Are There Any Synonyms for Synonym?

Whoever created the English language must have had a wicked sense of humor. Why else would they have used “monosyllabic” to describe a word with just one syllable? And why isn’t the word “long” actually long?

Perhaps the most interesting of these questions is: Why are there no true synonyms for “synonym?”

This great article from Mental Floss poses that very question. And while it acknowledges the fact that there are some words, such as “metonym,” that come close to having the same meaning, it seems that “synonym” does not actually have a true synonym.

Adding yet another dimension to the discussion, the article also mentions that there are arguments for the possibility that there are no true synonyms at all.

This is just the kind of philosophical language puzzle that we at TWFH just love! So, check out the article, and let us know what you think. Do true synonyms exist? And if they do, what is the synonym for synonym?

Celebrating Ten Years with Kathy – A Woman of Many Hats

Ten years ago, Kathy agreed to help her best friend with some paperwork. She had no idea that the bag full of accounting receipts she tackled that day would turn into a full-time job that includes things like project management, accounting, and client interaction on a typical day. On top of all that, Kathy works on a range of projects, from Wikipedia to genealogy to web design. And one of her favorite “duties” is to pep up her co-workers when they have a bad day.

Management. Bookkeeping. Psychotheraphy. Kathy does it all.

To celebrate a decade with Kathy, we sat down with her to chat about some of her favorite memories and projects during her time with The Writers for Hire. She even gave us some juicy details about some of the company’s most unusual projects. Here’s what she said:

How did you get involved with The Writers for Hire?

I’ve known Wintress since I was 22 and we played dorky board games. She started this writing business and needed someone to help her part-time. I went to her house and she gave me a stack of accounting receipts and said, “Fix this.”

I helped her for a bit, then left and worked at the Grand Canyon. She hired me again when I came back. By then, her business had bloomed from just about 20 clients to over 100. I’ve been here ever since.

What is the best part of your job?

I get to work with my best friend every day, so that’s kind of cool. The hours are family-friendly, and I can be home when my kids get off school. Also, I learn new things all the time. No day is ever the same. For example, right now I’m formatting a book for a family history project, plus choosing company software, accounting, and all sorts of stuff.

I really love working with a lot of the clients, especially some of the book clients have had such fascinating lives. 

What’s the most unusual project you’ve done?

So many!  I’ve gotten to meet so many interesting clients, even though I don’t always get to work on the projects directly: a PBS kids show, 19th century journal transcription, the history of a Native American tribe, autobiographies for some really amazing people.  We also did some comic books, which I didn’t work on directly, but I thought were interesting.

When I first started working for The Writers for Hire, Wintress left me with the phone in the office one day. The very first person I talked to was a woman who wanted our help marketing her foaming bath salts so that she could sell them to high-end hotels. She claimed that she had developed this software program that would allow the hotel to pick the right bath salts for the customer. When we asked her how it worked, she said the program “read your aura.” She hired us for the website, but it didn’t really work out.  We have learned since then – you don’t have to take every client.  It has to be a good match.

What is your favorite type of project or work?

I like brainstorming and coming up with grand ideas for helping the company be more efficient.  On the client side, the genealogy and family history projects are really my favorite.  The team gets to dig up some really fascinating stuff – old cemetery records, newspaper articles, even church records from Europe.  I live vicariously through the writers on some of those projects, and get almost as excited as they do when they find a piece of hard-to-find history.

Even though Wikipedia projects are frustrating, sometimes I find a way to get what the client wants and stay within the Wiki regulations, and that’s exciting.

What is the hardest project you’ve worked on?

Anything Wikipedia related is difficult just because it can be so frustrating to explain Wikipedia’s many rules and regulations. People don’t like their rules and sometimes get angry with me, but they aren’t my rules.

You’re often the first point of contact for a potential client. What is the strangest inquiry you’ve gotten for a project we didn’t end up doing?

We get lots of inquiries from people who want us to write rap music and highly personal projects.  Needless to say, we don’t take these types of projects!

Even so, here are a few that stick out:

We had a person contact us because he’d just found out that his wife was cheating on him and he wanted to write a “strongly worded letter” to his wife’s lover to get him to go away so he could get his wife back.

A long time ago, a guy called Wintress and wanted help putting together a book about his struggle with the government. At first it sounded like he’d been sued by the government and he talked about having all this documentation, so we were intrigued. Then he sent us this whole envelope of notes about how his neighbors – and aliens! – were spying on him, and had drawings of the spy devices. That was wild.  

How has the company changed since you’ve started here?

When I first started working here, the office was just a spare bedroom in Wintress’s house. I would go to her house a couple days a week to help her file paperwork. We learned about accounting and bookkeeping along the way. We have really grown up. Plus, there are a lot more people that work for us now. When I started working with Wintress, she just had two part-time writers who helped with her overflow work, and now we have a network of over 20.

Here’s Your Chance to Re-Write the Classics!

If you have been considering re-writing a classic book or putting your own spin on an old movie, then 2019 is your year!

For the first time in 20 years, a whole year’s worth of copyrighted works has been released into the U.S. public domain. Under the terms of the Sonny Bono Copyright Act, these works, which were first published in 1923, are now copyright free.

So, what does that mean?

According to this interesting article from lifehacker.com, it means that you can not only re-publish these old works, but also make newly copyrighted works based on the originals.  

So, if you have been dying to change the ending to Bambi, or make some updates to Virginia Woolf’s Jacob’s Room, your time has finally come!

Two Decisions to Make Before You Start Writing Your Nonfiction Book

Most of our ghostwriting clients come to us with some clear ideas of what they want in their book: They know what they want to say, and they know who they’re writing for. They know why they’re writing a book — whether it’s to honor a loved one, bolster their career, share their expertise, or tell their unique story.

They’ve often decided whether they want to pursue traditional publishing or go a more DIY/self-publishing route. They know if they want a coffee-table volume with thick, glossy paper or a more portable and budget-friendly paperback. Some of our book clients even have very specific ideas for the book’s design, right down to the art that will go on the cover.

But there’s more to ghostwriting than paper quality and pretty pictures. In fact, before you write a single word, you’ll need to make some key decisions about voice, style, and point of view. In this blog, we’ll take a deep dive into two of the most important decisions you’ll make about your book: Point of view and tone (or, how the book “sounds”).

Decision 1: Point of View   

One of the first style decisions you’ll need to make is whether you want to want to write your book in first-person or third-person point of view. Not sure what’s best for your book? Here’s what you need to know:

First Person:

In first-person point of view, the narrator is telling his or her story directly to the reader, using the pronoun “I.” First-person point of view feels intimate and immediate, which makes it a great fit for autobiographies, memoirs, and any other books that are more personal in nature.

Here are a few examples:

I’ve never thought of myself as poor. Not once. I wouldn’t trade my childhood experiences for anything. Those years, along with my parents’ examples and guidance, played a tremendous role in my achievements later in life.

***

I learned to box at school. I liked soccer and cricket, too, but I was best at boxing. In fact, I thought I was better than anyone my age. I wasn’t big, but every time I jumped off the wooden bench and into our makeshift ring, I could dodge and jab better than anyone else.   

***

My first job after residency was with an emergency medicine staffing group. After one year of working with this organization, I was given the opportunity to become a shareholder. The benefits of becoming of shareholder were not solely financial, though: I now had the right and privilege to attend the company’s board meetings

Third person:

In third-person point of view, there is no “narrator” speaking directly to the reader. While this perspective is a bit less personal, it offers the opportunity to provide information in a more neutral, objective way. This is why third-person point of view is perfect for general nonfiction books, thought leadership books, and subject-driven manuscripts.

Here are a few examples:

What was then called The M.D. Anderson Hospital for Cancer Research had opened in 1941 in primitive quarters on a six-acre site near downtown purchased from the estate of Captain James A. Baker – grandfather of former Secretary of State James Baker III. The campus, if it can be called such, included an original carriage house repurposed into an office; former stables functioned as laboratories.

****


In 1973, the U.S. Department of Agriculture established the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) – better known to generations of Ojibwe people as “commodities.” Commodity items were designed to ensure food security by providing Native people with foods that were higher in fat and calories and lower in fiber than traditional foods. Unfortunately, this “solution” to food insecurity has set the stage for health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. In fact, the tongue-in-cheek phrase “Commod Bod” has become shorthand for “overweight.”

****

Captain America was cool — so cool he became America’s most popular cartoon character during WWII. He fought for truth and justice, crossing enemy lines, tackling Nazi and Japanese spies, mad scientists, even punching Adolf Hitler in the jaw in the 1941 Captain America comic book debut. Americans bought a million copies of that first issue because Captain America was a 2D stand-in for all the heroes  — men and women – who would lay down their lives against dictatorship.

Of course, there’s no hard-and-fast rule that says you can’t write a subject-driven manuscript in first-person point of view. And it’s definitely possible to use third-person to write a compelling biography or family history book. Ultimately, the choice between first- and third-person point of view comes down to personal preference.

Decision 2: How do you want your book to sound?

In our 10-plus years of ghostwriting, we’ve found that the question about a book’s tone — that is, how the book sounds — is, hands-down, one of the trickiest elements to pin down. We’ve also found that, with the vast majority of our book clients, this decision is often a case of, “I’ll know it when I see it.”

But there are a few ways you can start. How do you want your book to sound? And, perhaps more importantly, how do you communicate that to your ghostwriter? Here are a few ways you can help narrow it down:

Make a list of descriptive words and phrases

Do you want your book to sound academic or informal? Do you want to come across as a leading subject-matter expert or a humorous narrator? Do you want a warm, conversational tone or do you prefer a straightforward, just-the-facts approach? Would you want people to describe your book as accessible? Folksy? Knowledgeable? Nostalgic?

Here are a few more good adjectives to choose from:

See what’s already out there

Spend some time browsing the physical or virtual shelves of your favorite bookstore, and take a look at a few titles that are similar in subject matter or genre. Are you writing a book about retirement planning for Millennials? Check out a few personal finance books and see which ones you like. Are you telling the story of how your great-grandfather came to America? Browse the biography section to get a feel for the different ways you can tell someone’s life story. Do you want to be known as an authority on vegan cooking, sailing, coding, or entrepreneurship? Take a look at what’s popular in the how-to or reference section. Make a few notes about what you like and what you don’t like about how each book sounds.

Collect writing that you like — regardless of topic

If you’re looking for inspiration, there’s no reason that you have to stick to books about your topic. Do you have any favorite books? Are there any writers out there that you especially admire? Have you shared any interesting, well-written blogs or articles on social media? What did you like about this book/article/blog/writer?

It might sound strange, but almost ANY written content — about ANY subject — can help you get a clearer picture of the kind of tone you’d like to achieve with your own book. In other words, if you like how it’s written, keep it! And, of course, share it with your ghostwriter. Trust us: It’ll help.

In fact, the more you know about the kind of book you want — from thoughts about cover design and binding to point of view and writing style, the easier it will be for your ghostwriter to help you bring your vision to life.

Autological Words: Words That Describe Themselves

As writers, we are passionate about words and language. Oftentimes, when we come across a word that we have never heard before, we immediately want to know not only the meaning, but also the history of the word.

In most cases, as with most words, the actual meaning of the word has nothing to do with the word itself. Words are generally just arbitrary sounds that are put together to give something a name.

The word “pink” is not pink. And the word “cold” is definitely not cold.

There are, however, some words that are perfect embodiments of the things they are meant to describe. These words are referred to as “autological words.”

In our never-ending quest for knowledge, we stumbled across a wonderful article from Mental Floss that gives a great list of some delightful autological words, along with their meanings.

From “Polysyllabic” to “Magniloquent,” we hope you enjoy this great list as much as we did.

Top Six (Really) FREE Image Sites

With the Internet’s seemingly endless stream of images for any given subject, it’s hard to know which ones are free to use, and which ones are protected by strict copyrights.

Seeing a large watermark on an image is generally a good indication that the image you are looking at is copyrighted.

But what if there is no obvious copyright watermark? And what if you are able to click on the image and save it to your computer? Does that mean that you are legally permitted to use that image for your personal websites or blogs?

The answers to these questions are not always clear, and even when you think you are following the right steps to make sure you are using an image that is not copyrighted, images that seem to be copyright free are sometimes only copyright free in certain situations.

The Sticky Details of Copyright Laws

Unfortunately, image copyright laws can be complicated to navigate. And violating those copyright laws can lead to penalties and expensive lawsuits.

Sure, there is a chance that the image you use will never be discovered. But the reality is that whoever took that picture or created that image deserves to be properly credited and compensated for their work.

That is where copyright licenses, and the laws that protect them, come into play.

There is a huge array of different copyright licenses that control how and when images can be used.

Some licenses are very restrictive, while others allow open and free use of the image.  The trick is figuring out which license your image is covered by, and what that license allows and prohibits.

For example, Flickr images are protected under eight different types of Creative Commons copyright licenses. The particular license used for each individual image is up to the discretion of whoever created or owns the image.

So, when using Flickr images, it is important that you find out which Creative Commons license is applicable to the particular image that you wish to use.

Types of Copyright Licenses

While there are a number of copyright licenses out there, some of the most commonly found licenses are:

  • All Rights Reserved: With this license, the copyright holder reserves all rights provided by copyright law. This includes the right to make copies, distribute the image, and license or otherwise exploit their work; no rights are waived under this license.
  • Royalty Free: A royalty free license allows you to use the image without having to pay any kind of royalty. Royalty free images are generally found on stock-photo sites, where the royalty has been paid already through your membership to the site.
  • Public Domain Work: Images classified under the Public Domain have been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law. This means that the image is free to be used for all purposes, without needing to seek permission or pay a fee.
  • Attribution: If an image is covered by the Attribution license, it may be used for personal or commercial purposes, as long as the user gives proper credit, provides a link to the license, and indicates whether any changes were made to the original image.
  • Attribution-ShareAlike: Like the Attribution license, this license allows free use of the image with proper attribution. It also requires that if you change or build upon the image in any way, you must distribute your contribution under the same license as the original.
  • Attribution-NoDerivs: Again, this license follows the same rules as the Attribution license; however, if you make any changes to the original, you may not distribute the modified image.
  • Attribution-NonCommercial: With the NonCommercial clause to the Attribution license, you may only use the image for personal use. The image may not be used for commercial purposes.

Educating yourself on exactly what these licenses cover, and making sure you know which license pertains to your image, is imperative if you wish to avoid any possible copyright infringements.

Penalties For Copyright Infringements

Making the mistake of using a copyrighted image without permission can hold some pretty hefty consequences.

First of all, it’s never fun to receive a scary looking “Cease and Desist” letter or an “Unauthorized Use Report” email.

Even worse, though, is when those notifices are accompanied by a demand that you pay a license fee or face further legal action.

And if you think you can get away with ignoring the notice and fee demand, think again! Failing to respond to the cease and desist can cost you a fine of anywhere from $200 to $150,000, plus attorney fees and damages.

To top it off, the image owner can take it as far as using the DCMA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) to get your entire site shut down.

So, How do you Know if Images are Truly Copyright Free?

The only way to know for sure is to check into the license for the particular image that you want to use.

When using sites such as Flickr or Shutterstock, each individual image should have a licensing agreement that explains whether or not the image can be used, for what purpose it may be used, and whether or not there is a fee associated with its use.

However, if you are simply doing a Google image search, the license information is not always easy to find.

Often, it is nearly impossible to find out who actually owns the license for many of the images.

And although it is possible to set Google parameters to show only copyright free images, there is no guarantee that the images that are shown are truly copyright free.

For this reason, we recommend that you always choose your images from a site where licensing information is clearly posted and easy to understand.

While there are many different image sites to choose from, these are our top six favorite sites for free images:

  1. https://www.pexels.com/
  2. https://burst.shopify.com
  3. https://www.reshot.com
  4. https://pixabay.com
  5. https://gratisography.com/
  6. https://pxhere.com/

Not only do these sites contain breathtakingly beautiful images, they all also clearly state that their images are available for both commercial and non-commercial use and that credit to the photographer is not required but is, as always, appreciated.

And the best part? Sticking to one of these sites for your image searches will ensure that you can have peace of mind in knowing that you will not be in jeopardy of unknowingly committing a copyright infringement.

 **Note: While the sites we recommend do have copyright free images, it is always important to read the fine print before using an image. Although the image itself may be free to use, some of the things depicted in the images (such as identifiable people, landmarks, or trademarked logos) may have other copyrights or trademarks that require consent from a third party.

Coffee – The Key to Writers’ Survival

Some things just go together: peanut butter and jelly, salt and pepper, the sun and the moon…writers and coffee!

There are numerous possible reasons as to why coffee has become the “nectar of the writer” over the years. Perhaps it is the boost of energy and stimulation from the caffeine. Maybe it’s the flavor of the roasted beans that inspires creativity. Or, as this fun article from Medium.com suggests, maybe it’s the fact that coffee actually tastes gross—so “chugging a good 16–20 oz of it” makes us feel like we have accomplished something!

Whatever the reason may be, the fact remains that writers and coffee have a longstanding friendship. And this is a friendship that is not likely to go away any time soon.

Copywriter Q&A: Getting Social With Dana Robinson

Our resident social media guru Dana Robinson has provided businesses with blog and social media content for nearly a decade. Her career — much like a social campaign or Instagram account — grew organically, starting with newsletter and blog and social content for a single nonprofit client. Today, she manages blogs and social media campaigns for a variety of businesses.

For this installment of Copywriter Q&A, we asked Dana to share some of her tips, strategies, and best practices. A few key takeaways: do your homework when it comes to choosing a management platform, and make sure you have a rock-solid social media policy in place. 

TWFH: For many companies, the most challenging part of social media is staying organized. Do you have any recommendations for management tools?

DR: With social, there’s no “one-size-fits-all” solution. In general, the best platform depends on things like your goals and the size of your company. For small and medium sized businesses Hootsuite and Sprout Social are good choices: They’re affordable, and they’re a great starting point if you only need a handful of users for one or two platforms. On the other end, you have “enterprise tools” like Hubspot that are more appropriate if you’ve got 10 platforms and 100 users. The price point is quite different, too: An enterprise tool will cost $1,100 to $1,200 per month. Something like Hootsuite starts at $20.

My advice is to do research on different platforms. Look at the price point, the number of users allowed, and the available features. Shop around based on what you’re trying to do. If you’re trying to grow a following, your platform needs to help you search for influencers. Or maybe you want a tool to help suggest content for sharing. They don’t all do those things. If you’re managing social media for multiple clients, you need something that has a robust client management support. If your main goal is to engage with your current audience or customer base, you need a good scheduling tool to make sure you’re reaching the right people at the right time with the right content.

TWFH: Speaking of “the right content,” how do you figure out what, exactly, that is? How do you ensure that you’re driving traffic and creating engaging content?

DR: I use algorithms to find out what keywords are trending. Answerthepublic.com is fantastic. You can type in something like, “downtown Houston” and it’ll give you all these fabulous ideas. It gives you the exact keywords so potential readers will find you.   

You also have to know what works and what doesn’t. Sometimes, it’s trial and error; putting out a couple of different kinds of content and see what your customers are reacting to. Once you know that, give them more of that. Knowing when to say “no” to content is also a strategy. That’s a way to lose your audience: If six times out of ten, your content is something they’re not interested in, they’re going to stop paying attention.

TWFH: What about reaching the “right people” on social media? How can you identify them and make sure you’re speaking to them directly?

DR: This is another reason that you should have a good social media management tool. You want to choose a tool that offers good analytics; something that lets you extract the data and see who is interacting with your content and even when they’re interacting with it. This is especially important if your company has a marketing department — you can use the data to sort users into groups and work hand-in-hand with marketing and develop content that appeals to each group. And a good calendar tool can help you deliver that content at right time.

TWFH: Is there anything you try to avoid in social media campaigns?

DR: I’d say to keep politics out of it. Also, social is very meme-heavy, and you have to be careful with that. Sometimes as a social media manager, you can think something is funny and put it out there — and then find that it wasn’t perceived the way you meant it. My advice: Take a moment and ask, “Will this have good purpose if we post it?”

In general, smaller businesses have a bit more freedom in this area: since the company is more closely tied to one owner or a few specific people; there’s more of a personal relationship there. But larger business really have to “stick to the script” — social media is an extension of their advertising. All posts should be heavily researched and approved by your marketing department.

TWFH: And what about employees and social media? How can companies make sure that everyone in the company — not just marketing — is sticking to the script where social media is concerned?

DR: While your employee base can be wonderful tool, you also want to have fairly good control over how and where they use it. The last thing you want is someone from your company doing something on social media that damages your company’s brand or reputation or reveals trade secrets. Part of this can be eliminated by only allowing a couple of people the ability to post on your behalf.

And of course, you need a social media policy. In the event that you can’t control what an employee does on social, you’ll at least have legal recourse. Your policy should be very specific, and it needs to be in writing. You should have your employees sign something, and even provide a half-day training session on your social media policy. You also need to provide training on company image and customer service. We’ve all seen what can happen when a customer has a negative experience.

TWFH: Right, because you also have to think about how your customers are using social media.

DR: Customers have phones in their pocket, and they can record a negative interaction and post it to YouTube. Everyone remembers seeing that doctor getting dragged off of that United flight. People are going to remember things like that — and they’re not going to remember that expensive ad campaign you spent six months developing. This is why customer service has never been more important:

TWFH: Are there any legal issues companies should be aware of when developing a social campaign?

DR: Copyright laws. If you were to only ever post original content and images — content that belongs to your company, you’d be safe. But no one does that — everyone gets caught up in sharing social content. So you need to be aware of copyright laws and rules about attribution and permission. For example, if you’re using images from web sources, you always need to read license restrictions — even if it’s labeled “Creative Commons.” A lot of people see Creative Commons and think, “Okay, I can use this.” But there are different licensing levels even within Creative Commons. Some of my favorite sites for images are Pixabay and Flickr. You can find great images, but they don’t all the same license. You absolutely have to read the license restrictions on each image to see if you have permission to use it and what kind of attribution is required. You also have to be careful with Instagram. On Instagram, all images are assumed to be proprietary. So if you post an image to Instagram, it’s presumed to be owned by you. If it’s not your image, you need to have permission to use it.

Another legal issue that’s kind of new: If your company does sponsored posts or works with influencers, you have to be aware of disclosure laws. The FTC has cracked down on those recently. Ads have to disclose themselves. That was not always the case, but it is now. So, for example, if an influencer is advertising your product they have to say, “This was given to me for free,” or they have to explain how they benefit from the sale of your product.

Accommodating All Five Types of Web Visitors

There are five different types of online visitors, each with unique reading and learning styles. In order to write effective copy, your website needs to reach each of the different types of readers and give them the information they need in the way they want it. Let’s take a look at each of the types of online personalities, and some best practices to get them hooked, make a sale, and convert them through your online copy.

Group 1: Information Gatherers

These folks want to know as much as they can before they make a call or place an order. They want to know your pricing, they want to read about your guarantees and warranties, they want to know how your product works, and they want to know your credentials — they want all the information they can get their hands on, really.

These are the people that will be reading your copy attentively, so all of the standard copywriting rules apply: Be clear. Be concise. Be specific. Be benefit-oriented. Remember, the golden rule of attracting Information Gatherers is to never make them guess.  

Group 2: Visual Learners

Visual learners hate to read. When they come to your website, they’re looking for a few pictures or charts where they can quickly grab the info they need to make a decision. You can accommodate visual learners by adding graphics — like a flow chart about how your business or service works, or a table comparing your prices to your competitor’s prices. There are also lots of web tools out there that can also accommodate visual learners, including:

  • Test results
  • Process charts
  • Labeled diagrams
  • Infographics

Group 3: Doers

Doers don’t want to research your company or read your website. Period. They want to get it done and move on. They want to find your action statement — and they want to find it fast. Doers literally read your headline and then scroll to the bottom of the page to place an order or fill out your contact form.

If you want to keep their attention, you’ll need to give this group something to do: Every page of your website needs to have a call to action — whether it’s “Print this Coupon Now for a 15% discount” or “Sign Up For Our Newsletter.” And remember: This group doesn’t want to dig around for information. Make sure that your call to action is clear and easy to find. Don’t bury it in a bunch of copy — highlight it, make it bold, make sure it’s in a prominent position on your website.

A few other ways you can capture (and keep) doers’ attention:

  • Put contact information on every single page
  • Allow for multiple methods of contact:  phone, email, forms and even chat

Group 4: Speed Readers

This name is a little deceptive, because “Speed Readers” don’t actually read your website — they skim it. The opposite of Information Gatherers, Speed Readers figure they can get everything they need by reading the headlines and a few bolded points. To make this group happy, your web copy needs to be broken up and easy to scan.

A few other ways to keep skimmers happy? Use bullets, big headlines, and bolding to guide them to the main ideas.

Group 5: Listeners

These guys would rather see and hear it than read it. They love videos and voice-overs. This is the group that will want to check out your company’s YouTube channel right away; they’re huge fans of things like product demos, unboxing videos, and video testimonials.

Unlimited Combinations

Most people are some combination of these five basic types. For example, Speed Reader/Information Gatherers skim your content for the important stuff, but if they like what they see, they’ll come back later and scan each page in-depth. Some people are Doers when they’re in a hurry — but when they have enough time on their hands, they’ll go into Listener mode and scour your site for video testimonials and demos. 

This is why it’s important to accommodate all types of visitors.

By tailoring your content to each type of audience, you’re ensuring that people can interact with your website however they want. Tweet this

This is also why redundant content is acceptable — and even desirable — in web writing. People are going to skim, scan, and skip around. By including things like key points and contact info on each page, you’ll ensure that nobody misses the critical information.

Microcopy: Small Words with a Big Impact

When it comes to communication, few things are as important as the words we choose. Especially in written communication.

And although most writers pay close attention to how things are worded when writing web content, there is one kind of writing that tends to get overlooked or downplayed as being less important.

That is microcopy.

Not only is quality microcopy vital to making sure that your content is understood, it is also an important factor in engaging people and increasing both the usability and likeability of a website.

This interesting blog from Prototypr gives a great explanation of what microcopy is and why it is important. It also gives some fantastic tips for improving the microcopy on your own website.