As most marketers know, creating compelling, creative content on a calendar can be quite an uphill climb. Managing client demands, deadlines, and revisions is often a delicate balancing act, especially for busy departments with a wide array of needs and expectations.

Time management is a critical part of excelling at the art of content marketing, but a few expert tips and tricks can make the process easier. Here’s how to make the most of a busy content calendar.

Focus on Prioritization

With a full content calendar and a limited time frame, it’s tempting to direct your team’s attention to smaller projects that are easier to manage. However, deadlines are a critical part of content marketing, and that means learning how to prioritize.

Before getting started on your work, evaluate what content provides the most value to your audience, which due dates are nearest, and what projects could benefit from an early start – for example, visual content with a longer production timeline or written content that requires interviews or in-depth research. Take into account details like turnaround time, urgency, and marketing purpose when ultimately determining how to emphasie the work you have outstanding.

Delegate When Necessary

No content marketer is an island. As such, there may come a point in which you need assistance handling work. In order to save time and avoid missing deadlines, it’s important to understand how and when to delegate —or outsource— assignments.

Utilizing freelancers can be an extremely effective way to offload smaller, simpler assignments that do not require the efforts of your in-house team. The costs of working with outsourced content creation are generally low, and many freelancers focus on fast, high quality work with quick turnaround times, offering you a convenient alternative when your on-site team is bogged down in bigger projects.

Set Goals

Content production is an important part of marketing, but creation for creation’s sake isn’t necessarily the best way to move forward. Without a strong idea of what you’re trying to achieve, you’re going to have a harder time prioritizing outstanding assignments and creating a schedule that resonates with corporate objectives.

In order to make the greatest impact, set solid, attainable goals for your marketing outcomes that resonate with current content needs and abilities. These can vary greatly from one organization or agency to another, but can include things like increasing clickthrough rates or improving conversions. With a clearly communicated mission, your department will be more likely to make a difference.

Minimize Distractions

It can be fun to listen to music, answer emails, or take chat breaks while in the middle of meeting your deadlines, but when you want to keep to your content calendar, interference will only hinder your workflow.

To the best of your abilities, keep your workspace free and clear of distractions. Turn off music, mute chat programs, and consider using browser add-ons that prevent you from spending time on social media websites and other favorites. With interference kept to a minimum, you’ll be able to step up your productivity.

High quality content takes time, effort, and commitment, especially for busy marketers with a packed content calendar. With these tips for sticking to your schedule, you’ll be able to maximize output in the most efficient way possible.

The post Tips for Handling a Busy Content Calendar appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Having a WordPress blog and making the most of WordPress are not one and the same, however. The plug-ins you choose can be extremely influential, taking your site from average to awesome. Here are the top seven tools to bolster your blog’s presence.

1. Anti-Spam

Fostering a thriving community on your blog is a big benefit, but getting the ball rolling is hard when your comments section is overrun with spam. The Anti-Spam plug-in does exactly what the name implies — stops spam. With better reviews than the built-in spam fighter that comes with WordPress, users wishing to see a clutter-free comment section will have a lot to love.

2. Yoast SEO

When you want to step up your web presence, the right SEO tools make the process a little easier. Whether you’re an SEO wiz or still looking for a little advice, Yoast SEO streamlines the optimization process by offering simple, actionable guidance. Analytics and documentation are meaningful as well, providing even newcomers with a great way to stay on top of the SERPs.

3. Google Analytics

Arguably the best tool for tracking performance on Google, the Google Analytics WordPress dashboard provides deep insight into site performance and capabilities. With this handy tool, you can track stats such as the source of your web traffic, page views and most popular posts right within your WordPress blog, keeping you up to date at all times.

4. List Builder

An ace at conversions, List Builder is a Sumo product that detects when customers are going to leave your blog and provides compelling pop-ups designed to preserve both new and old relationships alike. List Builder allows you to offer email sign-ups, promo codes, freebies and other tools to your visitors on the pages of your choice, making the art of list building seamless and simple.

5. BackUpWordPress

Ever accidentally closed a Word doc without saving it, effectively deleting minutes, hours or days of effort in one click? Now imagine that happening to your blog. BackUpWordPress can help you fight back against data loss with site backups on your schedule. Choose what to back up, when to back it up, how often to back it up, and even your notification settings — in short, everything you need to stay protected.

6. Content Analytics

You may know where your web traffic is coming from and what posts your readers like most, but do you know why? Content Analytics can help you delve into the depths of your content marketing, helping you identify what chases users away, when readers get bored and leave, and what kinds of text stylings keep readers scrolling for more.

7. Gravity Forms

Sign-up pages. Offers. Surveys. Polls. Forms have lots of uses in digital marketing, and this builder is one of the best. Gravity Forms gives you a fully customizable approach to form building, allowing you to select appearance, content and functionality to collect virtually any information of value from readers.

WordPress has a lot to offer burgeoning bloggers, but effective usage can make all the difference. If you’re not staying on top of the tools available, you may miss out on the immense potential of your WordPress blog. By taking advantage of the top tools and techniques, you can expand your blog’s capabilities and improve the return on your investment.

The post 7 Best Tools for Your WordPress Blog appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

For those of us not living in the wide world of rollbacks, timelines are a little more realistic, but there’s no avoiding the harsh reality of the changing seasons: the holidays are upon us. As a digital marketer, the time to prepare is now. With ecommerce sales expected to rise 13% year over year, there’s plenty of money to gain if your digital marketing game is on point.

Create a Calendar

When the rush of busy season grabs hold of you, it’s hard to stay on track. Unless you want to throw caution to the wind and charge forward without a method to the madness, taking time now to create content, sales, and distribution calendars can save you a lot of headaches later. Map out some of the basics based on prior year trends, sales, and inventory patterns, and establish a baseline for what you would like to accomplish. Include everything you have planned for the upcoming months, including ad campaigns, content creation, blog post submission dates, and advertising schedules.

Check Facebook

Facebook and its social media peers make for great digital marketing, and this is especially true for the holiday season. Instead of advertising anonymously, social media allows companies to connect on personal levels, appealing to the human side of business. Holiday-themed social media marketing should be celebration-centered, inviting fans and followers to exclusive sales, posting deadline reminders, advertising top sellers for the season, and tips and tricks for making the most of gift-giving. Use this opportunity to strengthen your online community, making valuable connections that can drive future sales.

Put Pen to Paper

Your content strategy is important all year round, but the holiday season deserves special focus and attention to detail. Content marketing during the holidays serves multiple purposes, reminding subscribers of what you have to offer, advertising sales, and boosting your presence in search engine rankings. Throughout the season, keep posts short and to the point – people don’t have as much time to read long, drawn-out articles – without sacrificing value. Stay focused on keyword usage, especially when it pertains to promotions, products, and services you’d like to highlight, and plan your posts early. Once the end of the year draws near, you’ll be glad you left yourself a roadmap.

Send a Message

When shopping is on everyone’s mind, a clever email with sales data is the perfect way to lure consumers to your virtual checkout line. Instead of taking a passive approach to sales and marketing this season, put your fight face on. Without a way to advertise your discounts, top sellers, and new releases, your customers are never going to know why they should shop with you. So, let email marketing do the talking for you. Don’t send mass email blasts; instead, focus on targeted approaches to get your message across, dividing lists by demographic, sales history, consumer trends, and more.

Whether you love the spirit of the holidays or you’d rather hibernate until the rush is over, how you handle digital marketing during the busy season is a strong indicator of how viable your business is year round. By stepping up your strategies, paying attention to new developments, and staying up to date with how your competitors are making a mark, you can do your part to make this season the best one yet.

The post Win the Holiday Season With Content Marketing appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Writer’s block can be an inconvenience when you’re writing for you, but a frightening pressure chamber when you’re writing for a client. Luckily, a bad day doesn’t mean a bad article. With these tips, you can get back on the horse, even if it takes a little longer than you’re used to.

Brainstorm Solutions

Even the most challenging assignments have a starting place, and it’s up to you to find it. This doesn’t necessarily mean fully-fleshed sentences, of course; the start of an article can come from anywhere. When you’re struggling to gain traction, a little freestyle brainstorming can help you collect your thoughts.

Jot down ideas, possible section headers, stats and metrics, or anything else that comes to mind. Write words you like, words you don’t, and phrases that meet your fancy. You may use all of it, some of it, or none of it, but going through the paces of writing, even if you’re not writing anything worth reading, can be a big help.

Write Something Else

If one article is stumping you, it may be time to move on to something else. This doesn’t necessarily mean a paying assignment; writing anything at all can help you re-gain momentum to move forward.

Switching focus holds a lot of value in overcoming writer’s block, so take this time to throw yourself into something new. Write a silly poem about your cat, a letter to your imaginary friend from childhood, or a short story. Draft a new diary entry, a business email, or a shopping list to tackle. It doesn’t matter what you choose, but find something and write it.

Read What Other People Write

Writing may be a solitary activity, but writers are members of a vibrant, creative community. When you’re out of your own ideas, reading what other writers were able to accomplish can ignite your imaginative spark once more.

You don’t necessarily have to read articles related to the topic you’re trying to write, although that may help if you’re up to it. If you’d rather switch directions entirely, a few minutes – or a lot of minutes, if you have the time to spare – with a favorite book or well-reputed blog can be all it takes to be inspired once more.

Read What You Write

When you’re feeling like the worst, lowliest writer who ever lived, a confidence boost may be in order. Instead of dwelling on your inability to tackle the assignment sitting in front of you, take a break to read some of your best-received works.

Go over feedback from clients and reread pieces that made a particularly big impact. Return to some of the articles that were the most fun to write, and put yourself into the mindset of the successful writer you were on that day. Remember how it felt to throw yourself into your craft, and embrace the pride and power that comes from well-written work.

Writer’s block happens to everyone, including the very best of the best. It’s a part of the creative process, and working through it is a big part of being a writer. Is it easy? Of course not. But with a little perseverance and the right techniques to adjust your state of mind, it’s possible to keep moving forward. What do you do to beat writer’s block?

The post Four Killer Ways to Shut Down Writer’s Block appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Maybe some spoke to you, and maybe some turned you off from a purchase completely, but in a marketplace driven by ecommerce – in the U.S. alone, online shopping represents nearly 8% of total sales – what marketers have to say about a product can hold great influence over a site’s success or failure. Skilled product description writers know their copy directly impacts both conversion rates and a site’s SEO which are both critical.

1. Paint a Mental Picture

In a brick and mortar store, you can hold a product, feel the material between your fingers, and evaluate fit, size, color, and appearance in person.

In an ecommerce setting, on the other hand, product images and descriptions are the only resources shoppers have to make a purchase decision, so a poorly written description isn’t doing anyone any favors.

A good product description exists to paint a mental picture, creating the experience of seeing, feeling, and assessing an object first hand.

Through the use of evocative, illustrative language and tools like buyer personas, marketers can create a written representation of the personal experience online shopping lacks.

2. Build an Emotional Connection

Use of descriptive language is only part of the equation, however. The other half involves creating an emotional connection, inspiring need or want in a consumer.

Describing a little black dress isn’t enough; marketers need to take things one step further, providing a potential buyer with a linguistic adventure detailing what kind of feelings such a dress may offer.

A dress by itself isn’t necessarily exciting, but imaging the experience of attending a glamorous event in the aforementioned dress, for example, can be the missing piece of the puzzle a shopper needs to click “Add to Cart.”

Psychology tells us that emotional connections are paramount in influencing buyer decisions, making an ability to connect with shoppers is an extremely important tool in content marketing.

3. Provide SEO Benefits

You may be able to craft the best possible product descriptions on earth, but if no one can find your site online, shoppers will still pass you by.

Superb product descriptions can provide SEO benefits in addition to drawing in consumers, elevating your site in the SERPs in order to draw customer attention.

In order to reap the SEO benefits of your product descriptions, fresh, original, and high quality content with an emphasis on the right keywords content is a must.

Duplicate content and keyword stuffing can only hurt you, so playing by Google’s rules while still crafting compelling, creative content can help you create product descriptions that hit the mark every time.

Are your product descriptions worthy of an A+, or are you still struggling to nail a 4.0?

Tell me in the comments what you do to write product descriptions that wow!

The post What Are the Benefits of A+ Product Descriptions? appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

I stumbled into freelance writing during the second semester of my junior year of college, in early 2010. My on-campus job wasn’t giving me enough hours, so I took to the web to look for new opportunities and found a distinct need for quality writers who can create custom content.

Before long, I was making hundreds of dollars a month while still balancing my academic requirements. With so many benefits for students, freelancing means you can make the money you need without resorting to waiting tables or flipping burgers.

Make Your Own Schedule

If you have time to write, write. If you don’t, don’t. Freelance writing is amazingly flexible, providing you with the opportunity to work around existing jobs, family obligations, and class assignments.

A couple of hours here or there is all it takes to write a few articles, giving you the freedom to work around your schedule, on your terms.

Work From Anywhere

The student union. Your dorm room. The cafeteria. Wherever you are, you can write. Unlike most jobs that limit you to a specific place on a set schedule, you can write from anywhere, anytime.

I’ve worked on articles everywhere from airplanes to coffee shops, giving me the flexibility I needed to keep up my grades. If there’s web access, there’s a way you can get some writing done!

Learn New Things

Since I started freelancing, I have written everything from detailed buying guides on motor scooters and water heaters to complex white papers on agile product development.

Freelance writing allowed me to expand my horizons, giving me the opportunity to explore new and fascinating subject matter that I never would have considered otherwise.

Earn Extra Cash

The biggest benefit to freelancing? The cash. Unlike minimum wage jobs with a schedule and an hourly cap, you can write as much as you want. Pay for freelance writers is often per word, meaning that the more you write, the more you make.

It’s a pretty sweet deal, especially when classes and homework are keeping you busy during normal business hours.

Get Started Easily

Getting started with freelance writing is easy. All it takes is a little personal information and a writing sample before you’re on your way to making some serious cash. And once you get going, there are so many ways to make money.

Check out Crowd Content’s freelance content writing jobs page for more detail on how you can get started. The Crowd Content Community program even lets you earn extra by engaging with fellow Crowd Content Writers!

Freelancing is awesome for college students, making it easier to afford books, tuition, and meals without putting yourself even more in debt. With the ability to work anywhere, whenever you want, as much as you want, there’s no limit to what you can do.

The post Reasons Why Freelancing During College is Awesome! appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

The coming of 2016 is the perfect time to spruce up your site, and your product descriptions can be a great place to start.

The Value in Product Descriptions

Product descriptions are a very important part of your content strategy.

While you know all there is to know about the products you’re selling, most visitors to your site do not. Product descriptions are a way to introduce the benefits in what you have to offer in a way that stands out, urging customers to buy from you instead of your competitors.

Rather than providing the bare basics, effective product descriptions are personal, creative, and detailed, creating an image for readers that prompts them to buy.

Identify Your Shortcomings

The best way to overhaul your product descriptions is to identify what isn’t working. Do you have a list of features rather than high-quality content detailing benefits? Are you telling your customer what a product is rather than creating a mental image of what your product has to offer?

Imagine yourself as a neutral third party, visiting your site for the first time. If your descriptions aren’t creating the experience you want, it’s time to create a plan for stepping up your ecommerce game.

Improve Search Engine Optimization

If your original product descriptions are stale or you’ve been using the manufacturer’s stock text, you may be missing out on valuable SEO benefits. Effective product descriptions can step up your SEO, making it much easier for web users to find your site when searching for what you have to offer.

By crafting content that utilizes product SKU longtail keywords, incorporates category descriptions, and features the right combination of key phrases and words, you can boost sales while increasing web visibility.

Embrace the Power of Outsourcing

If you don’t have time to re-write thousands of product descriptions, outsourcing your content can be an excellent solution. Effective content geared at ecommerce growth is too important to rush through, making a team of freelancers a valuable option for businesses looking for big results.

Crowd Content writers make product descriptions easy, giving clients the ability to create teams of writers, place high-volume orders, and work with specialists to create powerful content that works.

Most New Year’s resolutions are of a personal nature, but that doesn’t mean you can’t resolve to step up your content game as the ball drops on 2015.

Improving your product descriptions can be a very valuable development in your ecommerce strategy, growing your business and making 2016 the best year yet for your company.

The post Why the New Year Calls for New Product Descriptions appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

These eight facts will help you make sure you know where you stand, and what measures you need to take to scale your business and stay ahead of the curve.

1. Ecommerce is on the rise.

Online sales are expected to be up 25% overall in 2015, a boost of billions of dollars over 2014. Companies who do not keep up may fall behind, creating a need to meet customer demands online.

2. Mobile is, too.

America and Canada are slower on the pick up than Asian countries like China, but mobile purchasing is growing. As more and more shoppers are focusing on shopping from a mobile device, a responsive site or mobile app is certainly worth the investment.

3. Big buying days are getting bigger.

Not everyone likes to go outside in the cold on Black Friday or holiday shop at the mall, putting ecommerce sites front and center. Anticipating spikes in volume and retaining the inventory and fulfillment tools to keep up is now more important than ever.

4. Customer impressions matter.

Gone are the days of running down to the local hardware store to choose a light fixture. Today, everything on the web is at consumers’ fingertips. Staying competitive means besting competition around the world, making first impressions critical.

5. Content is crucial.

What you have to sell matters, but so does what you to say. High quality content marketing can increase visibility, and effective product descriptions are highly influential in helping a customer make the decision to buy.

6. The faster, the better.

Possibly the largest benefit of online shopping is convenience, and shipping is a big part of that. Fast, affordable shipping quotes are more likely to drive sales, reducing the number of customers who abandon their carts when they get to the checkout screen.

7. Email increases visibility.

Email marketing may seem like an easy way to annoy customers, but research shows that it works. Over 44% of email recipients surveyed made purchases based on emails that they otherwise would not have, giving you simple tools to drive traffic and sales.

8. What worked today may not work tomorrow.

As Google’s algorithms have demonstrated, the web is an ever-changing thing. What worked for you in 2006 probably won’t work in 2016, making it vitally important that you stay up to date with your marketing and ecommerce strategies.

Launching a successful ecommerce storefront may sound like an uphill battle, but by understanding the state of online shopping in today’s world, it may be easier than you think. These eight facts can be the difference between success and failure, providing you the information you need to stay ahead of the competition.

The post 8 Interesting Facts Every eCommerce Operator Should Know appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

In addition to its ease of use, web-based advertising is far more diverse than traditional strategies. It has a much wider reach, spreading quickly with help from fans and followers. And, above all else, it’s educational.

The Objective in Traditional Advertising

While handled in different ways by difference companies, traditional approaches to advertising had one objective: to sell things. Early printed ads, radio spots, and TV ads often used any means necessary, ranging from lying about health benefits to playing on traditional gender roles to attract attention.

Without a database of easily accessible research material, it was easier to believe what was said in an advertisement, whether true or not. Today’s market, however, is more skeptical.

Instead of taking ads at face value, web users in the twenty-first century want to read, learn, explore, and make their own judgments without the influence of a Mad Men-style ad team.

Education in Content Marketing

With the rise in consumer skepticism, content marketing shines. Today’s consumers are smarter, seeking information about the industries, brands, and products that interest them, and are eager to find authoritative, compelling content that illustrates what they want to know. They do not want to be told what to buy, but rather want the information necessary to make informed purchase decisions independently.

Brands with the right approach to content marketing have a lot to gain in this arena, offering web users insight into unique features, industry news, and helpful tips and information that can be used in buying decisions.

By providing content your readers want to read that can enhance what you have to offer, you can bolster your marketing strategies and frame your company as the best possible resource.

Education is major benefit of content marketing, and one that is changing the ways in which consumers make decisions. With easy access to unlimited information on brand identity, product and service features, and general industry news, web users have the tools necessary to make informed decisions.

As this approach to marketing spreads, so does how content marketing is used, leading to further growth in an already explosive area. While no two content marketing strategies are exactly the same, there’s one truth that’s hard to ignore: educational content is only getting started.

The post Why We’re All Getting Smarter Thanks to Content Marketing appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

The time and energy is frequently focused on the technology and the details, leaving the information presented on a site behind in the dust. In the eyes of a design team, content marketing is for blogs, while a website is all about interaction.

Unfortunately, this can be an exceptionally critical mistake.

Understanding Content and UX

Many companies wrongly believe that content refers to the posts on a company blog and nothing more. In actuality, content refers to anything that conveys information to a reader, whether it comes in the form of snappy product descriptions or a compelling About Us page.

The user experience encompasses what a web user experiences and feels while interacting with a website and, whether web designers want to admit it or not, this includes the available content, no matter where it’s located.

Finding the Right Balance

So, where should your emphasis be? What your user sees or feels, or what your user reads and absorbs? The answer, of course, is both. Content and UX shouldn’t fight against one another, but should work together to create a positive experience designed to emphasize what a company and its site have to offer.

Good content can’t stand alone when the user experience is sub par, and a great user experience will go to waste when the content is disappointing.

Creating a Harmonious Marriage

In order to truly create a balance between UX and content, it’s important to take a proactive approach. Content should be crafted to enhance the user experience rather than detract from it or stand alone, making the relationship between content and UX one of love and support.

By optimizing the content you have and integrating it appropriately, linking from blog posts into the body of a site, embedding related social content, and kicking your product descriptions up a notch, you can marry A+ content with a stunning interface.

As in nature, symbiosis is an important part of creating an effective website designed to foster conversions and long-term relationships through the right balance between UX and content marketing.

Without one, the other will fall, creating a true interactive experience that must excel at all levels. When your UX and your content don’t work together in harmony, you miss out on a vital part of operating a successful website.

The post UX and Content: Why They Need to Be Hand in Hand appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Despite the popularity, however, most blogs aren’t as useful as they could be. Instead of pouring money into unnecessary content, learn how to optimize your marketing strategies and make your blog more productive.

1. Tell a Story, and Make It Good

Most readers don’t spend more than a few seconds on a website, making the ways in which you start your posts incredibly important. The beginning of an article should hook the reader immediately, creating a narrative and giving them a reason to keep going.

When your blog posts start out on a low note and doesn’t have a story to tell, you’re probably not going to see the conversion numbers you have in mind.

2. Paint an Interesting Picture

You’ve probably heard the expression “a picture is worth a thousand words,” but you may not know how true it is in content marketing. By starting with an image and using charts, graphs, and visuals throughout a post, you can keep readers entertained, breaking up the text and creating a flow to your article.

Mixing images with words is more attractive to readers, allowing you to send your message in an engaging way.

3. Target the Right People

If your content marketing is for everyone, it’s actually for no one. By making sure your writing is aimed at your target market, you’re more likely to produce something that your customers and clients want to read, absorb, and think about for more than a few minutes.

Rather than trying to come up with something that could appeal to everyone, hone in on the readers who are the most likely to actually purchase and use what you have to offer.

4. Call Your Readers to Action

So your readers have made it all the way through your article.

Now what?

Without a great call to action, all of the hard work you put into writing a great post is wasted, leaving your readers with nothing to gain when your story comes to an end. When your call to action has something to offer a reader, you’re much more likely to make an impact.

When you devote the energy to writing fresh content for your blog, there should be an end game to your methods.

By building your content strategy around productivity and focusing on key elements like a narrative flow, use of images, relevant content to your audience, and a great call to action, you can enhance conversions, build a regular base of readers, and ensure the time and energy you put into writing content truly means something.

After all, if no one is willing to read what you write, what’s the point?

The post 4 Ways to Make Your Blog Productive appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

One of the biggest mistakes marketers can make is confusing an intended audience with an actual audience. Even if your products were designed for young adults, that doesn’t mean that’s who’s buying them. In order to truly investigate who your audience is, there are four key data points, metrics, and customer segments you can look at.

1. Location

Is your audience local, or are your sales national? By using location data from web visitors, you can see exactly where your sales are coming from, and who to target moving forward. Location can also uncover other valuable information about your market, giving you insight into culture and common area resources.

2. Age and Gender

The age of your average customer can make a big difference in your marketing strategies. Looking at Google and social media analytics can help you see the average age and gender of your page viewers and customers, helping you target your marketing efforts in the right place, like the right social media platform and the most useful content topics.

3. General Interests

Are your posts striking the right chords with your readers? Website data can help you monitor your best and worst posts, allowing you to see what articles are clicked on and read to completion versus those that went unnoticed. Understanding what your visitors want to read can guide your content strategies in a positive direction.

4. Traffic Sources

Where your traffic is coming from can provide a great look into who’s interested in your products. If most of your traffic comes from social media, you can assume your Facebook posts are making a difference, but if Google searches bring most of your visitors, it’s a sign that your website is strong but your digital marketing strategies aren’t living up to your aspirations.

Whether your audience is exactly who you intended or you’re not sure who’s buying your products, taking an indepth look at who you should be targeting is the kind of market research every savvy company should be performing. The more you know about your audience, the more effective your marketing can be.

The post Find Your Target Audience with this 4 Step Formula appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

The Power of Freelance Writers

When there’s no room in the budget to hire an in-house team and no time on the schedule to permit current employees to try their hand at content creation, finding the right freelancer can make a significant difference. With a breadth of experience and expertise built on years of practice, freelance writers can be extremely valuable. Most freelancers have flexible schedules and can provide large batches of content on demand, taking care of your marketing needs while your team is busy handling day to day tasks.

The cost of hiring a freelance writer is generally much lower than hiring an in-house marketing team or content writer, keeping your expenses low and your quality high. In addition, using the same writer or team of writers can ensure the voice and tone of your content is consistent across your site, providing visitors with a cohesive experience.

An Inside Scoop on Freelance Writing

As a freelance writer with over 5 years of experience and degrees in both creative writing and accounting, I have been able to offer my services to clients around the world, including countless ecommerce companies searching for great content. Through Crowd Content, I have been able to provide web content, email marketing resources, and product descriptions, both on my own and in conjunction with a team of other freelancers. By using my own skills and collaborating within a team, I am able to help companies create the kind of content that brings their products and ideas to life, making sure they’re always one step ahead of the competition.

While many companies may be hesitant to get started with what seems like a faceless, anonymous writer, working with a freelance writer can offer you the low-cost support you need to launch a successful ecommerce website. You may also be surprised at how good some freelancers are at building and maintaining relationships with clients, essentially acting as an extension of the client’s team over long periods of time.

Through a platform that guarantees quality results and accountability, you can find a freelance writer with expertise in your industry and experience in the kind of content you need, creating an invaluable resource that can ensure your products and website will always stand out.

The post Using Freelance Writers to Scale Your Ecommerce Content Production appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

Content marketing is among the most valuable and affordable marketing strategies ecommerce companies can use, adding value to a brand, establishing an online reputation, and bringing the personal elements of a brick and mortar location to the digital world.

With the right approach, you can put your company front and center, maximizing chances of success!

Provide Adequate Resources

One of the largest weaknesses a website can have is a lack of quality content. Without enough information on your site, or a steady flow of posts on your blog, your visitors will have nowhere to go. Posting regularly to your blog, keeping your website up to date, and writing creative, compelling content is the best way to make sure readers have the information they need to keep them coming back for more.

Tell a Cohesive Story

Without a brick and mortar storefront to visit, your website needs to communicate a lot. It’s important to create a narrative that will introduce site visitors to who you are and what sets you apart from the rest. Your home page and any About Us pages should tell a story about you and your brand, painting a picture of what you have to offer why and it’s worth paying attention to.

Bring Your Products to Life!

Without a tangible object to hold, it’s important to give your site visitors a great impression of what you have available. Product descriptions should be captivating and compelling, creating an offline retail experience online. Language should be vibrant and active, giving life to an object that can only be seen from behind a screen.

Don’t settle for the product descriptions that came along from the manufacturer. Often, these are generic and don’t necessarily match the voice of your brand. More importantly, your manufacturer has give the exact same description to all your other retailer competitors! This creates a duplicate content problem for your website that can seriously hurt SEO performance.

Always write fresh, original descriptions for all your products to improve the customer shopping experience and SEO performance across your site.

Establish a Voice

Throughout your site, your company’s persona should be clear, creating a voice that speaks across your resources. Consistency can be a large part of this, making it vital that you use the same tone, attitude, and approach to content for your site, posts, and product descriptions. Using a freelance writer, or a team of freelancers, can be an effective and low cost way to accomplish this, giving you the same source for all of your content.

Building a successful ecommerce business may take time and commitment, but content marketing can take you far. By providing your readers with cohesive, quality content, wowing with product descriptions, creating a voice, and telling a story through your website, it’s possible to establish an online operation your customers will come back to over and over.

The post Content Marketing Guide for Ecommerce Startups with Limited Resources appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

With Mobilegeddon looming just around the corner, we all know how important mobile sites are to your visibility in Google results, right? Of course we do.

But did you know that Google’s latest and greatest algorithm change is about more than the nitty, gritty coding details?

The Internet has been abuzz for months about Google’s April 21st update, in which mobile websites will be prioritized on mobile devices and everything else will be left stranded, buried deep under pages of more optimized web results.

However, having mobile friendly SEO content may prove just as important for sites with a content-based marketing strategy.

If your site is ready for the update, it’s time to make sure your content can keep up.

Be Concise

Unlike a computer screen that can show a lot of text, even the biggest smart phone screens are small. Nice, wordy, long paragraphs can be great to read at your desk, but reading them on a phone is a challenge.

When optimizing your content for mobile SEO, keep paragraphs short and your message to the point.

Pump Up the Images

People love pictures. Studies demonstrate that the eye gravitates toward images on a page, which prompts readers to keep reading.

Even if you just have a few images, whether eye-catching stock photos or funny infographics, it’s important to give a casual skimmer something to look for.

An article that looks interesting may be what it takes to catch a mobile reader’s eye.

Put Your Best Headlines Forward

When skimming a site looking for interesting content, headlines with panache jump out. This isn’t to say you should resort to clickbait – you shouldn’t – but your headlines should be short, catchy, and to the point.

With all the time it takes to scroll down a little screen, readers are less likely to click on something vague that can’t be read quickly.

Keeping up with your content is something you’re probably used to, but making sure your site is optimized for mobile devices may not be.

Google’s upcoming algorithm changes are right around the corner, making now the time to act.

By taking the time to tweak your content with mobile users in mind, you’ll be able to keep your SEO marketing fresh, relevant, and, of course, at the top of the SERP.

The post Is My Content Formatted for Mobile? appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.

How often do you send an email straight to the trash without opening it?

If you’re like most people, it probably happens to you dozens of times every day. Unfortunately, in today’s busy world, many emails that aren’t absolutely essential are delegated to the trash can instead of claiming a few seconds of a reader’s time.

While email marketing campaigns can be very effective, some campaigns work better than others. With these tried and true tips, you can be sure your email newsletter is effective, interesting, and, most importantly, opened!

1. Make Sure Your Subject Line Is Catchy

While it’s important not to judge a book by its cover, it’s altogether too common for a busy professional to disregard emails that don’t have a compelling or important-sounding title.

In order to catch a reader’s eye and convey the message that your content is worth reading, choose a title that is to the point, catchy, or witty but still conveys the message you are trying to send.

An interesting title is an asset, but you should try to avoid subject lines that could be considered clickbait, or a misleading title designed to generate as many clicks as possible.

Although clickbait can be effective at drawing in readers, most people dislike clicking on an article or opening an email that has a completely different message than what the title implied. This creates distrust in readers, driving them away from further communications.

2. Keep Your Content Professional

Above all else, email marketing content should be high quality. While email communication is often casual and relaxed, an email marketing campaign is a big part of your online reputation and should speak to what you have to offer.

If your email newsletter is littered with grammar issues or uses text message abbreviations, your readers won’t take you seriously, resulting in a marketing campaign that does more damage than good.

By relying on professionally-written content that is aimed at the interests of your readers, you can be sure that everyone who opens your emails will get an accurate image of the prestige and reputation of your business and what you have to offer.

Many companies also see utility in HTML content with images, providing a more put together look and feel for readers.

3. Keep Content Brief and Easy to Read

Most working adults lead very busy, full lives, making reading long articles a luxury for which there is little time in the day. In order to best attract readers, keep your content short, to the point, and easy to read.

Rather than overwhelming your readers with technical language and long-winded articles, give them something they can read over easily.

Many newsletters don’t provide full articles but rather titles, highlights, and summaries from successful content marketing pieces with a link to the original blog or post. If you feel as though shortening content sacrifices your message, this method allows you to provide a brief yet informative experience to readers while still allowing them full access to articles that may attract their interest.

When handled properly, an email newsletter can be extremely effective. By crafting titles that are are captivating and content that is proper, professional, and easy to read, you can ensure your email marketing content is read and appreciated.

The post 3 Steps to Mastering the Art of Email Content appeared first on Crowd Content - Blog.