Steven Macdonald’s Post

Using ChatGPT, I updated 21 blog posts on 3 websites On average, traffic increased by 32% I was skeptical of using AI-written content. Why? Because the quality is trash. But I'm not ready to give up on it. So, 5 weeks ago I launched an experiment. → Use AI copy to update existing content. But I didn’t just test AI copy on 1 article. Or 5. Or even 10. I ran this experiment on 21 pieces of content And, on 3 different websites To keep the experiment fair, website DR ranged from high 80s to low single digits I’ll get to the prompts I used in a minute… ...but on average, traffic to posts updated with AI increased by 32%. (Approx. 16,000 visits). For some content, traffic grew by 180%. For others, a 5% increase. ALL content that I updated using AI saw an increase in visits. And ALL content started ranking for more keywords. How did I use AI to update existing content? I asked ChatGPT to suggest unique FAQs for my blog post content. Now, there was plenty of content I didn’t update. I had a control group. And you know what? Traffic that wasn’t updated with AI saw a 4% decrease in visits over the same period. My takeaway? Using AI to create FAQs for existing content drives more traffic. Here’s the step-by-step process I used: 1. Go to ChatGPT and enter the two prompts below 2. Copy the text and add the FAQs to your blog post 3. (Optional) Add 2-3 internal links to other content 4. Publish the content. That’s it. It takes 2 minutes and 56 seconds from start to finish. (I timed it). Ready for the prompts? Prompt 1: Read the blog post below and suggest 3 questions that a reader will have that are not answered in the article: (Add URL) * Wait for the questions to be generated * Prompt 2: Now answer the questions. Avoid bullet-points. Take the 3 questions and answers and add them as FAQs at the bottom of your blog posts. Another thing: Since adding the FAQs, the blog posts that were updated now rank for more than 3,500 additional keywords - landing top 3 positions, knowledge panel and featured snippet placements. (No markup was used, either). To clarify: I made zero edits to the copy. (If you want to edit them, you can). Of course, I hoped these posts would perform better. But 32% more views on 3,5000 additional keywords? That's wild! So, here’s what I want you to do next: - Find a blog post on your site that ranks on page 1 - Follow the process above and add AI FAQs to the post - Check the results in one week from now to see the impact Simple, right? - 2 prompts - 3 minutes work - 32% more visits to your website. All from using AI… …and without having to publish 10,000 articles in 4 days.

I was paid $150 for my first article 3 years later, I was being paid $2,000 per article Here's how to 10X your freelance writing rates. 1. Pick a niche When I started out, the only skill I had was SEO. So I wrote about keyword research, link-building and on-page SEO. I didn't care about traffic or leads. My goal was to practice - headlines, hooks, sentence structure, etc. I published dozens of articles on SEO. Overtime, that’s what I become known for. When I hire writers today, I look for specialists I don’t want to hire generalists ChatGPT is a generalist You want to be known as a better writer than AI, don't you? Niche down 2. Build credibility Want to become a better writer? Write for the best websites in your niche I wrote for Moz, SEJ and Content Marketing Institute. This helped me: - Build relationships with editors - Improve my writing (I had to follow their editorial guidelines) - Add credibility to my portfolio I wrote for free You will probably have to write for free, too. Once your content has been published, update your bio. “Steven is a freelance writer specializing in SEO. His work has been featured in Moz, Search Engine Journal and Content Marketing Institute.”. You now have a credible bio and writing samples to share with prospects. (I was rejected by Moz 4 times. Keep trying). 3. Track content performance Use Ahrefs to track: - # of keywords - Positions - Org Traffic - Page 1 rankings - Backlinks …And take screenshots. If you have Google Analytics, track engagement and conversions, too. Share these results when companies reach out and when you pitch them. 4. Document your process Experts have a process Amateurs wing it Create a document that outlines your process: - KW research - Draft and edits - SME quotes - Research - Delivery time .. and so on It helps you create content faster And when clients ask you what your process is - you can share it. 5,. Deliver content campaigns You HAVE to get comfortable charging more for your services One way to do this is to think about content as a campaign. Most writers share a Google doc with 800 words and charge $500. Want to stand out? Include free add-ons Add-ons include: - Quotes from subject matter experts - Graphics (PowerPoint charts are fine) - Original research - Tweets/ LinkedIn copy for social media - Email copy for their weekly newsletter - Internal link opportunities from existing content After 30 days, share ranking and SERP reports. Now that’s a campaign! Yes, it’s a lot of work - but it’s much easier to justify a high price tag. It’s how you become known as one of the best The best get paid more. Here’s the thing: I know plenty of generalists who charge $500 per article But that’s the limit Want to get paid more for your writing? - Niche down - Write for the best - Track your success - Document your process - Deliver content campaigns That’s how I went from $150 to $2,000 per article That’s how you can 10X your rates

What happens when you ungate your B2B SaaS product? Demo sign ups increase by 3X “How can we get more high intent leads?” Heard that recently? I used to hear it all the time. In the last 5 weeks, high intent leads (“book demo”) have increased by 400%. But the real story started in February. Let me explain. In February, we removed all forms leading to the B2B SaaS product. No sign up required. Simply click “Get immediate access” and well, you get immediate access. We’d never done this before, so there was a lot of hesitation within the organization. “If there are no forms, how will we get leads?” Sales reps asked. This is the biggest fear inside any lead gen org is to remove forms from your website. To manage the fear, we started with a 30-day test. - Remove all forms to the product - Set up onboarding and product usage tracking - Measure impact and the effect on high intent sign ups That 30-day period was our best converting month. (If you look at the chart below, you’ll see a spike in Feb/ Mar). But, a promise is a promise... So, we added all forms back to the website. What happened when we gated the product? We saw a decrease in demo sign ups. The takeaway: Giving away your B2B SaaS product for free leads to more booked demo’s. Rather than just remove the gate and make it free again, we used the insights to: - Improve first-time impressions - Make onboarding easier/ clearer - Add tips and messages to help users when they’re stuck Once we were happy with version 2.0, we removed the gate to the product. Guess what? Demo sign ups skyrocketed! We’ve had the best 30-day period for demo sign ups in company history. See the right part of the chart - that’s 5 weeks of increased demo sign ups. (With national holidays, May is typically a low-performing month). But we didn’t stop there. We could see that most traffic to the product came from our paid search campaigns. So, we made 3 changes to our ad campaigns: First, we updated all ad copy from “Book a demo” to “Get instant access”. Next, we made sure all images on the landing page were real screenshots of the product. (Side note: I analyzed 100 B2B SaaS websites and less than 50% use real screenshots). Finally - and this is something I haven't seen too often - we deep-linked into the product. Each part of the product has a specific URL We used that to our advantage. If the copy on the landing page is “Uploading contacts”, we added a CTA “See how to upload contacts” and linked directly to the upload contacts section of the product. This is such a great experience for the buyer! With this new approach, we’re now: - Sending high intent buyers directly into the product - Letting them browse/ click/ try without contact from sales - Giving them space and room to decide when they’re ready to buy. The result? We’re generating 3X more demo leads than before. There’s not too many growth levers to pull in B2B SaaS that can have THIS kind of impact. Try it.

The best writers charge $2,000 per article. Here's 5 things they do (that others don't) I've worked with 50 freelance writers in 10 years. I've worked with the best And… the worst The worst? They plagiarise content and think I won’t find out They deliver work at the very last minute (or after the deadline) The content is low quality and requires numerous edits. The best freelance writers? There’s a reason they’re the best. They're always in high demand and fully booked for months in advance! Here's 5 things they do really well. 1. Deadlines The best freelancers are great at time management. They deliver content early, are quick to edit and they keep me updated on the status throughout the process - without me having to follow up. 2. 10X content The best writers don’t just deliver great content, they deliver 10X content. The kind of content you read and think “Wow, I wish I wrote that”. 10X content is not about word count It's about depth They know their niche and they’re experts in the topics they write about Their content is conversational, engaging and optimized for search. 3. SME quotes Looking to include quotes from experts in your industry? The best writers do this for you. On their own initiative, they’ll source quotes from experts using sites like HARO or Help a B2B Writer Each article includes 4-6 quotes that make your content unique Without any input from me. 4. Publish-ready content The best writers deliver publish-ready content Their first draft is 97% ready to go All I need to do is copy and paste it into the CMS I’ve been on the other side before: As a writer, sharing content with a client and it taking weeks to go live is frustrating As someone who hires freelancers, you can solve this by making it publish-ready: - Deliver content in a Google doc - Add 2-3 headline suggestions - Add title tags, meta description and URL - Add internal links (1-2 links per section) - Add a relevant CTA 5. Deliver results It's not just about great content. They deliver results, too. The best writers create content that attracts the right audience and ranks high in Google. One writer I worked with has a post that’s generated 103,000 visits since going live. BONUS: Link-building The best freelance writers write for multiple (high DA) websites. So, when they want to link to a page on a specific topic, they’ll link to content that they wrote on YOUR website. It’s not part of our agreement, but long after they work with you, they’ll continue to help your content rank by linking to it. (That’s why they’re the best). Here's the thing: I send the same brief to all writers I work with The best writers make it easy for me to publish amazing content The worst writers send content that goes directly to the recycle bin If you're just starting out in your freelance career: Don't be like the worst Be more like the best P.S. If you do all 5 and don't charge $2,000 per post, raise your rates!

We offered $1,000 per article. Up to 4 articles per month 44 writers applied. 95% made these 3 mistakes. An ad went out on a freelance writing board with: - An introduction to the company - What we were looking for (content) - How much we would pay ($1,000 per article) Plus, one requirement: “When applying for the role, share 3 writing samples”. Within 24 hours, my inbox was full of pitches from writers. Those 44 applicants very quickly became 3. But, it had very little to do with their writing. I’m sure the writing was fine. What failed most writers was the application. The pitch. Here's 3 mistakes they made: 1. Templated pitches “Dear sir…” “Dear Cory…” (My name’s Steven...). “To whom it may concern… I’m writing to you today to apply for the role of FREELANCE WRITER - COMPANY.” (Sounds like it was written in 1894…). Pitches were too long and templated. It looked like it was just another role they were applying for. Very few emails were targeted towards the project. And very few emails included the samples I asked for. 2. No samples The samples were missing in the majority of applications. It's OK to send a Google docs link or links to pages on your own website if you haven't had your content published. What I’m looking for: - That you can follow the requirements - That I can quickly read your content With 44 applications, I don’t have time to visit your website, find your portfolio and scroll through the list of articles. If you didn’t include 3 samples, you’re out. If you send me a link to your portfolio, you’re out. 3. Lack of relevance The 3 that moved forward did something the others did not: They shared RELEVANT samples. It’s fine to share that you have written for companies in fintech, healthcare, hospitality... I get it. But it makes it really difficult to see if you’re a good fit for creating content on the topic of “How to segment your email lists” when the only reference I have is “8 places to visit in Barcelona”. This is a freelance role. There is no 8-week onboarding training to get a “feel” for the product and company. You need to hit the ground running. The 3 that moved forward shared relevant writing experience. They had my attention. That's what made them stand out. Here’s one of their pitches: "Hey Steven, I see you're looking for writers in the CATEGORY space. I've written several articles on CATEGORY - I've included 3 links below. Hope you like them!" Short, to the point emails, that were highly relevant. (And they got my name right). It took me 10 seconds to see if they were a good fit. That's why they moved forward. The next time you pitch content to new clients: - Read the ad. Follow instructions - Keep your emails short and concise - Include relevant experience and writing samples Do this: And you’re 95% more likely to get the gig P.S. The job is no longer active. I’m not looking for writers.

This site earned 3X more content visits. But the real story? Sales qualified leads (SQL) have doubled. The best converting content you can create is buyer centric. It’s content that: - Understands buyer pain points - Communicates clearly how you solve them But how do you get topic ideas for buyer centric content? Sure, you can interview customers, talk to sales managers and speak with support teams... ...but that’s a resource-intensive manually, time-consuming process (And slightly annoying with the numerous follow ups). How else can you create buyer centric content? Here’s how I solved that problem. On all demo, contact and pricing web forms, I include this question: “What is your biggest challenge with TOPIC?” (TOPIC = your category). Each time someone signs up, they tell me what they struggle with. * It’s a required field. In the last 12 months, I’ve had dozens of unique responses. Right off the bat, buyer input provides great insight into how we should pitch and sell products and services in sales meetings. Each meeting is tailored to the prospect based on their biggest challenge. It’s proven to be incredibly valuable for our content strategy, too. We no longer depend on SEO tools And we’re no longer chasing the same keywords as competitors The content is for buyers, no one else. Here’s how this data has informed our content strategy. 1. Web copy The messaging we lead with, the order in which the benefits are presented and what we include on our features/ solutions pages has changed dramatically. For ex. 1 in 4 buyers struggled with a problem that was nowhere to be found on the website. The page has now been updated but without buyer input, we wouldn't have known. 2. Landing pages Each response we receive is categorized. When the category reaches 5-10 responses, we create a new landing page that addresses that specific problem. These landing pages are used for paid search campaigns and use cases on the website. 3. Blog content We’ve used buyer input to publish 57 blog posts. (Roughly 1 new piece per week). There’s no search volume for these topics. And they rank in position one for 8 out of 10 articles we publish. But those 0 to 10 searches per topic generate 10,000 to 15,000 visits per month. The best part? Because it runs on autopilot, we have dozens of new topic ideas waiting to be published. Topics that no one else is considering! - A buyer shares their biggest challenge - We create content that addresses the problem - That content attracts new buyers who struggle with the same problem Traffic is one thing. But this change has contributed to: - 100,000 people consuming the new content - 5X increase in high intent leads from organic search - 100% increase in sales qualified leads - 20% growth in annual revenue This field will soon be on every high intent form in B2B SaaS Want to be one step ahead of who you’re competing with? Start by updating your high intent forms.

This content update led to 5,741 more visits from Google Plus backlinks from Adobe, Inc and Typeform I like to refresh content every 3-4 months But for my best performing articles, I refresh monthly. Why? It's so I can: - Regain lost rankings - Preserve high ranking content - Keep content relevant for my audience I’m seeing a lot more marketers shift from creating new to updating existing content. I’ve been refreshing content for 10 years. Here's my 15-step checklist. 1. Change date Change the publish date to today (This works really well. Try not to abuse it). 2. Update research No older than 12 months - Go to Google - Type in “topic” research - Click Tools and Filter by “Past year” 3. Unique images Create new charts and graphics to reflect updated research 4. Go in-depth Have 8 tips to do X? Increase it to 9 or 11 tips 5. Ask an SME Ask someone internally: “Why should companies care about TOPIC?” Include their quote along with a headshot. 6. Add internal links     Find new internal link opportunities - Go to Google - Search for site:YourWebsiteURL “TOPIC” - Add links to the article 7. Add keywords - Go to GSC - Click Performance and last 3 months - Click +New and filter results by the article - Sort results by impressions - Add those keywords to your article (make it natural) 8. Reference a case study Use a case study for how a customer solved a problem with your product. - Go to Google - Search for YourWebsiteURL/case-studies “TOPIC” Now you have a list of case studies that reference the topic. Use them. 9. Mobile experience - Go to Google Analytics - Click Audience, Mobile and Overview - Filter by article How much traffic comes from mobile? How does the content look on mobile? Make it easy to read. 10. Embed video Have a YouTube channel? - Go to YouTube - Find your brand profile - Search for TOPIC Choose a video from the list and add it to the article. 11. Your POV What have you learned about this topic since you first wrote it? Has your opinion changed? Do you have unique insights? Add them. 12. Update Metadata Went more in-depth? Added a case study? Update your title tags and meta description. (This is often overlooked). 13. More CTAs Include 2-3 text-based CTA's throughout the post. Don’t wait until the end to sell. 14. Rewrite headline You have more content to create a better headline. Do it. Create 5 new versions. Pick the best. 15. Add to front page This piece is now better. Add the content to the front page (i.e. /blog). BONUS: Repetition Repeat this process for your top 10 performing articles 3-4X per year. An exhaustive list? Maybe. Not every piece will require all 15 updates. You can pick and choose. But don’t wait until traffic drops and you’re left chasing what once was. Those websites you’re competing with in the search results? They’re waiting for you to let content degrade. Give them a chance and they’ll take your traffic. I know I will.

My blog posts have been read by 9.1 million people No secret: They all use this 7-step outline My first article was published in 2012 Since then, I’ve created more than 300 pieces of content Guest posts, landing pages, white papers… But it’s blog posts that generate the most organic traffic Why? Because they all follow the same outline (below). Readers love it: - They share it on social - They leave comments Google loves it: - It’s indexed quickly - It ranks high This outline helps me outrank Salesforce, HubSpot and Zendesk... ...and rank number 1 for Customer Experience, B2B Sales and Customer Journey. I haven’t shared this before. Here's the 7-step outline I use to create content: 1. Introduction Hook the reader as quickly as possible. Make the intro conversational, ask questions and put yourself in the reader's shoes. You want them to think: “This author gets me” 2. Challenge Explain why companies struggle with this topic. Is it lack of expertise, strategy, resources? Be detailed. Demonstrate that you understand their pain points 3. Benefits Why should the reader care about this topic? How can they benefit by reading further? Include at least 3 benefits. Use statistics to support your argument 4. Practical tips on TOPIC Create practical tips that they can implement to improve their business. Share tactics, best practices, new ideas - and how to execute them to help them achieve real business benefits They should be able implement at least 1 tactic immediately after reading - whether they’re a beginner or expert 5. Unique content on TOPIC Use one of the below to make it unique: → Product: Include references to the product. Be specific and try to include screenshots or video. → Case study: Reference a case study that describes how a customer used to have the same challenge and how they solved it by using your product → Experience or POV: Share your experience or point of view. Your experience is unique and adds value to the piece → Subject matter expertise: If you don’t have experience, ask someone internally - “Why should companies invest in TOPIC?” and use their quote → Software, tools and resources: Any software, tools or resources you have used or recommend? Add it here and why you recommend it 6. Conclusion Wrap up the piece. Connect the introduction to the conclusion. Make sure you tie everything together 7. CTA The call to action should be a logical next step and flow seamlessly from the conclusion. Use a CTA that’s descriptive and relevant. I use this outline to create high quality content at scale. - It’s unique - It’s practical - It’s engaging And it’s clearly written for humans. So much so, in fact: I’m now using it to hit my traffic goals 2X faster If you’re not seeing results from your content: Try this 7-part outline To create new content or to refresh existing content. I do. It's helped me generate millions of visits P.S. Would love your input. How would you make it better?

This one tactic has driven 76,000 visits from Google It’s 100% unique. No one else is doing it… I’ve subscribed to 100s of SaaS platforms in the last 10 years I stopped using 95% of them a long time ago What happens when you’re not happy with a SaaS product? - You cancel it - You search for an alternative What happens when your own customers search for an alternative? Right now - they’ll see a list of competitors If you search for a “HubSpot alternative” you’ll see: - HubSpot alternative (Freshworks) - 11 HubSpot alternatives (Helpscout) - 7 HubSpot alternatives (Nutshell) You know who you don’t see in the search results? HubSpot. No paid ads No organic listing (The monthly search volume for “HubSpot alternatives” is 2,900) I bet it’s the same for you, too Go to Google and type in: (your brand) alternatives What do you see? You’ll see a list of websites targeting YOUR customers! Don’t let them control the narrative → Create your own alternatives landing page For example: If you’re the SEO at HubSpot, create a “HubSpot alternatives” page If you’re the SEO at Drift, create a “Drift alternatives” page Sure, you can bid on “alternative” keywords and send visitors to a generic landing page. But it’s not designed to keep existing customers Here’s my 3 step process: 1. Landing page Here's the template I use: Headline (your main USP, who you are, what you do and who for) Introduction (address key customer pain points and how you solve them) Customer quote (why a customer left competitor 1 for you) Competitor 1 (explain how you are different, list pros and cons) Competitor 2 (explain how you are different, list pros and cons) Competitor 3 (explain how you are different, list pros and cons) Customer quote (why a customer left competitor 3 for you) Summary (your main USP, who you are, what you do and who for) CTA (Meeting or demo works. I use “Speak with our customer success team”). Use “(Your brand) Alternatives" in the title tag and URL /brand-alternative 2. Internal links Find 5 existing articles and link to the new alternatives landing page - Go to Google - Type in YourWebsiteURL “product name” - Open those pages in your CMS - Add the word “alternative” after the product name (when it makes sense) - Add an internal link to the new landing page 3. Backlinks You don’t need too many backlinks to rank quickly for these searches (I try to build 5 backlinks) Here's how I do it: - I reach out and pitch guest posts - I reach out to sites I've already written for - I reach out to sites I've worked with in the past When you do build a link, use “(your product) alternative” as the anchor text Know this: Your competitors have an “alternative” page for your product You can continue to let them steal your customers… …or you can create your own alternative landing page. Creating a landing page that earned 76,000 visits is one thing But a page like this? It’s not just visits. It’s retention and revenue.

I pitched HubSpot, Privy, Intercom, Hotjar and Helpscout. I landed every single backlink I asked for… The best link-builders I know focus on one thing: Relationship building. Yet, here's how most link-building programs work: - Scrape 10,000 emails addresses - Send everyone an email and ask for a backlink - Earn 3-5 links from this process - Repeat steps 1 and 2 But here’s the thing: Link building IS relationship building. Once you understand this, you approach it A LOT differently. Most don’t understand it… It’s why so many link-building projects fail. You ask first, instead of giving: “Dear Sir, 'Can you please link to my website? Thank you”. Try this: Don’t ask for something first… …give first, instead. Here’s how to give first: - Go to Ahrefs - Type in the website you want a backlink from - Click on the Organic Keywords report - Filter by positions 4 to 10 Now you have a list of keywords they are targeting, but not in the top 3. Help them rank better. GIVE them a free backlink: - Using Ahrefs, choose a keyword that ranks in position 4 - Go to Google - Type in YourWebsiteURL + the keyword you chose above - Log in to your CMS and add a link to their website using the keyword You’ve done something nice. Congrats! Next - the email or DM copy: “Hey (their name), I’m (your name) and I work with SEO and content at (company). I noticed you are trying to rank for (keyword) in Google. I love your article on (keyword), and so I’ve just added a link from my website to help you rank better. Here’s the post I added a link to: (your post URL). Hope it helps! Email signature” When they reply (it’s always positive), you have two ways to follow up: 1. Ask for a link back “Hey (their name), You're welcome! I noticed you write about (your target keyword) on the website. Any chance you’d be open to linking to our article below? (Your post URL) (Preferred anchor text) Thank you, (their name). I appreciate it. Email signature” Yes, it’s reciprocal linking. Yes, it’s frowned upon by Google. No, it will not impact you. 2. Pitch a guest post - Go to Ahrefs - Type in their website - Click on content gap - Type in 2-3 competitors Now you have a list of keywords competitors rank for, but they don’t. “Hey (their name), You're welcome! Quick question - do you accept guest posts? I noticed (competitor 1) and (competitor 2) are ranking for (keyword), but I couldn’t find an article on that topic on your website. I'd be happy to create an article on (keyword), if you're open to it? I’m ready to start writing. Let me know. Email signature” Pitching a guest post requires more work, but you get to put yourself in front of a new audience. In some cases, that’s even more valuable than the backlink. Google has been very clear: To rank high, you need content and backlinks The next time you start building backlinks… …start by building a relationship instead. Give first. Ask second.