Content Writing Tips

Writing copy for the Web is completely different from traditional advertising. With the old-school approach, your company pushes its message helter skelter out into the marketplace. But online your prospects find you through the search engines!

And, when visitors arrive on your website, they’ll click away fast if your copy doesn’t engage them and answer their questions. Even if you do have clear, engaging copy, you still have to move your visitors to action.

That’s a lot to ask of your online copy.

These tips will help you write the special content you need to be successful on the Web. Most are easy to do and immediately actionable.

4 Highly Effective Content Types and How to Optimize Them

October 31, 2017 by

If you want content that gets more action, then these four content types are for you.

Often businesses and marketers create articles or posts without thinking through the “why” for the content. They are committed to publishing online, which is great. But they often publish more willy nilly than thoughtfully.

...

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Content Strategy: What to Write to Attract and Retain a Target Audience

October 10, 2017 by

“Who is more to be pitied, a writer bound and gagged by policemen or one living in perfect freedom who has nothing more to say?” Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. on writer’s block.

You own your website and blog. Your social media pages are free. But if you’re going to profit from ...

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Simple Buyer Persona Helps You Connect

September 19, 2017 by

The buyer persona is the next chapter in the book on your business. Here you try to get into the head of your customers and prospects. You begin to understand them in a way that helps you build an alliance online. One that’s mutually profitable. You make money, they get their ...

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Your Business Solutions: The Fun Part of the Plan

September 12, 2017 by

Customers desire your business solutions. They are actively searching online for exactly what you offer. They’re alert, interested, and ready for action. That huge pool of people purposefully Googling for answers is the new natural order…It’s your web tailwind.

So let’s ride that tailwind with a “content first” plan that ...

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Know Customer Pain Points for Better Content Creation

September 5, 2017 by

Customer pain points are a critical factor in determining customer motivation. I use the MECLABS Institute’s Conversion Sequence Heuristic to guide me in understanding customer motivation as I create optimized content. It’s a tool based on experimentation that helps you organize your thinking as you optimize your web pages.

Within the conversion sequence ...

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How a Business Model Sets Up Your Content Marketing Campaign

August 22, 2017 by

What does a business model and goals have to do with your content marketing campaign? Answer: better, more relevant content geared to what you want to accomplish.

Creating content that attracts your ideal prospects takes crystal clear writing. That’s because you’re not there with your prospects to explain what you ...

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A Website that Reads Minds? A Powerful Real Life Example

August 15, 2017 by

Every once in a while, a website’s content reaches out and grabs you. It knows what you’re thinking, gets into your head. Got a question? There’s the answer in the next headline or text. Perfectly in tune with your thoughts. A website that reads minds.

You’ve heard all about customer-first ...

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Your Website Copy May Be Good, But Is It in The Right Place?

July 11, 2017 by

I’m working on the website copy for a business on the west coast. The marketing manager emailed me all her current marketing pieces. These included an email proposal and an online brochure.

It turns out that the copy in the email and brochure is attractive and informative. Attention getting headlines, ...

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9 Brand Story Idea Joggers to Help You Connect

June 20, 2017 by

Market leaders are trusted. That's in part because they offer superior products and services. But they have also secured their place in the minds of their prospects and customers. Put another way, their customers feel like they know them personally. They like their brand story.

When I was growing up ...

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“Content Marketing Plan? Why Bother, It’s All in My Head”

June 13, 2017 by

A content marketing plan? No, a great read about your business! What...?

We’ve been talking in previous posts about the nature of the web. How you must change the way you think about marketing to take advantage.

Your customers are actively searching for exactly what you offer. And you don’t have to ...

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