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4 Things Not To Do When Writing for Your Website

November 23, 2015 Beth Devine

mistakes not to do
“Cat on a Mac” by Wendy Seltzer, used under CC BY / Modified from original

Are you a writer? Of course you are. You write emails, texts, possibly even a short note to a friend or family member. Should someone ask you if you’re a talker, you wouldn’t say, “Well, no, I don’t talk.” You have conversations, you’re a talker. Same with writing.

Except it’s not the same. Because instead of sitting down and writing, we become worried about the rules and the spelling and the various techniques for different mediums. There is validity in these concerns, but don’t let that stop you from writing.

And don’t let these five things not to do when writing for your website stop you. Just don’t do them. And don’t let anything stop you from writing.

1. Scream As Loud As You Can 

(a.k.a. Be precise and clear)

When you wish to be heard over all the noise, you tend to raise your voice. When you scream as loud as you can, someone is bound to hear you, right?

In writing, this method of getting attention could be compared to stretching the truth, or writing just for SEO. Instead of writing titles and headlines using precise and correct information, the tendency is to claim the impossible and grab attention with clickbait words.

Writing “welcome to the funniest YouTube channel ever” is hyperbole that’s more accurately described with descriptive details such as “get your video-addiction fed here with side-splitting and off-the-wall humor.” The more you make extravagant claims, the more likely no one will listen.

2. Save Your Wittiness for Just the Good Stuff

(a.k.a. Bad news requires it too)

The same thing goes for your tone. Don’t stop at being precise and honest in your writing. Try being upbeat and friendly. Develop a tone that is inviting and unique to your brand. Take every opportunity to use your voice to stand out from the crowd.

Method soap, the “people against dirty,” take their honest and playful tone everywhere in their writing. On their foaming hand soap refill packaging, they describe getting the “foam party started” as “easy-peasy,” with “juuuuuust about enough to refill your bottle 3x.”

The party doesn’t end with the fun stuff. Method keeps the same tone for the not-so-fun-stuff, when it’s easy to slip into boring, more formal language. When a refill is no longer available, they write, “it’s a bummer when you want something, but can’t have it. like this product, which is no longer available. sorry.”

No need to go all dry and lifeless just because the news isn’t so good. Keep up with your charm and appeal and write like you’re offering to help no matter the situation.

3. Use Your Smarty Pants Side

(a.k.a. Be less technical/write like you speak)

Being smart is obviously a good thing, and sharing the things you know makes for great content. This is a reason your readers come back to your website, and a reason they could eventually choose your business when they decide to buy.

But they won’t keep coming back if they can’t understand you. And if they can’t figure out what you’re trying to sell, they won’t want to buy from you either.

The solution is to stop writing like you’re a walking textbook, or worse, a soulless automaton. If you’re writing like you speak and they still can’t understand you, then you’ve had your head in institutional sand for too long.

Remember who you’re writing for, and don’t use dry, formal language. If you’re concerned you will sound too informal or unprofessional, then you’re forgetting how spoken language has evolved to express our thoughts and feelings, and is as near to perfect that a form of communication can be. It involves natural emphasis, cadence, and rhythm. When we speak we sound angry, upset, happy, or worried. Speaking is much more direct and intuitive. When we write, we must try to communicate these nuances in order to be effective.

Michelle Schaeffer, known as the Girl Blogger Next Door, said one of the Three Big Blogging Mistakes You Can Avoid is to write like you were taught in English class. She said she forgot the all-important rule:  “I didn’t understand that I was writing for readers, I had the wrong perspective on it.”

4. Use Your Best Digital Writing

(a.k.a. SEO is dead)

Writing for the internet is still writing for the reader. There are no shortcuts or freebies you can take to improve your site’s searchability. Your best digital writing is not about sticking in keywords and inserting links wherever you can to optimize your site.

Because there is no such thing as digital writing.

It’s true that there was a time when black hat sites figured out how to trick search engines into looking for their keyword-laden content. This created an atmosphere of SEO or sink, where site optimization with keyword stuffing was key.

Now Google hides the search words you type if you’re logged in, giving fewer keyword clues. Search engines today look for good content that best fulfills what people will like to read, not a labyrinth of poor navigation, design, and text.

In their Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide, Google says that “you should base your optimization decisions first and foremost on what’s best for the visitors of your site. They’re the main consumers of your content and are using search engines to find your work.”

Sure, you’re writing for the web so you want to do your homework and pay attention to certain search engine requirements. But you’re writing for people first, and people want to read well-written, helpful content.

Write in a way that’s best for your site’s visitors. They’re the ones who are ultimately searching for and reading your content, not the search engines. Give them something they can consume with ease.

Let your inner writer go free. The worst thing that can happen is it won’t want to return.

Filed Under: Featured, Kacee's Posts, Website Writing Tips

5 Reasons To Blog for Your Business: Blogging Resistance Beware

July 28, 2015 Beth Devine

to blog or not to blogThe debate continues. To blog or not to blog appears to be the ongoing content marketing hand-wringer, although the statistics show that businesses that blog are thirteen times more likely to have a positive ROI.

Your Business’ Future Depends On Machines

Still, the blogging resistance prevails. For all you blogging cynics out there, think of the future. By 2020, it’s projected that your customers will manage 85% of their relationships without ever speaking a syllable to a human.

Your customers are going to be busy researching your business online, without any direct contact with you. How are you going to personally influence them? With a blog, they can easily learn more about you.

I read an interesting dialogue in a comments section of a marketing blog recently. The commenter was making a case against blogging, asserting that it’s not for everyone. The comments were borderline caustic and appeared meant to provoke. This is the sort of behavior you sometimes see in someone whose last defenses are crumbling.

In other words, no matter how hard the commenter argued, the evidence speaks for itself. The one good point the commenter made was to maintain that blogging makes sense when you have enough time and resources.

What Will Blogging Cost You?

The one thing blogging costs you when resources are limited is your time. Instead of investing in pay-per-click to get new leads, with its requisite advertising spending of often hundreds of dollars, give blogging a try.

Your business blog will continue to work for you long after you’re done writing a post. No ad space or ad campaigns that will cost you money and time. Consider doing a blog in conjunction to your advertising expenditures.

Blogging Value Is Endless

Even when you’re at home and watching reruns of Mad Men, your blog is working for you. That’s how your blog is able to continue creating 67% more B2B leads than businesses who don’t blog. Your old blog posts are just as valuable as your favorite TV reruns.

Visitors will continue to find them when they search, long after you published them. Keep your content relevant and updated, and your post’s value will go on and on, like Monday Night Football.

That Downtime of Yours? Wanna Use It?

Is your main blogging objection lack of time? That’s like saying you don’t have any downtime. Or as Boost Blog Traffic calls it, mundane time, or weird time. Those hours you spend driving back and forth, doing mindless chores, or the unavoidable waiting you have to do for appointments and meetings and standing in line.

You may not be able to jot anything down, but you can use this downtime to think creatively about your business and the things you want to share. You can also listen to podcasts and audiobooks to help you stimulate your creative juices. Find titles related to your industry and begin making a list of potential ideas.

It’s often the idea that’s the most difficult to generate. Once you’ve nailed the topic, the process is on its way.

Get More URLs and Get Found Online

Consistent blogging helps you get found online. So you’ve heard that one before? And you’re still not blogging?

Every time you publish a blog post, you give the internet surfers searching for your content the opportunity to find you online. The more posts you write, the bigger your chances are of having new visitors to your website.

When you do the math, it’s simple. 100 posts = 100 URLs. For each blog post, you’ve created a new URL. Your website alone doesn’t do that since there are a limited number of pages a typical site should reasonably have.

For every blog post you publish, it helps you reach the right audience who is interested and searching for your valuable content. Your website traffic is tailored to the people who are interested in what you have to say, thanks to the relevant blog information you’re sharing.

If you start blogging now, you are staying ahead of the game. The future for a successful business involves more online content exposure, and 37% of marketers says blogs are the way to go with content marketing.

Begin educating your audience now and stake your claim in the world of online engagement. The resistance is caving one blog at a time.

Filed Under: Featured, Internet Marketing 101, Kacee's Posts, Website Writing Tips

Tips for Thinking Up Blog Content for Small Businesses

July 19, 2015 Beth Devine

blog content for small businesses
“Amelia cat” by brownpau, used under CC BY / Modified from original

Small businesses who blog are ahead of their competition. A small business owner with a blog generates 126% more lead growth than those who don’t, according to a HubSpot study on 2,300 customers.

Kudos to you if you’re already a blogging. If you’re not blogging yet, then what are you waiting for? Here are some tips for generating blog content to help you get started, or to jump start some idea brainstorming.

Use Your Customer’s Questions

You’re so close to this one, it’s easy to miss. Like when my mom used to say, “If it was a snake, it would’ve bit you.” You’re looking right at one of your easiest blog topics every time a customer asks you a question.

Your blog is not for you, it’s for your customers. When you use their questions, you’re helping them solve a problem. What better way to show you’re listening and you care about your customer’s concerns than to give them the answers.

At the same time, you could be giving them new insights about your business that helps you stand out.

Use the Don’t-Do-This Tactic

We all make mistakes. But we’d rather not. Use your blog posts to provide ways to avoid common pitfalls related to your business. Think of current issues that plague your customers and write about how to eliminate them.

Tie in your services or products, but only in a very non-promotional manner. Blog posts aren’t for hard selling. Use your blog to increase awareness on problems and topics that your business is designed to handle. Write about the failures and struggles you’ve encountered in your business that could help your readers.

Share your stories in a way that gives your visitors a look-see into your business, but doesn’t toot your horn. When you give answers with a don’t-do-this approach to problems, you’re also demonstrating your authority on a subject.

The next time your visitor has a question or concern, they know where they can go for some help.

Spy On Your Competitors for Ideas

If you are aware of what your competition is doing, you’ll be more prepared to advance your own blog strategy. If your competition appears to be making a mistake, avoid doing the same blunder. If they’re doing something fabulous, think of how you can try to outdo their efforts.

Spying on your competitors is easy with free tools to analyse their data. With SEMrush, you can discover new competitors, what their best keywords are, and what they’re using for display advertising, organic and paid search, and link building.

Another handy tool is Buzzsumo. You can do a quick search on key phrases or terms to see how content that’s related to your industry is doing. You can also find out who the top influencers are in a particular niche to further your idea-generating spy efforts.

If Sherlock had been internet savvy, he would applaud your genius.

Research Keyword Terms

If you want to blog about something relevant to your business, Google Adwords Keyword Tool is a great way for discovering the keywords and keyword phrases internet surfers are using to search for your product or service. Google Webmaster Tools shows you the keyword queries being used to find your site, so you can check to see if you’re on the right track.

Try using these keywords terms for your blog title, subheading, and in your meta tags, as well as to generate ideas for your blog content.

Build on a Good Quote

No need to reinvent the wheel when there are reams of quotables out there. Use a quote to inspire your next post, making sure to credit the source.

Search a particular topic or person using the word quote after the search term. Visit Bartleby.com for thousands of quotations from famous authors, Goodreads for more recent quotables, or Google Book Search for references to books of interest for quotes.

You can build your entire post around a particular quote. Quotes from famous people and industry leaders will inspire your readers as well as your writing.

The Official Blog Post Ideas Generator

Matthew Loomis of Build Your Own Blog has created the Blog Post Ideas Generator, a terrific free tool to help you think of blog post ideas when your brain is failing you. It can help small businesses get creative when in a crunch. Try it out; it’s fun!

Loomis also has a bunch of videos for WordPress users to help you get started blogging. Helpful tutorials include creating an about page in minutes, installing a plugin, and changing font and background color.

However you do it, do it with your own distinct flair. Find a way to communicate using your own voice, giving your blog some personality. Blog those ideas of yours with something besides textbook-speak so your readers will know you’re human.

Filed Under: Featured, Kacee's Posts, Tips for a good website, Website Writing Tips

5 Simple Tips to Writing Service Descriptions Like a Boss

June 24, 2015 Beth Devine

write service descriptions
“Cat as King” by Fiona MacGinty-O’Neill.

Your web pages aren’t meant to give your readers a spectacular view of your business. They are meant to act as a device that takes your reader from one place to the next. As Seth Godin says in “Knock Knock,” there are three questions all your web pages must answer:

  1. Who’s here?
  2. What do you want them to do?
  3. How can you instantly tell a persuasive story to get them to do #2?

To accomplish these three things for your services web pages, begin by making a list of your services. Then follow these five tips as you write copy for each one.

1. Don’t talk about yourself

Your reader doesn’t want to read all about you. No one wants to listen to your grandstanding. Regardless of what a fabulous product and service you provide, you’re not that interesting.

People want to hear about you in terms of how well you can help them solve a problem or fulfill a need. People are basically only interested in themselves. Surprise, surprise. This is something you should’ve learned in kindergarten.

Write about your unique skills, special applications, and new improvements, but only with the angle that speaks to your audience’s needs. If it’s not ultimately about them, then it’s not going to capture their attention.

2. Keep your mission clear

Your home page is the obvious place for your mission. This could also be phrased as what you promise to do, what are your goals, or what purpose your business serves. This message should also be present on your service page.

A brief statement that describes what drives you as a company at the beginning of your service page reminds your readers of your mission and helps them to connect. They will be more likely to think of you as human beings who care about what you’re doing. Restating your purpose gives your readers a sense of reassurance that there’s more to your brand than a sales transaction.

A good way to include your mission in your service page is to rephrase it so it serves as the perfect introduction to your services. This helps your customer-focused approach as well.

3. Focus on the benefits

It’s tempting to write about your services by describing the features. Usually this leads to technical descriptions which can be boring, difficult to understand, and not enticing. If you want to encourage readers to stick around, you’ve got to make it about how it benefits them.

Find out what the benefits are by focusing on the results. What do the boring features provide for your customers? A benefit answers the question, “What’s in it for the reader?”

This is the same question all writers must ask. Whether you’re writing a novel, an essay, or online copy, you need to address this question. Many years ago my aunt gave me this same advice. It’s what entices people to keep reading, to care, or to buy.

Your new Apple TV might have all sorts of new improvements, but they’re only important to you based on how they impact your experience. Apple tells its readers the benefits with a straightforward chart listing the new TV features alongside a benefit summary.

For example, “family sharing” means you get to play your family’s purchases. The new “ask to buy” makes sure children get permission before buying items from iTunes. And the “peer-to-peer” software means guests can use Airplay from their Mac or iOS device directly to the Apple TV without wireless.

Now we care about these features because it’s clear how they benefit us.

4. Use hypnotic “power words”

The right words you use to entice your readers have hypnotic power. These words possess an innate ability to produce a subconscious psychological reaction. Don’t believe it? Try Googling it and see what you find out.

The top three hypnotic power words are imagine, you, and because. Each one has its own effect on readers,

  • The word “imagine” is the stimulus that creates a visual reaction, allowing your readers to experience how it feels to use your product or service.
  • The word “you” capitalizes on the self-obsessed nature everyone has, making things personal and stimulating our self-interest.
  • The word “because” gives us what we crave to know: the why of something. As in the example of The Copy Machine study, our subconscious minds don’t even need a good reason. We just crave any reason at all.

5. Keep it short

Your readers want it to be all about them, and they want it to be quick and easy. From meal plans to hairstyles, to exercises, to DIY projects, quick and easy is the selling point.

I know. So demanding.

Everyone is busy, we’re all in a hurry, and what we consume on the internet fits in with this fast-moving lifestyle. According to the research on how people read on the web, the results show that people don’t.

They don’t read. They scan. People pick out words and phrases. In fact, only 16 percent read text word for word. What does this mean? Why bother writing copy at all? Is anyone even reading this sentence? You have to wonder.

It means write using text that is easily scannable with:

  • Bullets and numbers
  • Headings and sub-headings
  • Keywords that are highlighted as links, bolded, italicized, or in color
  • White space to break up the copy and guide readers down the page
  • Inviting images, graphics, and videos to hold your reader’s attention

Keep your copy short, with each paragraph composed of a single idea. Check out popular sites and blogs and get a feel for the short paragraph style. Your service description has to tell the story in as few words as possible, without leaving anything critical out.

When you want to write effective service descriptions for your website like a boss, follow these five tips and You might want to include a cute cat image somewhere, because cats rule the internet. Imagine that.

Filed Under: Featured, Kacee's Posts, Tools & Tips, Website Writing Tips

5 Ways to Make Boring Blog Content Interesting

June 10, 2015 Beth Devine

blog topicsSo you’re writing for a boring industry. Or maybe the topic you’re covering makes you yawn just thinking about it. If you’re bored out of your pants with what you’re writing about, I have the solution for you.

It’s like my mom used to tell me. There’s no boring subjects, just boring people. In other words, you can take anything and make it interesting just by applying your unique je sais quoi — that “indefinable, elusive quality” that is sure to please.

Bring on the exciting. Only you can do it.

Get Educated Yourself

There are three main reasons people write blog posts for their business or organization:

  1. Educate
  2. Communicate
  3. Become an authority

Writing is only boring if you are. In this case, you’re boring when you don’t know what you’re talking about. Take the first reason for writing a blog: to educate. In order to do that, you need to know what you’re writing about. And the more you know about a topic, the more it can become interesting to you.

As you research it, you’re going to develop a better understanding of it, grow more interested in it, and write about it in a more compelling way. Way less boring and way more engaging.

Be the Most Helpful Teacher

That’s how Marcus Sheridan at The Sales Lion grew into the Content Marketing Guru. By being the most helpful teacher about inground swimming pools, he not only grew a boring business, he learned the secret to online success.

Share your valuable information with your audience, and they’ll come back to you when they’re interested in learning more, or are ready to buy.

The Sales Lion defines content marketing as “the process of using text, video, and audio communication in an effort to establish your company as the best and most helpful teacher in the world at what you do.” How can you be boring when you’re being a teacher who’s got your pupils’ best interests at heart?

Make the Topic Relevant

Boring topics are instantly captivating when you can make them relate to something that’s currently happening. If it’s in the news, tie your blog post to it where possible. You will find yourself more intrigued in the subject when it’s got today’s headlines slapped right on it.

Take the boring experts on diseases. They’re given a wide berth until a fresh outbreak of bird flu or some other communicable disease makes headlines. These experts can’t say enough to fill the insatiable interest in what’s now relevant. You can do this without a life-threatening disease, I promise you.

Stay tuned to the latest news stories and see how your boring posts might use a little boost with current events. Check out sites that list the latest headlines, such as Fox News, Yahoo News, USA Today, Reuters News, and CNN.

Give Your Content a Visual Boost

Remember show and tell from your grade school days? Notice how it’s show and tell, not just one or the other. You’re going to be far more interesting when you give your presentation some imagery.

With your online content, you have the option of adding a variety of different images: photos, memes, infographics, videos, storyboards, GIFs, and charts of all kinds. Visuals are powerful communication tools, conveying your message with a single medium, where it takes the proverbial “thousand words” to say something similar with text alone.

When you’re struggling with telling a boring story, give it some moxie with an eye-catching visual. No one’s too old, too clever, or too dissatisfied to not appreciate the draw of visual mediums.

Write Like You Actually Talk

When information is tough to understand and boring, it’s tempting to write about it using the same inflated terms. When your readers consume this kind of professional business babble, it’s equally difficult for them to understand. So what gives?

You have to write like you speak in order to make it interesting. How can it be interesting when it’s not even understandable? So remove the elevated, hard-to-decipher jargon and write as naturally and clearly as if you were talking about it over a cup of joe.

Writing good content for your blog involves connecting with your audience. If you write about things as if you’ve been up close and personal with it, as if you’re willing to jump through hoops to help, as if it’s completely relevant, then you’re conveying your thoughts and ideas in a manner that hopefully won’t put readers in a cat-like stupor.

 

Filed Under: Featured, Kacee's Posts, Website Writing Tips

Don’t Let Jargon Be a Communication Barrier

June 26, 2014 Beth Devine

jargonCommunicating effectively with your customers is essential if you want to build relationships. But there are many things that can be a barrier to communication.

Speaking the same language doesn’t mean there won’t be communication barriers. Foreign accents, cultural barriers, and the use of slang can all work to prevent clear communication.

Once while visiting Glasgow, I was completely unable to interpret what a sales clerk was saying to me. After asking for him to repeat it twice, I gave up in embarrassment.

Outside of the uncomfortable dialect issue, you expect to understand someone when you speak the same language. Unfortunately, this isn’t true. One of the biggest communication barriers – and one that’s easily avoided – is the use of jargon.

Jargon words are meant to enhance communication by simplifying a particular concept. This works when everyone involved in the conversation is aware of the word’s meaning.

When Jargon Doesn’t Work

To someone who isn’t clued in, however, it can be seen as technical snobbery. At the very least, it can confuse the message so the recipient loses interest.

Jargon can waste time and money. When documents and emails take longer to read and to understand, people may grow frustrated. Time is wasted when unknown terms have to be explained or are interpreted incorrectly and result in errors of deciphering, which leads to errors in follow-up action.

Business opportunities may be lost, along with potential money-making possibilities, when jargon is misunderstood.

When Jargon Is Unavoidable

JargonThere is a good side to jargon. Jargon-philes are able to share their new techno-terms with ease amongst their fellow professionals. As new concepts and ideas are developed, communities can quickly convey essential solutions and strategies with their jargony-sounding words.

The trick is to pay attention to your audience and minimize the use of jargon in content created for clients who don’t live, eat, and breathe the particular jargon-speak you do.

Because let’s face it, despite the diehards who wish to defend the English language and ban all jargon and buzzwords, we are not going to see an end to it. We love to manufacture words to convey meaning in our ever-expanding landscape of ideas and interests.

Jargon often ends up becoming a household term. Various communities use jargon that inevitably falls into common use, including technical, business, and military jargon.

The military deserves the award for having the greatest number of jargon terms. Some well known examples include “zero dark thirty,” or the early morning hours, “AWOL” and “MIA” to describe absent parties, and when something or someone is exceedingly difficult to deal with, “boot camp” is tacked on to describe its extreme nature.

Business jargon is another strong contender in jargonese. This Forbes list has terms you probably are unfamiliar with, but includes other buzzwords such as “drinking the Kool-Aid,” “outside-the-box,” and “scalability.”

Use Jargon Sparingly

Jargon-filled content can be risky. Jargon can hurt your SEO because users will search for terms that they are familiar with and reflect the way they speak. Jargon can also be boring. If you don’t understand something, you quickly lose interest.

When jargon serves a useful purpose, it can be on-point in its message. Use jargon wisely when you communicate and help your audience out by demystifying anything that might be unclear.

When in doubt, leave it out. Save your showing off for karaoke nights and Facebook status updates.

Filed Under: Kacee's Posts, Marketing, Website Writing Tips

How Writing Makes You Happy

June 13, 2014 Beth Devine

writing makes you happy

“Morning Serenity” by 2010 Army Digital Photography Contest used under CC BY /Modified from original

Writing makes you happy – thinking things through, talking about your dilemmas, or trying to repress your unhappy thoughts won’t work.

It’s scientifically proven that you must write, and varied experts weigh in on achieving happiness through writing.

Read on to see what you’ve been missing out on, if you’re not writing. If you are writing, then see why you must continue. Your happy life depends upon it.

Take time to reflect

When you think through the things that occur and “write out of that experience,” you will realize greater clarity and fulfillment.

Not only that, but you will also slay the deadly writer’s block. Russell Moore explains that by giving ourselves time to reflect we will fill the void within.

This tidy little bit of advice includes what is called savoring the moment. By stopping, savoring, and then writing these tidbits of reflections, your happiness increases.

So carry a small notebook with you. Jot down those thoughts; capture those moments in words. You’ll feel better.

Learn something you like

Allow writing to be an opportunity to discover something you enjoy rather than a mere exercise. While this should seem obvious, too many people miss this straightforward notion and instead approach writing like it’s the march to the guillotine.

As Albert Einstein said in a letter to his son, “That is the way to learn the most, that when you are doing something with such enjoyment that you don’t notice that the time passes.”

Learn about yourself

“To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom,” wrote Socrates. When you write to increase your understanding of who you are, you release your inner story.

It also can be a form of self-medication.

As Maya Angelou demonstrated with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, revealing personal experiences can be immensely liberating, offering relief to others in the process.

Help others

Writing can be a way to help others. “The idea is to write it so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart,” Maya Angelou is quoted as saying.

When you create an emotional connection between your writing and your readers, you make a lasting impression. Maybe you can affect people, influence and reshape their thinking, and make a difference.

This makes for a very happy you.

Apply some therapy

Studies show that sharing our thoughts and concerns by writing them down versus discussing them with another person or merely thinking them over is more effective in easing  pain.

In 59 Seconds, Richard Wiseman explains three ways to do this. One method is to journal a diary where you describe future events you wish to see occur. This is called expressive writing.

A gratitude diary is another happiness-inducing activity, boosting your positive outlook through documenting the things that you’re grateful for.

You can also use affectionate writing, or writing about how much someone means to you. All three of these writing methods will make you happy.

Neurobiologists suspect that therapeutic writing such as blogging “triggers dopamine release, similar to stimulants like music, running and looking at art.”

What are you waiting for? Join the WordPress blogging stratosphere and get happy.

Getting happy is the whole reason for writing

Some people get desperate. Their need to write is so great that certain apps are made to encourage scare the dickens out of them, like Write or Die 2. I don’t see how this type of writing makes you happy.

Writing won’t have any effect on your dopamine levels if it scares you. Perhaps Stephen King said it best in On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

“Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it’s about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. It’s about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay?”

Filed Under: Kacee's Posts, motivational, Website Writing Tips

How to Become a Better Writer: Tips from the Pros

February 13, 2014 Beth Devine

writing better

Learn from the pros. Writers of novels, copywriters, writers now dead, and those writers who create lists of rules can teach us how to become a better writer.

This list of tips from the pros, gathered for your quick consumption, is internet-primed, just the way you like it: fast, free, and fun.

Keep it clear and concise.

Demian Farnworth tells us on Copybot “The Only Rule You Need to Worry About” is clear copy. That’s it. The rest will follow, he assures us.

One sentence will lead to the next when you write it so your readers are clear on its meaning. Just get that first sentence down.

But don’t get all wordy in the process. In A Writer’s Companion, Richard Marius addresses some of the common problems with wordiness and redundancies. Problems include free gift (a gift is free), final outcome (eliminate final), full and complete (use only one), future plans (all plans involve the future), in a position to (replace with “can”), due to the fact that (replace with “because”), and in the event of (use “if”).

The opening line.

It all begins with the first line. Snag your readers here – followed by a killer headline  – or you’ll lose ‘em before the second sentence.

So craft a terrific second sentence too. And write a clincher of a third sentence to keep them reading. And so on.

Books are quoted for their best opening sentences. Check out the ones on your bookshelves to see how they stand as openers. Try these on for size. They’re short, raise questions, and set the tone for what’s to come.

  • Introduce character: “Marley was dead, to begin with …” Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
  • Shock value: “My mother was a whore, and I loved her very much.” Mary Brown, Pigs Don’t Fly
  • Keep it simple: “This is what happened.” Stephen King, The Mist
  • Tone setter: “There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.” C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The short of it.

I had an English professor who used John Grisham’s page turners to demonstrate the use of short sentences, short paragraphs, and short chapters. The result is it’s hard to put his books down. When you realize there’s only a couple more paragraphs until you finish the chapter, and only a few chapters left until you’re halfway finished with the book, you keep reading.

With web writing it’s even more important to hold your reader’s short attention span as they barrel through internet at high speed. Keep things short. Three words work. I mean it. Two even. No kidding.

But don’t forget to throw in a longer sentence now and again to mix things up and create a flow.

Adverbs are like dandelions.

Stephen King warns us in On Writing about the proliferative quality of adverbs, and to avoid them like you would the weeds that they are.

If you have one on your lawn, it looks pretty and unique. If you fail to root it out, however, you find five the next day . . . fifty the day after that . . . and then, my brothers and sisters, your lawn is totally, completely, and profligately covered with dandelions. By then you see them for the weeds they really are, but by then it’s — GASP!! — too late.

Watch out for adverbs in dialogue tags.

“What do you think?” she asked innocently.

“Here we go again,” she responded tiredly.

“Tell me what happened!” she said excitedly.

Grammar goofs aren’t funny.

Copyblogger lists 15 of the most common grammar goofs and how to fix them. Too many goofs and you will look the fool.

The choice between fewer and less is a tricky one. If it’s something you can count, then use fewer. If you can’t count it, then use less. Grocery stores get this wrong all the time.

Another often misused word is who and whom. Use whom if there are two subjects.

  • Incorrect: His brother, who he said would send him the money.
  • Correct: His brother, whom he said would send him the money.

Break the rules.

First you must know the rules in order to break them. In The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, we are shown an impressive list of rules.

But rules are like safety protocols on a Starship holodeck. They’re a good idea to use because without them, even holobullets can kill. But sometimes it’s okay to turn them off and play dangerously.

“It was a dark and stormy night” is Madeleine L’Engle’s first line in A Wrinkle in Time. She broke the no-cliche rule to great effect. When you break a rule, do it with purpose.

“Really, really shitty first drafts.”

Anne Lamott in Bird by Bird helps us to let go of our writing fears. Forget about the discouraging voices in your head. Write whatever comes through, as if it’s a child’s first draft.

Anne tells us that if you hear, “Well, so what Mr. Poopy Pants?,” you write it. No one has to see it.

And if you’re hearing “radio station KFKD, or K-F**ked” playing in your brain, don’t give up. It’s all very normal. Those inner demons can’t stop you from getting that first draft done.

Oh, and don’t forget to edit. Mr. Poopy Pants won’t be offended if you cross him off the cast of characters.

Filed Under: Kacee's Posts, Tools & Tips, Website Writing Tips

5 Website Writing Do’s and Don’ts

December 27, 2013 Beth Devine

Website writingWebsite writing do’s and don’ts made simple and straightforward, just like it’s supposed to be. You’ll find readability checkers, the grammar nazi, and other insanely valuable links.

#1

Do promote yourself and have a call to action.

Don’t bore your readers by talking about yourself.

When asking your audience to do something, don’t try to persuade them by simply talking about your product. The hard-core sales pitch doesn’t cut it any longer in an over-hyped, digital age where people are bombarded with sales messages in every facet of communication: television, radio, billboards, banner ads, popup ads, email, blog posts, and embedded social media posts.

When you give them a call to action, follow it up with a compelling reason why. Tell them what the benefits are for buying your product, receiving your email updates, or coming to your event.

Do this by using the most powerful word in the English language: because.

According to Viralnomics, a psychological study found that when someone used the word “because” when asking to cut in line to make copies, people were 93% more likely to let them cut. Even when the reason they gave was no different than what everyone else standing in line was doing.

“May I use the Xerox machine, because I need to make copies?” Why, yes, since you put it that way!

#2

Do write for someone with common sense.

Don’t try so hard to sound intelligent that you forget about the man on the Clapham omnibus.

In Britain, the English courts decide how to rule based on the average joe and how he would approach the situation. If the man on the Clapham omnibus thinks what you said was reasonable, then you’re good to go.

As a benchmark when you are writing, consider the reasonably educated but nondescript man in the back of the bus, and write for someone with common sense. Your writing needs to be simple and straightforward so your readers can understand you.

When I was in journalism school, they taught us the rule of K.I.S.S. If you keep it simple stupid, your average reader will think what you write is right on target.

#3

Do write like you speak.

Don’t try for inflated, professional writing that sounds like legalize.

Good business writing has no place on your website, email, or anywhere you actually want people to read what you write. Get rid of the corporate jargon and cold formality and write something interesting that will distinguish you from the crowd.

When you want to warn someone they are in imminent danger, which warning is more effective?

a. Look out!

b. It is highly advisable that you adopt a course of action that will rapidly move you to a safer locale.

In writing, communicating the same way you speak will get your ideas across more efficiently and clearly. Check the readability of your writing at Readability-score.com. It gives a report of your writing sample’s grade level based on five readability formulas.

The Writer’s readability checker explains the different readability formulas and gives you a comparison chart to other types of writing once you enter in your sample. This post rated a grade level of 9, which is the same for the BBC News site. The Flesch-Kincaid reading ease score is used the most; it’s built into Word and the U.S. military uses it for their technical manuals.

#4

Do use relevant keywords.

Don’t write to include keywords or engage in keyword stuffing.

Including keywords that people will use to search for you makes sense. Structuring your writing to include as many keywords as possible doesn’t. Creating high quality content is essential for SEO.

Doing keyword research is still important. Check out Copyblogger’s free keyword research guides. To learn what keywords and their variants Google found when crawling your site, use Webmaster Tools. After selecting your site on Webmaster Tools dashboard, click on Google Index, then Content Keywords.

If you’re being penalized for misuse of keywords, you can find out by clicking on Search Traffic, then Manual Actions.

#5

Do aim for perfection in grammar and spelling.

Don’t let your pursuit of perfection come at the expense of more important things.

Hitting publish before you proofread is a wise move, but striving for perfection to the degree that you’re crippling your creative genius is unproductive.

As Seth Godin says, “no one reads a comic strip because it’s drawn well.” Don’t let your need for perfectionism overcome writing something your audience wants to hear.

Find someone else to proofread your work for mistakes. If you must do it, then read over your writing several hours later, read it aloud, and, if you’re extra cautious, read it backwards, sentence by sentence.

Occasionally, typos happen. Just as the minced oath “stuff happens” describes the existential observation that life is filled with imperfections, your website copy will have an error.  Or two.

Just pray the Grammar Nazi doesn’t find you.

Filed Under: Kacee's Posts, Tools & Tips, Website Writing Tips

3 Rules to Killing Your Monster and Writing Better

June 25, 2013 Beth Devine

Killing Your Monster
Flickr photo courtesy of Rusty Clark

The thought of writing a blog post can send the average self-possessed person into fits of apoplexy.

That monster who hides under your bed? It’s as if he’s crawled out and wants to breathe the air in your shirt collar as soon as you set pen to paper. Or fingers to keyboard.

We’re not all Simon Cowell material, who remains unperturbed even through an ecstatic barrage of egg-bombs. (Just look at the perpetrator’s face in the YouTube video. Have you ever seen an expression of such gleeful retribution?)

However suave and steady you happen to be, sitting down to write, egg-free, can upend your calm state of zen. It’s time to chill and learn the 3 Rules for Writing Better.

Killing your monster is the added perk.

The internet is filled with advice on how to make your writing better, faster, and easier. There’s one thing everyone seems to agree on. It’s probably going to irritate the cowplop right out of you.

Ultimate Rule: Just Write.

3 Rules to Writing BetterIn case  you harbor any doubt, Brian Clark of Copyblogger created the 10 Steps to Becoming a Better Writer. This should really clear things up for you.

Being the generous writer he is, he even gave us a downloadable PDF to hang near our writing space.

Your aversion to writing, your bona fide fear, is about as real as that large red-eyed monster lurking behind you. If you turn around and it snares you in its lethal grip, then I’ll have to admit, you have a real excuse.

Otherwise, you just need to follow the ten steps. And take Stephen King’s advice in On Writing.

“The scariest moment is always just before you start. After that, things can only get better.”

So start. Just write.

The second rule is revolutionary. You will be equally peeved when you realize how straightforward this technique is, and yet, somehow, you’ve managed to remain oblivious.

Revolutionary Rule: Write in longhand.

What? But that’s for grandmas.

Writing in longhand has the remarkable effect of helping you to think better. Now go and tell Grandma that.

Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way compares writing to driving a car. When you are typing on the computer, it’s like driving 80 miles per hour and missing the exit. Writing by hand is like driving 60 miles per hour and seeing the exit up ahead. You even notice the surrounding sites as you approach your turnoff.

“The act of slowing down brings us to real and surprising clarity, offering insights we would have otherwise missed,” Cameron says at juliacameronlive.com.

Now that you’re determined to travel the scenic route, try using your memory muscle.

Awesome Cheat Rule: Copy the Masters.

When you copy in longhand the writing you admire, you’re exercising your memory muscle. This is the best way to cheat and learn from the masters at the craft.

Find writers who write like you want to write, and spend a half hour to an hour every day copying their work. Your brain will learn the writing style and you’ll be able to mimic it.

Studies of pictures of the brain show “that sequential finger movements activated massive regions involved in thinking, language and working memory—the system for temporarily storing and managing information.”

Repetitive drills, like practicing your golf swing, become part of your memory. Writing better has never been so simple. Practice, use longhand, and learn from the pros.

No one said writing was easy. But it can be simple when you apply methods that work.

How’s your monster? Still breathing?

Filed Under: Kacee's Posts, motivational, Tools & Tips, Website Writing Tips

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