2009 April

Archive for April, 2009

Why Should I Blog?

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

Yesterday I talked with a group of people about writing. Specifically, we were talking about content marketing, and what it means to write a blog.

I got some great tips from the wordpress blog, which is definitely worth checking out if you’re trying to answer this question.

Here are my answers:

To Create Something

With a blog, you can create a good business atmosphere, a helpful presence on the web, or an idea to grow within a community. Creativity is criminally neglected at most businesses, but why? Everyone gets a box of crayons in Kindergarten.

To Be Findable

Blogs allow your business to have a renewed presence, not just on the internet, but on where people look on the internet. The content from your blog positions you (along with a lot of other stuff). It’s the difference between putting up a billboard, and sharing your ideas with a group of people -sometimes a very large group- who are interested in them.

To Communicate

Good blogging establishes you as an expert. Not necessarily in your field, (because your field might be filled with more qualified, better known experts), but on your viewpoint. Blogging is a good way to have your say, on your subject, and find out how others feel about it.

These answers are all processes that serve a common principle: to lead. Good blogs are leaders- sources of knowledge, guidance, and direction.

If you decide to start blogging, and what you make is creative, findable, and communicates your ideas, your blog will share the lead in your field.

Tags: business relationships, content, content marketing, getting started in social media, partnerships, writing
Posted in Content Creation, Copywriting, Marketing, Social Media | 1 Comment »

Why Personalization Is The New Advertising

Friday, April 24th, 2009

Last night, my wife came home after taking our son to T-ball practice. Walking into the kitchen with our baby in one arm and groceries in the other, she stopped to look on the kitchen table at a piece of direct mail from inkpixi.

The postcard wasn’t unusual,, except it had our last name, Curnett, printed in Princetown LET font on all kinds of items with the word “university” underneath. Curnett University.

It didn’t matter that all the signs of junk mail were on the postcard (Limited Time Offer!). It was enough to stop my wife in the middle of what she was doing, just because someone had thought to use our name in an unexpected way.

Personalizing Your Content

Direct mail isn’t content. But it does try to leverage personalization as much as possible. Content, before it became the basis for new marketing strategies, was usually disassociated from the person creating it.

Personalization is at the center of content marketing. For both the creator and the consumer, content’s got to be personal to have any real effect on your business. Here’s why:

When you’re creating worthwile content, it differes from, say, a trade magazine in that you can put yourself into it. It’s not just about facts, it’s about observations. Are those observations interesting enough, astute enough, to be worthwhile?

If they are, that’s unexpected. What people expect is to be bored by marketing. If you make it personal, you’re going beyond those expectations.

Personalizing Your Discussion

The other way content marketing gets personal is by interaction. With the tools available today that allow you to talk to your customers, it makes no difference if you keep putting up billboards. People want personal attention.

Maybe that doesn’t make a difference in your field right now. But it probably will. It used to be called corporate culture, but in most places, that was too fake. Authenticity is attractive.

With a personalizied approach, people will mostly buy from you because you’re you- they can get your widget from anywhere.

Tags: content, content marketing, Copywriting, getting started in social media, Social Media
Posted in Content Creation, Copywriting, Marketing, Partnership, Social Media | No Comments »

How To Overcome Your Posting Stagefright

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

I know about posting stagefright. I’m a guy who’s spent 15 minutes agonizing over the wording of a status update on Facebook. Believe me, I’ve been there.

Here’s my advice: work through it. It’s like writer Anne Lamott said (and I’m paraphrasing here)- When I feel bad, I think that I need therapy and self-help courses and a few drinks, when what I really should do is go mow my lawn. And so it goes with writing. Sometimes we just lock up when it’s time to update content.

Here are a few tips on helping you overcome that fear of posting…

Write To A Friend

Or a colleague. Whatever. Just choose someone you have an easy time talking to, and write as if you’re writing to them. If you can capture the same tone you use when talking to someone familiar, you’ll go a long way toward creating something that people will want to read.

Get An Editor

If you’re creating content for a lot of people to see, get someone to edit it for you. Not for everything; most small writing projects you can handle just fine on your own. But for big ones, get an editor. There are a couple of methods: If you have a co-worker or friend who writes well, ask them to edit for you. If you have a really big project, you should hire a professional editor.

Just as you wouldn’t create important images without a graphic designer, don’t publish important writing without an editor. Having an editor takes the pressure off. It’s not the green-light to turn in 500 pages of free verse, but you can breathe a little easier knowing that there’s someone watching out for you.

Isn’t It All Important?

No. That’s the short answer, anyway. But for that to make sense, it needs some context and qualification. First, content marketing is about creating useful information that people will return to. That means, yes, your content is important.

But it’s not Hemmingway. In creating regularly updated content, it’s the total cache that matters. Is your writing serving a purpose? That’s what makes it important.

In other words, if you agonize over how people are going to receive you, you’ll never work up the nerve to just put what you know out there. And just get going. There are people who want to hear from you, about you, and all the details of how you can help them.

So, go help.

Tags: content, content marketing, Copywriting, getting started in social media
Posted in Content Creation, Copywriting, Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »

Who Is This Blog For?

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

Well, there’s a really easy answer to that question. It’s for you, of course. This space is geared toward providing some tips about writing content and creating digital marketing.

But just how to structure those tips? That’s the trick. People we interact with come from across the board. There are high-end users who would be interested in in-depth SEO discussions. There are managers solely concerned with content creation. Social media is on everyone’s mind- what about some insight there?

Pat and I want to make these posts as useful as possible. Would covering marketing across the board dilute the focus too much? Is it already too imprecise? What’s your take on the Marketing Millisecond?

Tags: content, content marketing
Posted in Content Creation | No Comments »

Secrets To Shiny, Finished Content

Friday, April 17th, 2009

This post is the final part of a short series about the writing process and how to create content from start to finish.

Being done. It’s a nice feeling- we all get to mark something off of our lists. People who use our content are happy there’s new stuff to consume. You’ll get the opportunity to work on something different. The sense of accomplishment is in the air.

How do you know when you’re done with a piece of content? That’s what the second edit is for. Here are some techniques I use for the final piece:

Know The Difference Between Editing And Changing

There’s a point where you are no longer making progess in an edit. If you’re really banging your head against the wall over a phrase or a sentence, try omitting it. Most good editing is about cutting things out.

But if you just can’t stop yourself from going back to it (and this applies to the piece as a whole, too), realize that you’re wasting your time. After a certain point, you can no longer improve writing; you can only change it. It’s not better, it’s just different. Recognize that and move on.

Use Cues

In the last post, we talked about creating some markers for tone and style. You want examples from your first edit on what works well. You also want some signposts on what to stay away from, too, especially if you’re creating content for a client, your supervisor, etc. For a consistent and coherent piece of writing, it’s important to stick with those cues.

I sometimes keep sentences that I’ve edited out on the first round. Move them to the bottom of the page. If you get stuck on a phrase or sentence later in the piece, you can refer to what you’re excluding. If the part in question looks or sounds something like that, axe it.

Read Out Loud

Read the entire piece out loud to yourself. If you have to stop to make a correction, go back a bit before starting again, just to pick up the rhythm. Don’t skip anything; read through to the end.

It’s surprising how many people choose not to do this. It’s an easy check, and it makes a huge difference in the quality of your finished work. Plus, reading aloud helps to prepare you for other writing- hearing the words that you’ve created can be a confidence booster, and that’s hugely important when writing content.

Always Preview

The way your writing sounds when you write it can be completely different when you publish it, depending on format. Always preview your content in the format that it will be published in.

The design is just as important as the content. O.k., maybe not in every format- there’s not much design content in, say, a congressional report. But maybe there should be (they’d have a better chance at getting read).

A lot of people look forward to editing; the hard part, creating, is done. Others dread editing, feeling like it bogs down the process. Whatever your feelings on it, you have to edit. At least twice. If you want professional looking work, there’s no other way to do it. There are no shortcuts.

After going through your second edit, you should be ready to publish. Don’t consider your work done until, well, you’re done.

Tags: content, content marketing, writing
Posted in Content Creation | No Comments »

If You’re Bored Editing, You’ll End Up With Boring Writing

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

This post is part of a series about the writing process and how to create content from start to finish.

Have you ever used a pressure washer? Like, the gun you get to spray at a self-serve car wash? First edits are like that. You’re applying pressure to your sentences, your thoughts. The loose stuff gets blasted away, and the strong parts remain, nice and shiny.

Editing should be the most exciting thing about writing. Well, almost. Finding that creative streak that dumps ideas on the page like up-ending a stocking at Christmas- that’s the most exciting part.

But the almost-as-exciting part of creating content is editing. Editing is about flow. It’s about form. It’s the true expression of what you mean to say when you write.

Uncovering Treasure

What are you uncovering? I look for 3 things: tone, style, and structure. I’ve usually taken my cue on these through collaborating with a client, so I’ve started with some direction to begin with. But they can be whatever you’d like, as long as it’s clear and consistent. On the edit, you want these elements to come through with presence.

It’s Mostly Subtraction

Jam everything into your draft. That’s what it’s for- inclusion. The way to edit, then, is to go in and see what you can take out. Strip your piece all the way down. Get rid of the clutter. Here’s an example I like a lot from William Zinsser…

Clutter is the ponderous euphemism that turns a slum into a depressed socio-economic area, and garbage collectors into waste disposal personnel… I saw an ad for a boys’ camp designed to provide “individual attention for the minimally exceptional”.

A lot of business writing suffers terribly from clutter. Somehow, long phrases and big words feel like they’re a good substitute for ideas. They’re not.

Get Directions

A good way to make sure that your style, tone, and structure are well established is to pick out some prime examples in your draft. You have to be able to identify those things if you want to recreate them, to strengthen them.

See a phrase that sets the tone? Make a note of it. Then, use words that have the same mood and spirit. Same thing with style. Be consistent with the techniques you’re using to create your style of writing; it should be efficient and clear. For structure, try to stick with a form that’s well established and recognizable.

It’s also a goopd idea to get some examples of what to stay away from. This is especially important if your draft is going to be a template for more content. For example, if you’re writing an entire website, get a couple of pages through a first draft before you write the whole site.

By the end of your first draft, you should have a workable piece of content, ready for a little more polish.

Tags: content, content marketing, writing
Posted in Copywriting | No Comments »

The Secret To Preparing Your Content

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

This post is part of a series about the writing process and how to create content from start to finish.

Of all the elements necessary to create worthwhile content for your site, the one I would recommend most is confidence.

Confidence shines through good writing better than any other characteristic. If you’re on the web to sell something (even if it’s just an opinion or an idea), then your writing needs to be confident. It’s the secret ingredient that can make your writing stand out, and get read.

The best way to inject some confidence into your words is to start strong. Build a good foundation before you build anything else. Here are some methods you can use to create your first drafts…

Sketch It Out

As soon as you start, get away from the computer. Write your ideas down on paper. People are often amazed at how this little step can totally transition them from staring at a blank screen in frustration to full-fledged creation.

There’s a visual element to working with pen and paper, too. It lends itself really well to creating outlines and lists. Tables, design ideas, anything that takes a little more doing on a computer is worth getting roughed out on paper first.

Using Prompts

Writing prompts can start off a piece of content like a ham-bone can start off a pot of pea soup. You can use promts that you find around the web, or create your own. Lots of times, just creating a list of prompts is enough to start your draft.

Also, drive your writing prompts to your own experience. Choose something that you feel comfortable talking about. If you have to write about a subject that you don’t have much of a background in, choose one that you’re comfortable researching, and include your role as researcher in your writing.

Build On Older Content

There are a couple of ways you can create drafts out of content that already exists. First, take a piece that you like and explode it. Break down all the parts of what makes it a coherent piece, choose one part as a topic, and go.

Another way to go is to gather 3 or 4 pieces of content with the same subject that you like. Edit out all the major points into a new document, and organize them into a new peice of writing. Make sure that you’re adding something, and don’t just cut and paste. Better to write nothing at all.

Keep Moving

First drafts are all about ideas. Get them down on the page. In order to do that successfully, you’ve got to write with abandon. Don’t stop for spelling, for diction, for grammar. Just keep writing.

Keep in mind the word “draft”. That’s what you’re shooting for. Stitching everything together comes in the late stages of your 1st draft, so don’t worry about congruity, at least at first. You can prove this to yourself by taking two related ideas and tying them together, just for practice. It’s not too hard, once the ideas are in place.

All of these tips point to the confidence that a good start can give your writing. If you can just get some of those ideas down, cobbling them together and putting a little polish on top will creat a great first draft.

Next time: Making Your First Edit Count

Tags: content, content marketing, writing
Posted in Content Creation, Uncategorized | No Comments »

How To Take Your Content From Draft To Done

Monday, April 13th, 2009

This is the first post in a series about the writing process and how to create content from start to finish.

There are as many different ways to write as there are people to write stuff. But there are a few tried and true methods for creating good, readable web content that are worth getting familiar with.

It’s like the wheel, to use a don’t-re-invent-it example. If it’s round, and it rolls, it’s probably been used as a wheel before. But, let’s face it: some wheels are better than others.

With that in mind, here’s how I go through a piece of writing. There are things here that will work for you and things that you’ll tweak. That’s great- what’s important is the process.

Get A Pencil And Paper

I always like to start off away from the keyboard. This keeps me from trying to write the finished product right off the bat. I hate writing things out by hand, so this method conveniently keeps me in the “outline/note taking” phase for as long as I need to be.

Draft Creation- There Are No Mistakes

?O.k here’s the thing about cerating a 1st draft: you’cve got to put everything on the screaen the 1st time through. Don’t worry about spelling mistakes, or grammart. Get the clay on the table–you can mold it later. Its a hrkd abit to git into, but igt will amakeh y7uou so much mor productive.

(It’s pretty embarrassing to put that up here, but so what. Here’s the same paragraph after editing)

The most important part of creating a 1st draft is to include all of your mistakes. If you can let go of trying to make corrections as you write, you’ll get way more done, plain and simple. Get the clay on the table. You can mold it later.

First Edit- The Ground Rules

I try to establish tone, style, and structure on the first edit. Initially, you’ll want to do the spellcheck-and-clean-up part. Then, if you’re working with an editor (or a client), pick out some strong examples of what they’re looking for, and note them in the first draft. Also, get some examples of what they don’t like. Once you identify these things, you can make your next edit with some big guideposts to help you.

Second Edit- Cut and Polish

Those changes you make on the first edit should get you where you’re going- almost. Take what you’ve got and read the entire thing aloud. I can’t stress this enough. Read-throughs can clue you into a strong flow that silent reading misses.

Also, preview your writing in the space you’ll publish it to. Sometimes the formatting will reveal words or phrases that don’t quite fit.

Final Copy- Ready For Readers

After your second edit, what you have left is your final copy (in this model, anyway. Some forms of writing can and should have rounds and rounds of editing) . You might have something to remove here or there, but you should be ready to publish.

Concept and notes. Draft. Edit. Edit. Publish. Easy enough, so get to it, eh? Tomorrow, more on ideas and outlines.

Tags: content marketing, writing
Posted in Content Creation | No Comments »

Why More Content?

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

A good question for small business owners to ask is, “Why should I be constantly putting more content on my website?”

There are a lot of reasons, but I’m going to talk about three of them. These reasons explain more than just the need for more content, too. They speak to what didgital marketing means today. You could just as easily ask, “Why digital marketing?” and you’d get the same answers.

For SEO Search engine optimization is how your digital marketing gets seen. Just as you would place print ads in publications in your verticle, SEO places messages around the web. It’s not as easy as calling an advertising director at a trade publication, which is why it’s good to have a professional help you.

More content from an SEO perspective simply translates into more opportunity for your message to be seen. Think of every peice of content that you write as a way for someone to find out about you. That’s the way your SEO company sees it.

To Build Renewed Interest Creating new content is a service for your users. It gives them a reason to keep visiting you online. Every time you have something that’s new, it’s another chance to build a relationship with someone who’s interested in you. That person may one day become your customer, and, if you’re really good at it, might turn others on to your online presence as well.

And it just so happens that this is the answer to the question of “what should my content be about?” Think of it this way: would you return to a site over and over if it contained new ads for a particular business? Your content has to be about you, your take on things, and ways that your business can help someone. Not everyone wants your help, and most people don’t care. But the ones that do, those will be the people your online presence thrives on.

To Connect Building relationships with your customers is one thing that content marketing is really useful for. Potentially. If you’re a good listener, you have the potential to grow your business and have your customers participate in a way that was impossible, say, ten years ago.

But being able to listen means being flexible. People are going to be critical of your business. In public. Remember- that’s going to happen whether you listen or not. If you’re a good listener, you’ll not only be able to find people wherever they’re talking about you, but you’ll be able to participate in a way that grows your business. The initial talk, good and bad, will come from continually updated content.

Tags: content, content marketing, Social Media
Posted in Content Creation | No Comments »

Why Upside-Down Pyramids Make Your Copy Stronger

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

We all want strong copy. Well written messages on the web

Are easy to understand
Offer a clear directive
Provide information
Make tasks easier

2117929537_50678ff76b Writing something with those qualities takes real practice and effort. It’s worth gathering as many tips on technique as you can (preferably before you’ve got to sit down and write something).

Here’s one that I really like from Ginny Reddish, who studies and talks about digital usability, and discusses how writing can help or hurt a website.

The inverted pyramid style of writing focuses on this: Write your point first. Most web users don’t read more than a few words on each page. Based on the information they find there, they decide if they’ll read further, or click to somewhere else. Quickly.

To write in the inverted pyramid style

Always put your point at the top of your page
Follow with supporting information in the order that it is relevant to readers
Conclude with history or background

If you imagine an upside-down pyramid, the wide space at the top signifies your main point. You write the essence of your message here because that is where most of your readers are.

As you descend the pyramid, the sides narrow. Visualize fewer and fewer readers as you get closer to the bottom, and you start to get the idea. A good rule of thumb is write things in order of their importance.

Traditional essay writing is contrary to this idea. It usually presents a premise, then supporting history and information. Finally, the conclusion is presented as the main point. The strongest part is at the bottom.

Web readers won’t wait for that style of writing to unfold. Flip the pyramid bottom side up, and start with your main point.

Tags: content, content marketing, writing
Posted in Content Creation, Copywriting | 1 Comment »

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