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4 Game Localization Flop Stories: How to Avoid the Same Pitfalls

Adam Todd — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 11:53:40 +0000

As the gaming industry continues to grow and expand into new markets, the need for quality game localization services has never been greater. However, despite the obvious importance of localization, in recent years, there have been quite a number of high-profile flops.

Localization failures occur due to a plethora of reasons. In some cases, they happen as a result of simple mistakes, miscalculations, or oversights. Other times, they are a consequence of rushed or inadequate localization efforts.

In today’s article, we are going to explore the most egregious localization mistakes in video game history and talk a bit about censorship issues that cost the games’ marketers dearly.

Candy Crush Saga

Mobile games are an area where localization mistakes can have a significant impact. In many cases, mobile games are released in multiple languages simultaneously, which can lead to errors and mistranslations. One high-profile example of this was the game “Candy Crush Saga,” which was released in 2012.

The game contained numerous errors in its French localization, including incorrect grammar and misspellings. These errors led to a great deal of negative feedback from French players, and the game’s developers eventually had to release an updated version with corrected text.

Resident Evil 4

Another well-known example of game localization gone wrong was the 2005 release of Resident Evil 4. The game, originally released in Japan, had to be heavily rewritten for its Western release.

Many of the changes made to the script were criticized for being inaccurate or unnecessarily violent. Furthermore, the game’s voice acting was widely panned, with many critics noting that the English voice actors sounded nothing like their Japanese counterparts. As a result of these issues, Resident Evil 4 is often considered to be one of the worst localization efforts in video game history.

The localized version of the game was rife with typos and mistranslations, which led to confusion and frustration among players.

Outlast 2

The 2017 release of Outlast 2 also received significant criticism for its localization errors. The game’s text was plagued with typos and grammatical errors, making it difficult to understand for many players. Furthermore, the game’s audio was often out of sync with the text, making it difficult to follow the story.

The problem was compounded by a slew of grammatical and audio mistakes that resulted in a large number of negative comments from customers.

Max Payne 3

What are they saying in Max Payne 3? Part 1 – DuelScreens

The 2012 release of Max Payne 3 was another poor localization casualty. The game’s text was full of typos and grammatical errors, making it difficult to understand. In addition, the game’s audio was often out of sync with the text, making it difficult to follow the story.

These errors led to a significant amount of negative feedback from players, and the game’s developers eventually had to release an updated version with corrected text and audio.

Censorship Issues in the Video Game Industry

Along with localization, game censorship is a hot-button issue that has often led to controversy. The main goal of censorship is to protect minors from content that is deemed inappropriate or harmful, but the lines between what is and isn’t appropriate can often be quite blurry. In some cases, different countries have different views on what should and shouldn’t be censored.

For example, while many European countries are more relaxed about nudity and sexual content in video games, countries like Saudi Arabia and China often have much stricter censorship laws.

This can lead to conflicts between developers and publishers who may want to release a game with its original content intact, and local governments who may want to censor or change certain aspects of the game.

The Differences between Western-centric and Eastern-centric Design in Games

Apart from the localization and censorship aspects, there are a few key differences between Western-centric and Eastern-centric design in video games. One of the most notable differences is the focus on individualism in Western design versus the focus on community and cooperation in Eastern design. This In video games often manifests itself as a change in player interaction.

Western games often emphasize competition and individual achievement while Eastern games often emphasize teamwork and cooperation. Western games often have more detailed stories and well-developed characters, while Eastern games often have less of a story and focus more on gameplay.

How to Achieve Success in International Game Localization

If you’re a game developer or publisher planning to release a game on the international market, there are a few things you can do to increase your chances of success.

First, make sure your game is properly localized for each region you plan to release it in. This includes not only translating the text and audio into the local language but also making sure the game is appropriate for the local culture.
Second, be aware of the different censorship laws in each country and make sure your game is in compliance with them.
Third, research the different gaming markets and try to tailor your game to appeal to each one.
And fourth, always be prepared to update your game based on the feedback you get from players.

By following these tips, you can increase your chances of releasing a successful game on the international market.

Delegate Your Game Localization to Contenteam Native-Speaking Translators and Editors!

Localizing a game is a complex process that requires attention to detail and a deep understanding of the target market. It’s important to work with a localization partner who has experience in the gaming industry and can help you both: navigate the challenges of game localization and avoid any cultural pitfalls that cannot be grasped by the foreigner.

At Contenteam, we have a team of experienced native-speaking gaming localization experts who can help you launch your game in the US, UK, Spanish, Mexican, Portuguese, Italian, Brazilian, French, and Russian markets. Contact us today to learn more about our services or request a free quote!

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We Are Heading Into 2022 Content Season With Some Great Results

Alexandra Shestopalova — Mon, 10 Jan 2022 16:56:19 +0000

The last quarter of 2021 was a productive one for Contenteam in terms of projects as well as reviews. We created our Clutch profile earlier in the year, and we’ve been earning positive feedback and high-quality scores nonstop ever since.

Contenteam Closes Out 2021 With a Five-Star Review

All that feedback helped us earn a Top B2B Company award from Clutch for the year 2021, and we continued to get great reviews even after that. Today, we’ll be talking about how we ended the year right with our latest five-star rated review.

We were engaged by a custom software developer to write marketing materials that talked about the different niches of the IT industry. We focused on quick article production without compromising on the quality of such highly technical topics.

The workflow we implemented focused on getting approval for layout first before writing any of the content. This allowed the more rigid part of the process to be completed quickly and gave our team the flexibility to adapt to any later changes.

We were always a step ahead of the game, which suited our client quite well. This, of course, resulted in the five-star review above and another big point for our bid as a top company for the year 2021.

In fact, because of the consistent quality of the scores we’ve been receiving since creating our Clutch profile, other platforms have been taking notice. For example, a B2B resource, Top Design Firms, included us in their list of top 100 digital marketing companies.

There’s probably no better energy to start a new year with than what we have going right now. These reviews and the subsequent rankings and awards they lead to are a great morale booster for the team. They also provide us with valuable momentum heading into the next year.

We now have a baseline of expectations to meet in terms of quality and feedback. Clients who find us through these reviews will expect the excellence they read about. It’s a challenge that we look forward to as a team and will do our best to exceed.

If you want to learn more about the services we offer, feel free to explore our website. You can also talk to our team directly and schedule a free consultation. Contact us by filling out our contact form. Let’s begin working together on your project as soon as possible.

Сообщение We Are Heading Into 2022 Content Season With Some Great Results появились сначала на Contenteam - Multilingual Copywriting Service.

A Guide to Creating Evergreen Content: Tips From Professional Content Marketers

Victoria Michael — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 16:30:11 +0000

I’m going to spitball a few goals that I know you have for your website: backlinks from authority sites, a high ranking for important keywords, and loads of organic traffic. Did I guess right?

I thought so! This is pretty much what everybody wants for their website — so why are some sites successfully achieving these goals while others have to fight tooth and nail to bring in visitors?

The answer is simple: they have an evergreen content strategy.

Evergreen Content Meaning: SEO content that remains relevant to readers, no matter the season or year.

This kind of content gets its name from the evergreen tree: its leaves remain green and fresh, even in the winter! And so should your content; if your blog posts revolve around current events and seasons, you’re missing out on loads of traffic!

This isn’t to say that you can’t publish holiday gift guides and the like, but I want to illustrate how evergreen digital content can reap longer-lasting rewards. So, read on to learn why you should be making these materials, as well as to get some of our top evergreen content creation tips!

Seasonal Content vs. Evergreen

Seasonal content is only useful during a certain time of the year — and because it’s time-sensitive, there is less competition. It’s a great idea if you want to create an immediate buzz and cultivate the impression that your brand is on top of the trends. Some examples of seasonal content include:

Breaking news
Limited-time events and promotion
Holiday topics
Seasonal events, like summer vacation or the NFL playoffs

On the other hand, evergreen content generates a steady flow of traffic to your website; what’s more, because the information isn’t constantly changing, it’s easier to write about. There are tons of sources that you can research, and there’s no pressing deadline for publishing. On the minus side, because it isn’t time-sensitive, there is plenty of evergreen content about nearly every topic under the sun — meaning there is more competition.

Some types of evergreen content include:

Whitepapers and case studies
How-to guides
Listicles
Infographics
Product reviews
Glossaries
“History of XYZ” articles

Keep in mind that evergreen content examples are only applicable if they’re about topics that never go out of date. For instance, a product review of a limited-edition pair of sneakers wouldn’t be evergreen — but a review of a sneaker brand that’s been in business for 30 years will be just fine.

You need to find the right balance of seasonal and evergreen content, and there’s no one-size-fits-all formula. To find the right one for you, start with a 50/50 ratio, assess the results, and make adjustments as needed.

A Closer Look at the Benefits of Evergreen Content

Want to get the rest of your content marketing team on board with a shift towards an evergreen content blog? Just show them these benefits:

It generates more and more traffic over time. Evergreen content draws in new users long after it’s published — months and even years down the road. And if it’s an especially useful piece of content, readers might bookmark it and reread it in the future.
It goes hand in hand with social media engagement. Social media users often share content because they think it’s relevant and valuable for their followers — and because evergreen content isn’t time-sensitive, it fits the bill nicely.
It’s easy to maintain. To increase its relevance, you can come back once in a while and add updates, but it’s far more maintainable than seasonal content.
It generates plenty of natural, organic backlinks. Seasonal content could take a while to be noticed by bloggers and webmasters, at which point it could be outdated. Evergreen content remains relevant, so bloggers can share it whenever they find it, even if it’s months or years after you published the material.
It can be repurposed for other marketing activities. For instance, you could use an evergreen blog post to create an infographic or even a video! There are also endless syndication opportunities: besides publishing the content on your website, you can upload it to Medium, Reddit, Quora, and so on.
It improves your site’s overall SEO. Your evergreen material signals two things to Google: that your website has high-quality content and that you’re getting organic backlinks. This is a great way to increase your Domain Authority.

Delving Into Evergreen Content Formats

Earlier, I mentioned a few evergreen content ideas, and now it’s time to take a closer look. The great thing about this kind of content is that it’s applicable to soooo many formats.

Cornerstone Content

This is the main content on your website and might take the form of a single page, an article, or several blog posts. It consists of the most important and highest quality articles on your website: the ones that are most relevant to visitors and that you want to rank highest on Google.

Typically, these are informative, fairly lengthy articles that break down a specific topic and pull in info from reliable sources. And the end goal is to welcome readers to your sales funnel.

List of Useful Services/Tools

This is especially great evergreen content for tech companies; you can compile a list of great tools and technologies that will help your readers in their personal or professional lives. For instance, you could share your top 10 picks for online form builders. Just be sure to review the content once in a while and remove services that are outdated (later on in this guide, I’ll explain more about updating your content).

Infographics

32% of marketers use visual images as an integral part of their content strategy. And it makes sense; after all, infographics are visually appealing and a more efficient way of conveying key statistics, facts, and examples. What’s more, you can base them on articles you’ve already published, so there’s no need to do the same work twice.

How-To Guides

When most people want to learn how to do something new, they head over to Google. This can apply to anything: from something as simple as “how to fry an egg” to complex tech topics like “how to use AI in web development.”

Figure out what kinds of questions your target audience is asking, and then create a step-by-step guide showing them how to solve the problem.

Whitepapers

White papers are typically published by B2B companies, especially within the IT space. Some goals of a whitepaper might be to educate potential customers, gather leads, educate channel partners, build credibility, and publish your own studies. Because white papers are almost entirely data-driven, they require more maintenance than other forms of evergreen content, as data is constantly evolving. But it’s well worth the work: 71% of B2B buyers use white papers to help them make purchasing decisions.

“History Of” Articles

This type of evergreen content is pretty easy to maintain — after all, the history of a topic remains constant. All you have to do is add updates on occasion when there are new developments in the field. And you can easily write a “History Of” article on pretty much anything under the sun; because it’s research-based rather than insight-based, you can even assign the text to a regular copywriter rather than a specialized IT writer.

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Evergreen Content

Creating evergreen content mainly involves finding topics that have consistent search traffic potential rather than ones that are trendy. Here’s what to do:

Step 1: Conduct Keyword Research

Evergreen content is valuable — but only if it’s acquiring and maintaining a traffic flow. And to acquire that traffic, you need the page to rank high on Google. And, as SEO 101 tells us, keywords are what make our pages visible to search engines.

You likely know all about keywords already, but the question is: how do you pick ones for evergreen content? There are four things you’ll need to do.

First, brainstorm seed keywords. In this step, you’re coming up with evergreen topics that are interesting and relevant to your audience. If you’re a tech company, your audience isn’t just looking for IT industry news. They might also want to learn terms related to software development, view guides on how to choose a dev company, or compare programming languages. So, let the ideas flow — write down whatever comes to mind, and make sure the ideas are diverse. You can always save topics for later.

Next, you’ll need to get inspiration for seed keywords. Check out competitor sites, read forums to see how people are phrasing their questions and use tools like Semrush and Ahrefs.

After that, it’s time to analyze the seed keyword relevance. It’s not worth your time to write about topics that aren’t steadily relevant; after all, that’s the antithesis of evergreen content. Instead, run the keywords through Google Trends and verify that the interest remains stable.

Here’s an example of what a stable keyword will look like on Google Trends:

And here’s an unstable one:

Both of those keywords are measured across a 5-year time period; one has huge peaks and valleys, while the other has a much flatter line.

Lastly, when choosing the keywords, you’ll need to gauge their potential. Is it worth the effort? Perform a keyword audit on a tool like Ahrefs, and check the search volume, clicks, and return rate (RR). Ahrefs even has a handy tool that estimates how many backlinks you’ll need to rank in the top 10 results on search engines!

Step 2: Create the Article Structure

Now that you’ve selected your keywords, it’s time to pick an article structure that’s best able to answer the searcher’s intent. I mentioned a few evergreen article formats earlier, but you aren’t limited to those; just make sure that the format makes sense.

Here are some examples of matching intent with structure:

Keyword	Intent	Relevant Structure
Get custom fintech software online	Transactional	List of services
How to make software in Python	Informational	Step-by-step guide/Infographic
AI in healthcare	Informational	Whitepaper/ “History Of”/Case Study

Step 3: Write the Article

I don’t really have any special tips for you in this section that are specifically tailored to evergreen writing — but if you need a crash course on writing for a tech audience, I recommend checking out some of our guides:

By the way… all of those articles are examples of evergreen content!

Step 4: Publish the Article

You’ve reached the finish line! Hit the publish button, monitor your rankings, promote your content, and make updates if needed. More on that next!

Evergreen Content Advice From a Pro: How to Highlight It for Maximum Effectiveness

After publishing your brand’s evergreen content, don’t let it get buried amid other articles on your website. If you want to get good results, you need to promote the content so that it’s immediately visible to your site visitors. Here are a few ways to do this:

Make a “Start Here” page for your website; such pages contain useful tutorials for visitors, and it’s a great place to list your best evergreen posts.
Create a homepage banner or sidebar section that highlights your evergreen content.
Integrate your evergreen content into your social media campaign.
Update your evergreen posts once in a while, so they make it back to the top of your blog page.

Now, I want to take a closer look at that last point: everybody should be updating their evergreen content on a regular basis. This doesn’t require a crazy amount of work; rather, you can add a couple of links to new, relevant studies, summarize this year’s current findings, and so on.

For instance, if you’re a tech company, certain pieces of technology might become obsolete — so if outdated tech is mentioned in an article, add an italicized note to the beginning of the article. In the note, you could explain that the tech is no longer current and mention its replacement. Make sure to include the publishing/update dates.

Example: Let’s say you’re a tech website that published an article on the best Windows antivirus apps. But one of your picks has gone out of business… You would need to remove the app from the list, possibly replacing it with a different one, and then make a note that looks like this:
Update: Our former pick, ABC, is no longer available. So, we’ve decided to update our list and add XYZ instead. This article was originally published September 2018. Updated December 2021.

Updating your content in this manner has great SEO benefits, and it’s constantly being pushed into search results. So, if you notice that your content has dropped in search ranking over time, it might be due for an update.

The last thing I want to leave you with is a quick checklist for updating your articles:

Review the title and update it if needed.
Remove outdated information and add updated information.
Include a note about the update on the top or bottom of the article (I prefer placing it at the top).
Double-check that the new section matches the tone of voice of the rest of the article.
Fix any broken links and replace outdated images.
Update internal links.
Update the CTA, if needed.

And there you have it! That’s really all you need to know about creating and maintaining the best evergreen content. Remember: seasonal content can definitely be useful and generate buzz, but evergreen is a more solid backbone for generating long-lasting traffic.

If you want to get SEO-optimized evergreen content for your blog, reach out to Contenteam! We are a full-fledged editorial team: simply tell us your goals, and we’ll conduct keyword research, choose a structure, write the article, proofread/edit it, and send it to you. All you have to do is wait for the traffic to come in and reap the benefits.

Interested in getting content for your IT or Fintech company? Just fill out the contact form below.

FAQs

What is evergreen content?

Evergreen Content is SEO content that remains relevant to readers, no matter the season or year.

What makes content evergreen?

Evergreen content is filled with information that remains stable in relevancy. This generates a steady flow of traffic to your website; what’s more, because the information isn’t constantly changing, it’s easier to write about. There are tons of sources that you can research, and there’s no pressing deadline for publishing.

Why is evergreen content effective?

There are lots of ways it’s effective: it generates more and more traffic over time, it’s highly shareable, it generates lots of organic backlinks, it’s easily repurposable, and it improves your site’s overall SEO.

Сообщение A Guide to Creating Evergreen Content: Tips From Professional Content Marketers появились сначала на Contenteam - Multilingual Copywriting Service.

Cracking The STORYTELLING Code in Content

Victoria Michael — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 12:55:53 +0000

Сообщение Cracking The STORYTELLING Code in Content появились сначала на Contenteam - Multilingual Copywriting Service.

7 Astonishing Formats to Cover in a Blog for an IT Company

Nazira Konysbayeva — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 09:49:10 +0000

In the context of ever-increasing competition in the IT market, companies go to great lengths to attract leads and, more importantly, convert them into customers. Many choose the long-term strategy, focusing on content marketing. However, some don’t know how to get the most out of it.

A corporate website is the storefront of the company and a powerful tool for a variety of purposes, allowing you to inform readers about your services and products.

These days, it’s important to offer your own corporate media directly on the site – an expert blog led by the company’s specialists. According to TechJury, it can increase website traffic by 434%. Moreover, a blog helps establish targeted lead generation, which brings you closer to the target audience and optimizes the marketing budget.

What Should You Blog About?

To start a corporate blog, you only need a few hours’ worth of a web developer’s work. Filling your blog with high-quality, useful content that highlights all the benefits of your business is much more difficult.

How do you figure out what topics to cover and what types of content to include in your blog content strategy? What kinds of articles do well in IT?

Below are seven best blog content ideas that you should definitely explore.

1. Case Studies

The main premise is: prospects are looking for a partner with a proven track record. If they are blind firing, i.e., googling IT companies, having no explicit recommendations from friends, it makes sense that they want to have proof of the company’s competence.

Case studies give you a perfect opportunity to showcase your expertise in real-life scenarios. Talk about how you solved a difficult problem, overcame all obstacles and fully met the client’s needs. This way, you’ll transform the blog into selling content.

Three principles for success:

As many details as possible (within reason)
Only true information about the project (recommendation: don’t be afraid to talk about failures during the project, turn them into stories about dealing with defeat, and make the case study truly valuable for the reader)
Real client testimonials (preferably, in video format).

2. Success Stories

Authenticity and mutual understanding are more relevant than ever. These terms used to describe only B2C companies, but today, many B2B projects are based on the same principles: customers avoid working with companies that don’t share their values.

That is why a few articles about the history and growth of the company will come in handy. You can even publish them as guest posts first on popular sites and get more eyes on your story. Additionally, it’s worth going beyond the Meet the Team page and use the blog content service in other ways – e.g., in the interview format with the founders and key team members.

Three principles for success:

Focusing on what makes the brand unique
Personal stories
Sharing values and mission

3. Niche Articles With a Clear Agenda

A tech blog that only covers general topics won’t make it easy to reach the top of the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages = organic search results). On the other hand, narrow topics that focus on specific pain points of potential customers can actually bring leads to your site.

How do you implement this? Single out several most promising niches that your team can provide deep expertise on, identify the needs of potential customers and hit the target. For example, you can publish a series of articles about, let’s say, “Application of artificial intelligence in oil and gas industry,” and then adapt the ads for these articles to your target audience on social media.

Three principles for success:

The narrower the niche, the more effective the content
Emphasis on solving a specific problem for a potential customer
Segmenting content for target audiences that are most cost-efficient

4. Industry News

If you have already grown the blog and attracted an impressive audience, you can turn it into a media outlet and present industry news. First, it will help you generate extra site traffic (a lot of it!). Secondly, you will cover your audience’s need to get information about the latest events from third-party resources. This ultimately increases loyalty.

You can add the opinions of the company’s experts to make the blog content more diverse. But writing long articles isn’t worth it: key events with concise but illuminating comments work much better.

Three principles for success:

Writing and publishing content fast
Including only verified facts from reliable sources
No filler text

5. Press Releases

Continuing the topic of news and personal stories, sharing your own achievements is always a good idea for writing blog content. Press releases – short news excerpts – are typically published on third-party platforms like PRNewsWire. This helps a business reach a much wider audience.

After publication, you can also post a note on the company blog. This way, your customers and potential customers will understand that they are dealing with a successful partner.

Three principles for success:

Informational value;
Focus on customer benefit;
Time efficiency.

6. Dynamic Presentations

Interactivity has become the go-to practice for increasing user engagement. Therefore, it is used whenever the content fails to grab attention, anywhere from marketing to online education. Brands often include dynamic presentations in informational blog material to highlight the company’s achievements or educate the audience on a new product.

This approach works best for B2C companies with in-house development that targets the mainstream user. A presentation can be a better solution than a long article if you want to quickly and clearly communicate your team’s innovative solutions to B2B clients.

Three principles for success:

Key facts and figures
Animation that doesn’t distract from the content
Adequate number of slides

7. White Papers

White papers, a popular content format, are in-depth reports or guides about a product and service and relevant issues. The goal is to cover a certain topic without promotion and show potential clients how a certain solution can be useful to them. It’s not structured as a regular article but as a full-on PDF book – this format won’t fit into a blog.

You can take inspiration from Gartner or Deloitte – provide a short extract from the report and add a form to download the file next to it. Of course, you don’t need to ask for anything in return. But it is better to exchange the guide for an e-mail or phone, thus adding users that are interested to your sales funnel.

Three principles for success:

Captivating announcement
Succinct summary
A form for contact info (e-mail or phone number)

In Conclusion

Does an IT company need a blog? Definitely! How to create blog content, and what should you write about? Anything that highlights your expertise – from personal success stories and achievements to professional advice and reviews. The main thing is to present the information in a way that focuses on potential customers’ pains and problems that your team can solve. This approach will help you optimize and simplify the process of converting readers to leads and leads to customers!

Are you looking for an editorial team to provide blog content services? You’ve come to the right place – contact us here, and our project manager will reach back within 15 minutes. From that point on, our team of writers, editors, and experts will quickly start working on your project!

FAQ

How to write a good blog for business?

Use the language and communication techniques that your target audience understands. To make the content as suitable for different readers as possible, divide your audience into several segments. For example, if your product is a mobile game app, write one article with beginners in mind, another one – for gamers with experience, and the third one – for those who never play any games. The list can go on.

Our next piece of advice is to provide useful content for free and in good faith without going too far with brand advertising. Also, try to involve more clients in the content your write and share reviews on your product or service with a link to the person’s profile, they will appreciate it.

How how to make blog content useful?

Keep track of everything going on in your business niche and relevant areas (including new research and solutions). Avoid covering the same topics from the same perspective as everyone else. If you work with the best blog content writers and experts, you can share exclusive takes and think pieces that no one else has. This is what we practice at Contenteam.

Enrich your text with verified data and statistics that you pulled from your project, show your company’s case studies, and explain how your product/service can help customers. Overall, share everything your target customers will find interesting and always look at key metrics for content you already posted – this will help you monitor growth.

How to establish a blog content plan?

Start by defining key areas: who you’re writing for, what problems you’re going to solve, and what aspects of your product/ service you want to highlight. Then, conduct market and keyword research and brainstorm ideas. Of course, there are many steps involved in creating the writing, editing, and publishing plan – this is just a general outline.

Where to post blog content?

Your own website isn’t the only outlet available to you. You can amplify your blog as well as your brand by posting on Medium, Reddit, LinkedIn, personal page on Facebook and a company Facebook page, Quora, and Flipboard. Figure out what websites your target audience visits the most and reach out to the owners.

What is evergreen blog content?

Everegreen content stays relevant and brings value to readers over a long period of time. If you buy blog content, you definitely want some of it to have an indefinite expiration date. For example:

How-to guides (how to create an effective employee cybersecurity training program)
Beginner’s guides (introduction to insider attacks and how to prevent them)
Definitions (what is a data breach?)
Lists & checklists (10 questions to ask your IT security provider)
Best practices (why your business needs remote monitoring and management)

Сообщение 7 Astonishing Formats to Cover in a Blog for an IT Company появились сначала на Contenteam - Multilingual Copywriting Service.

White Papers 101: How To Write Professional Materials and Establish Your Expertise

Victoria Michael — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 11:41:48 +0000

White papers are a phenomenal way to generate leads — in fact, 80% of users are willing to leave their email in exchange for a white paper. I wouldn’t blame you for wanting to get in on the action. But if you’re new to writing white papers, it can be difficult to figure out where to start.

To help you out, we’ve compiled a crash course on white papers: read on to learn about data collection, formatting, white paper writing tips, promotion, and much more! At Contenteam, we’ve been creating effective white papers in English, Spanish, German, and other languages for over seven years, so we have a lot of strategies in our arsenal.

What Is White Paper Writing, and Why Is It Needed?

Before we dive into the logistics of creating a white paper, let’s examine what it is and how it can benefit your business. Who writes white papers? Well, the term “white paper” was actually derived from when government papers were color-coded; white-colored papers indicated that the text was for public access.

Nowadays, though, white papers are detailed reports that inform readers on complex challenges and present solutions. Companies create white papers as part of their content strategies. This format of content allows them to showcase their expertise in a topic, build user trust, generate leads, and expand reach.

White papers are used at different stages of the sales funnel, but more often before making a deal. The document helps a wide audience understand a topic and develop trust in the sponsor. By presenting factual evidence in an educational context, the company can position itself as an authority in its industry.

There are three main formats of white papers:

These white papers detail the benefits of a product, service, or approach.
“The problem is the solution.” This kind of document provides readers with a solution to a common problem.
Such a white paper collects useful statistics and data on the state of the industry.

And, of course, a great white paper can also contain elements of all three formats. Whichever format you choose, when writing a white paper, you should stick to these principles:

The document should be based on facts and figures rather than the author’s personal opinion.
The text should be highly detailed; it could range from 5 to 100+ pages.
The material should be written in a formal business style.

What's the Difference Between a White Paper and an E-book?

A corporate white paper isn’t the same as an e-book or a longread, even if they end up being similar in length. Check out the table below to see the differences at a glance.

White paper	e-Book	Longread
The text is usually long and continuous, with few breakdowns	The text is divided into easy-to-read blocks	The text is split into small blocks that are easy to scan
Is based on data, research, and facts	Ideas and trends are based on principles	Is based on one narrow theme
Text dominates	Text is diluted with visuals and graphics	Text is diluted with visuals, examples, and videos
Formal business style and expert tone	Informative style, dialogue with the reader	Informative or even conversational style, dialogue with the reader

A white paper is the most official, expert format out of the three. Objective data and analytics come first, and there is much less adaptation for the reader.

Killer White Paper Examples

Let’s take a look at the most prominent whipe paper exmples from the market leaders.

Google Cloud Platform

Google content is a classic example of a white paper review: an online format with a PDF download, section navigation, and solid text. They have plenty of software engineering white paper examples for your perusal.

Hyperledger

The blockchain company Hyperledger has prepared useful material on industry terms and metrics in PDF format. Diagrams and tables have been added here, which makes it easier to understand.

Cisco

Cisco proves that a white paper essay doesn’t have to be boring. Smart design, infographics, and callouts make reading this text comfortable.

Zendesk

Here’s a great example of a white paper in a report format with an engaging performance. It uses animation, graphic elements, intuitive navigation, and interactive elements.

How to Prepare a TOR for a White Paper

When preparing terms of reference for a white paper, make sure to consider the following elements:

The first question you need to answer is why your business needs a white paper. What goals will it help you achieve? Do you want to generate leads? Increase your sales? Position yourself as an expert?
Determine in which areas you’re an expert and in which areas you have enough data to write about. Then, from the resulting list, choose the topic that is most interesting to your target audience. Analyze the most frequent search queries and check out reactions to similar white paper content. Try to focus on topics that haven’t been extensively covered by competitors.
Reader persona. Determine at which stage of the funnel you will offer the white paper to users. Will they be familiar with the topic already? Do they understand the terms? What problems do they want to solve?
Determine which subtopics should be considered by the author, and choose an order (we’ll cover this in detail later).
Compile expert information, internal data, and links to sources.
Choose which graphic elements you’d like to see in the white paper. If you want a professional design, it’s better to create a separate TOR for a specialist.
Promotion channels. If the white paper will be published as an advertisement or on a landing page, you’ll need to link the paper’s introduction with the campaign’s promises. If the emphasis is on organic promotion, make sure to prescribe SEO tasks in the white paper proposal.

«When you estimate how many resources will be spent on White Paper, the most important thing is to be realistic. This means setting aside enough money and time to get the job done well and having reasonable expectations about what you can achieve with White Paper alone.»

Gordon Graham

Recognized author of over 300 white papers

How to Collect Data

White papers are data-focused; you can’t just throw statements out willy-nilly without backing them up. You’ll need to conduct significant research in order to put together an authoritative white paper – and the quality of your sources matters.

If you want to create a valuable document, you need to gather your research materials from reliable sources – and, no, blog posts that compile statistics don’t count. I can’t tell you how many times I clicked through a link to a study and found out that the blogger totally misrepresented the context.

With so much fluff on the Internet, where do you find the good stuff? Well, you have two options:

1. Your Own Research

If you have the resources for it, you can conduct your own research: this includes interviewing site visitors and customers, working with focus groups, and conducting experiments. Then, you can incorporate instructions, test results, and diagrams into your academic white paper.

This option is very successful, as it offers readers unique data. It strengthens your status as an expert and paves the way for industry networking opportunities. What’s more, the process of researching gives you incredible insights into your audience and industry.

Yet, you might not have the ability to conduct research on every topic you’d like to write about. So, in that case, you’d move on to the next option.

2. Authoritative Sources

Just about every industry contains a research firm that publishes industry trends, statistics, and valuable information — all things that add up to a spectacular white paper. For instance, Gartner is one of the most well-known and reputable research firms. If you reference them in your work, nobody’s going to give the claim side-eye.

Here’s an easy way to tell if a source is trustworthy: domain authority. Moz offers a free online site authority checker; all you have to do is enter the domain and get the result. The higher the domain authority and the lower the spam score, the safer it is to use the resource.

Some authoritative sources we work with include:

Tips for Data Collection

- Check out the white papers published by your competitors, as well as those published by trade associations and governments. By reviewing these materials, you can determine which topics have already been covered many times. You’ll want to bring something new to the table — or at least a topic that hasn’t been discussed to death.
- We recommend getting familiar with your industry’s trade associations. They publish newsletters, reports, and other publications that present facts, news, and trends in a straightforward manner. What’s more, they also host webinars, conferences, and other events, which are great ways for you to access original research carried out by association members. Want a pro tip? Sometimes these trade associations post PowerPoint presentations and workshop handouts on their websites. So, you can get insights without flying out to a conference!
- When collecting data, you’ll need a place to organize your findings. Microsoft Word is the obvious solution, but I also really like working with Evernote. Break your research up into chunks (or themes), and give each chunk a heading. You aren’t creating a white paper outline at this point; it’s just an easy way for you to keep your statistics straight. As you find facts and research that are applicable to your white paper, just paste them under the relevant heading.
- Decide in advance how you will format your citations. Typically, a list of sources is placed at the end of the white paper. We recommend using this free Citation Generator; you can choose the style (APA, MLA, etc.), and the tool will do the rest of the work. You’ll just need to copy and paste the result into your white paper.

How to Write a White Paper

Let’s dive into step-by-step White Paper creating process.

Creating an Outline

First things first, you’ll need to make an outline. Attempting to write a white paper without a plan is a big no-no; winging it will lead to a messy document, inconsistencies, and just plain inefficient writing.

There are tons of ways to create an outline, but here’s one of my favorites. First, open up a blank Word document, and write your white paper’s key message at the top. What I mean by this: pinpoint what you want your reader to understand, believe, or do after reading the document. For instance: “I want the white paper to educate readers in ABC and position our company as an authority in the XYZ industry.”

This key message prevents you from drifting — everything you write should align with your key message.

Next, list all the major points you want to address in the white paper; don’t worry about organizing them just yet. I like asking myself the five W’s and H – Who am I writing to? When is the data from? Where is this information applicable? Why is this information important to the reader? What is the problem? How is it being addressed?

As you ask yourself questions, new questions will inevitably pop up. Let yourself go down the rabbit hole — just make sure that what you write down aligns with your key message.

After brainstorming your heart out, arrange your thoughts in the order that you want to write them. Review the whole thing, and repeat the process as many times as necessary — until the outline reflects what you want to write about and the order in which you want to write it.

How the pros do it: At Contenteam, we interview the company on a call and create an extended outline based on product research. We get the client's full approval on the outline before passing it on to the white paper writer; this makes the process much more efficient and ensures that the end product aligns with the client's key message.

Choosing a Title

Just as every book has a title, a white paper must have one too. A great title tells your target audience who the paper is for, what it’s about, and why they should read it. So, if you actually want people to download your white paper, you can’t rush this step.

White papers are often long documents that are a slog to get through — so if your white paper is on the brief side compared to your competitors, spin that to your advantage. Use the title to hint that the paper is a quick, condensed read: “Six Things You Need to Know About ABC.”

Another idea is to address the audience type; for instance, “The Sales Manager’s Guide to Upcoming CRM Trends.”

Now, a completely different (yet still effective) approach would be to put your keyword at the front of the title, and add a catchier subtitle after it. Case in point — bWhen you’ve thought of a few options, run the titles through a headline tool like Sharethrough. It’ll give you a good sense of how engaging your title is.

Crafting an Introduction

The first page in any document is the most important: it might not contain the most valuable information, per se, but it needs to grab the reader’s attention, introduce the problem/question/challenge, and explain what your white paper brings to the table. Let’s take a brief look at each element.

So, first, you want to captivate your target audience and compel them to keep reading. To do this, keep your first sentence pretty short. Give a startling statistic, give a piece of advice, make an odd observation — it’s up to you. Just please, please, PLEASE, do not mention the name of your company or the title of the white paper in the first introductory sentence.

After you’ve grabbed your reader’s attention with a cool statement, it’s time to name the challenge that led to them reading the white paper. Perhaps they want to understand a technology, solve a problem, or make a decision … this is where your key message comes in handy! What is happening in the market today that involves the reader? What are companies struggling with?

State the problem clearly — and then conclude the introduction by saying how the paper will answer their questions. It can be great to include a bullet list here (don’t shy away from using lists in an introduction; anything that makes papers easier for consumers to digest is perfectly fine).

Providing an Overview

Before you dive into the meat of the whitepaper content, you need to give the reader some context. Unless every reader is working with a common set of facts and assumptions, the paper will be hard to understand. So, to give them all the context they need, you’ll provide an overview. It doesn’t have to be too long — half a page will work.

In the overview, you’ll define the key terms that will be considered in the material and set the variables. I also recommend taking a paragraph to describe the industry’s current state of affairs and present a brief history of the issue. At the end of the overview, use a couple of sentences to indicate what the reader will learn about next.

Tackling the Body

Work section by section to fill out your white paper. This is where your outline comes in handy! You’ve already broken your white paper up into different sections, and your research was organized into chunks as well. All you have to do is connect the dots! Here are some tips to keep in mind when writing the body of the text:

The best white papers provide unbiased, educational information. Don’t try to sell something to your readers or push your brand — leave that for the CTA at the end (which we will address in a moment).
Even though a white paper is data-heavy and technical, it doesn’t have to be dry. Use active language and incorporate real-life examples when possible.
Keep going back to your key message! Make sure that every paragraph points back to your key purpose: if something is irrelevant, delete it.
If you think readers need additional context that doesn’t fit within your white paper, provide a list of external resources — books, courses, videos, etc.

Give a Conclusion

Consider the key findings from different sections of the white paper. This is where you’ll add a CTA and push your service/company — after all, in most cases, the purpose of a white paper is to generate leads. Yes, you want your text to position your company as an expert in the field, but if it doesn’t generate any leads, what’s the point?

But, since white papers need to be unbiased, it can be hard to strike a balance between text that is impartial yet lead-generating. It really comes down to your CTA: you have a page or so to explain your solution, show how it solves the reader’s problem, and give some information about your business.

So, how do you present the conclusion? Open up by summarizing the white paper, and then restate the problem statement & solution. Provide a summary of your recommendations, and then transition into a description of your company and its services. Make sure to tie your services into the problem statement: very clearly spell out how you can help address the challenge.

Lastly, you need to tell the reader what the next step is and how they can take it. Do they need to fill out a form? Sign up for a free demo? Call you for a consultation? Give them any necessary information.

List the References

Provide a list of the resources you used in the material. Make sure all citations are done in the same style and that you include the DOI for online journal articles.

Errors to Avoid

Some common errors to avoid when writing a whitepaper include:

Focusing on sales. A white paper is primarily intended to reinforce your status as an expert. If it’s full of sales tactics, readers won’t glean much value — and it’ll leave a bad taste in their mouths.
Little data. All conclusions in a white paper should be based on data. If you’re writing content based on opinions and general recommendations, it’s better to format it as an e-book.
Abstract information. In order for your material to be read and shared, you need to tie facts to the specific problems they solve.
Dry writing. A white paper is professional content with strict boundaries — however, you should still follow the general principles of storytelling. Organize your material in such a way as to guide the reader from simple to complex and offer the promised reward at the end. Without this, it will be difficult to retain the reader’s attention.

Formatting and Design Tips

Now that the text is ready, it’s time to style it. You can use a regular text editor or an online builder — the latter comes with all sorts of cool templates, but you might need to pay a monthly subscription to access the service. If you want a truly professional design, though, we recommend working with an in-house specialist or freelance designer.

When formatting the white paper, keep these points in mind:

Break up your text with interesting visuals, such as charts and graphs. Highlighting blocks and building a hierarchy of elements and visuals will make the white paper easier to scan and read.
Elements should have a consistent design. Determine what the different elements will look like beforehand: headings, subheadings, lists, quotes, captions, etc.
How does the white paper look on mobile devices? More than 50% of Internet traffic today comes from mobile devices. If you don’t want to lose half of your audience, adapt the white paper for small screens.
The white paper’s design should reflect your brand’s corporate style — for instance, the same fonts, color palette, and recognizable elements should be used throughout the text.
Don’t ignore trends! While fashion might not be as important as the other elements on this list, paying attention to design trends is worth it.

For inspiration on white paper design, I recommend checking out Paperflite.

How to Promote a White Paper

Your white paper is ready! It’s well-written and organized, and the formatting is beautiful. You’ve checked and double-checked citations, and the proofreader has cleaned up any grammatical errors. But … now what? How do you get this beautiful craftmanship in front of your target audience? There are a few powerful approaches I’d like to suggest:

Collecting Leads

More often than not, companies create detailed, expert content to collect the contact information of potential customers.

«Good White Papers increase the conversion of both visits to leads and leads to customers.»

Neil Patel

Marketer and Influencer

To promote a white paper for this purpose, you’ll need to prepare separate landing pages with download forms. In order to get the material, the user needs to provide contact details and information about their company. Here’s an example from Oracle:

For this approach to work, it’s important to add the following elements to your landing page:

Describe the user’s goal. What will they get by downloading the book? For example, will they learn how to snag their ideal clients?
Provide a problem statement. What challenges are your future readers facing? For instance, perhaps CMOs want to keep their ROI while innovating but are having difficulty doing so.
Propose a solution. How does the white paper help them solve the challenge? Perhaps it provides a data-driven approach that can help pool marketing resources and personalize customer experiences.
Give a call to action. It can be pretty simple, like “Download Now.”

Pro Tip: To increase conversion, provide a material preview or add automatic import of data from social networks.

Website Ad Blocks

Do you already have a loyal audience that visits your site for industry insights? Invite them to read your white paper! To do this, you can:

Add ad units to pages and blog posts.
Set up a pop-up window for when they are on the site for a long time or if they try to leave the page.
Include a call-to-action in push notifications or via chatbot.
Mention the white paper in other publications.

External Promotion

When drawing attention to a white paper, you shouldn’t limit yourself to your own website. There are many other ways to draw in high-quality traffic:

Social networks. Here, you can capture your audience’s attention with a couple of shocking facts. Then, tell them they can download the white paper to find out more.
Send out an email notification about the material to your own base.
Shoot a video with a brief overview of the white paper, and add a download link in the description.
Share information about your work in groups and communities on similar topics.
Add a link to well-crafted guest posts.
Opinion leaders. Ask experts to tweet about your white paper or mention it in their own publications.

Summed Up

A white paper is an effective tool for generating leads and strengthening your status as an expert in the industry. To get the most business value out of this content, follow these guidelines:

Study the needs of your target audience, and use them to drive your topic and content.
Collect data — the more, the better. Do your own research or use trusted sources.
Write the text or order it from professionals (more on that later). Don’t forget to add a title, introduction, overview, subheadings, conclusion, and list of sources.
Prepare the white paper for promotion. Create a landing page for collecting leads, advertise materials on your platform, and spread the word on external sites.

Trust Your White Paper to the Experts!

At Contenteam, we live and breathe high-quality content. Our team is well-versed in producing white papers that boost clients’ authority, are filled with data from high-quality sources, and are supplemented with beautiful graphics and useful charts.

We can handle white papers on any topic, including highly technical ones. And no matter what length you need, our white paper writers are on the job: from smaller papers with 6-8 pages, all the way to 70+ page beasts, we’ve done it all!

Save yourself hours upon hours of writing, and leave the job to the experts. Here’s how we carry out white paper writing services:

First, we’ll have a call. Together, we’ll determine an outline, and you can provide us with any original research. If you want us to do all the research ourselves, that won’t be a problem. We have access to the best research databases.
Next, the white paper will be assigned to a white paper copywriter who has subject knowledge of your industry (for example, if it’s a text on cloud technology, an IT writer will handle the text; PR experts will write public relations white papers, etc.).
After the paper writer has finished, the text will move on to a fact-checker. After all, white papers are data-driven, so every statistic needs to be correct.
Next, an editor will make sure that the white paper meets your specifications in full: from style and tone to contents.
Lastly, a proofreader will scour the white paper carefully for any spelling or grammar mistakes.

Once the white paper has passed this multi-step approval process and is perfect, we’ll send it to you. And that’s it — with little work on your end, you’ll receive expertly written content that cements your position in the industry.

We offer the best white paper solutions for numerous niches, including:

IT white papers
Crypto white papers
Retail white papers
Healthcare white papers
Fintech white papers
White papers for corporate investors

If you want to learn more about ordering our white paper service, fill out our contact form. I’d be happy to have a white paper consulting session with you!

White Paper Writers Wanted

Are you a technical writer looking for work? Contenteam is expanding, and we're adding specialist writers to our team. If you think you have the chops for white paper copywriting, fill out the contact form!

FAQ

Why are interviews important when writing a white paper?

Interviews can provide readers with new information that isn’t widely known. An interview contains the perspective of one person rather than general industry insights. Thus, interviews can bring all sorts of fresh ideas to the table.

What does a white paper look like?

A white paper usually opens up with a title page, which contains the company’s logo, a headline, the date of publication, and a 1-sentence summary. The second page has a table of contents, and the following pages have the actual text. The final page will contain references and, sometimes, a blurb about the company.

How to write a technical white paper?

Here is a pretty basic summary of what a technical white paper does: you’ll address the problem that readers are facing. Then, you’ll introduce the technical product that solves that problem. First, explain how the product works in general. Then, move on to how the product fixes the challenge and why it’s the best solution. If you don’t want to write the technical white paper yourself, consider using white paper services from Contenteam. Order a technical white paper, and you’ll receive well-organized, on-brand content that’s backed up by the latest data.

How long should a white paper be?

It really depends on how much useful information you have. Don’t be tempted to pad out a whitepaper with filler content; if it can fit in 6-8 pages, that’s great. After all, your target audience might not have lots of time to examine huge documents. However, if you are contributing original research, the white paper can be as long as necessary; I’ve read some that are 50+ pages!

Сообщение White Papers 101: How To Write Professional Materials and Establish Your Expertise появились сначала на Contenteam - Multilingual Copywriting Service.

How to Write About Stop Loss in Trading Articles

Nazira Konysbayeva — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 09:54:37 +0000

At our content writing agency, we emphasize the importance of having niche experts on the team. And every time we have a new writer joining us (or one of our existing writers wants to explore new areas), our expert arranges an introductory course. As part of this “technical writing initiation process”, we provide educational resources, guidelines, and video lessons on everything they need to know.

Let’s say a new author joins Contenteam and is eager to write about Forex. They have the technical knowledge, but they may be unsure about how to express this knowledge in an article. How do they know the do’s and don’t’s for trading and financial content? How can they instantly access insights that are otherwise developed over time?

In this guide, we wanted to give you a glimpse into our framework. You’ll see an example of how we teach writers to create articles about a specific trading term.

What Is Stop Loss and Why Do You Need It?

Let’s focus on the main heading right off the bat. It should be concise and descriptive, and the article can often benefit from having a question in the title (a popular tactic for engagement).

Then we move on to the introduction. This is where we need to put ourselves into the reader’s shoes. If you’re writing an article with informational intent, something short and simple will do:

One of the most important trading terms for Forex beginners to learn is stop loss. In this article, we will give you a thorough description and describe a few common ways to use it. You will also learn how to install stop loss and change settings for maximum efficiency.

Without forcing readers to wait any longer, give them the definition that they came for:

Stop loss is a pending order that closes an open position. Unless the order is canceled, it will be triggered once the losses for a given transaction go over the specified limit. The goal of stop loss is to protect traders against massive losses, which is especially helpful when a trader leaves their workspace and can’t monitor the position.

Once the reader understands the general concept, consider amplifying it with a simple example. A numbered list is a great format when you’re describing a process.

Here is how it works:
1. A trader opens a buy position for EUR/USD at a price of 1.2000.
2. They set a stop loss at 1.1990 in case the pair moves in the opposite direction than expected, i.e., when the price goes down.
3. If the price increases, stop loss won’t be triggered, and the position will be closed with a profit.
4. If EUR/USD moves lower than 1.1990, the position will be closed automatically. The maximum possible loss will be 10 pips.

Include images and media that support or add to the information you just laid out. In this case, a graph showing the stop loss level is a great addition.

How to Set a Stop Loss in the MT4 Trading Platform

People are always searching for tips and how-to’s. If the reader doesn’t know what stop loss is, they are unlikely to know how to set it in the trading terminal. So, in the same vein of providing as much valuable information as possible without overwhelming the reader, explain how this new tool should be used.

Important: when giving instructions for a certain interface, use the exact terms that are used in the program. Don’t use synonyms: deal ≠ trade.

MT4 trading platform allows you to set a stop loss in a matter of seconds. Choose either:
1. The classic method, which has been used since the platform’s first launch,
2. Or the quick method, which was added in 2013 with an update.
Here is a step-by-step for the classic method:
Right-click on the chart window of your chosen asset and select “Trading” – “New Order”.
Set the parameters (volume, type of order, opening price, and stop loss).
As long as you keep the position open, stop loss will automatically close the position at the specified level.

The classic method also works for open transactions. Right-click on the line and select “Modify or Delete Order”. You will see the same window, where you can set up a stop loss or make changes if you already have one.
The quick method requires you to:
Open a trade or place a pending order.
Click the order line on the chart and drag it down (for buy trades) or up (for sell trades).
The downside of this method is that it lacks accuracy – you might not be able to drag the line to the exact point you need. But it’s great if you need to save a few seconds, e.g., in scalp trading.

Types of Stop Losses

At this point, the reader is ready to dig deeper and discover more nuances. But as you introduce any new concept, be sure to explain in the terms that readers already know. At the same time, don’t try to define previous concepts if you covered them.

In other words, when you explain a “self-modifying stop loss”, you shouldn’t include the definition of a stop loss again.

Modern trading terminals support two types of stop losses: standard and self-modifying.
Standard Stop Loss
Standard stop loss remains the same unless you manually change the level. Standard stop loss is further divided into:
Base stop loss – the most popular type. This type implies that the position will be closed at the real price as soon as the stop loss level is touched. If the market is highly volatile, the price may move past the stop loss level, causing the trader to lose an extra few pips (this is slippage).
Guaranteed stop loss always closes the transaction at the specified price even if the market goes past the specified level. On paper, this option is more profitable for a trader. But, the broker bears the risk of volatility on their own and can increase the spreads or commissions.
Self-Modifying Stop Loss
A self-modifying stop loss, or trailing stop, follows the price. If the asset moves in the same direction as the trader expected, the stop will move with the price at a specified distance. If it doesn’t perform as expected, it acts like a normal stop loss.
To set a trailing stop, right-click on the order line and select “Trailing stop”.
Stop Loss Strategies

Trading strategies are a tricky topic. In our experience, any SEO content writing agency needs to communicate to writers that they are not financial advisors. Even if they have the credentials, advice should be given based on a person’s individual situation. Tips and instructions don’t appeal to action in the same way.

The first challenge is making instructions straightforward and useful.

On the one hand, they should be descriptive enough so that traders can follow them step by step.
On the other hand, they should be stripped back of all unnecessary details. Let’s go back to the vital financial content marketing tip – don’t overwhelm the reader.

Also, avoid excessive use of trading lingo unless the article specifically focuses on it.

Be cautious about giving any sort of advice. It’s important to be unbiased when describing trading strategy, even if you have the best sources. Keep in mind that the goal of the article is to present information for beginners clearly without telling them how they should trade – instead, tell them how to trade if they decide to choose a given method.

You don’t need to include the usual disclaimer or warn about investing risks (unless there is a specific requirement).

We’ll briefly cover three basic ways to work with a stop loss.
Stop Loss Schedule
Scheduling is very common and doesn’t have any specific rules – you just set the price where you want to exit the trade. Pay attention to the following:
Support/resistance levels
Local minimum and maximum
Candle highs and lows
Stop loss should be set below the support level or local minimum for buy trades and above the resistance level or local maximum for sell trades.
Stop Loss by Percent

This is called interest stop loss. It’s usually set depending on a certain value, like your available trading capital. The rule of thumb is that your losses on one trade should be under 2% of your overall capital.

Here is how you can calculate the percentage:

Let’s say you have $100,000 in total.
Losses for a single trade should be under $2,000 (the 2% rule).
For a trade of 10 lots in EUR/USD, 1 pip will be to $100.
$2,000 is 20 pips, which is where you set the stop loss.

Stop Loss by Time
This strategy implies existing the transaction at a certain time, regardless of the performance. It’s actually the trader that closes the position, not the terminal, but some experts still categorize it as stop loss.
For example, in intraday trading, stop loss by time is set at the end of the day. It doesn’t matter where the asset is moving, and by how much, the trade won’t be left open overnight.

Conclusion

A conclusion leaves your reader with a final impression.

Some writers make the mistake of copying the points from their introduction, but that’s essentially self-plagiarism. Readers already know what you have told them in the introduction, so there is no need to repeat it.

That said, don’t add new information. Give a summary of the main points, re-emphasize the possible solutions you’ve just offered, and remind that trading requires you to adapt to changing conditions. Nothing is set in stone, and everything they learn in the article can be adjusted.

Different types of stop losses are suitable for different tactics. However, it doesn’t matter what strategy a trader uses – if they are in a trade without a stop, they probably haven’t done their homework. Stop losses protect your capital and help you keep your losses within reasonable, controlled amounts. Try to implement stop loss in whatever trading system you use depending on your individual risk tolerance.

If you’re looking for someone to write about complex subjects in a simple and engaging way, reach out and let’s talk about your project! Our content writing agency will help you connect with your audience in the USA and anywhere else in the world.

Сообщение How to Write About Stop Loss in Trading Articles появились сначала на Contenteam - Multilingual Copywriting Service.

Emotional SEO: Converting Website Traffic into Qualified Leads 📈

Victoria Michael — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 10:42:53 +0000

Сообщение Emotional SEO: Converting Website Traffic into Qualified Leads 📈 появились сначала на Contenteam - Multilingual Copywriting Service.

3 Red Flags That Your Copywriter Isn’t a Native English Speaker

Victoria Michael — Fri, 01 Oct 2021 11:36:40 +0000

DISCLAIMER

The use of the terms “native English speaker” and “non-native English speaker” is very broad and does not imply the superiority of any of these groups. We chose to highlight the difference between them to help our readers find writers for “localized” marketing campaigns, i.e., those who can ensure the material is clear and authentic to its target audience. Our intention is not to outright exclude writers based on their origin or native language - we encourage anyone to pursue professional opportunities and improve their skills.

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Choosing the perfect copywriter for your blog’s team is not an easy task! There are many factors to take into account, but one of the most important is the writer’s command of the target language. Let’s say that all of your blog posts are written in English. You can choose to hire a dirt-cheap copywriter who doesn’t speak English natively. That’s totally fine!

Everybody has their own #1 priority, whether it be quality, efficiency, cost, etc. If cost is the major determining factor of your hiring process, then, by all means, hire somebody who speaks English as a 2nd or 3rd language. Keep in mind, though – the time you spend editing their texts might outweigh any potential savings. A text could be completely free of spelling errors and punctuation mistakes but still feel… wrong.

So, let’s say that you make room in your budget for a slightly more expensive copywriter who claims that English is their native language. If you hire a writer from a trustworthy copywriting organization, such as Contenteam, then you don’t have to worry about verifying that your writer has an excellent command of English.

However, if you are hiring somebody off of, let’s say, Upwork, then you should make sure to scrutinize their work. Make sure you are getting your money’s worth and not just giving your hard-earned cash to somebody who lied through their teeth to get the position. Here are 3 red flags that the copywriter you hired doesn’t really have a great command of English.

Red Flag #1: Poor Stylistics

One issue is that many copywriters use stylistics that just feel off. A non-native speaker could study English for years, yet never really gain a feel for the language.

Take the following sentence, for example:

I used my green little knife to spread a pat of butter across the toast.

Looks good, right? Well, that sentence would make any native English speaker cringe, even though they wouldn’t quite be able to put their finger on what’s wrong. You see, we subconsciously adhere to an order of adjectives. “Green little knife” makes us feel like somebody’s scratching their nails across a chalkboard. “Little green knife,” on the other hand, just feels right. Ask a native speaker who is not trained in stylistics, though, and they wouldn’t be able to tell you why it’s better. They can just feel it in their bones.

Another issue that many non-native copywriters have is being overly formal in their choice of words and sentence structure. Wordiness, too, is quite a problem.

Due to the fact that the class has been canceled, I am thinking that the professor should choose to postpone our homework assignment.

Okay, so that sentence doesn’t have any grammatical mistakes. Commas are good, spelling is good, etc. But this just isn’t how native speakers talk (or write)! Instead, we might write something like this:

Because class is canceled, I think the professor should postpone our homework assignment.

Or, if we’re speaking, we’d probably say:

I think the professor should postpone the homework since class is cancelled.

Those sentences are simpler, easier to read, and they don’t feel awkward. Remember, more formal ≠ better!

Another issue you might run into is that your copywriter fills their articles with all kinds of fluff. That can be quite annoying; once your editor cuts it all out, the post may be way under your desired word count. For instance, let’s look at the following paragraph:

XYZ Company sells purses made from high-quality vegan leather. When you wear this purse, your dreams will come true! You will feel like the belle of the ball. As you walk down the street, everybody will stop and stare at you because your purse is so marvelous. Our materials are ethically sourced and eco-friendly.

If your copywriter turns in something like this, please, please, PLEASE have a talk with them. This kind of copy will not make anybody want to buy your product. The first and the last sentences in the paragraph are great – they are informative, grammatically correct, and can be backed up. The middle of the paragraph, however, is just low-quality rhetoric that any shopper with two brain cells could see right through.

Now, you could employ a really amazing, English speaking editor who can totally fix the stylistics of an article. However, this would be a time-consuming process, and you would probably be better off just hiring somebody who uses great stylistics in the first place.

Red Flag #2: Mixing Up UK and US Language

Even though UK English is understandable to US readers, and vice versa, there are still some key differences – primarily in spelling. Flavor vs. flavour, behavior vs. behaviour, and so on. Depending on your target audience, you want a copywriter who knows the ins and outs of the language’s intricacies. And, above all, you do NOT want to hire a copywriter who flip-flops between UK and US English in the same article! This is a huge indicator that your copywriter is not actually a native English speaker.

So, how can you be sure that your writers aren’t switching back and forth between UK and US spelling? It’s super simple – you can go through your spell checker’s settings and configure it to suit your preferences. For instance, I’m currently writing this post in Word, and I have my spell checker set to US English. Just go to File, Options, and then the Proofing tab.

If you are using Grammarly, which is a super popular grammar checking service, you can choose between American, Canadian, British, and Australian English.

Once you have optimized your settings, give the article a quick run-through to make sure that your copywriter isn’t switching back and forth between styles.

Red Flag #3: Poor Choice of Words

Sometimes it seems like a copywriter has swallowed a thesaurus and vomited up a big, stinky pile of gibberish. Perhaps this is because they are trying their hardest to make the article unique from similar posts, so they are looking up alternatives to as many words as possible. Here’s the problem – you can’t just swap out synonyms and expect the article to flow as nicely. English is a nuanced language, and non-native copywriters may have a difficult time understanding why one word is acceptable, but a similar word is not. It’s all about context!

For instance, “budget surplus” is a specific term that refers to when a business’ income is greater than its expenses. If a copywriter looks up synonyms for surplus, they will find words such as plethora, superfluity, profusion, and more. Yet, if you write “budget superfluity,” it makes no sense. Copywriters need to be able to determine what an acceptable word substitution is, rather than relying on a thesaurus.

So, you could give your editor the task of swapping out every single improperly used word. Or, you can save time and effort by making sure to hire native-speaking copywriters.

How To Find a Great, Native-Speaking Copywriter

Perhaps English isn’t your native language, and the thought of checking for these red flags is daunting. Maybe you are worried that you wouldn’t be able to catch these subtle mistakes. Well, if that’s the case, you probably don’t want to hire a writer off of Fiverr, Upwork, or other services. Those companies have no way of verifying or guaranteeing that the writer you hire has a great command of English. All you have to go off of are reviews and samples of work, and even those can be faked.

Your best bet is to look for a copywriting organization that hires copywriters whose first language is English. These organizations usually have a vetting process where they give potential writers test tasks and will only hire those who can write excellently. On top of this, these organizations can afford to have native English-speaking editors who make sure that nothing slips through the cracks.

Take, for instance, Contenteam. It is a copywriting company with dozens of employees, years of experience, and stellar reviews. Not only does the company have several native English-speaking writers and editors, but it also provides unlimited edits to guarantee its clients are satisfied. I am the company’s editor-in-chief, and I have implemented a rigorous testing and examination procedure that every copywriter must go through. I can vouch that every single writer is thoroughly tested, and their articles are carefully examined. We do not rest until our clients have received top-notch articles. Don’t fret over having to comb over every single piece of copy; work with Contenteam, and we’ll bring you convenience and beautiful texts.

If you already have a copywriter, but doubt that they are fully proficient in English, you can contact me personally by email. I will take a look at their texts and give you my opinion. From one colleague to another, I want your business to succeed!

Сообщение 3 Red Flags That Your Copywriter Isn’t a Native English Speaker появились сначала на Contenteam - Multilingual Copywriting Service.

Tone Matters: How to Use Tone of Voice to Improve Your IT Content and Boost Sales

Victoria Michael — Thu, 16 Sep 2021 08:34:28 +0000

Have you ever sent a text that just didn’t come across the way you meant it? Perhaps you forgot to add an emoji, it wasn’t clear that you were being sarcastic, or maybe you even ended the text with a period (gasp!). Next thing you know, the person you’re texting feels self-conscious, confused, or even offended – all because your tone of voice in communication didn’t properly convey your message.

Newsflash: the exact same thing can happen in your brand’s published content. But things are even trickier here; while you can add emojis, GIFS, and “lols” galore in a text conversation, you can’t really do that in IT content. Or, at least, we really don’t recommend doing that.

So, it begs the questions: how do you avoid coming across as dry, bland, and condescending in IT text while still retaining a semblance of professionalism? What is tone of voice supposed to look like for an IT company? These are tricky questions, for sure, but the Contenteam editorial team has extensive experience in this area; read on for insight in perfecting your IT company’s tone of voice.

The Good vs. the Bad

All right, let’s start off with what we shouldn’t do. If you find yourself relating to some of the examples, don’t despair! Perfecting your tone of voice in tech writing is a challenging process. And, besides, you’re here, aren’t you? That’s the first step!

Don’t: Write for Keywords

Please, please, PLEASE don’t write content solely to cram in keywords and optimize your website’s SEO. Repeat after me: readers will see right through this. Sure, you might get lots of clicks onto your website, but visitors will just as quickly click off the site. After all, do you really want to slog through something like this?

What is cloud computing? Cloud computing is not a new term. When talking about cloud computing, we mean services rendered via the internet. Software resources and information are shared through an Internet connection when you use cloud computing. And, you might wonder, what are the different kinds of cloud computing?

This kind of writing is something I come across a lot when researching IT topics, which is why I’ve switched to almost exclusively reading scholarly journals and professional publications. There simply isn’t enough well-written IT web content; it’s stuffed full of keywords, and it’s apparent that it was written for SEO, not for the reader. Just do any IT-related web search, and you’ll come across a glut of poor tone of voice examples.

This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t use keywords. They just need to be smartly used. Long-form content is a great way to add in relevant IT keywords, as you don’t have to stuff loads of them into a 500-word article.

Don’t: Overuse Jargon and Buzzwords

Avoid technical jargon as much as possible, especially if you are writing the technical text for non-IT workers. Not only does your text need to be accessible for the lowest common denominator, but the IT world is ever-changing, and you don’t want to incorporate trendy buzzwords. Otherwise, your text will seem outdated in just a couple of years!

Now, this isn’t to say that jargon doesn’t have its time and place. If your primary audience is IT professionals who are “in-the-know,” it can be easier to use industry terms – think B2B writing. But if you’re writing for consumers, you need to consider whether they’ll understand the terms you’re using.

So, when determining which jargon to use, assess the audience and use your best judgment. But, buzzwords? Scrap them altogether.

But, Victoria! What’s the difference between jargon and buzzwords? Jargon is essentially an industry shorthand used to communicate between professionals and in-the-know people. Buzzwords, on the other hand, are trendy phrases that become popular for a period of time and then fizzle out. Often, these have nothing to do with the industry at all and are more related to corporate lingo.

Examples of jargon: Backward compatibility, fragmentation, scalability, scripting, CRM, backend
Examples of buzzwords: Synergy, ground-breaking, actionable, thought leader, greenfield

Now, time for some Do’s!

Do: Stay Consistent

Tone of voice’s definition is a simple one: the way a person speaks to someone. It’s so important for you to keep a consistent tone of voice across your IT brand’s content – but if you have a team of writers, this can be difficult. We recommend creating a style guide for your editorial team. Many organizations already do this, and they might include their feelings on the Oxford comma, title capitalization, and so on. But this is a great place to include information about your IT brand’s tone of voice! Some tools for creating tone of voice brand guidelines include:

There are 4 main dimensions of tone of voice, but they act as a spectrum rather than clear-cut divisions. Assess your target audience, figure out where you need to lie on the spectrum, and include that in the style guide.

Dimension 1: Funny vs. Serious
Dimension 2: Formal vs. Casual
Dimension 3: Respectful vs. Irreverent
Dimension 4: Enthusiastic vs. Matter-of-Fact

Tone Profile Example 1: Serious, Matter-of-Fact: Your lifestyle, policy management preferences, and driving habits, among other factors, are considered when determining which discounts you are eligible for.

Tone Profile Example 2: Funny, Irreverent, Enthusiastic, Casual: One of our security signs in your front yard tells robbers, “Don’t even think about it!”

Tone Profile Example 3: Serious, Casual, Respectful, Enthusiastic: We deeply care about every patient. At our medical practice, we don’t just treat diseases; we treat individuals. You’re our most important priority.

After determining the dimensions (for instance, funny and casual), you could refine it even further into specific tones, like quirky or playful.

But what if you are having trouble deciding which dimensions to go with? Wondering, perhaps, how to choose the voice and tone of your brand? It’s time to do a little undercover work: figure out what language your target audience is speaking. Pay attention to how they communicate on forums, what articles they share on social media, and what language relevant conference speakers use.

If your writing is more on the peer-to-peer side, casual writing with a few jokes can be appropriate. If that’s too bold for your situation, use friendlier language and a less official tone.

Example: “Check out our FAQs” (friendly) vs. “Refer to our FAQs” (formal)

You may have noticed that at Contenteam’s personal blog, we err on the side of friendly and enthusiastic – but when the situation calls for it, such as when we’re creating press releases, we take a formal, matter-of-fact tone.

Do: Evaluate Your Tone

Maybe you think your editorial team is publishing content that’s friendly or empowering or sophisticated or authoritative or… (the list goes on and on). But how do you know for sure? This is where product-reaction testing comes in.

One excellent method is to use Microsoft Reaction Cards, which consists of 118 product reaction words (although we recommend shortening the list). It’s filled with adjectives, some positive and some negative. Some of the tone of voice options found on the list include annoying, appealing, confident, empowering, frustrating, inviting, optimistic, rigid, and trustworthy. When product-reaction testing, remove any words that are only relevant to performance or functionality, such as “slow,” “time-saving,” and “responsive.”

Include these words in an online survey placed after your IT content. Analyze the results to determine if the participants’ chosen tone words match up with your target tone profile. For instance, let’s say you really want to come across as funny and respectful. If lots of respondents pick “humorous,” then you know you’re on the right track.

Conversely, if participants chose “snarky,” that’s a sign that you need to adjust your tone a bit. Snarky is kind of humorous, but it’s definitely not fulfilling the “respectful” aspect of your desired tone of voice!

It can also help to ask users to rate tone indicators on a 5-point scale, for example: not funny at all (1 star), slightly funny (2 stars), moderately funny (3 stars), very funny (4 stars), extremely funny (5 stars).

Real-Life Examples

Let’s look at a company that’s really got its brand’s tone of voice together: Starbucks. They have highly public tone of voice guidelines, and one area that really stands out is “expressive” copy standards. Their goal is to present information about their products in a fresh, interesting, and relevant way, with the end goal of making the user smile. When possible, content creators are encouraged to tell a passionate coffee story. And, boy oh boy, have they succeeded!

Starbucks makes connections with their readers, sharing the stories behind coffee: from their “Notes From the Cupping Room” to their “Meet the Barista” series, the brand has made a name for itself as passionate coffee-makers who provide an above-and-beyond consumer experience.

Now, what about an actual IT company? For this example, we’d like to take a look at Atlassian, a software development company with over 180,000 clients, 2.6 million community members, and 5,000 employees. Their website’s home page immediately shows Atlassian’s unique tone of voice: casual and enthusiastic.

They start off by greeting site users with “G’day,” which is pretty much as casual as it gets. They use contractions throughout the text, further solidifying their casual tone – and their passion shines through phrases like “we’re serious about” and “amazing.”

But this isn’t just surface-level wordplay to draw in visitors. As you explore Atlassian’s website, you’ll notice that they use a consistent tone of voice. For instance, let’s hop on over to their Company page. When scrolling through the page, I was impressed by this particular section:

We’ve got passionate words like “empower,” “drive”, and “inspire.” And, again, we’ve got that very casual, youthful attitude with “We :heart: teams” and “Don’t #@!% the Customer.” The latter made me laugh out loud; I don’t think I’ve ever seen an allusion to cursing on a software development website before.

Obviously, this type of language isn’t going to be everybody’s cup of tea. For Atlassian to have chosen this direction for tone of voice, I’d imagine that their target audience consists of young, progressive entrepreneurs who are tired of stuffy corporate culture.

But, remember how I said earlier that different tones of voice could be applied to various forms of content? For instance, we wouldn’t want to write a press release and a blog post the same way? Atlassian understands this quite well, as their press releases are written in a formal, matter-of-fact manner.

Summing Up: 10 Takeaways for Improving Your IT Tone of Voice

Go undercover and study your target audience. Figure out what tone of voice appeals to them.
Choose the dimensions of your tone of voice, then narrow it down into specific vibes.
Use product-reaction testing to validate your tone.
Create a tone guide for your editorial team.
Use different tones when the situation calls for it (e.g., a blog post vs. a press release)
Only use jargon when the audience is “in-the-know.”
Cut out buzzwords!
Don’t stuff your content with keywords.
Write for the reader! Aim to produce informative content & bring something new to the table.
Consider partnering with a tone of voice marketing and content creation company.

But, wait! We didn’t talk about point #10 yet, have we? I’ll go ahead and fix that right now! Do you want well-written, SEO-friendly content that’s aligned with your marketing strategy and desired tone of voice? This is where we come in: Contenteam is a content creation team, complete with in-house editors, proofreaders, and multiple language departments.

Our priority is to create selling texts that deliver value to the reader and align with your brand. We work with large volumes of text – so you don’t have to worry about hiring on your own team and training them on style standards. Simply send us your requirements, and we’ll take it from there!

Interested in learning more? Shoot us a note, and I’ll be happy to chat with you.

Сообщение Tone Matters: How to Use Tone of Voice to Improve Your IT Content and Boost Sales появились сначала на Contenteam - Multilingual Copywriting Service.

CONTENT - Contenteam - Multilingual Copywriting Service

4 Game Localization Flop Stories: How to Avoid the Same Pitfalls

Table of Contents

Candy Crush Saga

Resident Evil 4

Outlast 2

Max Payne 3

Censorship Issues in the Video Game Industry

The Differences between Western-centric and Eastern-centric Design in Games

How to Achieve Success in International Game Localization

Delegate Your Game Localization to Contenteam Native-Speaking Translators and Editors!

We Are Heading Into 2022 Content Season With Some Great Results

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A Guide to Creating Evergreen Content: Tips From Professional Content Marketers

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Seasonal Content vs. Evergreen

A Closer Look at the Benefits of Evergreen Content

Delving Into Evergreen Content Formats

Cornerstone Content

List of Useful Services/Tools

Infographics

How-To Guides

Whitepapers

“History Of” Articles

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Evergreen Content

Step 1: Conduct Keyword Research

Step 2: Create the Article Structure

Step 3: Write the Article

Step 4: Publish the Article

Evergreen Content Advice From a Pro: How to Highlight It for Maximum Effectiveness

Interested in getting content for your IT or Fintech company? Just fill out the contact form below.

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What makes content evergreen?

Why is evergreen content effective?

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What Is White Paper Writing, and Why Is It Needed?

What's the Difference Between a White Paper and an E-book?

Killer White Paper Examples

Google Cloud Platform

Hyperledger

Cisco

Zendesk

How to Prepare a TOR for a White Paper

How to Collect Data

1. Your Own Research

2. Authoritative Sources

Tips for Data Collection

How to Write a White Paper

Creating an Outline

Choosing a Title

Crafting an Introduction

Providing an Overview

Tackling the Body

Give a Conclusion

List the References

Errors to Avoid

Formatting and Design Tips

How to Promote a White Paper

Collecting Leads

Pro Tip: To increase conversion, provide a material preview or add automatic import of data from social networks.

Website Ad Blocks

External Promotion

Summed Up

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White Paper Writers Wanted

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