We were lucky to catch up with Sarah Loughry recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sarah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

After leaving a career in corporate marketing, I freelanced as a writer and editor and ultimately landed at a digital marketing agency. They were an early-stage startup, which allowed me to get in on the ground floor and help them build processes for content creation.

Leadership was incredible. They gave me the autonomy to carry out my vision for content but provided support and guidance. This was especially crucial when it came to SEO and overall strategy. I quickly learned that quality content doesn’t always translate to Google. In other words, you can create beautiful, engaging content, but without optimization, Google won’t understand it.

I started freelancing as a side hustle and noticed the gap between optimization and quality across the board. Clients with incredible content weren’t getting in front of Google, and those that were optimized weren’t written in a way that resonated with an audience. There needs to be a happy medium. That’s when I created Em Dash Content Studio. We are a team of expert writers and strategists who help businesses show up on search while establishing themselves as thought leaders.

Sarah, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

As I developed Em Dash Content Studio, I knew one thing for certain–quality writing needed to be the foundation of our identity. We are a boutique team of writers first. I started by leading all strategy efforts but through ongoing training and some fun lunch n’ learns, our team can now drive and execute strategies centered around SEO as well.

Over the years, we’ve grown from exclusively offering blog writing services to providing full content strategies. We do web copy, blogs, case studies, email nurtures, and social copy—all things content.

Em Dash Content Studio is where quality meets optimization. We believe you don’t have to stuff an article with a keyword to show up on Google–and we’ve proven this to be valid with all of our clients currently ranking on Google. But ranking? That doesn’t necessarily mean much. It’s about ranking on page 1, ideally in the top 3 spots of Google. We approach almost all of our work with this mindset–we want to drive traffic and to do that we’re going to get our clients on page 1.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Hiring a fractional CFO was something I didn’t invest in until late last year, and I wish I would have at the very beginning.

While I’m a creative person, I never felt that I was a poor budgeter. But the reality is business finances are an entirely different ballgame. I spent nearly three years winging it before finally investing in a fractional CFO that specializes in creative-driven companies. It’s made such a difference already. I’ve paid off a company credit card, restructured my service offerings, and feel much more relaxed when it comes to finances. If you haven’t looked into a fractional CFO for your company, I’d do it now.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

As I was building Em Dash, I knew it would be an uphill battle to engage with clients. SEO agencies aren’t the most trusted in the market. Many gouge pricing and get away with it by making tasks, and work seem more difficult or complicated than they actually are. My goal was to be the complete opposite. I approach each client with quality, affordability, and transparency. I make it a point to explain SEO in a way that people can understand, and I do it starting from that first discovery call.

I’m a member of a few female owned business communities (Dreamers and Doers and Entreprenista League). I started offering complimentary 30-minute consultations so that businesses that might be hesitant to engage with an SEO agency or someone who doesn’t think they can afford it can access the help they need. And I’m happy to do it. It makes me feel good to answer questions from business owners who really need it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://emdashcontentstudio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahmloughry/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahloughry/

Image Credits
Lauren Webster