Posted by Chris W. on June 3, 2011 · Leave a Comment
I’ll tell you a secret.
I’m not writing this post.
I’m dictating it into my Sony digital recorder while heading down the freeway at 65mph.
See, I read a post on the Content Marketing Institute blog yesterday about the uses for an audio recorder in content marketing. Great post.
Earlier, while going through the initial stages of creating an editorial calendar, I realized that I didn’t have a topic for today.
I saw the recorder on my desk. Remembered what I’d read. And thought, “Why not?”
So I got in the car, stuck the recorder on my dashboard…and here we are.
The point I’m making here is very simple. You’re able to follow along with what I’m saying, right?
Which means this content is accomplishing its goal. (And I did it without revision after revision, staring at a computer screen until blood leaks out of my forehead.)
I’m just talking. As if you were sitting in the passenger seat next to me.
And therein lies a big part of developing clear content.
Talking To Yourself is the First Sign of…Content!
We’ve all heard the age-old truism. “Write like you talk.”
People say it to avoid getting bogged down in overly-complicated language, too many buzzwords, looooong paragraphs…
Why avoid them? Because they all disrupt the flow of conversation that occurs within the content.
And between the content & its reader. You.
That flow is best maintained as if the content on a webpage (or in a case study, or email) mimics the type of conversation you would have with a person sitting across from you.
When you don’t write like you talk, something funny happens. People will go to your website with questions. They’ll skim the website. They might hit on an answer or two.
Then they’ll call you.
And they’ll ask you the same questions. Questions (you thought) you answered on the site!
Message Unclear Houston, Please Repeat
Why is this? It’s because they weren’t following the conversation on the website enough.
It may well have answered their questions. But it didn’t do a good enough of being clear, of reaching them.
Clear enough for them to grab on. Enough to catch the idea and integrate it into their own thoughts.
So they did get an overall impression from skimming:
“These people know what they’re talking about. I should talk with them.”
But they didn’t spend the time to read through & get caught in the conversation your website’s trying to create.
Writing Like You Talk Creates a Conversation
Now that essentially means the website failed to do its job. But a lot of them do that. (Not pointing fingers.)
Let me reiterate the point. The point of writing like you talk is to create a conversation that you want to have with your reader.
Writing like you talk is how we describe content that mimics a live conversation. If you can write web content that reads like you and another person are chatting in Starbucks, you more than double your chances of the content
- Being fully read
- Being taken seriously
- Spurring people get in touch with you (for the right reasons!)
(At this point I swore because somebody cut me off. I’ll leave that out. You might be reading this at work!)
What’s the best way to do this?
Well, how did I write all this? I finished dictating this post before I reached my turnoff. 15 minutes of talking to myself. It may be crazy…but it works!
Ever talked yourself to a webpage? Or blog post?
Posted by Chris W. on May 5, 2011 · 2 Comments
I’m planning a whole new path for this blog.
Some of you will know that a core tenet of content marketing is “Be a Resource.” Be the site people go to when they have questions.
So that’s what I’ll create. A content resource. A resource on how to write clear content. (Hey, I’m a content creator. It’s what I do.)
Best Practices, Paradigms, Transparency – Where’s My Hammer…
See, I’ve noticed something missing out there.
Lots of people saying we should get rid of the buzzwords. Jargon. Marketing-speak. Whatever it’s called, you know what I’m talking about.
And chances are, you hate it too. (Duct Tape Marketing had a huge conversation about buzzword hatred last month.)
But information on HOW to get rid of it? That’s harder to find.
I looked at that gap, and thought…hey! Niche!
We Humans Want Content. Content That Makes Sense.
So that’s what this blog will become. I will post on ways to avoid loading your website with jargon.
How to weed it out if it’s there.
How to replace it with something people actually WANT to read.
Experiences creating clear content, as opposed to corporate-speak.
Ways to build actual human conversations with your audience (who believe it or not, are humans too).
And so on.
(Don’t worry, I’ll still work in ferret jokes.)
What would you like to see from this “Clear Content” resource? Suggestions (especially specific ones) always appreciated!
Posted by Chris W. on July 30, 2010 · 1 Comment
You may have sacrificed your website’s greatest strength.
I know, I know. You needed to save money. The go-live deadline was breathing down your neck like a rhino with halitosis. Clients are complaining. Just get the site up, we need X Y and Z!
So you went ahead and did it.
You skimped on the content.
(*minor-key piano!*)
Why Did You Do That?!
Maybe you succumbed to the “talk about ourselves” temptation.
Or tasked the writer to come up with a whole website’s content with barebones source material, and wound up with sparse content.
Or maybe you just put content development off until the last minute and wound up missing a piece of the website’s puzzle 3 days before launch.
Whatever the reason, the end result is the same. The website LOOKS great – nice clean layout, colorful, easy to navigate. Except the pages read like an stockbroker’s ledger from 1914.
The (Scary) Reasons Content Gets Low Rung on the Totem Pole
Time – Researching, writing and testing good site content takes time. More time than most people have, given their other tasks each day. More time than they’re willing to give to it too.
Money – The biggest reason. “We can’t afford spending that much on content.” This sort of thinking comes from undervaluing content in the first place. And from…
Under/Overestimating Your Audience – If you assume your audience either doesn’t need to know anything specific about you (overestimated), or they know absolutely nothing about your industry & you must teach them (underestimated), you’re setting yourself up for failure.
Boo!
The Inevitable Cost of Skimping on Content
One way or another, bad content (or worse, mediocre content that acts like it’s helping) bites you back. This can come in a variety of ways.
- Loss of business
- The site isn’t able to compete with bigger/more popular competitors
- Your site launch stumbles – not much search engine traffic, poor rankings
- Difficulty promoting the site in social media
The worst part of it is, sometimes you can’t feel the bite until much later. When you’re already in panic mode.
Solution? Simple.
When doing any site updates, put content FIRST.
Poll your audience, and respond to their needs. Make and stick to a strategy for updates. Test content if you’re uncertain how effective it’ll be.
Yes, this all takes time and money. It also forces you to prioritize content. Guess what? The Web no longer cares. Skimping will cost you.
(P.S. – I’m aware this sounds like me trying to justify my work. It’s not that; I’m actually pretty busy right now. I’m blogging because I know I’m not alone in this. And my colleagues and I see lots of opportunity just slip past our clients.)
Are you guilty of skimping? Confess below! Were you good and put content first? If you comment you get a Web-cookie.
Posted by Chris W. on March 10, 2010 · 1 Comment
Earlier today @Medwii, a student in France, followed me on Twitter. He asked me a simple question:
“@blueferret I guess you are an experienced CW. I’m currently studying in France and looking for a CW internship. Got no book, any advices?”
(I do love when people call me ‘experienced.’)
I started to write out a reply for him, pointing him to some books and blogs. Then I realized I was writing way too much for a couple tweets.
Besides, a few more people might like this information. I’ll blog about it instead!
So Medwii, because you asked, I’ve compiled three big resources to help you out here. This is information I’ve used to educate myself on copywriting and writing for the Web over the years.
1. Copywriting Books
The Well-Fed Writer Series
My own introduction to the copywriting field.
Bob Bly’s Publications Page
Bob is one of the legends. He has a legion of copywriting and related books/ebooks on his site. Writing, marketing, you name it (and then some).
Jonathan Kranz’s “Writing Copy for Dummies”
Do NOT let the “Dummies” label fool you on this one. It’s as sharp as an unexpected tack on your seat.
Mike Stelzner’s “Writing White Papers”
Mike is a whirlwind of writing-related activity. He hosts online seminars, huge business summits, etc. He’s billed as “the White Paper Writer.” (Nearly) Everything I know about writing white papers came from this guy.
“How to Be a Rockstar Freelancer”
This ebook covers the business side of freelancing: getting leads, managing clients, building up your brand. It’s worth ten times its weight in bytes.
2. Follow Professional Copywriters/Content Writers on Social Media
The veterans are out there on social media. That’s a veritable goldmine when it comes to up-to-date copywriting knowledge. Here’s the “best of the best” on Twitter:
@BobBly
@copyblogger
@LauraMcNeil
@MenWithPens
@Mike_Stelzner
@nickusborne
@steveslaunwhite
@blueferret
(Hey, had to work myself in here somewhere!)
3. Read Copywriting/Web Writing Blogs
There are a ton of excellent writing blogs out there. I couldn’t hope to put them all down here, so I’ll just list a few I check regularly.
Write to Done
Men With Pens
Junta42 Blog
CopyBlogger
The Writing White Papers Blog
Social Media Examiner (Great place to keep up on using social media)
“50 Open Courses for Web Writers”
(This one has a bunch of links to online courses intended to help you work up writing chops. VERY useful as an introductory resource.)
4. Read Up on Content Strategy
Content Strategy is a newer subtopic in the Web writing/marketing field. It’s gaining attention as companies realize they need to manage their content in order to get the most value out of it. If you’re interested in helping them do that, here’s a few places to bone up on it.
“Content Strategy for the Web” by Kristina Halvorson (book)
“The Discipline of Content Strategy” (Blog post)
The Brain Traffic Blog
“Content Strategy: A Reading Guide”
The Content Strategy Group – LinkedIn.com
Best of luck @Medwii! Hope all this helps you out.
Any more copywriting/writing for the Web resources you’d like to add? Post it in the comments. I’ll update as needed.
Posted by Chris W. on March 3, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Way too often I find people minimizing or outright ignoring the writing in their sales processes. “It’s just writing, anyone can do it.” “Oh, the product sells itself, we don’t need to write anything about it.”
I don’t see many of those people keeping jobs — or their companies staying in business for long. Especially nowadays.
The quality of your writing makes a big difference in at least 4 areas of your marketing strategy. These aren’t all the areas writing makes a difference, just the most important. You’ll see why. First up, headlines.
1. Headlines
Information is indexed by title. That’s been the case since we started writing books. On the Web, and particularly with social networking sites, the same is true. Email subject lines, webpage headlines/subheads, newsletter article titles…everything out there is sorted by its headline.
Which means your headline is the first thing people see. 95% of the decision to read is made right there. You might think this means you should do simple headlines in your marketing – but that’s a mistake. People today are on information overload; they have to pick & choose what to read to stay sane. This means your headlines must always be INTERESTING and DIRECT.
a) Not Interesting or Direct: “The Latest in LCDs”
b) Interesting and Direct is more like: “How Many of These Mistakes Lurk In Your Company’s Tax Filings?”
Headlines make a difference because they determine whether or not ANYTHING ELSE gets read.
2. Presentations
What you write for a speech determines how much of a connection you make with the audience. NO successful speech fails to connect.
I’ve given many presentations, to audiences of varying sizes. Some were off-the-cuff, and they did all right. But the best ones were the times I used an outline to help me facilitate that connection. Like the one in front of you.
Even if the audience never sees this outline, it’s there to direct the speaker. If the writing in the outline isn’t focused, and helps the speaker progress toward his goal, then the speech will fail and be forgotten the moment the audience leaves.
Presentation writing makes a difference because it can make – or break – multiple relationships at once.
3. Website Content
The era of ‘brochure sites’ is over. Websites that spew out corporate-speak and expect any responses at all are failing. And they deserve to fail, for one reason: they don’t take into account the audience’s needs.
I’ll keep saying this everywhere I go: If your website content does not answer the questions your market has, it fails. Visitors nowadays want to DO things on your site instead of staring at it. They’ll tell you what things if you ask them. Direct them to these things with your writing. For example, maybe they have a question about Roth IRAs, but they can’t or don’t want to call. So they check the site. Did you answer the question?
A boring website can literally destroy a business. You can talk endlessly about your good service at a sales meeting…but what happens if the customer checks your site beforehand, and doesn’t see any reasons there to work with you? Chances are your very best sales pitch won’t sway them if they already have that in their minds.
Website content makes a difference because your audience can see it at ANY TIME in the sales process. For good, or for bad.
4. Emails (all of them)
Billions of emails are sent each day. Most, as we all know, are spam. Some are important, but they fail to convey their message. Why? Because they often either:
a) Ramble on,
b) Miss the point,
c) Have poor grammar, or
d) All of the above.
People today have a micro-attention span when it comes to email. If you want yours read, your email must get straight to the point, and do so clearly. Besides, both rambling and poor grammar can trigger a spam filter. Then nobody sees your email.
Email writing makes a difference because just one can hurt OR help your relationships with clients, co-workers, partners, etc. People have literally become rich, or lost everything, because of 1 email.
What Have We Learned About Good Writing?
All this might seem a little negative. But it’s meant to show you a little bit about how much power there is in business writing. In the past you could get away with dull writing, since there were fewer competitors and fewer sales channels. But now everyone must deal with the Web. And when it comes that, your writing MUST make a difference. Because the Web does NOT forgive.
