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In A Galaxy Far, Far Away: Blending Storytelling In Web Content

January 1, 2021April 7, 2014 by Adam Oakley

What do you and Tolkien have in common? While it might be tempting to answer, “nothing,” I’d encourage you to look a little deeper. Sure, Tolkien invented magical lands and languages and creatures few of us could concoct in our wildest dreams, but there’s still a similarity. That similarity links you and me, and all of us who work in the written word, to Tolkien, Rowling, Nabokov, and Chekov. What is it? The similarity is a love of stories and a fondness for telling them. Today, too many people sell “marketing” or “commercial” writing off as a pursuit devoid of creativity. They see it as nothing more than some empty pitches and a hard-sell. Lucky for them, and for us, those people are wrong. As someone who has spent all my life creating and consuming stories, I can tell you that storytelling is central to great brand writing and that only companies who nail it right off the bat succeed with their customers down the road. Today, we’re going to talk about storytelling: what it is, why it matters, and how you can blend it into your web content. Read on. What is Storytelling? No matter who you are, where you came from, or what you studied in school, you’ve probably had the experience of hearing a story that knocked your socks off. Think about that story for a moment. How about the opening lines of Star Wars (one of my all-time favorite cinema classics)? Maybe you were enamored by the opening lines of Kafka’s Metamorphosis: “When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin.” Or Nabokov’s Lolita: “Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee.Ta.” Maybe it was the opening line of The Hobbit that made you sit up straight in your chair, suck in your breath, and clutch the book a little tighter at the sheer joy of the story to come: “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.” While each of these stories came from a different part of the world, different culture, and a different time, each has one thing in common: they grab you, and they won’t let go. This is storytelling, in all its richness and beauty. Why Stories Matter Storytelling in copywriting is the perfect way to engage readers and claim their attention. To understand how to tell great stories, though, it’s essential first to figure out why they matter so much. Stories are integral to human society. Stories are and have always been, a part of life. Since the excellent way ancient beings painted petroglyphs on the walls of caves, to the day when Rowling sat down to write the first few lines of her Harry Potter series, not much has changed. Stories are meant to entertain and delight, to help people pass the time and uncover deeper meaning in life. Today, the methods by which people tell stories has changed, but the importance they hold in society hasn’t. As such, marketers who understand how important telling stories is can succeed capturing something rare and extraordinary that allows them to reach the next level of connection and emotion with their readers. The Connection Between Copywriting and Storytelling You don’t think copywriting and storytelling go hand in hand? It might be time to think again. What do you think you’re doing when you write up that long product description or your latest press release? Sure, you’re providing customers with the facts, but you’re also telling a story. It might not be something from the Brothers Grimm, but it’s a story nonetheless. And this story helps delight your readers and assist them to make a connection with the product, good, or service you’re writing about. When you tell the story the right way, you have the potential to make a new connection with your readers and help them remember you the way you want them to remember you. This is a rare opportunity afforded to only the best and bravest marketers. How To Incorporate Storytelling In Your Web Content: 5 Epic Tips Even if you fancy yourself more an inbound expert than a mythologist, it’s still possible to create unforgettable stories. Here are five epic rules for incorporating storytelling into your online content, starting now: 1. Keep it Relevant and Interesting A great story teller knows who is going to read it, and tailors its voice accordingly. The same needs to go for your online writing. Relevant stories perform better with their audiences, and help perpetuate that feeling of enchantment and mystery. Luckily for you, staying relevant doesn’t have to mean getting boring. To keep your story relevant and exciting, find ways to tie it back to your target audience consistently. As you write, ask yourself if they would appreciate, connect to, or identify with the topic of your story. If so, keep going. If not, reevaluate. The more relevant you can keep your tale, the better it will perform with your readers. 2. Do the Opposite of What GRRM Did George R. R. Martin is known for his lengthy descriptions of banquets and the gigantic nature of his A Song of Ice and Fire novels. He is also known for taking eons to publish his books. They are amazing, there’s no doubt about it. But if there’s one thing online creators should learn from George, it’s what not to do – and here’s why. If you want to succeed at storytelling online, do the opposite of what George did. Instead of going into painstaking detail so extensive you lose the online reader, who has 8 seconds to keep their … Read more

How to Make People Want to Read Your Web Content: 5 Formatting Tips

December 31, 2020April 5, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Want to get people to read your web content? Buckle up and settle in. It’s harder than you may think. Good content that people want to read isn’t just well-written. It’s also: Organized Concise Scannable In other words, it’s easy on the eyes. You don’t have to do much work to make sense of it. But, why is this important? It’s simple: People read differently on the web than they do anywhere else. “Anywhere else” includes papers, books, magazines, and other printed matter. Whatever the physical medium, people do not read them the same way they read a web page. If you’re not optimizing your web content for the way people read on the web, you’ll be turning them away more often than inciting them to dive deeper. Want people to get the most out of your content? You need to fan the flames of their interest, not douse them in freezing cold water. Why Do People Read Web Content Differently? Why do people read differently on the web than they do for printed matter? We could surmise that people don’t feel like they have time to read every page they encounter word-by-word. The web is so large, and there’s so much information to sift through, something’s got to give. Think about how many pages you click through daily. If you have no idea, check out your browser history for yesterday. How many websites did you visit? If you’re like me, the list is most likely a mile long. There’s no way I would have digested all that information unless I scanned it. Deep reading is not conducive to web browsing. What Does Research Say About Reading on the Web? Research backs up the fact that people don’t read web content like they do books. In fact, the Nielsen/Norman Group found this was true 79% of the time in an eye-tracking study they did. They measured over 300 people’s eye movements as they browsed hundreds of websites. They came to an overwhelming conclusion: People do not read on the web. They scan. Slate came to a similar conclusion when they tracked how far people scrolled down their web pages before leaving. Even if people do stick around long enough to scan the page, they don’t stay for long. About 50% of users stopped scanning at the halfway mark in a Slate article before they clicked away from the page. Across the web, people stopped at about the 60% mark. Here’s Slate’s conclusion: “Few people are making it to the end, and a surprisingly large number aren’t giving articles any chance at all.” Another Nielsen study found that to be true. According to the research, people only have time to read (or choose to read) about 28% of any given web page. If this isn’t discouraging for web content creators, I don’t know what is. If we can’t get people to read our content, how do we make any impact at all? There’s Hope: You Can Get People to Scan and Scroll Your Web Content Yes, you can improve your chances that people will scan your content, read at least some of it, and scroll all the way to the end. On the internet, where attention spans are shorter than a blip, that’s a huge deal. Some of these tips to achieve these goals may be obvious, but some may be surprising. Here are five ways to make people more likely to skim, scan, and read. [clickToTweet tweet=”Learn the five strategies to get people to scan and scroll your web content via @ExpWriters!” quote=”Learn the five strategies to get people to scan and scroll your web content via @ExpWriters!”] 1. Organize Your Content Well Well-organized content is scannable content. It’s a cinch to read, plus, you can easily find ideas within the text. Some examples of good organization: Bulleted lists Numbered lists Headings and sub-headings Short paragraphs with one main idea in each Meaningful links These all have one thing in common. They’re all ways to break up your content so it’s scannable. Readers latch on to these text markers – all of them are alerts that say, “Hey, this is important. Pay attention.” And, luckily, most readers do! So, what does the opposite look like? This leads us to my next point: 2. Don’t Build Walls of Text! You can find content with zero organization most often in that infamous “wall of text.” You know what I’m talking about. It’s hard to scan and will make people want to punch their computer – never a good scenario. Because they can’t punch their computers, instead, they’ll leave your website without a backward glance. 3. Make Your Organization Logical A page that’s organized is great, but if that organization isn’t logical, you’re still not helping your readers. What does logical organization look like? It means ideas are grouped together. One paragraph, one idea. One bulleted list, one main idea. Here’s a fantastic example: Note that all items in each list go together. On one hand, there’s the list of ingredients. On the other, there are the instructions. These groupings make sense. They’re logical. Here’s an illogical example: Note the formatting. Some of the items have punctuation; others don’t. Some are one-word long; others are sentence-length. Also, note the information itself. All the items in this list relate to ice cream, but they don’t all belong there. A bulleted list needs to have the same type of “thing” next to each bullet. Don’t make these errors. Instead… 4. Format Your Bulleted Lists Well Good organization helps your readers immensely. It also makes them want to linger on your page. When your page is easy-as-pie to scan, your readers can glom-on to important information. They’ll grab the hook and get caught on your line. Here are some main keys for strongly organized lists in your content: Don’t mix sentence fragments with full sentences in your lists. Use phrases exclusively, or only use sentences with periods – not both. If you find yourself typing … Read more

How Investing In Web Copy Can Make You Money

January 1, 2021April 1, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Are you one of those people who really think that the success story of their business is going to write itself? We hate to break it to you, but without a solid growth plan based on effective, personalized online marketing strategies you will probably wander in the dark for a very long period of time. Content plays a very important part in this process and can guarantee your smooth evolution and considerable profitability and popularity increases on time and on a budget. Great content is one of those things that just seem too good to be true, and yet they are: it is affordable, even if you rely on professional web writing services, effective and offers you the chance to make a name for yourself in your field of activity, sell better and faster than ever before, bury you main competitors 6 feet under the ground, diversify your clientele, improve brand awareness and enhance your online presence. The Era of the Content Beast: Feed It Regularly! The most recent infographic launched by Express Writers tells us that we live in the era of the content beast. To keep the beast on your side, you have to feed it regularly. This means that you have to publish and update quality content as often as possible. Doesn’t this sound like a fun challenge? Truth be told, fantastic, reader-oriented content won’t bring you your coffee in the morning, but will pretty much take care of the rest. So what’s stopping you from putting your awesome writing skills to the test? We will let you in on a little secret: investing in web content can make you money. Money makes the world go round and great content will rock your entire universe, turning you into a well-known, influential, highly competitive player in your sector. Contrary to popular belief, first-class content doesn’t have to burn deep holes in your pockets. Obviously, there are two categories of copy: bad copy that makes you pinch pennies and good copy that gets you where you want to be and lets you sit on a pot of gold, according to Forbes. Does Your Web Copy Help You Make or Waste Your Resources? These days, Google gives you everything you could ever need to create stellar, search engine-friendly and user-friendly content. From essential SEO tools to cost-free guidelines enabling you to optimize your content the easy way, Google bends over backwards to give you the key to perfecting your web copy. Since all these amazing resources are widely available, not using them would be like finding the gold fish and throwing it back in the water. Why Your Copy Could Be Throwing Money Out the Window Before we go any further, try to provide an honest answer to this question: does your web copy make you earn or lose money? If your current promotion strategies haven’t taken you very far, chances are that your content stinks. Fortunately, there are many ways in which you could address this pressing problem. First of all, you have to identify the cause. Your web copy writing could be impacted by multiple issues, including the 2 concerns listed below. You’re Not Getting Enough Traffic. OK, so you write headlines better than David Ogilvy, understand your audience and create content based on the elementary needs and demands of your audience. You play by the book, and still you don’t get enough traffic. This probably means that you don’t make the most of 3 key elements that could save your business and help you pursue your most ambitious goals. A Verified, Personalized Content Strategy: According to Forbes, a content strategy represents the solid foundation of any marketing campaign that you may want to launch. To evaluate you current content strategy in an objective manner, you should ask yourself a few important questions: Am I creating and delivering web copy on a regular basis? Are both my content and my website properly optimized for search engines and tailored to the real necessities of my reader? Do I expand on interesting topics that can actually convert my readers into fans, followers and devoted buyers? Am I on the shortest path to SEO success or did my outdated, unverified, ineffective pre-Panda and pre-Penguin optimization tactics made me get lost in a labyrinth of unpaid bills and ever-growing expenses? White Hat Link Building Strategies: Inbound links work to your advantage, letting Google know that you are a high-quality, popular, trustworthy source of information. If other respectable sources link to you, this basically means that they vouch for you. Guest blogging, getting listed in local directories and creating link-worthy content pieces are three excellent methods to build credibility and trust, according to AudienceBloom.com. Social Media: Some of the most popular social networking websites give you the opportunity to profit from free or extremely affordable promotion strategies that support your current content distribution tactics. Social media can amplify your web copy marketing strategy and act as a powerful brand builder. You’re Not Selling. Isn’t it extremely frustrating when you do as you are told and somehow your sustained efforts never get rewarded? We hear you. You have always crafted killer web copy which is 100% original, optimized for search engines and complying with all the rules and guidelines introduced by Google. You make the most of the very best marketing strategies and you are still very far from improving conversion rates. Your story doesn’t have a happy ending: your readers are not buying. There are a few possible scenarios that you should factor in: You Are Not Launching the Right Bait: perhaps the web content that you have been creating so far is not actually targeting your ideal customers. Before crafting web copy, you have to define and analyze your audience, to be able to come up with inspiring, compelling articles and blog posts. Your Content Is Not Stimulating Your Readers to Take Action: a content piece that does not include a powerful call to action is as useful as a bathing … Read more

Why Your Website Isn’t Getting Traffic: 7 Ways Content Could Fix It

January 1, 2021March 28, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Back in the day, all you had to do was stuff a few keywords onto a page and you were set with the search engines. Heck, you could put nothing but your keywords on a page and be golden. Today, Google has changed the way content and traffic play with one another – and let’s just say if your content isn’t playing by the rules, traffic won’t come hang out. If you aren’t getting traffic to your website, it’s probably a multitude of reasons. Although, there are some sites that just need a quick tweak to get the job done. Regardless, you should take a look at your site and see what you’re doing to drive away readers or worse, turn away Google. Reasons You Aren’t Getting Traffic We won’t go too crazy here, because the list could be hundreds of things long. But often websites that aren’t getting traffic are offenders of four common things: They Don’t Give a Crap About Their Content When you don’t care or put the effort into your content, it shows. When you’re passionate about a topic, it will show to your readers and people will share, send and come back for more. If, however, you don’t care about the topic or niche you’re covering, then there is a good chance you’re putting minimal effort into making the content for it. Caring about the topic is rather important – well, if you want people to visit your site. Also, a website isn’t something you build overnight. If you haphazardly threw your content together, it definitely will be a turn off to the average reader. Websites can take up to six months to build traffic, so use that time wisely. They’re Bouncing All Over the Map Maybe you do care about the topic you’re covering, but perhaps you’ve picked something too broad or you just aren’t sticking to the point. What do your blog posts look like? Are they sticking to a specific niche or are you covering off-topics things? You can’t just go wild when you create content. It needs a purpose and most importantly, needs to be relevant to what you’re marketing at all times. You’re Not Covering a Topic People Care About This might sting a little, but the problem very well could be you’re just covering a topic people don’t care about or aren’t searching for it. Choosing a narrow niche is always risky, and if you picked the lucky niche that a limited number of people are searching for or it’s just too boring for the average reader, you’re going to get a trickle instead of a heavy flow of traffic. You’re Not Using Keywords, Or You’re Using Keywords Too Much If you aren’t using keyword-focused posts, that’s okay. Keywords aren’t as important these days as the quality of the content, but a keyword should still be sprinkled in here and there to catch those users searching for something specific. If you’re one of those sites spamming your content with nothing but keywords, well, then you know why you aren’t getting traffic – Google probably blacklisted your site. Once you’re penalized by Google, your life gets a lot harder. KISSmetrics has a great post discussing 50 ways you can get penalized by Google. So if you’re not getting traffic, you might want to check that out too. One thing you’ll see consistently in these four reasons you’re not getting traffic is your content. Content is king and it has been said over and over again. If you have poor quality content, you’re not going to get traffic, get shared or get anywhere. Period. Content goes viral fast, according to Search Engine Journal. So if you write the content people are interested in, you’re going to see your traffic jump off the charts. Let’s put it this way: over 2 billion YouTube videos are watched every day, WordPress has over 200,000,000 blog posts read, and there are over 50 million tweets on Twitter every day. You want your content to go viral. 7 Ways Content Drives More Traffic to Your Site Since you know content is obviously the reason you’re not getting traffic, now it is time to discuss how you can increase your traffic with content. You have probably heard how to write content, but maybe you’re just putting that off until you get more traffic and better visitors to read your content. Well, the right content today means more visitors tomorrow. And here’s why: 1. It Answers the Question Readers are Looking For People on the internet are always searching for something. Whether they are looking for ways to save money or how to cook dinner tonight – they have a purpose on the web. You are the answer to the searchers question. You will have that article, blog post or tutorial that guides them to the answer they’re looking for. By having the answer the reader needs, you also become their future go-to for additional advice and information in that same niche. Now, if your content doesn’t answer the question, you’ll be the first site that user avoids in the future. Its’ all about quality content that attracts the reader, but gives them something valuable. The reader shouldn’t be promised something in your headline or through keywords and then be let down when they take the time to click through. Deliver on your promise with high-quality content that drives the point home, gives the reader the answer he or she needs, and is made up of quality information. That means taking time to actually write your web content – including researching when necessary – and showing that you care just as much about what the reader is looking for and that’s why you’re developing the content just for them. Being thorough matters too. If you just write a 100 word blog post, it is unlikely that you’re covering everything about the topic. That means your readers will have to go to another site to find answers that … Read more

How to Write Mobile Content for a Mobile-Responsive Experience

December 31, 2020March 26, 2014 by Adam Oakley

In a world where more than 80% of consumers own a smartphone, and 48% of mobile customers start product research with a search engine, it’s more important than ever to focus on creating mobile-friendly content. If you don’t, there’s simply no chance you’ll make it in the modern digital world. While the so-called “mobile revolution” has changed many things about the way people search and interact with content (it’s on-the-go, convenient, etc.), one of the most noticeable changes is that people who use mobile devices are searching from a tiny screen, which fundamentally alters the way they interact with text. On this tiny screen, content must be readable, clickable, and easy to interact with. Not to mention the fact that they have to find it, first. With all that in mind, let’s talk about why mobile content matters, and how you can create it. What’s So Great About Mobile Content Anyway? Having doubts about how important mobile users are to your business? Get this: tablet users account for the single highest “add to cart” rates on e-commerce sites, at 8.58%. As if that weren’t enough, 71% of companies say that mobile marketing is essential for their business, and 58% of brands have a dedicated mobile marketing team to handle it for them. With all these things in mind, it’s clear that mobile marketing matters, and that brands who excel at it can reap massive benefits in today’s digital landscape. The Mobile Revolution Today, there’s no getting away from mobile devices. And while some people might make the argument that this is a bad thing, it’s amazing how much the mobile revolution has changed our lives. People are more connected right now than they’ve ever been, and it’s easier to access information, learn new things, and meet new people than at any other point in history. All of this opens a wealth of possibilities for individuals and brands, and all of it comes back to the rise of mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. Right now, the mobile platform defines how we fill our time, how we pay bills and even how we connect to family and friends. If you need an example, consider how often you use your own smartphone. How often do you look something up or use your phone for tasks you would have previously completed on your computer? As you can see, there’s no end in sight for the mobile revolution, and embracing it fully is the best way to position your content for the modern world. How to Optimize Your Content for Mobile Users: 5 Smart Tips According to Google, 61% of customers will never return to a mobile site they couldn’t access, or which was difficult to access. That said, though, only 40% of those customers will come to your website, instead, meaning you lose a full 21% of customers simply due to a lack of mobile responsiveness. As you can see, ensuring your content is mobile-friendly is critical. Here are a few simple ways to ensure your content works for your mobile customers: 1. Don’t Forget the Headlines Boring headlines won’t get you far with web users and they certainly won’t do much for mobile users. Remember, mobile users ae on-the-go, so they’re looking for something that catches their interest. That said, your headline needs to be catchy, compelling, and retweetable. It also needs to be easy to read on a small screen. If that sounds like a big ask, don’t panic. Neil Patel advises a “Bite, snack, meal” approach to writing mobile-friendly content, with the headline being the bite. When you make it tasty, interesting, and exciting, the reader wants to stick around for the snack and then the meal. For best results, keep your headline informative and precise. It should tell the reader exactly what they’ll gain from the post. Skip the cute or mysterious headlines – your mobile readers don’t have time to figure out what you’re trying to say. 2. Hook Them with the Introduction Next comes the “snack.” The snack of your content is generally the introduction. It tells the mobile reader what the content is about, and helps them decide whether to stick around. As such, it should be informative and thought-provoking for your reader, and should demonstrate that you’re the source the reader wants. 3. Remember Not All Screens Are the Same Mobile devices have small screens, and you can’t afford to create content that makes your audience struggle with that. When it comes to writing your mobile material, you need to be direct, succinct, and to the point. Readers don’t want impenetrable walls of text or impossible-to-find menus. Everything should be simple to find, accessible for your customers, and easy to navigate. Pay special attention to how your images and menus show up on mobile devices, as these are problem areas that can make or break the mobile experience. For best results, write your content for the web, and then preview it on a small screen. Does it appear the way you wanted it to? Are there any glitches or errors that prevent it from looking its best? If so, fix it before the content goes live. 4. Divide Your Content into Chunks Everything you create for a mobile platform should be simple to read. This means your text will have to be broken into small chunks so mobile users can skim it easily. Don’t forget to use bolded headlines, numbered or bulleted lists, and short paragraphs to enhance readability. 5. Test Your Content, Then Test It Again The biggest mistake content creators make with mobile material is failing to test it once it goes live. Even the best content can be made better, and lots of content creators would find that even a simple tweak to their material’s headline or structure can make a massive difference in clicks and leads. Use A/B Testing Tools to test different versions of your online content. Be sure that you’re only changing or altering a single piece of … Read more

What Will Blog Writing Be Like In 100 Years?

January 1, 2021March 17, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Have you ever wondered…what will blog writing be like 100 years from now? Will we see space aliens eating blogs, bring new meaning to “digesting” what one reads? Will writers be telepathically transmitting stories to paper? Will paper even exist—it’s on the way out the door right now, isn’t it? What the heck WILL we see; lots of green and UFO activity? Let’s go BACK in time to think about the future. Dial the clock back 100 years from today and it would be the year 1914. What was writing like back then? It certainly wasn’t as we know it today. In 1914, World War I began. A lot of writers were reporters and journalists who put themselves in the heat of the action as one of the greatest wars to engulf the world revved up. 1914 was also a year of significant events in literature. Writing 100 years ago didn’t involve handy word processing programs like Microsoft Word and WordPerfect. Spelling and grammar check wasn’t computer automated, it was left up to writers and editors to sort out. The rules of grammar were much more stringently held to, and reading literary works published between 1900 and 1920 reveal an astonishing evolution of style and the interpretation of the so called rules. Blog writing, social media and online content marketing didn’t even exist yet. Oh yeah, and personal computers and handheld mobile devices, they were pure fiction! If things have changed this much in 100 years, what can the next 100 years hold? Speculating About the Future of Blog Writing We’re not exactly talking about a scientific topic, now are we? But speculating can be fun nonetheless. In the past 25 years alone we have seen an unprecedented improvement in technology, all of which has contributed to blog writing as we know it today. For example: Microsoft Word is arguably one of the most popular and used word processing programs in the industry. According to a Wikipedia history of Microsoft Word, the first version of the program was developed by Richard Brodie and Charles Simonyi in 1981. However, it wasn’t until the release of Windows 3.0 in 1990 that Word became a sizeable commercial success and started being used by the masses. Later, Word began to receive labels per Windows OS to match each OS. Today, we can purchase Microsoft Office 365 for home or business. The new suite includes Word and is integrated with the latest advancements in cloud technology, providing an interface, work station and even files that can be accessed from any device in any location so long as you have a log-in and an active Internet connection. Before we had personal computers with word processing programs, we had something called a word processor. When I first started writing, I used a Brother Word Processor WP-230B—talk about a dinosaur! It could switch between a typewriter and word processing mode. It was pretty limited in capabilities compared to today’s computers, but it got the job done with better efficiency than handwriting or a traditional typewriter. Enough reminiscing. Let’s talk about the future of blog writing, a huge topic as of late, particularly in the area of guest blogging. Guest Blogging to See De-Evolution In January of 2014, the blogging community held its collective breath as Google’s Matt Cutts declared the “decay and fall” of guest blogging while staples in the industry said guest blogging is not dead. There is truth in both opinions. Cutts’ is correct that spammy, bad quality guest blogging is dying. And as it should! The writing industry has always stood for quality, which is why bad quality writing on the Internet is ever so surely being replaced by high, editorial quality content. It’s likely that in the following years we will see an increase in the quality of guest blogging as it returns to its roots. It will become more finely tuned, relevant, educational and engaging. Blogging & SEO In just the past 5 years we’ve seen amazing changes in the realm of search engine optimization. Keywords are going, going, gone as a hardcore staple, which opens up blogging and other types of online writing to better flow, higher quality and just plain good writing. In essence, online writing is returning to the true roots of literature: telling a story and telling it well. The Future of Blogging Is Bright Let’s talk about the origin of the blog. Back in the day, blog posts were something anyone could whip up. They were opinion tools, a means for anyone who had an opinion of any kind to blurt it out to whoever took an interest and decided to read. Today, the landscape of blogging has radically morphed. Blog platforms offer a myriad of tools and social channels all designed to help you create and communicate something. Blogs now support audio and video and the comment areas of can contain anything from intellectual discussions to bunkering down in the trenches in an attempt to defend a particular thought or idea. Blog writing is, and has always been, about self-expression. Today, the blog is a content marketing tool leveraged by the freelancer, small to medium sized business owner, and the big corporations. In the business world, blogs are used to communicate informative, relevant information. They’re a means of sharing thoughts and ideas via social media and stirring up conversation. However, it’s still a powerful tool for the would-be writers who write for the sake of writing and self-expression. Once you step into the world of content marketing, you can easily lose sight of these almost pure forms of blogging. They’re still out there. They’ve been there since the inception of blogging, and it’s my bet that 100 years from now they’ll still be here. The would-be writers and folks who blog for the pure self-expression of it are often the pioneers who push the technology right along, but without the recognition companies and businesses receive. According to ViperChill.com, over 181 million people actively use … Read more

5 Ways to Tweak Your Landing Page Content for Better Success

January 1, 2021March 10, 2014 by Adam Oakley

We all know that the landing page is one of the most important elements of any web page. It is what keeps customers on your site and creates business for your company. On the other hand, it can be what chases potential customers away. You need to have an impressive landing page that catches the eye, but does not scream loudly. Obnoxious colors can easily scare anyone away, simply because people do not like their eyes to hurt. If you are wondering just how to go create an interesting landing page without terrifying innocent bystanders, we are here to offer you some helpful tips. 1. Keep Your Landing Page Simple Your landing page is where people see specific things you want them to see and keeps them from feeling overwhelmed and confused by your general website. Simple is best when creating any web design and people want to see something that is laid out in an easy fashion, with eye-pleasing colors. Having too much going on is distracting and can easily make visitors decide to leave your site permanently. On our blog Making Your Landing Page Pop with Website Copywriting Services, we’ve discussed that having too many pages to load or having your customers wade through an overabundance of links will instantly lose you those customers. People have short attention spans, especially with the rise in instant fulfillment from devices and websites. They want to see what they are looking for rather quickly and without too much searching. If they cannot find what they are looking for on your site, they will give up and look on your competitors’ sites, and you do NOT want that to happen. Watch Those Calls to Action. You want to have customers choose your company and products by offering a small amount of information and a few cool clickable buttons, but when it comes to having a call to action on your landing page, keep it as minimal as possible. SixRevisions.com says that having minimal amounts of call to actions can help you focus costumers on particular aspects of your product, instead of overwhelming them with information that may not be a selling point. (Though it is important to have information at the ready for customers who would like to know more about your product.) This can help encourage the more reticent person to click on that call to action when they are indecisive about your company. Create Lists and Have Images. People love lists. Lists are great ways to have a lot of information put into nugget sized, easy to read formats. By having a list, people can see if the product is something they would be interested in or not, and are more apt to read about your product to see if it meets their wants and needs. Images are another format people like on websites. At times, images can tell a person a lot more than the written word. People like being able to see the product they are interested in, or see how the product can be implemented in daily usage. If you are able to tell about your product in an image or two, people are more likely to pay attention. The current trend of infographics shows this to be true. Infographics give a lot of useful information in a compact format, making it easier to read, understand, and share with others. 2. Navigation Making a landing page that people can navigate easily is going to help you keep your visitors once they reach your website. If it is not easy to get around your landing page, people will not click that call to action. They will leave your site and head on over to your competition. Navigation is not simply how easy the links are to find or how quickly people can get to their intended destination, but also how easily they are able to read through your landing page. If it is too difficult, has too much information, or looks too cramped, people will click off your site because it is overwhelming as we are all are used to seeing websites with a natural and pleasing flow. While discussing the elements of a high converting landing page, Quick Sprout also gives a good layout for an easy to navigate page. The setup is one that is eye pleasing, and also provides easy access to the other information you want to make available. Have integral aspects in easy to find locations on the website and do not make customers scroll for what feels like hours in Internet-land. 3. Use Social Media Yes, yes. We know. Social media is one thing every article has in common when it comes to discussing your landing page, but that is because social media plays a major role in getting business for your company. People spend a lot of time on their various social media profiles, and if a friend posts about something interesting, people will take notice. When it comes to promoting your site, specifically your landing page, Hubspot.com recommends using a social media button for customers to tell friends that they have signed up for information and emails from your business. If your company is offering a download for product information, a free e-book, or other promotional elements, you can set up the form up in such a way that people will have to tweet or share something on Facebook to gain access to these offers. It is a small price to pay for wonderful offers and people are more than willing to do this. 4. Changing Button Titles and Creating Something Unique When people are filling out forms to gain access to promotions or to sign up for your website, Hubspot also suggests that you consider changing the titles of the buttons. Instead of saying something ordinary like, “Press Submit” or “Tweet This” change it to say something that is unique and more fitting for your company. Submit buttons are everywhere on every page, and … Read more

Websites of 2014: 12 Great Designs and How They Work With Content

January 1, 2021March 7, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Image credit: Life of Pi movie website We’ve taken a look at how poor web content writing can destroy a well-made website but we didn’t explore the other side of it: the look and feel. Making sure that your content is fantastic is one thing, but creating a design to match can really elevate everything that’s being done to a whole new level. Without visual flair visitors will be hesitant to eat your fantastic meal that you’ve prepared for them because it looks like brown and gray sludge. It doesn’t matter how delicious it is. When you put it all together in a visually appealing way, and still keep the deliciousness, then no one hesitates to eat it and everyone tells their friends. Here are some of the top 12 sites to beat in no particular order. #12: Life of Pi This movie came out in 2012. We’ll admit that. But the site was ahead of its time. It is doing a lot of tricks that some designers are just now picking up. As you scroll down you get a little adventure the whole time, much of it in video. At some points, (again, you only have to scroll down to experience all of this seamlessly put together), you’ll see facts about the movie come onto the screen, allowing the content and design to come together in complete harmony. Essentially, you can look at the entire experience as an enhanced preview. In a time when most movie websites look barely better than what people were putting up themselves on GeoCities in the mid 90s it’s refreshing to see this kind of attention paid to marrying content and design. #11: Lexus We’ll tell you right now that one of the phrases that will be used a lot in this article is “parallax scrolling.” Parallax scrolling isn’t a new concept. Well, it seems to only be a new concept for website design. It’s been used in cartoons since you were a kid. See how confident we were in saying that? It doesn’t matter how old you are, it’s been used. It has even been used in video games for decades (Super Mario World had it). But now it’s come to website design fairly frequently. Lexus makes amazing use of it and allows users to essentially navigate an entire world of landing pages without loading anything or moving to another page at all. Even within the parallax scrolling body are smaller sections of the site that are independently interactive. For a good example of this, head to the site and go to the “Journey” section. While plenty of sites are using parallax scrolling by itself, Lexus is one of the few that is using it in tandem with already-established practices for even greater effect. #10: Blocklevel Most of our English-speaking readers won’t know this (unless they use Google Translate) but Blocklevel is a company that designs websites, Facebook games, and all kinds of other web-oriented things. But the specific content isn’t why we’re here, although you can tell that the content is hard-hitting and concise (it is). The design of the site draws inspiration from the flat design trend that’s been overtaking everything from Apple’s new iOS to indie video games (Thomas Was Alone) to smartphone applications (Taasky). It’s the exact opposite of parallax scrolling. There is no illusion of depth, just bold simplicity. It’s easy on the eyes, easy to navigate, and allows your content to be the star of the show by pulling your eye right toward it. They both do wonders for enhancing content but Blocklevel is one of the examples of flat design gone right. #9: Theory Design Sidebars used to be all the rage but they didn’t always work on every browser with every setting. Sometimes necessary content got cut off to the side like a bad photographer cutting off your heads in a holiday family photo. All that’s left is ugly Christmas sweaters. Nowadays it’s all about the header that scrolls down with you. This may not seem different at first but you lose the risk of having content roll off the side. It’s easier to position all of your content smack dab in the middle of the screen and there’s no problems with cutoff. In fact, that middle position brings your eyes, again, straight to the content rather than having two sections of text that, depending on the positioning, bring your eyes back and forth or even pull your eye to the blank space between the two pillars of text. #8: Realtii Have you noticed any similarities about any of these sites yet? That’s right; they’re all long scrolling websites. Most of their content is on one continuous page. Even if each of the sections are connected to a different web address, they are blended together so they are effectively one page. Most of the buttons, if the site even has them, cause the site to scroll down quickly rather than open a page. This reduces any load time and reduces wait time because your visitors aren’t clicking on things for design, they’re clicking on things for content. Easy design just grabs their attention and keeps them around. #7: Paper Tiger I’m going to ask you to please bring out your cell phones for this next one because “responsive design” is the name of the game for this site. When you go to the site on your PC it looks gorgeous. Some parallax design elements, some wonderful typography, easy-to-digest content. But when you open it up on your smartphone is when it gets really interesting. Without even having to direct you to m.papertiger.com you see a perfectly formatted site. The parallax scrolling and header have been eschewed for a fully functional, flat design that just brings you content with no frills and minimal loading time. The buttons are massive and bold, making them perfect for even the clumsiest of thumbs and easy to see when you’re walking around … Read more

10 Keys to Create Killer Blog Content

January 1, 2021March 1, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Developing killer blog content is important. Why? Let’s just put the amazing benefits in a tiny nutshell, shall we? Quality blog content can promote new traffic from the search engines to your website, improve relationships with your direct audience and consumers, and show people that you know what you are talking about, by establishing you as an authority. What is Blog Content? That’s really great. But let’s check out the fundamentals first. What is a blog? If you google “what is a blog”, you will find over 4 billion results, and without actually following any links, you can learn the following: A blog is a website on which a person or company regularly posts opinions, informational links, and other useful or promotional content. Blog as a verb means to add new content or updates to a blog. The word blog originated in the 1990s as a shortened version of the word weblog. So if this term has been around since the 1990s, and continues to increase in prevalence, shouldn’t you have gotten on board with it already? The answer is yes. And if you haven’t, well, let’s put it nicely—you’re about to get run over by a Mac track in obliterated SERPs rankings if you don’t get moving on starting a blog. (Sorry, that may not have been all that “nice”.) But I’ve got good news. Luckily for you, due to the popularity and importance of blogging, there is a ton of information available to help you get started. 10 Great Tips for Developing Killer Blog Copy Because there is so much information available, you may have trouble sifting through it all to find good advice for creating great blog content. To simplify your search, what follows is a list of 10 great tips for developing killer blog content, gathered from the masses of information out there. What’s in a Name? Shakespeare may be right when he says that a rose would smell as sweet by any other name, but would you be likely to stop and smell the roses if they were called garbage, or feet? The title of a blog post gives it a name, and is assuredly one of the most important things to think about when creating content. The title will draw the reader in and make them want to read more. You might think that a title is there as a place holder, or just as a convention, but according to Pamela Vaughan, it is a potential reader’s first impression of your content, and can make all the difference. A strong blog title is: Concise, about 7-10 words in length Informative, sums up the content Catchy, makes a reader stop to look further This may seem like a lot to ask from a simple sentence, but these are just title basics, which can make or break your blog post. Start out with a solid title, and the rest will follow. Heading in the Right Direction Blogs need structure in order to be more easily read and understood, and the best way to structure your content is with headings. There are different levels of blog headings, which are described in great detail by Joost de Valk on Yoast.com. Some important heading information found here is: H1 is the most important heading, and there is usually only one H2’s and h3’s are sub-headers which break the text into sections Headings should contain valuable keywords Headings help a reader effectively navigate a piece of writing In the case of your blog, the H1 would be your title, the name of your post, and would be the largest text in the piece. Any further subheadings would be smaller, and serve to break the text up into manageable sections and make it easier to read. A piece looks much less intimidating if it is structured with headings, and readers are less likely to get lost in or impatient with large blocks of text. Get the Picture? They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and that means using pictures can sometimes convey just as much information as an entire blog. In fact, people would often prefer looking at a picture to reading an article, so if you incorporate images into your blog, you are appealing to your readers. Some great information about images in blogs can be found at problogger. There are many different kinds of pictures you could use: Infographics Photographs Diagrams Illustrations And more… Images are more likely to catch a reader’s eye than a block of text, and can be used to emphasize a point. Content becomes more stimulating and attractive when there are images to provide variety and perspective. It is important to remember that while images are a great way to spice up a blog post, they need to be relevant to the material. A picture of a kitty cat can be very nice, and in fact many a cat picture has been shared and viewed on the internet, but it is unlikely that it will have an effective part to play in your blog content. Be sure you are using images properly, and not throwing them in haphazardly. Appropriately incorporated images can take blog content to a whole new level. List of Demands As a few tips have already discussed, breaking up your text is important to make the reader more comfortable and more likely to continue reading. Lists are an excellent way to diversify your text and present information in a clear and simple manner. There are many different ways lists can be used, and 3 main types of lists for content marketing blogs: Brief Lists – these usually contain short, informative statements or words, often with bullet points. Detailed Lists – these often communicate more complex information, and each list item is a complete thought or paragraph. Hybrid Lists – these combine elements of both list types above, and are very versatile for blogs. Lists can change the appearance of a blog post to … Read more

How to Create Great Blog Content from Your Webinars & More

December 31, 2020February 10, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Stuck on blog ideas? It happens to the best of us. Constantly coming up with new content for your website or blog can be one of the most frustrating tasks. Have you ever thought about turning your latest company webinar into a solid, long-form blog? If not, it’s high time you did! Blog Content: Creating Something from Almost Nothing Remember the old saying, “creating something from nothing?” I remember hearing this saying a thousand times over in high school. My art teacher was the most notorious for saying it. She’d put a blank paper or canvas in front of the class and encourage us to stretch our creative muscle by creating something from the nothing in front of us. It takes talent to create something from nothing, and most of us are up to the task when the challenge arises. However, when it comes to our business we often don’t have the time to magically create web or blog content from scratch. So why not create something from almost nothing? Turning a Webinar into Killer Content The Content Marketing Institute published an article discussing some of the flaws with webinars. They are often incredibly lengthy and unsuited for those in our audience who are constantly busy. The Institute went on to recommend using your webinars to create compelling, high quality blog posts suitable for a larger, more diverse audience. We thought their idea held merit, and did a little research of our own. Webinars are a proven means of reaching out to your audience and sharing your experience. They grant you the opportunity to be more visible online, and they provide thought leadership. While these little content gems can offer clear and specific value, they can also help you when you’re running dry on blog content ideas. A great way to repurpose content for a hearty blog post is to reuse your previously released webinars. You can even condense your webinars into video blog form, turning them into more easily digestible online content pieces. Not only will the transition take minimal time and effort since the bulk of the work is already complete, but it will also grant you access to an untapped pool of killer content ideas when you’re struggling for blog topics. Hubspot published a formidable article about how to repurpose a webinar into awesome blog content. Here are the key points to keep in mind: Create a short blog video. You can repurpose your webinar by condensing it into a 3 to 5 minute video reel to display on your blog. The script for the video reel can be displayed below the video in the blog. Since most webinars consume upwards to 60 minutes, these condensed bursts can attract a new audience. Turn the script into a blog. A 60 minute webinar is created from a lengthy script. With a little editing and the addition of a few fresh facts, you can repurpose the script into a well-written, lengthy blog that is search engine optimized. Use leftover Q&A. Often your webinars will have a decent amount of Q&A that you’ve cut out for time purposes. You can utilize this leftover content for blog post ideas and content. Create New Blog Content with Interviews Another way to fill your topic inventory is to use interviews to create new blogs. Forming a piece of content around an interview is one of the oldest and most compelling ways to improve your blog posts. Here’s why interviews pack a punch: They create timeless content They make an impact, regardless of the situation They leave a strong, often emotional, impression The trick to creating a compelling blog around an interview is conducting the interview well in the first place. This means you need to ask questions that open the door to gleaning large amounts of relevant information. If you’re working with an old interview, hopefully you kept good notes. You’ll need them to make the writing process as effortless as possible. If you’re interviewing in the future, here are some tips to follow to not only conduct a great interview, but also set yourself up for creating great blog content in the future: Consider your audience. When crafting questions to ask the professional you’re interviewing, it’s vital to consider what kind of information will bring the most benefit to your target audience. Focus less on technical information and more on the value your audience has come to expect. The mini case study. Ask the subject to talk about their life. Branch into personal terms, not just business. By doing so you will be able to extract how their quality of life and work has improved. Conveying this information to your audience will help them feel a strong emotional connection. Ask for out-of-the-box resources. By asking your subject to provide a list of their “best kept secrets,” you’re likely to walk away with resources your audience will find highly unique and valuable. Tap into inspiration. Ask the subject to share two or three things that have kept them going no matter the challenges before them. This single question can transform the interview, providing a goldmine of information the audience can easily connect to. If you ask questions correctly and dig for in-depth answers, you’ll suddenly find yourself with a ton of information. You will be able to create a series of shorter blogs delving deep into each interview question, the response you received and how it applies to your audience. You’ll even find yourself able to create a solid, long-form blog covering the entire interview and drawing conclusions. Video Blogs from Google Hangouts Google Hangouts are growing more and more popular. Since Google’s search engine algorithms catalog posts to Google faster than anywhere else, it’s in your best interest to tap into this tool. We recently came across an article that discussed how you can use Google Hangouts to create fresh blog content. Crafting video blog content is a great way to add to your content marketing efforts. Busy audience members … Read more