ conversion rates:

      1. Keep your most important content above the fold. You want to make it as easy as possible for your website visitors to say “yes” to your offer. Place your opt-in box above the fold — the point on your web page where visitors would have to scroll to see more information. Your conversion rates will increase if visitors don’t have to scroll to complete your form.
      2. Limit your visitors’ options. Your landing page will perform better if your visitors’ only option is to complete your form. That means that you should remove any outside links or navigation from your landing page.
      3. Show the benefits. You need to entice visitors to opt in for your content. Just stating the title of your video or white paper is not enough to do this. Add some copy that explains the benefits of requesting your material. For example, I like to include short bullet points that highlight what visitors will learn when they check out the content.
      4. Create a sense of urgency. Try to give your readers a compelling reason why they must request your content now. For example, you can offer a report or video series for a limited time. You can also stress that limited spots are available for an upcoming free webinar.
      5. Appeal to skimmers. Most people won’t read your web content word-for-word, so you want to ensure your landing page is structured for skimmers. Make use of headers, sub-headers, bold text, bullets, and white space. You should also consider red graphics, such as arrows or buttons, to draw a reader’s eye towards your call to action.

Also, be sure to test your landing pages to determine which copy and graphics give you the best results. For instance: Try running an A/B split test where you create two versions of your landing page and split your traffic between both pages. Experiment with different headlines, calls to action and other elements until you learn which page brings you the highest conversion rate.

What about you? What techniques do you use to make your landing pages more effective? Feel free to share your thoughts below.

*This article was originally published by the Content Marketing Institute.

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The #1 Way to Improve Your B2B Marketing

Written by on September 29, 2011 ·

The B2B market is changing. A few years ago, buyers were more likely to contact a sales representative to learn about a product. Now they prefer to conduct their own research – either through online search or their social networks – and wait to speak with a sales representative.

If you want to generate more leads in today’s social environment, you must position yourself as a trusted resource that helps your buyers solve their challenges.

To do this, you must ensure your marketing is relevant toward your buyers’ needs. If your content isn’t relevant, your audience will tune out your messages. Here are 4 ways you can create content that appeals to your buyers:

  1. Create buyer personas. Before you can create content that speaks to your buyers’ needs, you must know exactly who your buyers are. Craft personas for your key buyers and refer to them when you create new content. The personas can include demographic information, a description of their typical work day, their professional challenges, personal concerns, etc.
  2. Ask your customers what they want. Sometimes it’s hard to get to know your customers if you spend all your time in the office. Luckily, all the new digital channels allow you to learn about your customers without leaving your desk! Let customers leave comments on your blog, encourage them to contact you through social media and survey them about their needs. Ask how you can do better and offer more value.

    You should also talk to your customer service team, as they interact with your customers on a day-to-day basis and know exactly what they like and don’t like.

  3. Ensure your content corresponds to all stages in the buying cycle. Since customers conduct their own research, you should give them information that will help them in the early, mid and late buying stages. If you don’t do this, you’ll lose potential customers.

    Click here to read a blog post that explains what content appeals to early-, mid- and late-stage leads.

  4. Create different material for different audiences. A software company recently contacted me to write copy for their website. They had a few target audiences, including doctors, personal trainers and sales professionals – basically anyone whose business was appointment-driven. They wanted to create landing pages for each audience and have me simply “change a few words” on each page. I advised them that this probably wouldn’t work, as the needs of a doctor are different from the needs of a sales professional. Either the copy would be so generic that it wouldn’t appeal to any of their markets or it would only speak to one of them.

    If your audiences have different needs, you’ll want to create targeted content for them. Your buyers can tell when you write something just for them versus something generic.

I feel that making your marketing more relevant is the single most important step you can take to improve the quality of your leads. Once you do this, everything else will follow.

 

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How to Select a White Paper Topic that Drives Leads

Written by on August 24, 2011 ·

White papers can be a key element in your lead generation mix, especially if you sell technology products or services. According to the Eccolo 2010 B2B Technology Collateral Survey Report, 83% of technology buyers said “white papers were moderately to extremely influential in helping them make their final purchase decision.”

However, many white papers miss the mark when it comes to engaging an audience and driving leads. One reason could be because readers don’t relate to the topic.

Here are 3 ways you can come up with a white paper topic that resonates with your target audience and generates leads:

  • Determine your marketing objectives. Although you want your content to appeal to your target audience, you must first ensure it aligns with your business objectives. Think about your marketing goals and what you hope to achieve with the white paper. For example, are you using the white paper for overall lead generation? Do you lack resources for a specific product or service and need to fill gaps in your content? Are you launching a new product and creating educational resources to support it?
  • Determine your target audience’s key pain. Your white paper will be more successful if it helps your buyers overcome one of their key challenges. If you do a good job addressing your audience’s concerns, they will download your white paper and share it with their networks. One way to determine your audience’s key pains is to make a list of the questions they frequently ask you. If you don’t know their challenges, you can conduct formal or informal surveys to find out.
  • Ask for feedback. Once you have a few possible topics, ask some of your best customers which one they would prefer to learn more about. You can also run topic ideas past your social media communities. Asking for feedback early in the process will ensure you don’t waste your resources on a white paper that doesn’t bring you a strong ROI.

Here’s one more consideration …

Make sure your white paper is educational. If you spend most of the document describing your product’s features or pitching your services, even the best topic won’t engage your readers. Buyers download white papers early in the sales process to learn more about one of their key challenges – not to read a 10-page sales pitch.

What about you? What factors are the most important to you when you choose a white paper topic? Feel free to share your comments below.

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The 5 Biggest Questions About Creating Social Media Content that Drives Action

Written by on July 14, 2011 ·

Highlights from the Social CMO’s Live Marketer Monday Chat

Many B2B marketers are turning to social media for lead generation. However, with an overwhelming amount of information shared through social media channels, it is becoming harder for companies to stand out and engage their target audiences. Plus, when companies attempt to use social networks as another direct marketing channel, many find that this approach backfires and results in negative ROI.

There is a way to achieve ROI and generate high-quality leads through social media — learn to build long-term relationships with customers rather than going after a quick sale. In my recent live chat on Twitter with host The Social CMO, I answered the top questions on “How to Create Social Media Content that Drives Action.”

Here are the 5 biggest questions about creating content that turns social media fans and followers into sales leads.

  1. What is “social content”?

    Social content is ANY content people will share. It’s not just what you post to social media, but anything on your website or elsewhere that your community will want to share. These can be reports, videos, case studies or other content. When you think about it, all of your marketing can be social.

  2. How do you make your content sharable?

    Make it relevant. The more relevant your content is to your audience, the more they will share it.  If you don’t know if something will resonate, you can ask. Twitter is a good tool to get instant feedback on your ideas before you commit time to developing and publishing them.

  3. How do you write copy for the social web?

    Focus on providing your audience with educational content. People are looking for solutions to their problems. The more you educate them, the more they will see you as a trusted advisor. Use the word ‘you,’ instead of ‘I’ or ‘our company’. Focus your content on your readers and their needs. Be casual and friendly. People will respond to you if they view you as a likable person, not a faceless corporation.

  4. Can you make sales through social media?

    It’s possible to make sales through social media, but selling shouldn’t be your focus. Instead of trying to sell products or services through social media, try to sell readers on the next step. For example, ask them to click a link to your blog, comment on a post, download something free or provide you with feedback. The point is to ask them to take risk-free baby steps until they begin to trust you. Then, they will be willing to take bigger steps such as opting into your list or eventually … buying something.

  5. Are there any examples of B2B companies that have successfully used social media to drive leads or sales?

    The Social Media Marketing Industry Report said that 48% of respondents have used social media to help close sales. Here are some case studies:

    Cisco launched a product using only social media. They saved $100K on the launch and gained 3 times the media coverage …

    IdeaPaint, a Boston start-up, says social media is their largest source of leads and traffic…

If you missed this informative live Twitter chat, where I answered all these questions plus more in greater detail, you can check out the full transcript here:

Transcript of How to Create Social Media Content that Drives Action

What about you? What are your biggest questions about creating content that drives action? Feel free to share your comments and questions below.

 

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