10 Simple Things You Can Do to Fix Your Website Copy – Starting Today!

Should I optimize for conversion or rankings? How do I ensure good readability? What copy is most important to focus on? How do I know if I’m doing it right?

Fixing your website copy can be a daunting task – especially if you don’t know where or how to start! But have no fear, this article is packed with inspiration and tips that will get you off to a flying start!

1. Make sure visitors can actually read your website copy

If you want your copy to have full impact, you have to make sure that visitors can actually read your website copy. In my experience, design and copy go hand in hand, and layout has major impact on readability.

To illustrate this point, let’s have a look at an experiment I recently ran on FreeMake.com’s landing page for their YouTube MP3 converter. In this case, simply changing the font color of the headline from orange to black was enough to increase downloads by 6.64%.

Font size, white space, paragraph length, line height, background/font contrast, line width, bullet points, sub-headlines are all factors that impact readability.

As a guideline don’t go smaller than 14px, keep your paragraphs to a maximum of 4 lines, stick a line width of 650px or less, and keep a good amount of white space between lines.

My friend Peep Laja from Conversionxl.com wrote an awesome article on how to improve website readability – check it out here >>

If you’re in the mood to really geek out on font optimization, read this article >>

2. Get real clear about the value you offer

The longer it takes your prospects to figure out what your offer is all about, the more likely they are to leave your website and move on to one of your competitors.

So don’t waste their time and make them jump through hoops. Tell them clearly how they will benefit from accepting your offer, and give them a good reason to say, “Yes!”

In my experience, there’s direct correlation between how clearly you convey the value of your offer and the likelihood of getting a conversion.

In this example from BettingExpert.com, a simple exercise in making the headline more clear and relevant to the motivation of the prospects increased sign-ups by 41.14%.

The control headline asks a very broad question instead of providing prospects with a clear reason to say, “Yes” In fact it isn’t really a headline, it’s more of a statement in the form of an open-ended question to which there really is no answer.

The treatment on the other hand is very concrete and provides the prospect with a clear and relevant reason to say, “Yes”.

For more on how to write clear and relevant web copy, check out this article:

Online Copywriting that Converts – 5 Lessons from 250 A/B Tests

Or download my free ebook 7 Universal Conversion Optimization Principles 

3. Pick low-hanging fruits

Why make things more difficult than absolutely necessary? Instead of spending days contemplating where to start optimizing, you might as well learn from my research and use your energy where it counts.

In my experience, mission-critical elements like headlines, sign-up forms and buttons are great places to start. They attract a lot of attention and represent some of the few areas on your website where you can be 99% sure that prospects will actually read the copy.

Moreover, because these elements play a critical role in the conversion scenario, relatively small changes can have major impact. I’ve performed tons of tests where minor tweaks to button, headline and form copy have resulted in major lifts.

Here’s an example from a test I ran on the payment page for WriteWork.com – a subscription-based education website for college and university students.

In this case tweaking the button copy and adding the benefit, “Get started”, increased conversion by 31.03%. This is the very last step in the conversion funnel, and every single conversion means money in the bank – so this simple tweak represented quite a return on optimization.

For concrete tips on how to write effective headlines, sign-up forms and calls-to-action, check out these articles:

5 Landing Page Headline Formulas Tested

8 Simple Online Copywriting Case Studies

How to Write High-Converting Sign-Up Form Copy

How to Write a Call-to-Action That Converts

4. Stop relying on assumptions – start testing

One of the main things I’ve learned from 4 years of A/B testing is that people don’t always behave the way marketers want them to, and it can be extremely difficult to predict the actions and reactions of your target audience.

On your website, slight copy variations can have major impact on conversion, and sometimes the results can be counterintuitive – to say the least.

Here’s an example where I assumed adding a privacy policy to the sign-up form on a betting site would increase sign-ups. However when I tested it, it turned out that the privacy policy had a negative impact and decreased conversion by 18.70%!

As this test clearly shows, even the most logical assumptions can backfire – big time! And if you base all your marketing decisions on assumptions, you could be gambling your budgets away without even knowing it.

If you are new to testing, here’s a good article to get you started:

A/B Testing – Answers to the Top 5 Questions of 2012

If you are looking for easy-to-use testing software, I recommend VisualWebsiteOptimizer.com

5. Prioritize people over robots

There can be no doubt that copy is one of the most important aspects of onsite Search Engine Optimization. But dude it’s 2013, nobody wants to read obvious SEO content – not even the search engines!

Everything points to the fact that Google prefers natural content over content that’s been super optimized for search engines. Moreover, there’s no point in getting great rankings if your content doesn’t help convert visitors into paying customers and/or loyal followers.

So focus on your flesh and bone target audience – but help the robots find your content.

For tips on how to write content that ranks, check out this infographic >>

I also wrote an article on how to do keyword research on the fly. It gives you a bunch of tips for how to find hot keywords and take advantage of long-tail phrases.

6. Ask your target audience what they want

Instead of spending hours guesstimating what’s in the mind of your customers – why not get the answers “straight from the horses mouth”?

A while ago I decided to write a free ebook for ContentVerve.com. I had two ideas and I couldn’t decide which one to go with, but instead of making an executive decision myself, I decided to ask my readers what they preferred.

I did so by setting up a simple pop-up survey on all pages of the blog. The pop-up simply asked people to pick the book they preferred.

After 444 responses, I could see a clear tendency – 58.8% of my readers preferred an ebook on conversion optimization rather than an ebook on optimizing call-to-action buttons.

I use Qualaroo.com for such surveys – It’s a great tool.

Doing surveys, phone interviews, and user tests are all excellent ways of getting insights and ideas for relevant, high-converting content. For more on using surveys to get answers from your customers, check out this post.

For an in-depth look at talking to customers and asking the right questions, read Kristin Zhivago’s excellent book Roadmap to Revenue.

7. Start answering your potential customer’s questions

Your potential customers will always have a number of questions that you need to answer in order to make them feel comfortable enough to accept your offer. Essentially, when they have asked enough questions and gotten enough relevant answers they will ready to buy.

Any person who has experience selling face-to-face in the brick-and-mortar world will back this up. Well, selling online isn’t different – you need to provide your prospects with as many answers via your web copy as you would verbally in a physical sales situation.

Common questions – that you probably recognize from your own buying behavior – include, “What does it cost?”, “Will it work?”, “Can I trust this website?”, “Does the product fit my needs?”

The questions your prospects are asking will of course vary depending on the product you are selling. So you need to find out precisely what these questions are, and there are a number of ways of doing that.

If you have regular contact with current and potential customers, simply listen to what they say and make a note of the questions they ask. If they’re asking about prices as the first thing, you probably need to provide price information on your website or landing pages.

If you don’t have direct contact with clients, approach customer support or sales. You’ll be amazed by how much valuable information you can get by talking to the people who spend most of their days on the phone with clients and prospects.

A marketer who has tremendous success answering questions from potential customers is Marcus Sheridan of TheSalesLion.com.

8. Assume that no one wants to do what you want them to do 

I spend a lot of time online reading web copy of all different kinds, but most of it falls into one of two categories:

1. Totally generic copy: BUY NOW, CLICK HERE, SIGN UP NOW!

2. Super salesy copy: Searching for the Ultimate XXX? Your Wait is Over!

In my experience, none of these approaches work well for conversion. The problem is that they do not convey any value and give no reasons why you should say, “Yes” – which is ultimately the goal of any piece of sales copy.

It seems as though such copy is based on the principle that prospects are dying to do whatever the marketer wants them to do. Unfortunately, the harsh reality is quite another.

People don’t lie awake at night all excited thinking of all the banners they are going to click the next day. And nobody gets up in the morning thinking, “I’m so excited – Today I’m going to sign up for at least two free newsletters!”

The trick is to assume that NO ONE wants to do what you tell them to do. That way you’ll force yourself to think long and hard about the value of the offer your conveying, and how you can present it the best way possible way to make even the most jaded and stubborn prospect go “Now that’s interesting!”

9. Use the word “Get” a lot while drafting your copy

One of the main things I’ve learned from all the testing I’ve done is that focusing on what your prospects are going to get out your offer is key to getting them to say, “Yes”

A dead simple technique for writing customer-centric copy is to use the word, get in your copywriting.

It’s not that get has any persuasive super power. It’s just that get sends a clear signal that anything that comes after it revolves around something the reader can obtain. In other words, getimplies that the question, “What’s in it for me” will be answered.

Here’s an example from the real world where simply changing the word order to get on a B2B site increased conversion by 14.79%

By the way, this isn’t a fluke test. I’ve tested in multiple times and in different languages. Here’s an example from a Danish sister website where exactly the same exercise resulted in a lift of 38.26%

10. Before you start optimizing, ask yourself, “Why”, “What”, and “How”

It’s such a cliché that asking the right questions gets the right answers. But when it comes to writing web copy that converts, asking, “Why”, “What”, and “How” – in that order – is in fact a super effective way of getting it right.

I emphasize the order in which you ask these questions, because I see a lot of marketers jump to, “How” too soon. They go straight to asking questions like, “How can I make this copy better?” or “How do I write higher converting copy for this landing page?”

The problem is that if you ask, how questions too soon you can easily be misled and end up missing crucial steps and focusing on the wrong aspects. Again, the goal is not to write sexier copy – the goal is to get more conversions.

Why?

Asking why questions first forces you to take a few steps back and get specific about the essentials of your offer and the aspects you need to cover.

Start by asking yourself, “Why would my potential customers choose to say, “Yes” to my offer?”

Write down as many relevant answers to this question as possible and edit until you have a list of the top three to five reasons why your potential customers would say yes. This exercise will give you a clear idea of what you need to focus on when writing your copy.

Now ask yourself, “Why would my ideal prospects choose to say, “No” to my offer?”

Write down as many relevant answers to this question as possible and edit them into a list of the top three to five reasons that your potential customers would say, “No”.

This exercise will give you a clear idea of friction and anxiety issues you need to address in your copy in order to make prospects feel comfortable enough to say, “Yes”.

What?

Once you have answered all the why questions it’s time to move on to what.

“What do my prospects need to know in order to say, “Yes”?”, “What should I focus on specifically to convey the value of my offer?”, “What should I focus on in order to overcome the main reasons my why prospects would say, “No”?”

This exercise will help you get you more specific about what you need to write in order to accelerate your potential customers’ decision-making process.

How?

The answers you came up with for the why and what questions will provide you with a solid basis for answering the big how question:

“How do I write the best possible copy for this particular conversion scenario?”

What you should do now 

The tips and links in this article should give you plenty of inspiration to start fixing your website copy. Now go through your website and look for places where you can apply what you’ve learned.

Mission critical elements like buttons, headlines and forms are a great place to start. But be careful with relying on assumptions and remember; testing is the only way to gain certainty that your optimization efforts actually work.

To view the original article Click Here

2 Mistakes That Cause Advertisers to Quit AdWords Just When They’re on the Verge of a Breakthrough

When people find out I’m the author of Google AdWords for Dummies, the second most common reaction, after "What’s AdWords?", is "Oh, I tried AdWords. It didn’t work for me."

I’m biased, certainly, and I understand that AdWords isn’t an appropriate advertising medium for every business, but the truth is that many advertisers give up on AdWords way too soon.

In this article, I’ll share the two most common mistakes we see in the AdWords accounts of our new clients who are almost on the verge of throwing in the towel, and how we deal with them.

But first, some context.

There are two fundamental reasons that your AdWords campaigns are failing: AdWords problems and business problems.

In other words, maybe you’re not using AdWords as effectively as your competitors, so they get the best traffic at the best prices, and you’re hustling for paltry scraps at a premium. Or perhaps you’re doing everything right inside your account, but your product or message or business model is not as robust as those of your competitors.

Most cases are a combination of the two. So fixing your AdWords account won’t necessarily open the floodgates of hungry prospects eager to buy what you’re selling (although we’ve seen that often enough).

But solving your AdWords problems will allow you to perform an accurate stress test on your business, so you can identify and overcome your weaknesses relative to your competition.

Visitor Value: The Key Metric

The business that wins AdWords is the one that can afford to spend the most for a click. The higher you can bid, the more traffic you get. The more traffic you get, the faster you can test and learn and improve.

And the business that can spend the most for a click, in the long term, is the one that monetizes that click most efficiently. Or, to drop the jargon for a moment, the one that makes the most money from that prospect.

If your business converts prospects better and gets them to spend more than your competitors do, you get to win AdWords. So AdWords traffic can represent the perfect "stress test" for your business fundamentals – but only if you get the AdWords part right to begin with.

Here are the two most common AdWords mistakes that lead business owners to give up on the medium before it’s delivered the lead flow – or strategic insight – of which its capable.

1. Wasting Money on the Wrong Traffic

The AdWords default settings are all about getting you the most impressions and clicks possible. I’ve never seen a case where opening up all the traffic sluices from the get-go was a good idea.

Rather, indiscriminate use of vague, high-traffic keywords and overly permissive campaign settings waste money by sending you lots of visitors who are not your prospects.

Watch out for three principal money-wasters:

A. Overly generic terms: If you’re a wedding photographer, don’t bid on "photographer" unless you want to branch into photographing kids, pets, pregnant women, mansions, and sporting events.

B. Broad Match keywords: Instead, choose exact and modified broad match to keep Google from throwing too much junk into your AdWords trunk.

C. "Stairway to Heaven" keywords: As in, "words that have two meanings." Examples include words like "windows," which can refer to the glass-filled holes in your house, or the operating system, and "speaker," which can refer to an orator or the thumpingly loud box your neighbor can’t seem to turn down.

Two maintenance activities to eliminate bad traffic:

A. Scour your search queries for keywords that you don’t want to attract and turn them into negatives.

B. Set up conversion tracking and pause or delete keywords that cost you more than they make in profits.

2. Blending in on the Search Results Page

Google cares a lot about your click-through rate (CTR). The better it is, everything else being equal, the less you’ll pay for each click. Think of it as a thank-you discount for buying in bulk.

If your ads look the same as your competitors’ ads, then there’s no particular reason for a prospect to click yours. Sure, you can pay more for a more prominent placement, but you can often achieve the same goal for free by writing an ad that cuts through the clutter on the page.

Here’s a sad example of a "me-too" search results page:

What kind of ad would cut through the clutter? The specific wording would be based, ideally, on the unique and valuable difference of the dental clinic in question. But even without thinking hard, an advertiser might focus on any of the following:

• Free cleaning with first visit
• See testimonials from satisfied clients
• Extremely comfortable chairs
• Industrial-strength giant vats of anesthesia
• And so on…

The steps here are simple, although successful execution generally takes time and thought.

1. Look at all your competitors’ ads.
2. Put yourself in your prospects’ shoes and think about what matters to them.
3. Define or invent a meaningful difference from the competition.
4. Write and test ads that embody that difference.

In a future article, I’ll share the next three most common mistakes. But getting these two fixed will go a long way toward bringing the right people to your website.

To view the original article Click Here

How To Use Social Media To Build Your Digital Following

Social media has given us the capacity to be the master of our tribe from anywhere in the world, and being that master means one thing and one thing only — you must lead them.

But before you can lead you must cultivate your tribe of online followers by learning how to successfully engage them. Without this engagement any effort to build your fan base will be in vain, which is why it is the first critical step and attracting fans is the second.

If you already have a tribe, these strategies will help you push past any 
plateau in growth you may have experienced of late and immediately 
attract more fans to your media pages.

And if you’re just getting started, you’ll have an unbeatable strategy by 
which to arm yourself.

We lead our tribes by using the engagement ruler as our guide…

STEP 1:THE ENGAGEMENT RULER

The Engagement Ruler is a way of measuring the potential impact of a 
social media post.  First we need to look at the different types of posts
because they each have a different level of impact.

There are three key levels – conflict, neutrality and elation.

1.  Conflict.  Creating a certain level of conflict within your posts can pay 
off dramatically.  By not being afraid to voice your views on a variety of 
topics, you will help draw an audience who share similar views.  Not 
everyone will agree with you but those who don’t will move along and 
that’s OK.  They aren’t your tribe.

Now, creating conflict doesn’t mean that you should post something rude 
or insulting. That’s just not acceptable. When I’m talking about conflict, 
I am referring to the inner conflict a simple question can raise.  Think 
about the reaction often sparked by a post on breastfeeding in public. It 
brings out clearly divided opinions which, when handled well, allows you 
to build and guide a conversation around the topic.

Think about the hot topics in your industry, and the questions that your 
followers are likely to be weighing up in their minds.  Come right out 
and ask the question. An agent of influence must have firm views – and 
not be swayed, or prepared to soften their stance just to be liked.

Conflict posts can go viral and bring you a huge amount of attention. 
They will also attract the people you want to be working with – the ones 
who are on your wavelength.

Here are a couple of simple examples of posts by Redhead Writing (she 
manages conflict posts exceptionally well) which may spark conflict.  Just 
pay attention to the number of comments, likes and shares these posts 
received.  Worth it?

2.  Neutrality.  It is neither here nor there; it just is.  These posts won’t go 
viral but they will gain you likes and they are a necessary part of the 
social media mix.  They are great for showing that you know what you 
are talking about.

Here are some examples for you. In both you see the authors sharing 
information. Two link to their own blog post and the other to a useful 
external source.  The important thing about each post is the comment 
which shows the author’s expertise on the topic.

Why would you bother with a neutral post if it won’t go viral or spark 
debate?

This kind of post can allow you to teach, share or demonstrate things to 
your audience.  You are giving them what they want and feeding their 
interest. Your post is a different way of meeting their needs.  That’s what 
makes it valuable to your followers. Once people learn that they will find 
answers to their questions on your page, they won’t need to look 
elsewhere or go through the effort of sourcing the information themselves.  
You have become a trusted resource and that’s a fantastically attractive 
position to be in.

3.  Elation. Elation is all about passion and personality.  By doing this 
you are sharing something that your competitors can’t compete with – 
the real you!  When you add personality, you become real to those who 
have never met you.  You give them something to know, like and 
understand about you as a person.

Elation does not have to be all about your successes, although they will 
be exciting for your followers to see.  It’s about your genuine joy when 
something happens that you agree with or believe in.

Take a look at this example which shares a success.  It is impossible not 
to be happy for her, but just as importantly, this post gives proof that 
she’s great at what she does.  Pretty convincing.

The next examples are a couple of my own posts. I posted this to 
show my excitement at the possibilities I was starting to feel ahead 
in my future.  I show you exactly how I feel about it (in my own 
expressive language!) and give you some insight into the person I am, 
too.

Your elation posts don’t even have to be in your own words but they 
do need to represent you and your belief system. This quote means a 
lot to me.  Churchill certainly was an agent of influence in his own time, 
and what he says is true of the modern day agents, too.  This post is a 
powerful insight into the way I work which will uplift those of my 
followers who need it.

STEP 2:THE ENGAGEMENT RULER

Now that you know what each type of post looks like, it’s important to 
get the right mix of posts on your page. Conflict posts can be very tiring 
to follow, and elation posts may be overwhelming. The last thing you 
want is to drive away your followers because you are either dull or too 
much work.

In my book, Flee 9-5, I use this table to show the breakdown of each 
level of post. Here is where the 3 levels are on the Engagement Ruler:

• Conflict posts will register 0-4 on the scale,
• Neutral posts rank at 5
• Elation posts reach 6-10.

Take a look back at your last few posts. How do they measure on the 
Engagement Ruler?  If you notice that your posts are all sitting at 
number 5, it probably explains why your page is quiet and lacking in 
engagement!

Let’s look back at the posts from Redhead Writing. While they have 
the potential for conflict, they are not provoking an outright division 
in the ranks so those posts might sit at around a 3.

We know that the neutrality posts both sit at a 5, smack bang in the 
“middle of the road.”

Our elation posts provoke a positive emotional response. They are 
exuberant and inspiring, so they would sit at about the 8 level.

As you can see, there will be extremes even within the conflict and 
elation posts, some more dynamic than others, and that’s great. It 
gives you more room to move, so not only can you share posts from 
the three levels, you can choose posts to prompt a stronger or lesser 
reaction, depending on your chosen outcome.

STEP 3:BUILDING YOUR STRATEGY.

Clever marketers build the best engagement using a strategy which 
includes posts from each of the three levels.

With more than 30 billion pieces of content shared on Facebook each 
month, it takes strategy to keep from being lost in the news feed. Be 
strategic about what you post and make certain the content varies 
between each level so your tribe stays excited and engaged.

Now that you understand the three levels of engagement and what 
they look like, you can make an informed choice about what you post 
and when. Consistent posting which varies across the levels of the 
engagement ruler is your key to boosting social reach and becoming 
the leader of your tribe.

To view the original article Click Here

4 Tips For Creating An Effective Call To Action

If you work in marketing or digital operations, the call to action (CTA) is something of a rock star. We test it. We revere it. We understand that a small lift in click-throughs for it can mean significant gains for the business. 

And yet a quick Google search for CTA will pull up results for the Chicago Transit Authority, the California Teacher’s Association, the Cherenkov Telescope Array, and a slew of other results, while our little rock star—the call to action—is nowhere to be found on page 1.

The reality of the call to action is that while there’s now more attention paid to it compared to, say, 10 years ago, we could still be thinking about it and optimizing it quite a bit more.

Below are four tips to help you go beyond just testing your CTA button color:

1. Contrast

The first lever that you can turn when testing versions of your CTA is contrast. Note that we’re not specifically talking about colors. Colors are absolutely a factor, but even if red tests better than green, that doesn’t mean red converts better in a general sense. Red may have more contrast against the colors used in your theme.

It’s important to have mostly a color-neutral presentation—benign and boring works quite well for most sites, and you’ll have more leeway to make the CTA more distinctive when using a “bland” page.

2. Choices

The second lever almost does not need to get mentioned: for your CTAs to be found, you need to limit choices. Limit the potential actions of your visitors. One is ideal, and two potential actions can be forgiven if you absolutely need the second choice.

Any more than that and you’re just confusing your visitor. Remember: if you prioritize everything, you prioritize nothing.

3. Affordance

Contrast and choices (or the lack thereof) will help visitors spot buttons. Visual affordance tells visitors what they can do with those buttons.

For the latter, you have several options available:

• Shape: rounded objects call a little more attention and convey a little more interactivity
• Size: greater sizes typically help give buttons more attention and hierarchical “weight”
• Position: negative space around buttons help visitors understand that the area can be interacted with

For your CTAs to work, two things need to happen. First, visitors need to be able to spot them without any effort. Second, visitors must instantly know what they do—affordance, limited choices, and contrast are required, but they are the bare minimum. You need more.

4. Intent

Don’t underestimate the importance of matching intent. This sounds complicated (and it often is) but there are simple things you can start with. At a bare essentials level, that means making sure your calls to action are indeed actions. For instance, there’s a difference between “Free Trial” to “Try it Free.”

You might be surprised at the difference in click-through rates between the passive versus the more action-oriented one.

If you want to dive deeper, you can go through the usual tools you have for crafting emotional messaging. In an example case for the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, just changing the form CTA from “Submit” to “Support Haiti” increased dollars donated per visitor by 15.75%.

Yes, emotions matter a lot in conversion.

Making it Count

Optimizing web sites often call for tests on the CTAs, and that’s absolutely required. But once you know that you need to test, and once you actually have the tools required to test, there’s still the matter of knowing exactly which levers you are turning for your tests.

With contrast, choices, affordance, and intent, you have a complete set of tools to test to make your CTA count.

To view the original article Click Here

10 Things Marketers Must Know About Outsourcing Content

by sophiadphotography

We all know how important content is when it comes to SEO. Whether it be having great content across all pages of your site, or keeping up a blog with valuable and fresh content, you need to take the time to craft content that is not only relevant to your products or services and keywords, but is also useful for your site's visitors.

Writing content that is both readable and SEO-optimized can be challenging. Doing it yourself is one option, though many businesses don't have the time or resources in-house to take on this task – and do it right.

So, what's the next best way to get this content written? Many businesses consider outsourcing their content writing as a solution to get the content they need. Over the past few years, I've worked with a variety of freelance writers and content writing services, and I have also been a provider of writing services for clients myself. Since I've been on both sides of the equation, I've learned a few things about the best ways to go about outsourcing content projects in order to produce good results.

Here's a look at the top 10 things any marketer must know before they outsource any type of content:

1. Choose a Reputable Freelancer or Content Service

There are countless sites on which you can find freelance writers. You may choose to hire a single writer, or you can use content marketplace services like Textbroker, Zerys and WriterAccess to order the content you need. In either case, make sure you see sample work before you hire any writer or register for a content writing service. You may also want to test out a few different freelancers or services before you decide on which one will work best for you.

2. Better Instructions = Better Content

If you give poor instructions to your writer, you're going to get poor content back in return. Writers aren't mind readers, so you've got to tell them exactly what you are looking for. Through trial and error, I have confirmed that giving very clear instructions does, in fact, result in better quality content, even from the same pool of writers. For any project that I outsource, I make sure to clearly communicate:

• The topic and title of the page or blog post
• Tone and style
• Word count
• Specific instructions about what the piece should be about
• Keyword(s) to incorporate
• Where this content will be posted (offer a link to the website or blog)
• Any sample content or resources to be used in the writing of the content

3. Express Your SEO Requirements

Most of the content that I write and outsource has some sort of SEO considerations that must be incorporated. Let your writers know exactly what you need when it comes to incorporating keywords, anchor text, title tags, meta descriptions and so on so they can keep this in mind right from the beginning of the project.

4. Don't Go Cheap

When it comes to content, you get what you pay for. A decent web page or blog post is going to cost you anywhere from 2 cents per word to upwards of 7 cents per word. Of course, if you're looking for premium, expert-level content, you're going to have to pay much more than that. Hint: If you're looking for well-written content, you're not going to get it for $10 a page.

5. Organize Your Favourite Writers

Once you've found some freelance writers who are producing good content for you, stick with them! Many content writing services will let you keep a list of your favourite writers so you can assign projects directly to them. Putting together a pool of trusted writers will make outsourcing easier and more reliable.

6. Ask For Revisions

Has your writer missed the mark on a couple of points or forgot to mention a key idea in the content you've ordered? Politely ask them to revise the piece with clear instructions indicating what you would like changed – most will be happy to do so.

7. Make Small Edits Yourself

That being said, if you get a piece of content that you like overall, but have a few minor edits (word choice, a single typo, formatting changes), don't bother asking for a revision. It's much easier to make these small changes yourself and not worth the back and forth time it will take to have your writer fix them. Trust me – most writers would prefer you make these minor edits yourself!

8. Make Deadlines

Remember to set appropriate and strategic deadlines when outsourcing content. Need a blog post two weeks from today? Order it as soon as possible to leave time for revisions. Always communicate clear deadlines with freelancers so you can have your content ready when you need it.

9. Don't Be Afraid to Fire People

Is your freelancer stressing you out? Are they having a hard time following instructions? Stop working with them. If it's taking you more time to tell them what to write than it would be to actually write it yourself, you're not saving time or money.

10. Have Realistic Expectations

You must remember that your freelance writer is likely NOT an expert in your industry (unless you're paying them the big bucks!). The content that they produce will not be exactly what you personally might write about as a business owner or expert, nor will it be an award-winning piece of literature. Be realistic about what you're going to receive from your writer and you'll both be happier working together.

To view the original article Click Here