Writer's Tips: Web Content

WEB CONTENT

What makes web content that people will actually read?

Content that's relevant, easy to comprehend, and keyworded. 

Get to the point!

Readers assess webpages in an instant. Your content has a few seconds—three or less!—to encourage people to read more, to take action, or to navigate to another of your pages. Impatient readers will click the Back button in a hurry or will stop skimming and go to a search box.

Shape your text for online reading

Text that works best on the Web is text that gets to the point fast and that makes it easy for readers to pick out key information. Here’s why.

Online reading is an experience that’s different from reading text in print. A big part of that difference is physical: For most people, online reading takes longer—or feels as though it does. A computer screen displays text at a lower resolution, with less detail and sharpness than a printed page, so letters are fuzzier. And many people feel that their eyes tire faster reading text on a screen (especially a smaller screen) than reading type on paper.

GREAT RESOURCES:

http://styleguide.yahoo.com/writing/write-web

Continue Reading →

Writer's Tips: eBooks

 

EBOOKS

Ebooks are evolving. As technology develops, ebooks may contain new features. For example, a book of recipes may contain a recipe calculator to figure how much maple syrup is needed to bake 200 cookies. An ebook that prepares you for the GRE could include an interactive test. An ebook about politics might allow you to click a link and register to vote, or send an email to a Congressman that tells him he is not a good environmental steward.

This is only one of the many benefits of writing eBooks. Read more at ePublishersWeekly

GREAT RESOURCES:

http://writing-an-ebook.org/

http://epublishersweekly.blogspot.com/2008/02/30-benefits-of-ebooks.html

Continue Reading →

Writer's Tips: Travel Writing

 

TRAVEL WRITING

Travel writing to those who like to be on the road...or fly!

What sets good travel writing apart is detail, detail, detail. Which cafe, on what street, overlooking what view? You must sweep the reader up and carry them off on the journey with you. Paint an evocation of where you are so we can experience it along with you. Be specific and drop "stunning", "breathtaking" and "fantastic" from your lexicon, otherwise it's just a TripAdvisor entry.

Travel journalism should add to the wealth of information already out there in guidebooks and on websites, so try to seek out the more off-the-beaten-track places to eat, drink, visit – often the places locals might frequent. Revealing a new or different side to a destination will give your story a richness that you won't get with a description of a visit to the tourist cafe in the main square.

GREAT RESOURCES:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011/sep/23/travel-writing-tips-expert-advice

Continue Reading →

Writer's Tips: Technical Writing

 

TECHNICAL WRITING

Technical writers write technical and software manuals, handbooks, technical guides and provide online help. Anyone who writes about technology for other people is typically referred to as a technical writer.

Most professionals require some technical writing skills. In the information technology realm, project managers and analysts write a large number of technical documents that must be clear and concise. A technical writer explains the product to the end user.

GREAT RESOURCES:

http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Technical_writing

Continue Reading →

Writer's Tips: Business Writing

 

BUSINESS WRITING

A lot of success in the business can be attributed mainly to correspondence, sales letters, and many types of corporate writing. Imagine a company whose management, employees, and customers cannot communicate due to poor business writing!

"The purpose of business writing is to convey information to someone else or to request information from them. To be effective writing for business, you must be complete, concise, and accurate. Your text should be written in such a way that the reader will be able to easily understand what you are telling or asking them.

A lot of writing for business is sloppy, poorly written, disorganized, littered with jargon, and incomplete. Often it is either too long or too short. All these attributes contribute to ineffective business writing.

Whether you are writing a sales proposal, an email to your department, or an instruction manual for a software package, there are certain steps you need to follow to create effective business writing. You need to:

•     organize your material
•     consider your audience
•     write
•     proofread
•     and edit your text.

The emphasis on each step may vary, depending on what you are writing, but the steps will be the same."

GREAT RESOURCES:

http://management.about.com/od/communication/a/businesswriting.htm

Continue Reading →

Writer's Tips: Website Copy

 

WEBSITE COPY 

Copywriting for Search Engine Optimization

SEO copywriting is the art of writing web page copy that is appealing to human readers, but also ranks well for specific search terms that people are looking for in search engines. Search engines have now become much more sophisticated, so the fundamentals of solid copy writing are more important than ever. 

Writing Headlines: The Most Important Copywriting Skill

Most writing designed to persuade sinks or swims right out of the gate. Whether the title of an article or the headline of a sales page, readers make snap decisions based on a quick scan of the top of the page. More often than not, they’ll simply move on to something else unless you craft an excellent headline. 

GREAT RESOURCES:

http://www.copyblogger.com/copywriting-101/

http://www.copyblogger.com/copywriting-course-reviews/

Continue Reading →

Writer's Tips: Online Ads

 

ONLINE ADS

Google Adwords offers great tips on writing ads online. 

So how do you create a strong ad?

1. Be relevant:

Make sure that your ad text is closely related to the product and services you offer.

2. Highlight what sets you apart:

In other words, why should someone contact or buy from you, and not someone else? 

3.Include a call to action:

• After someone clicks on your ad, what do you want them
• to do next? Do you want them to buy something, sign-up to your newsletter, contact you, or take another action?

CHOOSING THE RIGHT KEYWORDS FOR YOUR ONLINE ADS

• Use keywords that are 2-3 words long
• Keywords that consist of two or more words tend to be more specific and therefore may speak better to what a potential customer is searching for.  
• Use negative keywords
• Negative keywords keep your ads from appearing for searches that aren’t likely to drive business your way (e.g. queries including the word ‘free’).
• Use the Keyword Tool
• The Keyword Tool helps you discover new keywords and potential negative keywords.

GREAT RESOURCES

http://www.gstatic.com/ads/learn/en/keywordsforadwords.pdf

http://www.gstatic.com/ads/learn/en/writegreatads.pdf

Continue Reading →

Writer's Tips: Newsletters

 

NEWSLETTERS

While most writers will use a template or a newsletter mailing software to accomplish the task, writing successful newsletters that get results take a little bit more strategy:

"Done right, they will give you a return far better than any other marketing strategy," says Tamara Gielen, an independent e-mail marketing consultant who has worked for such companies as Cognos, eBay, and OgilvyOne. "But success largely depends on two things: relevance and permission. Sending irrelevant messages to recipients who didn't give you permission to e-mail them will not only hurt your brand, it is also the fastest way to get blacklisted with the major ISPs. The last thing you want is to be perceived as a spammer."

GREAT RESOURCES:

http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/07/how-to-write-an-e-newsletter-that-gets-results.html

Continue Reading →

Writer's Tips: Press Releases

 

PRESS RELEASES

Effective press releases are targeted toward both search engines and readers. After all, getting your information in front of Internet users is only half the battle—the content has to keep their attention (in a positive way) and make them want to click through to your site and learn more about your company.

This is why quality is so important when you're publishing news releases online. When writing a press releases, use a professional writing style and make sure that the content is clear and likely to capture—and hold—the attention and interest of your audience. Remember: everything that is published by or about your company, online or otherwise, affects the organization's image and reputation.

GREAT RESOURCES: 

http://service.prweb.com/learning/article/quality-online-press-releases/

Continue Reading →

Writer's Tips: Reviews

 

REVIEWS

Can you imagine what the Internet (and life in general) would be like without consumer reviews? Reviews are so powerful in influencing buying decisions that most people won't purchase anything without reading  about other consumers' opinions and experiences first. Although most reviews are unsolicited, we always find great relief in knowing that other people have tried certain products and services before we did. We learn "what it's like" before spending our hard-earned money.

I can't tell you how many times I've bought products and hired services just by reading reviews posted by other people. But I assure you I've done it so many times, and with a lot of success. 

The more we know about the products, services, and deals we buy, the better the choices we make on our purchases. When we share our reviews using social media, we also empower our entire community. 

GREAT RESOURCES:

http://journalism.about.com/od/writing/a/reviews.htm

Continue Reading →

Writer's Tips: Blogging

 

BLOGGING

Blogging can be fun for many writers while a pain in the neck for some. What makes blogging different from other types of online writing is that a blog needs to be consistently updated, maintained, and marketed. 

The most important part of any blog is what you have to say and how you say it. People will return to your blog if they like what you write about a specific subject and they like your writing style. With that in mind, your blog should be written in a tone appropriate to your blog topic. Keep it personable so as to invite interaction through blog comments and links back to your blog from other bloggers who like what you write.

GREAT RESOURCES:

http://weblogs.about.com/od/startingablog/tp/WritingBlogPeopleRead.htm

Continue Reading →

Writer's Tips: Article Writing

 

ARTICLE WRITING

Writing articles for the web is a lot like writing anything else, with the main differences being that you have fewer limitations, and thus even more chances to lose your audience.

When you write online, it’s being written for posterity. Thus, write it as well as you can. You want to be very clear, and you want to make sure you’re not assuming things on the part of your audience.

Don’t say things in passing. Be specific. Your audience doesn’t have the time or interest to try to figure out what you meant. Trying to be fancy will only make you less effective as a writer. There’s no issue with having a personality or a style in your writing, but if the dominant feature in your writing is your style (and not the content itself) then you’re going to lose your audience.

GREAT RESOURCES:

http://www.enigmastation.com/2011/10/31/tips-on-writing-articles/

Continue Reading →

Writer's Tips: SEO Writing

 

SEO WRITING

"First, SEO is the acronym for search engine optimization. Don’t let the big term throw you. All this means is that website owners do certain things to their web pages to make sure that search engines find them and deliver web surfers – like you – to their website when they conduct internet searches.

One of these things is filling their site with SEO content.

SEO content is different from “regular” content in that some technical research and thought goes into the copy – before it is ever written, ie, conducting keyword research...

Let’ say you own a website about credit repair. You offer credit repair services to consumers with bad credit. You have a website, but it’s not getting much traffic or bring in much business. One of the things you can do is write informative content and put it on your website to drive more traffic. But, not just any informative content – SEO content.

When/if you hire an SEO copywriter, one of the first things they’re going to do is find out which words and phrases web surfers are typing in to find the types of services you offer (credit repair, remember)."

It all sounds so simple, isn't it? It's not. SEO Writing is a science. It's part of a marketing campaign. It doesn't start and end with keywords. It involves analysis, experimentation, and total mastery of how search engine work and evolve. Yes, "evolve" is the word. Since everything is changing all the time, expertise in SEO Writing is something that is earned in time. Writers need to keep themselves posted. 

GREAT RESOURCES: 

http://www.prlog.org/10560011-what-is-seo-writing-why-its-possible-to-earn-50000-to-75000-your-first-year.html

Continue Reading →

Writer's Tips: Ezines

WRITING FOR EZINES

One of the best ways to drive traffic to your website is to learn how to write articles for ezines (newsletters), and best of all it's free.

An ezine is a magazine or newsletter delivered by email. Because there are no costs for printing or postage, ezines are a popular way for businesses and charities to stay in touch with customers and members. Ezines are also a great way for new writers to get published. Because ezine editors are always looking for content, and new writers are often looking for ways to get exposure, there is an obvious opportunity for the two to work together. 

What's so special about ezines?

From an ezine article writer's (you) point of view, the best thing about ezines is that the audience is highly targeted. People who subscribe to dog ezines are obviously interested in dogs. Therefore they will be interested in ezine articles about dogs. If your website sells dog-related products then you have a highly targeted audience to write to: The people who subscribe to dog ezines!

GREAT RESOURCES:

http://www.website-writing.com/ezines.html

http://copywriting.lifetips.com/cat/57199/writing-for-ezines/index.html

Continue Reading →

Writer's Tips: Real Estate Writing

 

REAL ESTATE WRITING

Writing clear copy in real estate listings is more important than ever. Often the first contact a realtor has with a potential homebuyer comes through a home listing. With the speed at which shoppers are able to jump from one listing to the next, especially online, it’s essential that your listings are written clearly and are engaging. And since the first contact you’ll likely have with a potential homebuyer will come through a real estate listing, the copy is your first chance to build a reputation and a relationship.

GREAT RESOURCES:

http://themembersedge.blogs.realtor.org/2012/08/17/10-tips-for-writing-effective-real-estate-copy/

Continue Reading →

Writer's Tips: Legal Writing

 

LEGAL WRITING

Writing a legal document needn't be a difficult or overwhelming experience. Many legal documents - for instance living trusts, power of attorney documents, wills, and divorce documents - can at least be partially written before bringing in a lawyer, and this can save significantly on some legal expenses. In fact, while there are some special tips to keep in mind for legal writing, the same fundamentals rules for clarity and consistency apply as in all other fields of writing. You must organize your ideas coherently, write your text with a logical flow, and have good editing skills.

GREAT RESOURCES: 

http://www.whitesmoke.com/how-to-write-a-legal-document.html

http://books.google.com/books/about/Legal_Writing.html?id=7RSz_e_zkjoC

Continue Reading →

Writer's Tips: Mobile Content

 

MOBILE CONTENT

Creating content for mobile isn't the same as creating content for the desktop web. Acknowledging and embracing that fact is key to successful copywriting for mobile. Think about the limitations of small screens, constant distractions and low-quality mobile web connections. And don't forget to try your content out on real humans using real mobile devices. Readers on the go want bite-sized information that will serve them in that very moment. Give them what they want.

Most of the time, people are only going to read headlines or the the first couple lines of marketing content. Therefore, it's important to put the most important content up front. Don't hold back and don't rely on leading up to something big. Put the big reveal up front!

Think about how readers will browse the content. Try to avoid requiring too much clicking, but you also don't want long pages that require a lot of scrolling. The way to do this is to be concise and efficient with your words — minimize the number of pages that readers have to click through. Try to keep content on a single page, if possible. But don't cram so much onto a page that the site takes a long time to load — users will give up if they have to wait too long.

GREAT RESOURCES:

http://mashable.com/2011/06/14/optimize-mobile-marketing/

Continue Reading →

Writer's Tips: Creative Writing

 

CREATIVE WRITING

Creative writing, like art, is subjective, and therefore difficult to define.

Certainly fiction and poetry qualify as creative writing, but what about journal writing, articles and essays, memoirs and biographies? What about textbooks and copywriting? Technical writing? Blog posts?

Where do we draw the line between creative writing and other types of writing?

In some cases, what qualifies as creative is obvious. You read something and you know that it belongs in the creative category. Other times, a piece of writing, while skillful, might not strike you as creative in nature. And then, there’s everything in between – stuff that’s sort of creative or not quite creative enough.

GREAT RESOURCES:

http://www.writingforward.com/category/creative-writing

Continue Reading →

Writer's Tips: Online Journalism

ONLINE JOURNALISM

Writing for the Web should be a cross between broadcast and print — tighter and punchier than print, but more literate and detailed than broadcast writing. Write actively, not passively.

Good broadcast writing uses primarily tight, simple declarative sentences and sticks to one idea per sentence. It avoids the long clauses and passive writing of print. Every expressed idea flows logically into the next. Using these concepts in online writing makes the writing easier to understand and better holds readers attention.

Strive for lively prose, leaning on strong verbs and sharp nouns. Inject your writing with a distinctive voice to help differentiate it from the multitude of content on the Web. Use humor. Try writing in a breezy style or with attitude. Conversational styles work particularly well on the Web. Online audiences are more accepting of unconventional writing styles.

At the same time, don’t forget that the traditional rules of writing apply online. Unfortunately, writing quality is inconsistent throughout most online news sites. Stories suffer from passive verbs, run-on sentences, mixed metaphors and clichés. This is a result of fast-paced new gathering, short staffing and inexperienced journalists. This is also a big mistake. Readers notice sloppy writing and they don’t forgive. They’ll stop reading a story and they won’t come back for more. Unlike local newspaper readers, online readers have options

GREAT RESOURCES:

http://www.poynter.org/how-tos/digital-strategies/web-tips/13605/writing-news-online/

http://mashable.com/category/online-journalism/

Continue Reading →

Writer's Tips: Resume Writing

 

RESUME WRITING

The resume is a tool with one specific purpose: to win an interview. If it does what the fantasy resume did, it works. If it doesn't, it isn't an effective resume. A resume is an advertisement, nothing more, nothing less.

A great resume doesn't just tell them what you have done but makes the same assertion that all good ads do: If you buy this product, you will get these specific, direct benefits. It presents you in the best light. It convinces the employer that you have what it takes to be successful in this new position or career.

It is so pleasing to the eye that the reader is enticed to pick it up and read it. It "whets the appetite," stimulates interest in meeting you and learning more about you. It inspires the prospective employer to pick up the phone and ask you to come in for an interview.

Why write a resume? To establish you as a professional person with high standards and excellent writing skills, based on the fact that the resume is so well done (clear, well-organized, well-written, well-designed, of the highest professional grades of printing and paper). For persons in the art, advertising, marketing, or writing professions, the resume can serve as a sample of their skills.

GREAT RESOURCES:

http://www.rockportinstitute.com/resumes

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/681/01/

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/resumes/qt/profresume.htm

Continue Reading →