Garbage In, Garbage Out - Carney
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Garbage In, Garbage Out

You get out what you put in. Don’t put in garbage.

How to Find a Writer Who Won’t Kill Your Content

You ever read one of those amazing pieces of content and think, “Why the heck is my content not that good!?” There’s about a billion reasons why your content might be weak. But, one of the biggest factors in a piece’s success, or failure, is the person sitting behind the keyboard.

If you want great content, you gotta hire a great writer. Period. That could be a freelance writer or a full-time writer. Doesn’t matter, they just gotta be good.

And if you wanna hire a great writer you need to know what to look for. Luckily, our dude Chris Gillespie has the answers.

First, start by hiring either a copywriter or a journalist. Forget about screenwriters, storytellers, novelists, etc. You want someone who knows how to concisely convey a topic.

You’ll also likely want to hire someone with experience in your industry. It doesn’t have to be expert experience, but they should be familiar with the industry you work in.

Where can you find these writers?

  • Writer job boards like Problogger, Writer’s Den, and the Freelancer’s Union.
  • Freelancing platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer.com.
  • Content marketing platforms like Contently, Skyword, and NewsCred.
  • Referrals and word of mouth.

Alright, so you’ve found the Mr. or Ms. Write (get it!?). Now what? Let them run wild? Nah, that won’t work. You gotta manage them.

If you don’t supply your writer with thought-provoking material, they’re unlikely to invent it. As the saying goes, garbage in, garbage out.

Here’s a 6-step checklist to help your writers write right:

  1. Buyer persona research. Supply your writers with everything you know about your buyers.
  2. Access to your team. Let your whole teamwork with the writer.
  3. Access to your customers. Give the writer the option to talk to customers.
  4. Data. Give writers access to their content’s performance.
  5. Feedback. Honest, open, constructive criticism is essential to quality writing!
  6. Structure. Outline a schedule of when topic ideas are due, when drafts are due, when the final piece is due. And don’t rush the process.

That about wraps it up. But if you need more, you know what to do…

SEO Isn’t the Only Way to Drive Traffic

We’re not throwing anything completely new at you today. Just a couple things already available that you could be taking advantage of instead of just SEO.

Kissmetrics is running through six alternative strategies to drive traffic. We’re just going to get right to it:

1. Create a YouTube channel
As the 2nd most used social platform, YouTube is the place to be. Some people (Gen Z especially) use the site like a traditional search engine. You can drive viewers back to your website by placing a link in the description. YouTube even offers interactive video ad features!

2. Start conversations on social
According to Sprout Social, 48% of Millennials and 48% of Gen X-ers followed a brand on social media in Q1 of 2017. Create high-quality video or imagery that grabs attention and content that establishes a viewer as a friend. And definitely look into Twitter threads.

3. Partner with influencers
Trust plays a life or death factor in today’s buying world. Speeding up the trust process is tricky but doable with influencers. And results can be huge. Don’t have a big budget? Appeal to influencers for free by featuring them in your own content.

4. Take advantage of your email subscribers
Email is not dead! The average email click rate (3.42%) is higher than the FB ad rate (0.9%). Personalization is the key here. And that doesn’t just mean putting a customers name at the top. Personalize the copy, segment your audience, optimize for mobile, and use CTA buttons.

5. Provide assistance on forums and question sites
People are a curious bunch. Participating in conversations on sites like Reddit or Quora can help you attract individuals looking for answers beyond what Google can provide. Tread carefully, though. Reddit has strict rules. Best practice is to try an “ask me anything” session.

6. Take advantage of guest posting
Think Buffer or CoSchedule. Both use guest blogging to grow new traffic to a ridiculous amount in a ridiculous time span. When looking for opportunities, find bloggers that are in your niche. You can also share your expertise in a podcast or webinar as well.

Fam, there’s so much involved with this one we barely scratched the surface. Click through for more details and a ton of examples.

The Sleepiest Print Ad Ever Made

Remember that newspaper camera we raved about in last week’s DC? We honestly didn’t think we’d find something to top it for a while. Well, we were wrong. But, this is one of those rare times that we’re pumped about being wrong.

Marketers rejoice because Ikea wants to give us the sleepiest sleep ever and some serious inspiration. Ikea’s bedroom campaign introduced the SÖMNIG print ad after doing research on the sleeping behaviors of those in the UAE. The mission was to demonstrate the range of quality in Ikea’s mattresses and beds.

Guys, Ikea’s team created a multisensorial, rechargeable print ad that uses sound and smell to help induce sleep!!

We gonna give you a sec to piece your mind back together after blowing up.

This print ad works because it breaks every norm of the print industry, creates interactivity with its readers, and solves a problem with an experience.

Ikea always has the coolest ads! Like, cooler than ice. If you don’t normally click through to the Watch, click through to this one! You just have to trust us.

“Your smile is your logo, your personality is your business card, how you leave others feeling after an experience with you becomes your trademark.”

Jay Danzie

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