Successful Blog

Stop Calling it Content

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It’s official. The push for “content” has pervaded society so completely that I had this actual conversation with my 10 year old the other day:

10 Yr Old: “Mom, no-one is visiting my website.”
Me: “I visited it just yesterday.”
10 Yr Old: “I think I need to make more content.”

Boom. Throw down the microphone and walk off stage.

assembly line

There has been a robust conversation surrounding the sheer amount of “content” debris (go read Mark Schaefer’s original Content Shock post), but I think the larger issue has to do with the attitude of the “content” creator.

I propose that we just stop calling it “content,” and whip out some Barron’s vocabulary words to describe what we’re doing instead.

  • Research paper
  • Investigative journalism
  • Marketing video
  • Customer photos
  • Online brochure or catalog
  • Case studies
  • Interviews
  • Company news item

See where I’m going with this?

One result will be that we ourselves recognize when we’re writing sales copy vs telling a story. If you call it “content,” it could be anything.

If you call it what it is, maybe it shifts your point of view as a creator. You are no longer a robot on the assembly line, you are an artist, a designer, a writer.

It’s the difference between mass-produced frozen fish sticks and fresh-caught grilled trout.

Your homework today, should you choose to accept it, is to go through your marketing plan, campaign strategy, and/or social media plan and highlight everywhere it says “content.” Replace that word with phrases and words that mean something to your customers.

Are you content with “content?”

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Photo Credit: jamesjyu via Compfight cc

Promote Your Events with Compelling Copy

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By Jessica Davis

You may have heard the popular phrase “if you build it, they will come.”

This is quite untrue in case of organizing events and meetings. It doesn’t matter how well you have organized an event if you are unable to effectively market it. Lots of organizations and groups fall short in this regard only because they send out simple announcements listing the time, date, speaker, and location of an event.

You, as an event organizer, have to realize there is a lot of competition out there, and you need to convince prospective attendees that you are worth their money and time.

Importance of a compelling headline

A compelling headline holds the key to catching the eye of prospective attendees. A simple headline, such as “2013 Annual Conference” fails to grab the attention of any reader. It may describe what your event is about, but cannot really be called a headline. A compelling headline is one that incites the reader to learn more about the event. In terms of marketing, it should typically promise some benefits. For instance – ‘Master the art of social media in three hours;’ or ‘Touch new horizons with your business.’

If the event has only a single speaker, then their program title can be used as the headline, if it satisfies the criteria given above. Multi-speaker events will require you to present the overall benefits for the reader in the headline.

Event details

Location, time, and date

Be sure to make this information easy to locate. In fact, mention it twice at least on the web page or brochure. A map with parking information and driving directions is a nice addition too. If applicable, you should also mention the transportation and hotel information. Other than these, mentioning savings such as discounted rates on group bookings can also help your cause.

Program outline

Give a general idea of the things taking place in the event. You should include the schedule, such as networking time, meals, or other important details for multi-day or all day long meetings.

Attending benefits

This is the essence of the marketing message. This topic explains to the prospective attendees why they should invest their valuable resources in coming to your event. You have to be specific while promising results.

Presenter bios

The biographical information about speakers at the event establishes their credibility. Potential attendees probably won’t care about the bio of the speaker anyway, but not including this section may lead them to doubt the event’s credibility.

Registration information

Be sure to make the registration process painless. If the registration form is too confusing or very exhaustive, chances are potential attendees will simply reject the event due to the formalities involved in filling the registration alone. The registration instructions should be easy to follow, clear, and simple.

Highlight special features and incentives

Apart from the speakers, include other highlights of the event. This can include local tours, autograph session, trade show, banquet, concert or show, live demo, organized activities, and so forth.

Testimonials are other powerful marketing elements that are generally overlooked by event organizers. You should use two different testimonial types: one from speakers, and other from past attendees. These should preferably be result oriented, and the more, the merrier.

Finally, a call to action should conclude the whole sales presentation. Without it, prospective attendees probably won’t take any action apart from reading the whole presentation that you so painstakingly produced. Be clear at the end with lines such as “Register from this link”; “Fill form given below”; “Now!” Today”; or “Fax to this number”.

Author’s Bio: Jessica Davis is a Content Strategy Specialist with Godot Media – a leading content marketing firm. She has years of experience working closely with online businesses, helping them refine their marketing strategy through optimum use of content. Her other interests besides online content strategy, internet marketing and search engine optimization are, technology, sports and fashion.

5 Powerful Tips For Writing Irresistible Headlines

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How to Blog Series

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Ali Abbas

Do you want more people to read what you write?
Do you want more subscribers to your blog?
Write irresistible headlines!

It’s that simple.

5 Powerful Tips For Writing Irresistible Headlines

Writing headlines is a craft; practice, and practice more to sharpen your skills.
In addition to practice, read about writing headlines regularly to make sure your skills don’t get rusty.

This post offers 5 powerful tips about crafting headlines. You might already know some of these, but one or two will surely make you slap your forehead. Others might sound absurd. But believe me they will go a long way if you employ them.

1. Write the headline first

The temptation is to write the headline after you’ve written the whole piece. Why not – you can write a better headline when the copy is there in front of you, right?
Wrong!

Headline is a promise.

You make promises before you fulfill them. Your headline is the same.
If you save the headline for last, after writing the monstrous copy, you’ll want to write the darn headline quickly and be done with it. That’s not how to blog effectively.

If the headline doesn’t get the required attention, it won’t bring the desired results — the people who are perfect for what you offer.

2. Highlight the biggest benefit

Most readers don’t come to find out what you do or why you do it. They are interested in things that make their life easier and better, save them time, make them money, make them healthy or beautiful.

Tell readers in the headline what your text will do for them.

3. Length doesn’t matter

Many so-called gurus preach that shorter headlines work better.
Nonsense!

14-word headlines can get as much readership as 3-word headlines.
Length isn’t as important as getting your message across.

It, however, is better to keep the title under 70 characters (including spaces) on the internet. Longer titles get truncated by the search engines which can ruin your most powerful headline.

4. Don’t try to be tricky

Don’t try to be over smart when writing your headlines. Hundreds of thousands headlines are competing against you. Readers are too busy to figure out what the heck you are trying to say with unfathomable mumbo jumbo. They will simply click another link — one with a clear benefit.

5. Don’t write incomplete headlines

I had a personal experience with this a few days ago.

Traffic was jammed and I, being bored to death, was looking indifferently at the surroundings. My eyeballs got fixed at two advertising posters of rival two telecommunication companies, posted on wall end-to-end. Their headlines read as follows:

I. The Treasure (Say by Company A)
II. Make Free Calls For The Next 24 Hours (Say by Company B)

I ignored the first headline wondering “a telecom company and treasure, what the heck” and the traffic had just started to move slowly, so I didn’t have the time to read the rest of the ad.

The second headline was imprinted on the back of my mind. Later on, I came to know that the Company A offered better value, but by then I had already purchased the services of company B.

Never use headlines that require reading the rest of the advertisement to be understood. Readers will quit at that very point. They have no reason to read on. Readers on the internet read too quickly to keep on reading to find out what you are trying to say.

What it all boils down to is…

To apply the marketing wisdom of P.T. Barnum:

“You can’t please all of the readers all of the time; you can’t please even some of the readers all of the time, but you really ought to try to please at least some of the readers some of the time.”

The sole purpose of a headline is to attract people who are most interested in your offer. Follow these 5 powerful tips for writing irresistible headlines. Ignoring them is simply wasting your time as well as money. Prove it to yourself!

What rules do you follow when writing headlines? Share in the comments.

Author’s Bio:
Ali Abbas is a freelance writer and blogging enthusiast. At the Writers Blog (), he shares his innovative ideas for starting a real, sustainable and profitable online writing career. To learn more about writing headlines, download his FREE Report: Secret Ingredients To Writing Killer Headlines That Always Get Noticed.

Use Writing Skills; Get Compensated at the Same Time

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Whether it is done as a primary job or just picking up some part-time work on the side, freelance writing is a great way to get a writer’s name out there, picking up some extra money along the way in many cases.

In the event you are considering freelance writing or have been doing it for a while but don’t feel you are getting all you can out of it, there are several things to keep in mind.

Among them are what you will be writing about, who you will be writing articles for, whether or not you will be getting compensated and how often you will be expected to craft stories.

The top challenge for many freelancers, especially those just beginning, is what their area of expertise should be.

Should they focus on an area that they currently or have worked in or choose a topic selection that is of great interest to them, even if they aren’t necessarily experts in that field?

While it is a given that newspapers and magazines are traditional sites for one to offer their freelance articles, there are many other avenues where one can find enjoyable work and make some extra money on the side. Among them are:

  • SEO Writing – If you know how to write from an SEO point of view, you can definitely find work in today’s Internet driven age. More and more companies are contracting with companies who want SEO branded copy to improve their search engine rankings. SEO writing is different from traditional writing in the sense that certain words and phrases are targeted to be picked up by the search engine. Phrasing sentences with SEO words is a little trickier than a normal sentence, but it is not that hard to do. The goal here is businesses want to attract customers, and your writing skills may just do that.
  • Copywriting – While some businesses have full-time in-house copywriters, others either give outgoing articles a quick look or look outside for freelance copywriters. If you have an eye for detail, you can accrue a rather steady stable of work in the process.
  • Resumes – With more individuals out of work these days, it should come as no surprise that many people need to keep their resumes up to speed. If you’re good with writing and editing, you can assist individuals in sharpening their resumes.
  • Press Releases – While many companies spend their time doing press releases in-house, others will look to freelancers to craft the right message for them. The style and substance of each press release will vary from company to company, so if you have a diverse writing background and can write captivating copy, this might be for you.
  • Ghostwriting – How many times have you seen ads online or elsewhere seeking a ghostwriter? Whether it is someone producing a book or movie who doesn’t have the time to write or someone isn’t a very good writer and needs assistance, ghostwriters can make some nice money in doing so. Keep in mind that you will not get a byline and any credit for the material, but it can lead to some steady and profitable work.

Where Does Pay Rank in Importance?

While freelancing does have its advantages in the eyes of many writers, one major concern is always regarding on-time payments and making sure you get paid in the first place.

In order to make sure you don’t fall victim to unscrupulous businesses for your writing services, make sure you are up front about the payment requirements when you put a business proposal together for a prospective buyer of your writing services.

To be safe, seek a contract so that everything is in writing. If you don’t want to go the contract route, at least get a proper e-mail exchange that provides the terms of the deal. With an independent contractors’ deal in writing, the chances of being taken advantage of certainly decrease.

Secondly, have in place a kill fee so that your work does not go to waste if the client kills the project and/or the piece does not reach publication.

Finally, seek a deposit up front, thereby giving both you and the client added incentive to follow through with everything.

While it doesn’t fall under the payment category, ask your client if they wouldn’t mind recommending your services to others seeking writers, proofreaders, etc.

Once the word filters around to the value of your writing services, you could be free to do more work and increase your wallet size.

Photo credit: gaebler.com

Dave Thomas, who covers among other items advice on starting a small business, writes extensively for Business.com, an online resource destination for businesses of all sizes to research, find, and compare the products and services they need to run their businesses.

Content or Copy: Ignore the Difference at Your Own Risk

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The Pigeons and the Preacher?

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When we were first married, my husband I were walking through a city park. The lawn was filled with pigeons. He voiced the most unusual thought. “Why are pigeons always the same size?” he said. “What if they are all baby pigeons and a great mother pigeon lives up on the roof of one of those buildings?”

Shortly thereafter we passed a young man in scruffy clothes who told us that the world was ending. He asked us to change the way we were living. He offered us the reasons and joys of how living his way would make our lives wonderful and give us peace forever. I wondered whether he’d heard the conversation about the pigeons.

If the two messages had been written as text–one would be content; the other would be copy.

Do know see the difference? I don’t mean to hold you hostage. But ignore the difference at your own risk. [Read more…]