Month: October 2010

Out With The Old, In With The New

out-with-the-old-in-with-the-newThink about the last two years. A lot has happened in your business. You probably have new services, new staff members, and new customers. So why do you have the same website copy?

You want your website copy to help your business, not hurt it. So right now, take the time to go through it and make notes of the following:

What do you offer?

Do you still offer all the services on your site ? Do you offer any new ones that are not on your site? If someone comes to your site and reads about your offerings, can they understand exactly why your business is worth their time and money?…

How to Master the Writing Process in 5 Simple Steps

how-to-master-the-writing-process-in-5-simple-stepsThe writing process is an important tool to master.  Having a guide to follow makes writing feel less daunting and more manageable.

Do you have a press release or newsletter you’ve been meaning to write for weeks or perhaps months? Do you blame it on being lazy, but really, you just have no idea where to start (plus, maybe you’re a little bit lazy)?

So where to begin? I’m going to break this down into five steps.

Brainstorming

The first step doesn’t even require you to write! You’re welcome. This step is simply to identify the message you want to get across and the best way to accomplish that.…

The Secret to Writing Online Copy

The-Secret-to-Writing-Online-CopyThink about the last book you read. Unless you’re into picture books, it probably had long blocks of text. Now imagine those same blocks of text on the web. Did you just shudder?

Writing for the web is much different than print. I like to think of it as the difference between what you expect picking up a book vs. a magazine. There’s a reason there is only one New Yorker.

The secret to writing online copy that is commanding and effective is knowing the tricks:

– Split it up. Avoid large blocks of text. Break up your message with lists, bullets, headers, white space, pictures, videos, etc.…

7 Writing Tips to Connect with Your Prospects

7-writing-tips-for-connecting-with-prospectsThis post was originally going to be titled: Writing From Your Reader’s Perspective. But I decided that just didn’t encompass all I was trying to say.

The point is you are writing for potential customers. Whether it’s through a newsletter, blog post, website, or brochure, you are sending your message because you want to connect with your current and potential customers.

That means you need to draw your prospects in, keep them wanting more, and forge a bond. Here are 7 writing tips on how to create connections:

1. Write compelling headlines. The five or so words in your headline are the most important text of your message.…

Writing 101: How to Write Like an Expert

Writing-101-How-to-Write-Effectively Can I let you in on a little secret? In order to be involved in social media, you have to write.  A lot.

I just blew your mind, didn’t I? You had never really stopped to think about it.

You knew you had to be on Twitter (writing tweets), Facebook (writing posts), Blogging (writing blogs), E-mail blasts (writing newsletters), but you never took a step back to realize how much writing was involved.

If you are writing your own social media content, your writing needs to be easy for readers to understand and act on.

How do you make sure to deliver such a lofty goal?…

5 Tips for Producing an Industrious Landing Page

5-steps-to-turn-visitors-into-paying-customers

Fact: It is easier to grow your business by increasing your conversion rates than by increasing your website traffic.

You want to focus on turning the eyes you have into paying customers rather than procuring more and more eyes.  Your landing page better rock.

What is a landing page?: A landing page is a page on a website that traffic goes to in order to take action.

The purpose of a landing page: To persuade visitors to take action on your offer.

In order to market your business effectively and make as many sales as possible, your landing page better be hot, hot, hot.…

Is Today The Day You Take Action?

is-today-the-day-you-take-actionTake a moment to close your eyes and visualize your to-do list.  Is it long and overwhelming?  If so, today, you’re going to take action.

I am going to let you in on a secret. Almost every email I get requesting my writing services has this line embedded in it: “I’ve been putting this off for months now.”

I have issued a challenge before, and it actually worked out quite well for a few of you. So here I go again. Today I challenge you to pick the one line on your to-do list that you’ve been meaning to work on, and make some progress on it.…