Category: Content Format Tips

What is long-form B2B content, and why does it work so well?

Posted on by The Radix Team

When you’re building a B2B content strategy, you need a mix of content lengths. Long-form and short-form content are both vital tools, and each has its own specific use.

If you want to present a snack-sized stat to your readers, for example, or to promote a new product or service, you’re likely to use social seeds or a short article, rather than a ten-page white paper. Likewise, tackling a subject like “Everything you need to know about writing a B2B case study” is going to require more than a 280-character tweet.

But there’s no doubt that across the B2B industry – and in content marketing generally – longer content is becoming increasingly popular. According to Orbit Media’s 2021 blogging survey, the word count of a typical post is up 57% since 2014 – from 808 words to 1,269.

So how exactly can we define “long-form content”? Why is it gaining in popularity as an effective marketing tool? And how can you ensure that even your longest pieces still have impact? I took a look at the research – and completed some semi-scientific studies of my own – to find out.

What is long-form B2B content?

For starters, it’s not just lengthy blog posts. Although blogs are still the most popular B2B content format, long-form content can many other formats, including eBooks and whitepapers, guides and tutorials, and webinars and virtual events.

Essentially, it’s any piece of content that educates your audience on a specific topic or answers a specific question – in an in-depth, informative way.

There’s also a lot of debate around how to define “long” word count, with definitions ranging from 700 – 1,200 words. In truth, there’s probably no set figure; it’s more about the role your content plays. But for the sake of this blog, and in deference to science, I’m defining long-form as anything 1,000 words or over. (Even if it is just to make the maths that bit easier in my own research…)

How can long-form content boost your B2B marketing?

According to the research, writing more long-form content could help you boost your online presence and even drive conversion rates. Here’s what the stats tell us:

Fact #1: Long-form content tends to rank higher on search

You’ve probably heard that long-form content ranks higher – but I wanted to know how true that is for B2B. So, I searched 16 common terms and phrases, like “writing a B2B ebook” and “original research for B2B content”, then recorded the word count of the top five results.
Here’s what I discovered:

  • Across all 80 results, 76% were over 1,000 words, and 31% were over 2,000
  • Of the 16 top results, 12 of the posts were over 1,000 words
  • On the longer end of the scale, 13% of the results were over 3,000 words – and just 4% were over 5,000
  • 35% of the 80 results were between 1,500 and 3,000 words

So, it holds true: long-form content does seem to rank higher. But why?

Some studies suggest that it’s easier to grow organic traffic, and employ SEO tactics, as there’s more scope to include keywords or backlinks (more on this in a moment). But there’s also a simpler explanation: it gives you the opportunity to provide something of real, tangible value for your readers, that they’ll enjoy and want to share.

Fact #2: You can provide your customers with greater value – and showcase your subject authority

This year’s CMI B2B benchmarking report found that 83% of B2B marketers who reported high levels of success in 2020 said this was because of the value their content provides.

And long-form content is the perfect vessel for providing that value. It gives you the opportunity to create more in-depth content on a high-value topic or challenge that really matters to your customer – and (as long as it is genuinely helpful) build up a positive association with your brand in the process.

Side bar: When I searched for common B2B phrases, 44% of the top results were ‘How to’ articles (and all bar one were well over 1,000 words). Only 19% were listicles. So format is likely quite important – the value you’re presenting needs to be really obvious. My colleague Katy has written a splendid blog on how to achieve it.

Fact #3: You could get more traffic, more shares, and more backlinks

According to Semrush’s 2020 Content Marketing Survey, super long-form articles with over 7,000 words drive nearly four times more traffic, and 43% more shares, than shorter articles. And while it’s unlikely you’re going to be writing such bulky pieces on the fly, there’s a clear correlation between long-form content and the amount of traffic it creates.

On the other end of the scale, 59% of published content with between 300-600 words isn’t shared at all. And posts between 300-900 words are likely to gain 21% less traffic – and 75% fewer backlinks – than articles of 900-1,200 words.

And when it comes to Google rankings, backlinks are crucial. The top result on Google has an average of 3.8x more backlinks than the following nine – and the same study found that long-form content generates more backlinks than shorter posts.

So, how can you write long-form content with impact?

Knowing why long-form content works is one thing. Knowing how to write it in an engaging, impactful way is another. Hopefully, these tips will help:

Tailor your content to your audience’s interest

Reading takes time. So you’re asking your (probably very busy) reader to do a lot – especially if your content is above the 2,000-word mark. Make sure you’re rewarding them for that time, and providing information that’s genuinely helpful and tailored to their interests or challenges.

There are plenty of sites to inspire you, and help you cut to the core of whatever conversation is happening in that industry. AnswerThePublic is a great place to start, and BuzzSumo’s content search engine can help you see what articles your customers are already engaging with.

Make sure your content is easy to navigate and read

When you’re writing long-form content, presenting your reader with a wall of words is only going to turn them off. So it’s critical that you make your copy as easy to navigate as possible:

  • Break down sections into smaller, skimmable chunks or bullet out the key points or stats you’re making (see what I did there?)
  • Include headers and subheaders that summarise what’s contained in each section
  • If it’s a really long piece, you can create a content page, so it’s easy for your reader to skip to the parts that most matter to them

In short, make it easy for the reader to see the value of your content upfront, and help them find the information they need quickly.

Use tried-and-tested approaches to make your reader comfortable

Bit boring, I know, but there’s a reason that 44% of the top results were “How To” guides. Sometimes, the tried-and-tested formats just work the best, and are familiar and approachable for you reader.

Update your work regularly

According to Orbit Media, bloggers who go back and update old content are more than twice as likely to report “strong results”.

So even after you’ve written and published your content, go back and update it when necessary.

And remember…

Just because long-form content works, it doesn’t mean that everything you write needs to be over 1,000w. Sometimes, less is more – and padding out work with waffle, just to hit a word count, won’t go unnoticed by your readers.

Got any questions? Just email us at [email protected].

How to atomise a big B2B content piece into smaller assets

Posted on by The Radix Team

When you create a showstopping content asset, it can be tricky to know where to go next. You’ve spent all this time producing a piece that captures the key messages, ideas, and research for your campaign, but still have months left to fill in your editorial calendar.

Well, if your content is really as valuable as you think it is, you’re likely sitting on a goldmine of additional opportunities.

Here’s why you should be mining for those opportunities, how to spot them among your content library, and advice on how to get started.

The value in atomising your content

While a well-thought-out, thoroughly-researched white paper can generate plenty of leads by itself, not all of your audience will have the time to read 2000+ words. But, they might have time to read one of the interesting ideas your white paper contains.

Breaking down your content piece – or “atomising” it – can help you ensure those ideas aren’t locked into a large asset. It gives you an opportunity to create smaller, more accessible pieces of content that will likely reach a larger portion of your audience.

It also creates a chance to share your ideas across more content channels. An ebook or white paper will likely be gated and restricted to your website, but smaller articles, infographics, and social posts can be shared on a wide range of platforms.

And perhaps one of the most valuable reasons to atomise your content is the opportunity to create additional momentum for your campaign. You’ve already put in the major legwork in conducting the research, interviewing thought leaders, and capturing the key ideas to create your white paper. Now, you have a chance to build out your content calendar for the following months without repeating those steps.

How to know if your content is right for atomisation

Atomising content is something our clients ask us to do a lot, but it’s not right for every content piece. Some are more valuable – and easier to atomise – than others.

Here’s what I look out for when considering whether a piece can be broken down:

Does the content piece cover a broad range of topics in your industry?

If your content covers dozens of different ideas throughout your industry, all tied together with a broad theme, there’ll likely be plenty of opportunities to create additional content.

For example, with a white paper named: “Ten key challenges B2B marketers face today”, there’s a good chance those ten challenges will be distinct from each other, and you’ll be able to split them into their own content pieces. Taking this approach also gives you an opportunity to go deeper into those topics, bringing in additional perspectives, research, and ideas that weren’t included in the main content piece.

On the other hand, if your white paper is on a niche topic – such as a distinct challenge or a single product – there may be fewer atomisation opportunities and you might find yourself stretching the ideas too thin.

Does the content piece contain a lot of original research?

White papers and ebooks based on original research offer some of the easiest and most valuable atomisation opportunities.

With assets like these, there are often dozens of valuable data points that can easily get lost within the large content piece, but can form the foundation for new, more digestible assets.

This could mean writing an article that highlights some of the key insights generated from your research or creating an infographic that presents your data in a more visually accessible way. In many cases, the data in your hero asset can kickstart additional reaction pieces that bring in thought leaders within your company to respond to the research.

Does the content piece bring in a lot of perspectives from your industry or organisation?

When a large asset brings together multiple perspectives from your industry – or across your organisation – there are often ample opportunities to split these perspectives into smaller content pieces.

These can be as simple as pulling quotes from individual thought leaders to use on social media or throughout email campaigns. Or, in some cases, ideas from these thought leaders can be extended into larger blog posts that expand on their perspectives.

How do I start atomising my content?

Think you’ve got the perfect content piece to atomise? Now it’s time to get started.

Your atomisation strategy will need to focus on maintaining the momentum of your original content piece and building out materials that add genuine value to your campaign.

Every content piece will be a different challenge, but here’s some advice you can carry across every project.

Think about creating a variety of content types

Content atomisation shouldn’t just be about splitting white papers into blog posts. Think about the audience you’re targeting, the platforms you want to reach them on, and the ideas you want to share.

For example, from the starting point of one newsletter written by our founder Fiona Campbell-Howes, we created:

  • Three blog posts
  • Three podcast episodes
  • One presentation
  • One board game
  • One infographic
  • One interactive quiz

It’s often easiest if you look at the idea and think about the best possible way to present it to your audience, rather than trying to mould it into a specific content format.

In some cases, you don’t even need to reuse content from the original asset. We’ve found success previously by taking the core idea of the main content piece and using it as the foundation for webinars and podcasts that bring additional perspectives on the topic – and ultimately generate more buzz around the ideas you’re sharing.

See if your content aligns with a current hot topic

If there’s a hot topic everyone in your industry is talking about, atomising your content can be a great way to get your voice into the conversation.

Consider if any ideas in your asset can be adapted to create relevant, associated pieces that respond to the current news topic and add an additional perspective.

For example, if you’re an analytics provider, ideas from your white paper on using data-driven insights to predict supply chain challenges would be a great fit for responding to news about supply chain challenges in specific markets.

But, it’s important to keep in mind that you’ll need to produce this content quickly, otherwise you might miss the time window for its maximum effectiveness.

Work with a writer to plan your atomisation strategy

Knowing what to atomise and when can be tricky, but it’s easier when you work with the writer who will be producing the main content piece. They’ll be able to give you a good idea of whether the piece you’re considering atomising has enough valuable content to split out, and whether the additional assets you’re creating will be helpful for the reader.

Also, they’ll give you a good idea about whether there’s enough leftover material to write meaningful content from the research and interviews they’ve already conducted – or if they’d benefit from extra input to stop your content repeating itself.

Atomisation: a valuable habit to stretch your content budget

Ultimately, any copywriter worth their salt can help you spot opportunities to atomise your content as they’re writing the initial hero piece.

These opportunities are often much easier to identify during the creation process, and can give you a head start on building out your content calendar for the following months – all while maximising the impact of the research and calls you’ve already paid for. The trick is to find a copywriting partner who understands your objectives, and whom you trust to have your best interests at heart.

And that kind of relationship starts with a conversation.

 

We asked, they answered: copywriting for B2B social media

Posted on by Steve George

It’s understandable that clients often ask us for social media advice. We write social posts, and much of the B2B content we write gets shared online. But we’re always acutely aware that we’re only copywriters, and social media is a fast-moving field, with expertise and best practice all of its own. We can write you a great LinkedIn article, but we can’t tell you how you should use it.

So we were delighted when we were joined by social media expert Kate Stoodley from Comment Ground for episode 71 of our podcast. It gave us a great chance to ask all our most burning questions – but there was still loads more we (and our audience) wanted to know.

And so the idea for this pair of head-to-head blog posts was born.

B2B copywriters and social media specialists approach similar challenges in very different ways and contexts. There’s so much we can learn from one another. So, why not put each other on the spot with a handful of hard-hitting questions, and shine some light on what each side really wants to know about the other?

Here’s how Kate responded to the B2B copywriting inquisition. If you’d like to see how I answered Comment Ground’s questions, keep an eye on their blog: the Comment Ground Commentary. This blog’s twin will be appearing soon!

Question 1: How does the length of copy on a B2B social post affect its performance, and are there any clear trends in the data? (Also, how many hashtags is too many?)

Kate: There are many factors to consider when thinking about social post length; data and trends, the channel, the topic, the goal and of course the intended audience. While it’s absolutely worth considering best practices and guides (like this comprehensive one from Hootsuite), it’s equally if not more important for B2B companies to test, test and test again to determine what performs best for their content, audience and networks.

Across most social channels right now, there’s one clear trend emerging – that less is most definitely more. On LinkedIn, recent data found that shorter updates outperform longer ones, with 16-25 words being a general goal for B2B. Brevity also still rules on Facebook, where posts with approximately 40 characters receive 86% more engagement than their lengthier counterparts.

Interestingly, despite upping the character limit from the infamous 140 to 280, shorter tweets (100 characters and under) also still typically perform best. Hashtags can be used more liberally on this network – though we’re seeing marketers’ focus shift to quality over quantity, even on this rapid-fire platform, and especially for B2B.

Question 2: There’s a perception among copywriters that social channels are a good place to test the limits of a brand’s voice and tone. Is that fair, or is it better to be consistent with other copy?

Kate: Social is definitely a prime arena for testing brand voice and tone limits. In fact, we recommend crafting a social-specific voice to many of our clients. Simultaneously though, we also advise our B2B clients to ensure they keep the focus on what their customer wants, and how they prefer to be communicated with.

It’s tempting to view social as an opportunity to let the creative juices flow, and while that can be true, most B2B buyers aren’t looking for brands to stray too far from their core offering/messaging/style. Most B2B buyers report wanting to feel understood and in good hands – and to be able to quickly recognize a brand’s post.

Question 3: What things are B2C brands doing in social that B2B hasn’t caught onto yet? Can B2B ever be on the same level as B2C in social, given the personal nature of the channel?

Kate: To answer the second question first – Yes! B2B brands can be on the same level as B2C in most ways. However, B2B brands should not aspire to do something just because B2C can.

In terms of the personal nature of social, B2C brands are still definitely quite a way ahead of B2B. Generally, they’re doing a better job of personalizing copy and posts to resonate with consumer buying habits and different personas. However, we are starting to see exciting B2B personalized social content emerging, largely thanks to ABM’s rise in popularity.

B2C brands’ visuals tend to garner lots of attention. For B2B brands, the volume and quality of data at their fingertips presents an exciting opportunity to do the same. By grabbing a stat that their audience is really interested in and presenting it in a compelling way, B2B brands can create engaging visual social content that feels just as fresh as what B2C is doing.

Lastly, B2B is still in the early stages of effective employee and C-Suite social programs. Despite an almost over-abundance of thought leadership content and talk, there’s still a huge opportunity for B2B brands’ subject matter experts, sales teams, C-level leaders and other associates to showcase their brand’s culture and messages personally, in a way that will resonate with various target segments. After all, the people behind brands is where successful social is heading, regardless of industry.

Once again, we’d really like to thank Kate for her time and input. If you’d like to hear more from her, check out Good Copy, Bad Copy Episode 71, or visit the Comment Ground Commentary page.

Subject lines: the secret shortcut into the subconscious

Posted on by Steve George

Everyone knows email subject lines are important. They’re an offer or a teaser that either pulls readers in and intrigues them, or turns them off completely and sends them reaching for the unsubscribe button.

But here’s the big secret: subject lines do so much more than just get your emails opened. Most of the time, they’re the only thing your contact will read. They move the conversation forward – whether the email gets opened or not.

Yes, that goes against everything you’ve probably ever learned about subject lines, but stay with me for a moment. Because even when a subject line is great, most emails these days never get opened. We monitor the open rate, and the unopened majority just gets written off.

Meanwhile, every email we receive hits our pocket and grabs our attention with a smartphone notification – and that means there is huge value to be gained by looking at subject lines as discrete communications in their own right.

When it comes to opening your emails, your contacts get a decision. But, as far as reading subject lines goes, they don’t really opt in, or even make a conscious choice. They just do it. All the time. Day and night.

Taking the shortcut into the subconscious

Chances are, like me, you have hundreds if not thousands of unread emails sat in your inbox, from various companies you’ve engaged with over the years. You’ve grown indifferent to them, rarely opening them, but not going to the effort to unsubscribe from them either.

Think about those companies for a moment, then think about what they’ve said to you recently. Maybe you know that they’re having a sale, that they’re running some kind of contest or other promotion, or that they’ve got a new product launch coming up.

How did you know that? You didn’t go looking for that information, and you certainly didn’t read their emails.

Spooky.

Adding a new ingredient to your subject line soup

So, you’ve made your peace with the fact that the companies you’ve shared your details with are using subject lines as a shortcut into your brain, and we’ve determined that subject lines have intrinsic value as standalone communications.

But what does that mean when we’re writing them?

Even before factoring that new consideration in, your subject lines were doing a lot of heavy lifting. In one way or another, they’re already trying to effectively:

  • Convey the value of opening your email
  • Grab attention without looking like generic clickbait
  • Demonstrate an understanding of your customers’ unique needs
  • Offer something new or insightful without giving everything away upfront

Now, in addition to all of that, you’ve also got the task of ensuring that your subject lines convey a clear message when removed from the context of the email itself.

Here are four quick tips to help you do that (without having to unlearn everything you already know about writing great subject lines):

1: Lead with a single compelling insight/takeaway

Some schools of thought strongly argue that you shouldn’t give your most valuable insight away upfront, because if you do there’s no reason for someone to click through to whatever you’re offering.

I’ve never really agreed with that. If you’re fortunate enough to have something really exciting to share, front-loading it has to be worth serious consideration, at least. Why would you reserve your most important message for just those who open the email – when you already know they’ll likely be the minority?

2: Beware the perils of teasing

Clickbaity subject lines may have worked once upon a time, but today, people know clickbait when they see it. If you create subject lines that purely tease instead of demonstrating value, people that don’t open your email get nothing.

Once you recognise that the people that don’t open your emails are still important contacts, it becomes clear how a dangerous teasing subject line can be. If you consistently provide value, you just might inspire enough interest for them to re-engage. But if you keep giving someone nothing, it won’t take long before they finally do open one of your emails, as they scour it for the unsubscribe button.

3: Personalise the whole subject line (not just their name)

Increasingly, technology allows you to send your contact a tailored email, with strong reasons to click through that are personal to them. So why can’t the same principles be applied in your subject lines?

And I’m not talking about dropping their name and company into a generic title. Your customers provide you with enough data for you to determine what matters to them, so there’s no reason why you can’t lead with a tailored line that really resonates.

4: If your email had an eight-word limit, what would you say?

Emails are a strange beast. Because there’s no real limit on how long or complex they can be, we’re all guilty of not getting to the point quickly enough or spending too long dancing around the big thing we really want people to know or do.

I start any email I write by thinking about what I’d want to say to the customer if I only had eight words to do it. That helps me create subject lines that inspire opens more often – but say what they need to when they’re unopened too.

Say something meaningful, be heard

Seeing your subject lines as discrete communications in and of themselves is important for two big reasons.

Firstly, it’s going to help you communicate with contacts that you’ve long thought of as disengaged and perhaps re-establish your relationship with them.

And secondly, it forces you to look at your subject lines in a completely new way – one that forces you to really consider what value they’re delivering, and whether they actually tell anyone anything.

If you say something meaningful in your subject lines, you’ll be heard – by far more people than your open rates would have you believe.

White papers v ebooks: what are they, who are they for, and which do you need?

Posted on by John Kerrison

Whether it’s Ali vs Frasier or Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus, it seems we have a societal obsession with pitching heavyweights against each other to see who comes out on top.

The purpose of this blog is to compare two of content marketing’s “big hitters” – white papers and ebooks – to see where their different strengths lie and what sets them apart.

Hopefully this will act as a helpful guide you can use to decide what kind of content you want to create. Although there’s also a chance I might lose focus and veer off with some bizarre analogy in just two paragraphs’ time.

Why all the confusion?

Back in my content writing “salad days”, I didn’t really see a real distinction between an ebook and white paper. Both just seemed like long and daunting assets I might soon get asked to create.

To me they were a bit like the content version of Nick Nolte and Gary Busey: I knew without doubt that they were entirely different things, but couldn’t figure out exactly what the differences were—or if in fact they were dissimilar enough for the industry to really need both.

Our Twitter interactions with other copywriters tell me I wasn’t alone in this confusion.

Of course, looking back, I was wrong. Nick Nolte actually has a pretty decent back catalogue if you squint, and it turned out the only reason I so often confused the two is an arrest photo of Nick where he looks like he’s playing the lead role in a Gary Busey biopic.

(I did warn you there was a tenuous analogy coming.)

The point I’m trying to make – obviously – is that despite initial impressions, white papers and ebooks are very different. Here are three reasons why.

1. Appearance

White papers and ebooks are both pretty lengthy pieces of content, but that’s really where the similarities end.

One of the big differences is that an ebook is more likely to try and hold your attention with bold design choices like illustrations, graphics, embedded videos and charts to make its content easier to scan and digest.

The assumption is, if you’re reading a white paper you’ve willingly sought out some in-depth detail. An ebook on the other hand is trying to introduce a subject to you, and may use these extra touches to keep your attention.

In my mind, to make the distinction, I always imagine the two pieces as a comedy odd-couple. The ebook being a young, trendy teenager, obsessed with design and new-media, and the white paper being the stuffy older brother in a button-down shirt carrying a handful of spreadsheets.

[Editor: wait, you mean like this?]

Okay, that’s a little unfair—unless you happen to like stuffy older brothers—but a white paper is absolutely more likely to have long chunks of text, and in-depth explanations and statistics than it is an embedded video or image.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, of course. It really depends who you’re trying to target and what you want to say. Ultimately, it all comes down to the different roles the pieces play…

2. Funnel Stage and Purpose

One of the reasons I described the ebook as the younger brother is because is because it’s almost always used earlier in the marketing funnel. It’s largely used to present an idea, issue or trend whereas a whitepaper will drill down into that subject and find the detail and finer points within it.

Audience

Part of the reason for these different levels of detail are that the pieces are intended for different audiences.

There are no hard and fast rules around this, but maybe a hypothetical example will help:

Imagine you’re an IT services provider trying to persuade companies to adopt your SaaS offering. There are two routes you could take here: you could aim for the upper levels of the organization and try and outline the business benefits of Software-as-a-Service.

To do this, you might send the CEO an eBook talking about the cost savings and innovative capabilities this IT model can deliver. Right here you want to hit the top-level benefits, have pull stats jumping out of the page, and elements that sell the perks of the solution even when skim-read.

Your other approach might be to target the head of IT.

Now, it’s likely that someone in this position will already be aware of SaaS, so here you may send a whitepaper detailing the technical specifics of how your particular solution works in practice.

This would include details around what migration would require, how moving to the cloud may affect the way the department is run in future, and other details a technically-focused CTO would understand and care about above business benefits. It’s also likely to contain facts and stats about other organizations using similar services, based on research studies and surveys.

Essentially, a whitepaper provides the experts’ view of a specific subject for people who need that level of detail. An eBook on the other hand is designed to whet the audience’s appetite and encourage them to learn more.

And which one wins? Let’s call it a draw.

Still not sure which would be best for you? Need to know more? Want to commission us to write some terrifying ebook/white paper hybrid? Get in touch with a member of the team, and we’ll be glad to have a chat.

Header image adapted from a photo by Garrhet Sampson on Unsplash.

The B2B Content Audio Blog #8: you’re doing email subject lines wrong; here’s why

Posted on by John Kerrison

If you write marketing emails you’ve no doubt been told over and over again that the subject line is the most important thing to get right. Why? Because it’s first thing the audience will read – and governs whether or not your email gets opened.

But the truth is, it’s more than that. Most of the time, it’s the only thing your audience will ever read.

So, how do you craft punchy, engaging subject lines time after time? In this audio blog we share our top tips for capturing your audience’s attention from the get-go (and delivering at least some marketing value even when they don’t open your mail):

  • Why getting an email opened isn’t even half the battle
  • The importance of targeting your reader’s subconscious
  • Four ways to craft the perfect subject line

“Looks like we got ourselves a reader…”

You’d prefer to read Steve’s original blog post for yourself? That’s absolutely fine by us. Here’s Subject lines: the secret shortcut into the subconscious.

Or, if you’re you’d like to listen to something longer, try our monthly discussion podcast Good Copy, Bad Copy: the B2B Copywriting Podcast.

How to listen

You can download the episode here, or stream the episode in the player at the top of the page.

(If you’d rather use your podcast app, you subscribe to us on iTunes, and there’s an RSS feed here.)

Get in touch

If you found this audio blog format useful, we’d love to know. Email [email protected], tweet at us, or leave an iTunes review.

Credits

Audio editing: Bang and Smash

Title music: “Chinny Reckon” by the Nye Bevans

The B2B Content Audio Blog #7: how to write an ebook that gets results

Posted on by John Kerrison

Content marketing is full of ebooks; some good, some bad, and some ugly. How do you write content that really stands out?

In this audio blog we present a definitive guide to writing ebooks the right way. We identify the key characteristics and tricks of the trade that will get your words read – and more importantly, responded to.

Listen now to learn:

  • The three hallmarks of a great ebook
  • Top tips for approaching your next project
  • An step-by-step guide to writing every section

“Looks like we got ourselves a reader…”

If you’d rather see the written version of Fiona’s complete guide, here’s How to write an ebook for a B2B audience.

Or, if you’re you’d like to listen to something longer, try our monthly discussion podcast Good Copy, Bad Copy: the B2B Copywriting Podcast.

How to listen

You can download the episode here, or stream the episode in the player at the top of the page.

(If you’d rather use your podcast app, you subscribe to us on iTunes, and there’s an RSS feed here.)

Get in touch

If you find the audio blog format useful (or if you have a way to improve it), please do get in touch. Email [email protected], tweet at us, or leave an iTunes review.

Alternatively, you can read about our ebook writing services, here.

Credits

Audio editing: Bang and Smash

Title music: “Chinny Reckon” by the Nye Bevans

The B2B Content Audio Blog #12: 7 tips to help you write up a live event

Posted on by John Kerrison

Attending industry events can be fun and informative, but they’re not so much fun for the marketer whose time, budget and stress goes into making everything run smoothly. So it makes sense to get as much ROI as you can, by turning your hard work into written content too.

That means you’ll need a write-up. And unfortunately, years of scribing at client events have taught us that turning your speakers’ key takeaways into engaging content isn’t always as straightforward as it sounds.

In this audio blog episode, you’ll hear some of our top tips for producing post-event content, from how to the make the most of your time at the event to how to nail that first draft.

Tune in now to hear:

  • Common pitfalls, and how to avoid them
  • Why you should work out your angle before you begin
  • How food might be the key to successful content

“Looks like we got ourselves a reader…”

If you’d rather read than listen, here’s George’s original blog post: Attending a client event? Here’s how to write a kick-ass summary.

Or if you’d like to try another Radix podcast, there’s always Good Copy, Bad Copy: the B2B Copywriting Podcast.

How to listen

You can download the episode here, or stream it in the player at the top of the page.

Alternatively, you could subscribe to us on iTunes, or use this RSS feed here. You can also find us on Spotify.

Get in touch

Love this podcast? Hate it? Lonely? Email [email protected], tweet at us, or leave an iTunes review. We’d love to know whether you’d like another series.

Credits

Audio editing: Bang and Smash

Theme tune: “Chinny Reckon” by the Nye Bevans

Five things every good B2B video script should have

Posted on by John Kerrison

Here’s a cold, hard fact for you: video content generates more clicks, traffic, shares and sales than written content.

That might be an odd thing to hear from a copywriting agency, and it’s not to dismiss the value of the written word – a good marketing strategy should contain both, of course. But, today, more and more marketers are adopting a video-first approach to their campaigns. And for good reason.

For a lot of people, video is just a more accessible way to consume information quickly. And it’s a habit we’re already familiar with. In fact, it’s estimated that people will spend 100 minutes a day watching online videos by 2021.

There are measurable returns, too. 91% of marketers say video has increased their website traffic. 95% say it has increased understanding of their product or service. A further 96% say it has directly helped them increase sales. And 92% say video gives them a good return on their investment.

However, what I’m telling you isn’t a secret. Right now, video marketers feel the level of noise and competition has increased. So, the challenge isn’t just creating videos that your audience love, but creating videos that stand out in a world of video content.

The big question, then: how the hell do you do that?

Well, all great videos start with a script, and at Radix we’ve spent years perfecting the art of writing video scripts that cut through the noise and speak to your audience. Along the way, we’ve learned there are five things that every B2B video script must contain.

1. The ideal structure

A video can be used for all sorts of reasons in B2B marketing. It can be an advertisement, a case study, an explainer or a deep dive into the specifics of your product. But regardless of the purpose, having the right structure is key to delivering the information with impact.

At Radix, our writers know story structure inside out – whether it’s applying the traditional three-act structure to a case study video, or knowing the best way to frame the story of your product or service, so your audience sits up and takes notice.

The techniques we use can be traced back to Aristotle’s Rhetoric – an ancient exploration of the art of persuasion that’s well worth any writer or marketer exploring.

2. A perfect balance of show and tell

Video is a multi-dimensional format and a good script has to describe what your audience will see and hear at all times.

As with all good writing, the rule of thumb when scripting a video is “show don’t tell”, but knowing how to get that balance right is a fine art.

Just like in films, long chunks of exposition will stand out a mile off, so finding an interesting and visually stimulating way to impart information is at the heart of any good video script.

3. Access points for directors, animators and voice-over artists

The script is just the very first stage in your video process. Once completed it will be passed on to a director or animator whose job is to interpret your script and bring your video to life.

For that reason, it’s important your scriptwriter is able to convey their visual ideas clearly and concisely. A familiarity with screenwriting language is a big plus here.

They probably don’t need to know about contrazooms or lap dissolves, but things like establishing shots and cuts can help make sure that the vision spelled out on the page looks the same on screen.

4. Sharp, succinct timing

By far the biggest challenge in writing a video script is writing to a tight timeframe.

Every second of animation or live video costs money to produce. More to the point, your audience doesn’t want to bed in for a three-hour epic. They want to be told what they need to know as quickly as possible. Each frame needs to pull its weight.

Writing a script that’s simultaneously concise and engaging – and still delivers all the required information – is a skill that comes with experience.

5. An in-depth understanding of your audience

This applies as much to any kind of B2B marketing as it does to video, but knowing the audience you’re speaking to – and what their challenges, wants and needs are – is integral to producing an engaging piece of work.

Before they put pen to paper, your scriptwriter should have a good understanding of the industry your targeted persona works in, where they are in the sales funnel, and what it is they’ll want to take away from watching your piece.

The more direct you can be with these messages, the more likely your video is to result in clicks, shares and conversions.

It sounds like a lot, but we can help

At Radix, we have years of experience writing video scripts for organisations of all sizes in all industries, and for a wide variety of purposes – from five-second social media GIFs to product deep-dives.

To learn more about the services we offer, visit our B2B video scriptwriting page.

Booking a successful B2B web copy project: a clients’ FAQ

Posted on by John Kerrison

Often, the first really meaningful interaction your customers have with you is through your website. They may have come across you on social media or heard of you through word of mouth, but your website is where they’ll dig in, find the information they need, and start to make a decision on whether they want to get in touch.

That’s why your website copy is so important.

And here at Radix, we’ve seen that reflected in recent years, with four years’ continuous growth in website copy as a proportion of our work.

Where once B2B marketers might have tried to carry out the writing in-house, they’re increasingly turning to professional copywriters like us when it’s time to renew the site. (Whether that’s because their old site wasn’t giving them the results they wanted, or they simply remember what a nightmare the job was last time out, we can’t say.)

For most, running a web copy project will be a fairly rare occurrence – so clients tend to ask us the same (completely understandable) questions:

“What do you need from me to write our web copy?”

There are quite a few bits of information which will make it easier for us to give you an accurate quote and – ultimately – to write your copy the way you want it. And we can get that knowledge from you in a number of different ways.

In the past, we’ve held immersive workshops in clients’ offices, or a series of calls with heads of departments to ensure we glean exactly what it is they need their website to do, what information each individual page needs to contain, and how the overall feel of the site needs to come across.

But generally, we’ll be looking for:

1. A proposed sitemap, if you have one

A sitemap makes it much easier for us to identify what your needs are and provide an accurate quote. (If you have a wireframe or preliminary design too, so much the better, as we can get a feel for how much copy you’ll need on each page).

2. A sense of your audience, and their buying process

It’s also great if we know exactly who your web visitors are, and where they tend to arrive from. For example, a curious visitor with little knowledge about the finer details of your industry is going to need different information than a seasoned industry expert. Also, how much do they already know about you? Will they be turning up fresh from Google (and how much is search ranking a priority), or are they following up to confirm you’re credible, after a different initial point of contact?

3. How your brand should sound

The tone and voice of the various areas of your website – and your overall brand – are very important.

Your voice needs to be consistent, as a representation of the personality of your brand. But we tailor the tone to your audience’s needs as they interact with the site. Even for the same visitor, the tone you use for a cheery greeting might be completely inappropriate for an error message.

(Though as our colleague Katy pointed out, even Microsoft can get that one wrong.)

So as we go along, it helps us to understand the context of each page – why somebody would read it, and how they’re likely to feel about that.

4. What each page needs to say

Perhaps the most obvious part – but, potentially, the most time-consuming. Because we need to know all the information you want on every page of your site – and which parts of that information are most important to your audience.

Of course, if you have an existing page of content to point us at, that’s somewhat easier. But even then, it’s helpful to have some guidance: what’s working for you, what’s not, and what’s new. You’re refreshing the site for a reason, after all.

5. Some idea of your SEO requirements

If you’d like the site to perform well on Google, it’ll be useful to have some kind of keyword strategy and/or research, so we can make sure each page aligns with what your audience are looking for, using the same language as they will. We’ll talk more about this in a bit.

“What if I don’t know about the voice and tone I want to adopt?”

Lots of brands already have extensive brand usage guidelines when they come to us – and some of them are even useful. But if you don’t, there’s no need to worry: as experienced copywriters, tone and voice are our marmite and toast.

Broadly, there are two approaches we can take. We can chat about your brand, your existing copy and what you do and don’t like, then approximate something for you. Or we can conduct a proper voice and tone workshop, and give you a short, usable document with some rules, suggestions, hints and examples.

(The former is OK if we’re the only ones writing for you; if you have writers in-house too, the guide is a good idea, because it can help you to stay consistent.)

“What’s the best stage to bring a copywriter into my web project?”

Most of our clients come to us with a plan for their site, normally devised between them and their web developer, and ask us to populate the pages. That makes it easy for us to give you an accurate quote and delivery schedule.

However, we’re open to other ways of working too. So, if you’d like our input on how many pages we think you should have and what should go on each one then we’re more than happy to put our experience to good use.

Likewise, some people like to create the copy first, and the design later. That’s fine by us.

“Do you write pages that are short/long/scrolling/really long/parallax/mobile/really, really long?”

The short answer is yes. Whatever kind of web page you want (so long as it contains words).

There’s been something of a cultural shift in web design over the last few years which has seen a rise in more mobile-friendly, scrolling websites. These tend to have smaller chunks of copy in panels scattered across the length of the page, whereas a traditional website will have tabs at the top of the page and longer sections of copy.

So alongside the traditional “250-words, title, copy and some bullet points” kind of web page, our price list also includes options to buy your web copy by the chunk. So we can build a quote for whatever kind of page you – and your web designer – can dream up.

“Do you do web design?”

Nope. We’re strictly words-only.

BUT we do often work in tandem with freelance designers and web developers, agencies, and in-house experts. We’re happy to collaborate in this way if you think it would add to the process, and may even be able to recommend someone if that would help.

“What’s your approach to SEO?”

Ah. We could (and possibly should) write a whole blog post about this. But in short…

We’re not search engine specialists, but we act on guidance SEO experts provide – like keyword recommendations and research. If one of your site’s objectives is to attract search engine traffic, it’s a good idea to work with an SEO consultant (as well as – not instead of – your copywriter, of course).

Most of the copy on your website is aimed at people. Some of the rest is primarily there to please search engine robots. And some parts (like your page title) is a mixture of the two.

Usually, we’ll work on the people-facing parts of your copy (on-page body text, meta description), incorporating keyword recommendations as appropriate, and leave the search engine-facing bits to the experts. Where the copy is dual-purpose (titles, headers, alt text), we tend to collaborate – generally, we’ll suggest something, then recommend you have your SEO team tweak it as appropriate.

We find it’s a good balance, because refinements to Google’s algorithm improved its ability to prioritise quality content, satisfying at the intent behind each search – there are fewer tricks and shortcuts. We use the keyword research to deduce your web visitor’s intent, then – without focusing too much on the technicalities – simply write the best page we can.

It seems to work well – and we’re regularly recommended for website projects by SEO agencies, so they must be happy too.

“Who else have you written web copy for?”

We’ve had the pleasure of writing web copy for dozens of B2B, technology and industrial brands – including some of the world’s largest organisations.

Sometimes, that work is confidential (we’re happy to namedrop, but only in private) – but to give you a flavour, a few sites we are allowed to tell you about include:

Aon Employee Benefits

VoxGen – conversational software and services

Tectrade – cloud services and consultancy

TomTom – fleet tracking technology

The Daniel Group – customer feedback for industry

Penzance Dry Dock – industrial and marine operations

“How much will my new web copy cost?”

Once, copywriters could quote a flat, per-page price for web copy. But that was when pages were all fairly standard. These days, a page could be anything from a 30-word text panel and a couple of buttons to a 1000-word Homerian epic in parallax form.

That’s why our Senior Account Managers will work hard to define the exact scope of the copy you want, and build you an accurate quote in advance.

But that’s not to say we can’t give you a good, ballpark idea before your sitemap is finalised. All the components we use to build our quotes – various sizes of panels and pages – are included in our price list, so it’s easy enough to get a thumbnail picture if you know the rough dimensions of the site.

If you’d like a copy of the price list, do get in touch.

“How much time will I need?”               

If history is any guide, significantly more than you’ve allowed so far. There’s something about web projects (the temptation to make last-minute additions to the site, maybe) which means they never seem to run to schedule.

But whatever’s delaying things, it won’t be the copy. We’ll give you a firm schedule alongside your quote, and we’ll stick to it.

Obviously, that schedule will depend on the scale of the site, and the amount of input we need from you and your stakeholders. But given a little advance notice, we’ve been known to take smaller sites from fact-find conversation to signed-off copy within a matter of days.

Got any more questions? Our Account Management team are here to talk you through the process. Please drop us a line…