This week, I've had my head down preparing for a couple of speaking engagements next week and writing sales letters and web pages. And, with the holiday on Monday, I lost track of time and forgot to post on this blog!
It occurred to me while writing that some very different rules apply when you're writing for the web. In the long distant past I worked for a company who's main customer was the government. The language used in written communication was hard to understand and very formal and correct. My English teacher at school would have been proud of us!
Writing copy for this blog and for my website is almost like speaking a foreign language by comparison! Here are 5 ways that I've learned to make writing for the internet more effective:
There are 2 Kinds of Reader. Some people just like to skim down the page and pick up the important points without (or before) getting into the detail. To keep them reading, use sub-headings and bold font. Other people like the detail so give them plenty of interesting content to keep them reading.
The Heading is more important than the Content. I know I just said to make the content interesting! The heading has the crucial job of making you read further. Unless the heading pulls you in, even the best content in the world won't get read. There’s a great tool that will analyse your headlines at Advanced Marketing Institute.
Write as You Speak. When you've been used to writing formal letters and reports, this can be a hard concept to get your head around. The best advice I was given when I started my first newsletters about 5 years ago, was to write as if I was just having a conversation.
Write for Your Target Audience. There's a lot of pressure, when writing copy for the internet, to remember to include lots of keywords to rank well in the search engines. I agree, but not at the expense of turning off the people you hope will become clients! Google isn't going to buy from you.
Give Value in Your Content. I'm often told that I give too much free stuff away! But the truth is that there's so much excellent stuff out there - in the form of blogs, teleclasses, e-books, etc. and it's very often free. To keep people interested and coming back for more until they're in the right space to buy, you must give value in your content.
© Louise Barnes-Johnston, 2008
What tips do you have when writing for the web? Please do let me know by leaving a comment.
I thought I'd start using Friday's post to sum up what's been happening in the FrontLine Results world (and mine) during the week. That way, I can post on different issues Mon-Thurs.
So, this week has been very interesting. I've been looking for a new coach/mentor to help me take my business to the next level for a few months. I've now found one and am very excited about starting work together.
So far 2008 has been all about producing new products, learning new technology and making better use of the internet. However, I won't be abandoning more traditional methods completely - it's all about trying to achieve a good mix. It's also about find out what works by testing, modifying and testing again (time consuming but essential).
There have been some rather salutary lessons from my first Teleclass today. I first experienced this type of learning about 7 years ago and now take it for granted. I hadn't realised just how many people hadn't even heard of it. As a result, although today went well, I know that there were many business owners who didn't sign up because they didn't know what to expect. I need to put that right (perhaps by holding a free class?).
I know what I'm going to be doing for the next couple of hours - with a small glass of wine to help the ideas flow!
This is going to be a bit of a rant. I'm getting really fed up with business owners who keep coming up with excuses for why they aren't more successful. See what you think.
"I can't afford it." is a favourite excuse. Used for just about everything, but especially when trying to justify not using specialist services that will take their businesses forward, like marketing, book keeping and, of course, business coaching! These same people think nothing of quaffing coffees at Starbucks on a regular basis (or wherever), or buying books and CDs on personal development that end up gathering dust on a shelf.
"I haven't got time." is heard over and over again as a reason why they can't do some forward planning on their business. Apparently watching TV and spending hours on the Internet looking up 'stuff' doesn't qualify as using up time, for some reason.
I will confess to making excuses in the past, but then I got fed up with the sound of my own whingeing.
Regular readers of this blog will know that I'm not an advocate of new year resolutions, but I have made one:
Whenever I catch myself saying "I can't", I'm going to add "How can I ....?"
If we change the way we regard a problem or challenge, we will usually surprise ourselves with a solution!
So, how are you going to ....?
Staying up to date with information can be very hard to do.
This morning I was on the motorway driving to meet a new client. It was raining and generally not very pleasant. Fortunately most of my fellow drivers were adjusting their speed to suit the poor conditions. There are several overhead gantry signs along this stretch of the M27. When these first came into service I thought they were a great idea. I believe they still are - sometimes.
Unfortunately, the messages displayed are often out of date. The accident they refer to was cleared an hour ago. The heavy or wide load is long gone. The suggested speed restrictions of 40, 50 or 60 miles an hour are confusing when you can see way ahead that everything is moving freely.
Yesterday, I was invited to attend a workshop about Website optimisation. I know the chap who is delivering it and the information he delivered at his last workshop was out of date. The internet moves so quickly it is difficult to keep up and you simply have to have the latest news to use on your website. I won't be going to this workshop.
I used to think that reading newsletters and blog postings every day was being a bit lazy and self-indulgent (indeed it's easy to spend a lot of time on them if you're not careful). I've now worked out a system to skim everything quickly and keep the really interesting stuff to go back to later. I now know that reading this information is useful, both for me and for my coaching clients. I can pass on the little nuggets I pick up to help them in their businesses. If I didn't spend the time keeping up to date, I wouldn't be able to do this. It's an additional service that my clients appreciate - and it makes me look good!
Today is quite a red-letter day - and not because it's Thanksgiving in the US! No, it's a red-letter day for the FrontLine Results website - we now have an audio welcome message!!!
I don't know about you but I find that anything to do with technology (especially the internet) takes me an inordinate amount of time. Before I knew it the day was over! But I am quite pleased with the results and now understand the process a little better.
Today's achievement is all part of a bigger plan to expand and change the business model. After weeks of research and planning, it's all starting to come together - so exciting!
One lesson I've learned from successful business owners is that they are always thinking of ways to work better, smarter, faster. Businesses that continue to plod steadily along the same well-trodden pathways are doomed to be overtaken and could even face extinction unless they change.
Can't wait 'till tomorrow!
This week, I've had my head down preparing for a couple of speaking engagements next week and writing sales letters and web pages. And, with the holiday on Monday, I lost track of time and forgot to post on this blog!
