21 Social Media and Content Marketing Tools to Make Your Life Easier

December 31, 2018 by Erika Heald Leave a Comment

Content marketers have a seemingly endless number of tools at their disposal to make their jobs easier. Whether it’s optimizing your social media accounts, researching the best keywords to use, or creating visuals to accompany your content, there’s something online for everyone (and often times free).

The hard part? Cutting through the noise and finding the best tools for the money.

Luckily, our #ContentChat community regularly discusses the must-have content marketing tools that they use in their professional life. Here’s a selection of the most mentioned and loved content marketing tools. Note that I’ve included affiliate links for a few of the tools I use every day and recommend the most. If you make a purchase from one of those links, I may receive a small commission.

If your favorite isn’t on this list, comment below: [Read more…] about 21 Social Media and Content Marketing Tools to Make Your Life Easier

August 20, 2018 Content Chat Recap: The Perils of Ghostwriting and How to Overcome Them—Freelance Writer Edition

August 27, 2018 by Erika Heald Leave a Comment

In the second part of our #ContentChat series on ghostwriting, we talked with Brett Pucino (@BPucino) on the ins and outs of being a freelance ghostwriter. If you missed the first chat, check out the recap of the in-house ghostwriter edition.

Q1: For those not familiar with it, what is freelance ghostwriting? What kind of things are you writing, and for whom?

Freelance ghostwriting is when you write content that appears under a client’s name, typically for executives or public figures.

A1: Freelance ghostwriting is anytime you write for a client that puts their own name on the piece (or that of someone in the company). What you write depends on the client and how involved the named person is in content creation varies #ContentChat
— Kristen Hicks (@atxcopywriter) August 20, 2018

A1: Freelance Ghostwriting is writing content for someone else, but working for yourself. I write anything from blog posts to memoirs. Clients vary. Web content clients are biz execs or entrepreneurs. Book clients are usually politicians, biz or spiritual leaders #ContentChat
— Brett Pucino (@BPucino) August 20, 2018

A1: There are many different intangibles, but essentially, someone doesn’t have time to write something really good (or detailed), so hires someone else to capture his or her voice and put it in print or online. #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/Zrl46PwH0o
— Shawn Paul Wood (@ShawnPaulWood) August 20, 2018

A1. I personally freelance ghostwrite blogs and articles for several customers including an orthodontist, a business coach, someone in the wellness space, & a neurosurgeon (scary huh?) 🙂 #ContentChat
— Christina Hager (@ChristinaMHager) August 20, 2018

Freelance ghostwriting happens for pretty much every type of content you can think of.

A1: As a freelance ghostwriter, I’ve written blog posts, e-books, presentations, online courses and social media content for a range of execs and industries. #ContentChat https://t.co/n20Al05GXY
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) August 20, 2018

A1: Freelance ghostwriting is white-labeled content creation for blogs, websites, articles, white papers, and other content venues where your writing is attributed and credited to a different author. #ContentChat
— Jacques Bouchard (@jacquesbouchard) August 20, 2018

[Read more…] about August 20, 2018 Content Chat Recap: The Perils of Ghostwriting and How to Overcome Them—Freelance Writer Edition

August 13, 2018 Content Chat Recap: The Perils of Ghostwriting and How to Overcome Them—In-house Writer Edition

August 27, 2018 by Erika Heald Leave a Comment

If you think all those executives whose names you see on OpEds and contributed articles across the web all actually wrote the pieces their bylines appear on, it’s time to introduce you to the in-house ghostwriter. In this week’s #ContentChat we talked about the challenges of being an in-house ghostwriter with Martin Lieberman (@martinlieberman).

Q1: For those not familiar with it, what is ghostwriting in a company setting? What kind of things are you writing, and for whom?

Ghostwriting is helping a subject matter expert express their ideas by pairing them with a professional writer.

A1 Ghostwriting is, basically, translating execs’/SMEs’ expertise and POV, and our company messaging, into blog posts, white papers and other external-facing content. I do that, and also ghostwrite social media posts and internal emails for our senior leaders. #contentchat
— Martin Lieberman (@martinlieberman) August 13, 2018

A1: Internal ghostwriting often comes in the form of supporting internal thought leaders. It can range from white papers to social media updates to internal talks about the direction of the company. This can be for sales people, HR leaders or CEOs… really anyone. #contentchat
— Maureen Jann (@SuperDeluxeMo) August 13, 2018

A1a: In a perfect world, being an in-house ghostwriter means you collaborate with company leaders to craft compelling content and communications. #ContentChat https://t.co/N926IP5uTv
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) August 13, 2018

A1b: In the less awesome cases, you are someone fielding requests such as “write me a blog post on Topic X and some Tweets” and crafting content from scratch that someone else’s name goes on. #ContentChat https://t.co/V3e000ywzG
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) August 13, 2018

A1 Yes, but I would add: writers “interpret” (give context) and/or “harmonize” thoughts of senior leaders (make them sound better). Not just in social media, but via speeches, etc. #contentchat https://t.co/CHOQWlWmQy
— Judy Gombita (@jgombita) August 13, 2018

August 6, 2018 Content Chat Recap: So You Want to Be a Freelance Content Creator

August 13, 2018 by Erika Heald Leave a Comment

This week’s #ContentChat was all about the ins and outs of being a freelance content creator. We had 10 quick prepared questions, covering things I think every freelancer needs to know, and then opened up the conversation for a freelancer ask-me-anything. Have a question about freelance content marketing work that I didn’t cover here? Ask me your question in the comments! In addition to having been a freelance #B2C and #B2B content creator throughout my career, I’ve also hired and managed a number of freelancers throughout the years. So feel free to ask me questions from either perspective.

Freelance FAQs

Q1: I want to freelance in the same field as my current job. What do I need to know before I get started?

Take a look at your current employment contract.

A1: Make sure you understand your current work contract. Some employers prohibit you from moonlighting in the same role or industry, while others allow it but only if you receive prior written permission. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) August 6, 2018

As I understand it, this is the way it is for me. The problem I’ve had is never getting clearance to do any freelancing — even outside the industry. #ContentChat
— Jason Webb (@JasonLWebb) August 6, 2018

A1 Keep. Your. Job. In your free time, try to find a client or two, and then a few. Also: make sure that your manager is OK with you freelancing. #contentchat
— Ken Gordon (@quickmuse) August 6, 2018

A1: One thing I’d say is that sometimes you can convince your employer to hire you back as a freelancer. #contentchat pic.twitter.com/N328PXaKng
— Michelle Garrett (@PRisUs) August 6, 2018

Identify a content creation gap only you can fill. Do your homework!

A1: Where are the gaps in your field? Your freelancing should fill those soundly. That’s instant differentiation among the competition (those bums). #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/foGz7IFEgh
— Shawn Paul Wood (@ShawnPaulWood) August 6, 2018

A1. Commit to begin, and research the how’s and why’s of what opportunities and put a plan in place. Get busy! #ContentChat
— Dr. Dorrie Cooper (@sittingpretty61) August 6, 2018

Yes! Keep an eye on those job listings that linger or keep coming back up. What are those really hard-to-fill roles that you can help with? #ContentChat https://t.co/KdXucL5B5F
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) August 6, 2018

A1: Can you validate your services offering with anyone currently in your network? #ContentChat
— Holly Miller | Marketing & Content Strategy (@millertime_baby) August 6, 2018

Not everyone is cut out for the freelance life. Ask yourself these questions to assess your readiness.

A1: Ask yourself, is your there a need for your job? Can you work outside of an office? Do you have a strategy? #ContentChat
— Brandie McCallum (@lttlewys) August 6, 2018

July 30, 2018 Content Chat Recap: Marketing and Content Attribution

August 5, 2018 by Erika Heald Leave a Comment

Although digital marketing brings with it an unprecedented ability to measure marketing’s effectiveness, it’s not without its challenges. Many marketers struggle with accurately tracking and attributing content’s role in moving leads through the sales funnel. That’s why we brought the #ContentChat community together this week to talk about content marketing attribution.

Q1: Let’s start by getting on the same page. Within the context of digital marketing, what is attribution?

Attribution is how you give credit to the marketing activities that drive to sales.

A1: Google defines attributions as “set of rules, that determines how credit for sales and conversions is assigned to touchpoints in conversion paths.” https://t.co/lZDAISgnBQ #contentchat
— Maureen Jann (@SuperDeluxeMo) July 30, 2018

A1b: What’s really important about attribution is that businesses need take into account all of the interactions a potential customer has with your brand to understand what’s actually working. #contentchat
— Maureen Jann (@SuperDeluxeMo) July 30, 2018

A1: In simple terms, Attribution = Showing who drove what. #ContentChat https://t.co/IgqbopsU3t
— Amy Higgins (@amywhiggins) July 30, 2018

A2c: In my opinion, the heart of attribution is about each interaction with your brand over time creates a cumulative sense of trust that helps a customer take the next step with you. #contentchat
— Maureen Jann (@SuperDeluxeMo) July 30, 2018

Attribution documents the stops along the buyer’s journey.

A1 Think of marketing like a road map and attribution like the turns your customer takes in order to reach the point of purchase. #contentchat
— Bill Skowronski (@BillSkowronski) July 30, 2018

Agreed. This is why last touch only attribution makes me so unhappy. The first and last touches are important but so much can happen between those two points! #ContentChat https://t.co/sdHlbN5TmM
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) July 30, 2018

A1: A tricky part of attribution: figuring out how to distribute credit across the customer’s purchase path (across content types, devices, channels & time) for the end result. #contentchat
— Shelly Lucas (@pisarose) July 30, 2018

A1: Attribution – the art of justifying the contribution of a piece of content to the act of moving a customer along the pipeline to conversion. Very often to senior execs who still think cold- calling is the key to closing. 😉#contentchat
— Amy Card (@amy_card89) July 30, 2018

Erika Heald