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In a world of information overload, subject matter experts (SMEs) are more important than ever.

SMEs can help give important insights and context for your blog or marketing content and help keep readers engaged with the subject.

Their specific knowledge and expertise can be of value to your readers, but subject matter experts can also help with search engine optimization (SEO) by providing the keywords and keyword phrases that will get you found in web searches.

The good news is identifying subject matter experts isn’t brain surgery; it just takes some basic research on who’s out there sharing relevant information on the subjects you want to cover.

With more than 600 million active blogs on the market, the competition online has never been fiercer.

To stay competitive, you need subject matter experts.

We’ve put together this blog post to help you find SMEs for your business that can help improve your content strategy now and into the future.

Benefits of Using Subject Matter Experts for Website Content

Subject matter experts can contribute to your website in many different ways.

They can be instrumental in the ideation phases of your content strategy, lending their expertise to brainstorming sessions and subject ideas. Once you get to the writing phase, subject matter experts offer the most valuable service of all: subject-specific content that is truly accurate and relatable.

They can also help with promotion once the content is published, sharing it on their social media accounts or writing a post of their own about your article’s subject matter.

By collaborating with subject matter experts, you can ensure the final product is engaging, accurate, and high-performing.

1. Improve your EAT Score

One of the biggest benefits of using a subject matter expert is improving your EAT score, which measures a site’s expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. 

The subject matter expert can help you turn a keyword with low search volume into something that has higher commercial intent. They also add relevance to the subject of the post, which is crucial for improving SEO rankings.

Including an SME in one of your blog posts also increases their exposure. They’re likely already connected to other experts in their field who will see and read your content once it’s published online.

They get the benefit of leveraging your audience and online authority, and you get the benefit of leveraging theirs.

2. Earn Audience Trust

An SME can provide insight into your customers’ thoughts and questions, improving reliability and authority more than if they were written by an outside source with limited knowledge.

This can go a long way in improving audience trust, as they will know they are getting expert information from someone who knows what they’re talking about.

When you use subject matter experts, your blog can become an invaluable source of information for people interested in the same things they are—which makes them likely to share your content with their audiences, further improving your digital reach.

3. Publish Higher Quality Content

Using a subject matter expert in your content inevitably creates higher-quality content. This is because subject matter experts are experts for a reason, meaning they make sure the content you create is of the highest caliber.

Nearly a quarter of readers say bad content quality destroys a blog’s credibility. By using an SME, you’ll be creating content that is trustworthy and reliable. You can also use subject matter expert quotes or references throughout your blog post to reinforce the information and ideas being presented.

This makes it more likely that readers will continue reading what you have to say—and even share it with more people.

4. Use Correct Terminology and Lingo

One of the easiest ways to tell if a blog is credible or not is by checking for correct terms and lingo. 

Unqualified writers may miss important nuances of language that are likely to confuse readers. Your subject matter expert will understand and use all industry jargon, helping you ensure that your content is accurate and relatable for the audience reading it.

As well, if industry terms change or a new term is introduced, a subject matter expert should be aware of these changes and update your content accordingly.

5. Streamline Content Creation

Subject matter experts can go a long way in improving efficiencies in your content marketing strategy.

The more qualified subject matter experts you have to help you write blog posts, the better the chance those topics are written correctly from the beginning—meaning less time editing before it’s published online.

As well, their in-depth knowledge of the subject will lessen the time needed to research, allowing you to spend more time on other content marketing initiatives.

Tips to Recruit Subject Matter Experts

Now that you understand the benefits of using subject matter experts in your content marketing, it’s time to learn how to find them.

Subject matter experts exist in all types of businesses and vary greatly in expertise and quality. While reading this blog, you may have thought of a few SMEs you’d like to collaborate with already.

That’s great!

If you can’t think of anyone off the top of your head, don’t worry. We can help. All you need is a bit of time, research, and patience to find the best subject matter expert for your brand.

1. Know What You’re Looking For

Subject matter experts vary greatly in their online presence and availability, so it’s important to know what you’re looking for from the start.

Some SMEs may be influencers in their space with large online followings. Others may be less visible but still provide subject matter expertise.

Before approaching a subject matter expert, consider the following needs:

• Are you looking for someone who has done extensive research in your space?
• Do you want someone with a large following?
• How important is celebrity to you?
• Does it matter where in the world they live?
• Do you want someone to consult, or write the content themselves?
• What is your budget?
• What is your timeline?

Once you know what you need, it’s time to start searching.

2. Browse Social Media

Social media is an excellent place to start your search for subject matter experts.

When using a platform like Instagram, you can search hashtags related to the topic of your choice and follow subject matter experts while engaging with their content. This can help build a relationship before you ever ask for their help.

When using Google, you can include subject matter experts and your subject/keyword in the search. For example: “subject matter experts business blogging.”

You can also check Twitter by using a similar formula. Search for people tweeting about topics relevant to what you’re promoting with a subject matter expert or SME in the search.

LinkedIn is another great space to find subject matter experts.

In the search bar, you can include “subject matter expert” and your industry or topic to help find people who are active in LinkedIn groups related to those topics. For example: “subject matter experts marketing.”

You should also look at their existing posts for ideas on how they describe certain subject matters to ensure their content matches your needs.

3. Research Professional Associations

Professional associations and subject matter experts’ groups can help you find subject matter experts for your content.

For example, the American Marketing Association (AMA) has local chapters that include subject matter expert members active in their communities.

You could join a few of these organizations to meet subject matter experts or ask other people if they know subject matter experts in their communities.

Other organizations to search can include:

• Canadian Marketing Association (CMA)
• American Advertising Federation (AAF)
• Association of National Advertisers (ANA) 
• Social Media Association (SMA)
• Association of International Product Marketing and Management (AIPMM) 

When reaching out to these organizations, be sure to mention you are looking for a subject matter expert post for your blog or that you need help finding subject matter experts in a specific field. If they don’t have someone that matches your needs, they may still be able to connect you with another organization that can.

4. Review Competitor Sites

Another way to find subject matter experts is to look at other companies’ websites. Many will have subject matter expert pages or author bylines that can help you find relevant experts in your field.

You can also browse competitor blogs and see who they reference in their posts. This can give you a great list of subject matter experts to reach out to, who may be willing and happy to share their experiences with your company.

Don’t know who your competitors are? Tools like Ubersuggest can help you see who’s ranking against you and why.

5. Ask Your Network

Leveraging your own network is a great way to find trusted subject matter experts. 

If you’re looking for someone proficient in Google advertising, maybe you know someone who works at Google or has worked with them in the past. Similarly, if you want to write about SEO, find someone that has been working in this space for many years.

You can also ask your existing subject matter experts to recommend other subject matter experts they know or have worked with.

This approach is a great way to find subject matter experts who already trust you and are willing to share their experiences as part of helping you out. With this tactic, you stand to form longstanding relationships with SMEs in your field.

Ways to Use Subject Matter Experts

Subject matter experts can be used to provide valuable insight to your audience on a subject they are passionate about. This can come in the form of blogs, webinars, lead magnets, live events, website copy, testimonials, and more!

Here are a few more ways to leverage their expertise:

• interview them on a podcast
• ask them to write a guest post (you’ll likley have to pay)
• get help with your content strategy
• get help reviewing content ideas, such as blog post or white paper topics
• use quotes in your content to lend crediblity
• have them work with ghostwriters to produce content
• ask them to guest host a webinar (then create blog posts from the transcripts)

You can also use subject matter experts as industry influencers, building credibility and trust with the people you’re trying to reach. Remember, subject matter experts aren’t just limited to bloggers or traditional media types. Anyone who knows something special is fair game!

Just make sure to clearly define the role the SME will play in your content strategy and communicate regularly to ensure everyone is on the same page.

The most important thing to remember when choosing subject matter experts for your brand is to find people who are passionate about the subject and eager to share what they know.

This also makes it much easier for them to produce high-quality content, so you can be sure your business is getting a good return on investment (ROI).

Frequently Asked Questions About Subject Matter Experts

How much does it typically cost to use a subject matter expert?

Subject matter expert pricing depends on factors like subject matter expertise and the number of pieces created. Each individual will price their work in different ways, so it’s important to discuss your budget limits beforehand to minimize any potential issues.

Should my blog use subject matter experts?

All blogs can benefit from subject matter experts, but they are especially useful for larger companies with smaller in-house subject matter expertise.

How do you become a subject matter expert?

Becoming a subject matter expert starts with subject matter expertise; the only way to become a subject matter expert is through learning on your own and becoming educated in your field.

Should your subject matter experts be influencers?

Subject matter experts do not need to be influencers, though some are. For subject matter experts with many followers, their brand can help your blog posts gain more views and shares. That said, the quality of their expertise should always be your focus, as that is what will keep your audience coming back for more.

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Subject Matter Experts for Website Content Conclusion

Subject matter experts are invaluable resources that can improve your existing content strategy and create trust. By including them throughout your content creation cycle, you can create high-quality content your audience loves to read.

When looking for subject matter experts, be sure to cast a wide net and leverage your existing networks to find the most qualified experts. While many subject matter experts are influencers, you should always focus on the quality of their expertise rather than how many followers they have.

When it comes to subject matter, expertise is what matters.

What have you learned from working with subject matter experts?

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Marketplace sites such as Amazon or Etsy can provide a steady income stream for ecommerce entrepreneurs. However, selling on your own website has the potential to generate repeat business from loyal customers and grow your brand. 

A customer loyalty program is a great way to earn the repeat business of your customers and build relationships that can develop into brand loyalty and even referrals. Unfortunately, many ecommerce entrepreneurs consistently get it wrong when they attempt this strategy. 

There are several different types of customer loyalty initiatives and approaches to designing programs that attract the right kinds of buyers for your brand. We’ll help you navigate your options to build a lucrative loyalty program for your ecommerce business. 

What is a customer loyalty program?

A customer loyalty program is a technique that businesses use to build relationships between brands and their customers. 

A business will offer exclusive promotional offers and other perks, and in return customers become steady, long-term buyers. The goal of a customer loyalty program is to attract the right customers for your brand and create long term, profitable relationships with them. After all, 80% of a company’s profits come from just 20% of customers. 

According to recent research, top performing customer loyalty programs have the ability to boost revenue by 15-25% each year. So, creating a customer loyalty program can be a very profitable way to build relationships with customers. 

Steps for creating a customer loyalty program

Are you ready to take the next steps in creating a customer loyalty program? Here are three easy steps to get you started.

1 - Choose the right type of program

There are several types of customer loyalty programs that are suited for different audiences and industries. In order to design a successful customer loyalty program, it's important that you choose the right type of program to implement. Some of the most popular types of customer loyalty programs include:

Points programs

These popular customer loyalty programs allow customers to accrue points over time that can be redeemed for rewards or free products. Points can be accrued by making purchases, engaging with content, signing up for events, etc. 

Points programs that are based on customer referrals have even more potential, since referred customers have a higher lifetime value than others. 

Spend programs

A popular choice for reducing churn rates, this customer loyalty program gives customers credit depending on the amount of money they spend on products and services. 

For example, for every $150 they spend, they receive a $5 credit towards their next purchase. 

Tiered programs 

A form of points program, tiered customer loyalty programs allow customers to earn points with increasing tiers of rewards, depending on the points they accumulate. Gifts, free products, and exclusive access can all be part of a tiered customer loyalty program. 

Paid programs

These programs require customers to pay a monthly or annual fee to be a part of a "members only" rewards program. Once they are a member of this program they can get access to special events, services, products, deals, and other unique opportunities that other customers don’t get to take advantage of. 

The paid barrier to entry has the potential to draw customers further into your marketing funnel in addition to promoting incentivised opportunities. 

Punch programs 

A well known type of customer loyalty program, punch programs are easy to understand and make earning rewards simple for customers. A digital or physical “card” requires a certain number of “punches” (received by making a purchase) in order to earn a gift or reward. This incentivises customers to continue making purchases in order to build up punches and earn rewards. 

2 - Define the rewards and rules

Now that you’ve decided what type of customer loyalty program you are going to use, it's time to make the rules and decide what rewards you will offer to your loyal customers. You don’t want to overwhelm your customers with too many options or make the rules too complicated, or customers will lose interest. 

You can also opt to launch your customer loyalty program in bite-sized chunks that are easy to understand and progress naturally. 

At the end of the day, you want rewards that have:

• a perceived value
• rules that are easy to understand
• simple ways to redeem rewards 

Before you get started, make sure that your business is using accounting software that comes with critical features such as integrations, payments, and invoice templates. This way you can take advantage of all of your prospecting and sales opportunities to streamline your customer loyalty program. 

If you use customer relationship management software, you will also have to think about how to integrate the program into your existing classification system. 

3 - Promote your program

Once you’ve established the rules and rewards of your customer loyalty program, it's time to promote your program to get customers to sign up. 

Start with email promotions sent to your existing customers and current mailing list. Keep in mind that emails that are relevant to customer’s real life experiences with your brand are 38% more likely to be opened, so clearly explain what the email is for in the subject line.

Companies should also utilize social media to promote their rewards program. Focus on platforms where your target audience spend most of their time or where you get the most engagement so you can spread the word to those that are likely to be interested in signing up for your program. 

Don’t forget to use your website to promote your rewards program as well. You have the full attention of consumers that visit your page, so take advantage of that to offer them incentives to join your customer loyalty program. 

You can use chatbots on your website, design a dedicated landing page to get people to sign up, and include a pop up sign up form after they spend a certain amount of time on your site. 

Loyalty Program Examples

Check out this email example from Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, they’re promoting their rewards program to their existing customers. And in the email, they are clearly defining the benefits of the rewards program.

Sephora is another example of a great loyalty program. They have a tiered program incentivizing customers to spend more. The more you spend with Sephora, the better the program benefits get.

Common customer loyalty program pitfalls

Avoid making these mistakes when implementing a customer loyalty program:

• Only targeting high spenders. Instead, identify the customers that are the most vulnerable to competition and focus your efforts on targeting them with loyalty promotions. 

• Not keeping track of metrics. It’s crucial to track loyalty measurements such as churn, response, retention, and lifetime value in order to accurately gauge how your loyalty program is performing. 

• Not listening to your customers. When your customers tell you something they like or dislike about your brand or your program, listen to them. 

For example, you may be trying to be modern by accepting PayPal, cryptocurrencies, or other alternative payment methods. But 71% of customers report preferring to pay using a credit or debit card, so make sure you use a payment gateway that can accept credit and debit with a smooth, secure interface. 

Start your loyalty program today

Creating a customer loyalty program is a great way to build lasting customer relationships and increase profits simultaneously. 

In order to design a successful customer loyalty program, it’s important that companies choose the right type of loyalty program with easy to understand rules and attract the right customers. 

Remember, it’s not all about the money. Keep an eye on crucial metrics to understand the full impact of your customer loyalty program, and focus on providing incentives that your customers will love.

The post How to Set Up a Customer Loyalty Program for Your Ecommerce Business appeared first on AWeber.

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Is The pCloud Black Friday 2021 Deal Worth It?

The pCloud Black Friday 2021 deal is something that will have many eyes wide open. They’re slashing prices to the bone and offering an astounding 75% off their 2TB Lifetime plan. Remember though; it’s not just storage since pCloud Crypto helps you seamlessly encrypt data.

The Black Friday 2021 deal from pCloud honestly sounds too good to be true, but it’s worth a look. Not only are you getting 2TB of storage, but the service comes with many bells and whistles. Simply pay once, and use it forever.

The pCloud Black Friday 2021 Offer

Details:

• Runs from 21 November till 2 December 2021
• 75% off 2TB Lifetime Plan with free Crypto
• Available to new and existing customers on lower storage plans

Those who are interested in the pCloud Black Friday deal 2021 can grab this offer right now!

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About pCloud

pCloud is one of the best cloud storage service providers that focus on security. They’ve streamlined options for users and offer only a handful of storage plans. What makes them even more unique is their offer storage plans on a  pay-once, use-forever basis.

Read our pCloud review for more.

In addition to storage, pCloud deployed client-side encryption to help you secure your data. While you can maintain separate encrypted and unencrypted folders, the process is seamless, and you will hardly notice any difference.

This Swiss company has been around since 2013 and today boasts over 14 million users. That’s a lot of data and a fair amount of time, so you can be sure that pCloud isn’t going away anytime soon.

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Want more Black Friday promo – Check out our huge list of Web Hosting Black Friday Deals and VPN Black Friday Deals!

The post pCloud Black Friday 2021 – Live Now appeared first on WHSR.

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How do your future clients search for marketing agencies? We examined the top 100 keywords related to “marketing agency” by volume to find out.

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Kristi Soomer created Encircled as a womenswear brand focused on sustainable, comfy, and stylish clothing designed as essential pieces for travel. Since launching in 2012, the brand has grown from designing for traveling light to living light, creating pieces that do more with less in customers’ closets. In this episode of Shopify Masters, Kristi shares with us the process of working with designers and how pitching her business on national TV propelled her business.

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This post was sponsored by Paved. The opinions expressed in this article are the sponsor’s own. Online advertising is one of the most popular, effective ways to increase brand awareness, traffic to your site, and overall revenue. However, despite the increase in popularity, the online pool of potential customers is beginning to shrink. Paid social has become saturated with competitors, making it harder to gain profitable wins. Consumers are beginning to use ad blockers to reduce timeline clutter, while others are turning away from social media entirely. Fortunately, there’s a new way to get around ad blockers and in front […]

The post Newsletter Sponsorships: Your New, Improved Marketing Strategy appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

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Do you want to do more with LinkedIn? Are you taking full advantage of the wide range of no-cost marketing features built into the platform? In this article, you’ll discover new ways to tap into the power of LinkedIn so you can grow your business. #1: Host Long-Form Written Content On-Platform With Articles for LinkedIn […]

The post 10 LinkedIn Marketing Features to Promote Your Business appeared first on Social Media Examiner | Social Media Marketing.

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The global apparel market is expected to reach 5.97 billion USD by the end of 2021 and is projected to have an annual growth rate of 7.52% in the upcoming years. This will result in the segment reaching 7.97 billion USD by 2025. This growth will be a result of growing user penetration over the years. The user penetration will grow to 48.2% by 2025, which means 3.77 billion people around the globe.

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Kartra and Kajabi have various tools for including elements like lead pages, funnels, and memberships in any business’s marketing flow. Yet, when compared side-by-side, they mainly overlap for those making online courses or educational businesses.

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