5 Big Reasons You Should Train Your Content Team

Posted by & filed under Content Strategy, Content Writing.

woman training content team at blackboard

Wondering if you could train your content team? The answer is yes. Here’s why.

5 Reasons to Train Your Content Team

These are the top ways you’ll benefit when you train your team in content best practices, journalism techniques, brand style, and more:

  1. You stay up to date with best practices.
  2. You create more authoritative content. 
  3. Your freelancers stay on brand.
  4. You save money.
  5. You save time.

Let’s dive into the details below. And if you’d like to conduct your own training, grab a free copy of our new report How to Train Your Content Team: 7 Key Training Topics + How to Teach Them.

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Survey Results: These Are Content Managers’ Biggest Challenges (+ 3 Ways to Solve Them)

Posted by & filed under Content Strategy, Infographics.

Frustrated man at keyboard trying to solve content management problems

We recently surveyed 70 on-staff content managers to find out their biggest challenges. These were professionals at the management level or higher, at companies ranging from 2 to 270,000 employees. We did not provide a list of challenges to choose from; we left it completely open-ended to ensure we didn’t lead or constrain the respondents in any way.

After gathering the responses, we scheduled phone calls with a handful of our respondents to dig deeper into the results.

And wow…we just had no idea about the obstacles some of you have to overcome every day on the job.

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5 Reasons to Use a Content Calendar in 2021

Posted by & filed under Content Strategy.

header image with a content calendar

Our survey of 69 content and marketing execs shows that you are a busy bunch of bootstrappers.

Too busy, in fact, to develop a content calendar for 2021.

“Why use a content calendar? My boss just wants content,” you say. “They don’t care about some fancy-schmancy calendar.”

Your boss may not want a content calendar per se, but we guarantee they want the results that come from having one. Here are five ways this strategic planning document will make both you and the powers that be at your company happier in 2021.

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How Much Does a Content Writer Cost?

Posted by & filed under Content Writing, Infographics.

how much does a content writer cost

If you’re looking to hire a content writer, you’re probably wondering how much it will cost and whether it will be worth it to hire a freelancer rather than doing the work yourself.

Content writers may say they can’t tell you what they charge without knowing the details of your project, because they need to know about the timeline, word count, amount of research required, and so on. This is true: they can’t give you an exact amount with no details.

But in general, to know whether you can afford to hire a freelance content writer—and what kind of content help you can afford—you need to understand at least the price ranges you can expect from various types of writers. For example, if you ask how much a writer charges for a case study, they should be able to say, “I charge between X and Y, depending on A, B, and C.”

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INFOGRAPHIC: 8 B2B Content Ideas to Steal from Women’s Magazines

Posted by & filed under Content Writing, Infographics.

fashion model advertising infographic on B2B content ideas

B2B decision makers are bored.

Don’t get mad at us—that statement comes from a survey of B2B buyers, where 82% said they wish B2B content had the creativity associated with B2C. And during challenging times, this craving for a can’t-put-it-down read ramps up even higher.

Hero’s Journey Content’s founder, Linda Formichelli, started out writing for the women’s magazines (think: Redbook, Woman’s Day, Family Circle), where the content is fresh, readable, and fun—even on topics as dry as budgeting and nutrition.

That’s why we created this infographic on how to steal ideas from the women’s mags to boost your creativity and generate B2B content ideas that take your content from ZZZ to OMG!

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Need to Create More Content? Here’s How to Turn 1 Piece of Content into 25+

Posted by & filed under Content Strategy, Infographics.

Is your idea of repurposing content is to turn a blog post into a social post and call it a day? If so, you’re missing out on opportunities to get more value out of your content while reaching new audiences.

Here’s how to take just one piece of long-form content—like a webinar, article, case study, or whitepaper—and turn it into more than 25 new content assets.

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How to Find the Best Content Writers (And Stop Getting Burned)

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How to find the best content writers - hand holding sparkler

How to find the best content writerLate work? Hours of rewrites? Writers who just don’t deliver? We understand your challenges. Here’s how to find a good content writer who will blast you toward your content goals—instead of holding you back.

Our 6 expert-approved tips for hiring a content writer are below, and we’ve also compiled them into an infographic you can download and share. There’s no form to complete—just click the format you prefer.

DOWNLOAD THE INFOGRAPHIC: PDF

DOWNLOAD THE INFOGRAPHIC: PNG 

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The Best Email Sign-Offs During Covid-19 (& the Worst)

Posted by & filed under Content Strategy, Infographics.

Infographic of the best and worst email sign-offs during COVID-19

I usually sign off my marketing emails with “Cheers,” but that suddenly seems mildly inappropriate given the coronavirus situation.

So how do you sign off your marketing emails in a way that fits your brand—but still shows that you’re aware of what’s going on out there for your customers?

Here’s a chart with 30+ options listed from best to worst, with options for both cheeky and formal brand images.(And yes, some of them are very cheeky…but we know there are brands out there that could/would use them for real!)

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30 Creative Alternatives to the Word “Unprecedented”

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virus with text "30 creative alternatives to unprecedented"

I’ve now received emails from every brand I’ve interacted with over the past 20 years, telling me how very much they care about me in these “unprecedented” times.

scatter chart of 30 alternatives to the word unprecedented for COVID-19 communicationsIf they’re smart, your prospects are going to start filtering on that word soon. So here are some creative alternatives in a downloadable scatter chart…we selected words that will fit every brand, from irreverent to buttoned-up. (Click to zoom in on image.)

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3 Little-Known Ways to Recycle Content

Posted by & filed under Content Strategy, Content Writing.

recyclable cardboard with headline "3 little-known ways to repurpose your content"

You know that repurposing your content lets you squeeze more value out of your existing content assets—and that even in the best of times, recycling content is a budget-friendly way to reach more prospects.

But what few marketing pros know is that repurposing your content goes beyond chunking down a long piece of content into a handful of shorter ones. Here are three content recycling tips that let you pretend you’re a penny-pinching grandma and your content is a chicken that’s already been used for sandwiches, soup, and pot pie.

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The Quick-Start Content Guide for Field Service Businesses

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Quick-Start Guide to Field Service - Paint Rollers

You’re a plumbing, pest control or other field service company. Or maybe you’re a business that provides software and supplies to companies like these.

You’ve heard that providing helpful content is one of the best ways to attract prospects, nurture customers, and build loyalty. And it’s true:

But where do you start? What do you write about? And how do you develop topic ideas and content that prospective clients actually, you know, want to read. 

Here, we put together the basics of field service content. These guidelines are founded on our team’s background in consumer and trade journalism, as well as our experience in writing for businesses just like yours.

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What’s Not There: How to Use Space the RIGHT Way in Your Content

Posted by & filed under Content Writing, Journalism.

how to use white space header - empty chaire

When we think of written content, we think about what is there: the copy itself.

But what’s not there in your content—in other words, the white space that breaks it up—also has a huge impact on meaning, readability, SEO, and results.

Here are a journalist’s best practices for creating just the right breaks in your blog posts, articles, case studies, and white papers.

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15 Key Questions to Ask in a Case Study Interview

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case study questions header - pile of question marks

Got a case study on your to-do list? To create a case study that converts, it’s crucial that you ask your customer the right questions—otherwise you’ll end up with 1,000 words of sales talk and unconvincing fluff. (“Company X is great! Rah rah rah!”)

We recently created a compelling case study that earned our client a lot of kudos, and we pulled together a list of the interview questions we routinely ask to create tension-filled, reader-grabbing case studies like that one. (Want a free INFOGRAPHIC of this list? Download it here…no form to fill out, just click and grab!)

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