The Write Blog

Web writing is a particular kind of beast unlike other types of copywriting – you didn’t learn how to write for the Web in school, and you won’t learn how to do it without some solid groundwork first.

It actually takes a lot of skill to write good Web copy:  it needs to be clear, concise, engaging, persuasive, and informative all at the same time.  It also needs to work within your website’s architecture so that visitors to your site don’t get lost and give up.

In other words, it ain’t exactly easy.

But for business owners, beginner copywriters, newbie bloggers, and even seasoned pros who want to start learning, brush up, or just get up to speed on the basic tenets of Web writing, we’ve put together a blog series to do just that.  Our 4 part series covers all the topics related to writing great Web copy and engaging audiences on the Internet:

1. 1. How Anyone Can Write SEO Copy
2. 2. 5 Online Personalities You Have to Accommodate in Web Writing
3. 3. 5 Web Writing Mistakes that can Kill Your Conversion Rates
4. 4. 5 Copywriting Rules That Don’t Change … Even on the Web

We’ll visit each topic once a week – so check back often for the next installation.  Without further ado, let’s get you up to speed on SEO content writing.

How Anyone Can Write SEO Copy

Here’s the truth that most SEO copywriters don’t want you to know: SEO copywriting is easy.  Anyone can do it.  A guy from Siberia who speaks Yakutian can do it.  All you need to know is a few not-so-complicated ground rules, and you can write copy that make Google like you.  Now, writing copy that makes potential clients like you…well that’s a lot harder, but we’ll get to that part in the next blog.

So, ready for the SEO copywriting formula?  Here it is…

1.  Do your keyword research first. How do you do that?  You don’t need a big expensive program unless you’re going to do this stuff full time.  All you need is to visit the Google keyword tool to do all your preliminary research.

Start by typing some variations of what you think people might search for in the box – the Google keyword tool will tell you if they really are searching for it.  For instance, a preowned vehicle dealership might type in “preowned vehicles” only to find out that “used cars” is a much more popular search.

But SEO pros will also advise you that you shouldn’t always go with the most searched for stuff.  More targeted keywords – for instance, “women’s alligator wallets” versus just Continue reading How to Write Web Copy that Sells Stuff and Engages Customers #1

The mysteries of pronunciation are solved! Not sure how to pronounce boson, dais, belfry, duchy, or denigrated? Check out the talking dictionary at howjsay.com. Sooo cool.

Surprise!  It’s both.

Login is the noun.  Log in is the verb. 

So, you log in to your website using your login.  Got it?

Have some more helpful writing tips?  We always love to hear them.

Before you rush to start a new Wikipedia article, there are a couple of things to consider.

Wikipedia has a huge gamut of guidelines for writing, uploading, and editing Wiki articles.  But before you begin any of those tasks, you first need to know what types of subjects are appropriate for Wikipedia.

Wikipedia’s notability policy lays out the guidelines for good Wiki subjects.  All articles must be “worthy of notice” – though that doesn’t necessarily depend on fame, importance, or popularity.

Notability for a person, product, business, group, or organization can be defined in a lot of ways: historical significance, geographical reach, uniqueness in the market, consumer interest, and cultural significance, to name a few.  There are no hard and fast rules as to what qualifies a subject as “notable” enough for Wikipedia. However, there are some rules that govern what isn’t acceptable for a Wikipedia article.

A good Wikipedia editor or consultant can help you determine if your article idea is appropriate for a Wikipedia entry.

Inappropriate Wikipedia topics:

1. Your original research. Only proven facts or commonly accepted theories on Wikipedia, folks.  Save the research for journals.
2. Up-and-comers. Wikipedia is for business/products/people that have already achieved a certain level of success, not those that are still working to achieve notable successs.
3. Small businesses. Hate to say it, but your business needs to be of some type of significance — a regional, national or international reach, very unique product, or of historical interest — to have a place on Wikipedia.  Think PetCo and Shell versus Sasha’s Pet Emporium and Al’s Quik Stop.
4. Your website, your blog, your family history, a book or instruction manual you wrote. It’s tricky saying what I just said, because there is a certain amount of subjectivity related to notability.  If your website, blog, family history, or book does pass the relevance test, then Wikipedia is for you.  But for most of us folks, it doesn’t apply.  So, if your website or blog has demonstrated influence (like Snopes.com Continue reading Wikipedia’s Notability Rules Explained: What Makes a Good Wikipedia Topic?

Unsolicited marketing materials – direct mail and sales emails targeting new customers – generally have low conversion rates.  Your artfully crafted letters may end up in the trash unopened, andyour emails might go ignored for weeks.

Before shelling out money on postage or spending time on an email to drum up new business, consider the following tips to increase your conversion rates.

1. Keep it simple. State your business and what you’re offering in the first paragraph or first few lines – that might be all the time you have to get the reader’s attention.  Save the details for later in your email.
2. Use a P.S. line. Reader’s eyes are naturally drawn to the “P.S.” at the bottom of direct mail letters.  Use that line strategically to include Continue reading Six Quick Tips for Better Conversion Rates: Direct Mail and Marketing Emails