writing tactics - Express Writers

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Writing Productivity with Pamela Rosen & Forrest Bryant of Evernote

December 31, 2020April 21, 2017 by Rachel Moffett

Let’s face it… Writing is no easy task. From brainstorming ideas, to actually getting them out on paper (or on your computer screen), and then editing everything, it can sometimes be a stressful process that takes a while to complete. Fortunately, in this week’s chat, we shared some amazing tips for writing productivity that will help you tackle your writing tasks with ease. #ContentWritingChat Recap: Writing Productivity with Pamela Rosen & Forrest Bryant of Evernote TODAY: Join us for #ContentWritingChat at 10 AM Central Time with @pambieworld and @fojazz from @evernote! pic.twitter.com/O9cwclhbs8 — Express Writers (@ExpWriters) April 18, 2017 Our guest hosts this week were Pamela Rosen and Forrest Bryant, who are both part of the amazing Evernote team. Pamela is a Senior Copywriter for Evernote and Forrest is their Director of Content. Since they’re both experienced writers and content creators, they were the perfect fit to share some writing productivity tips with everyone in the chat. Q1: What does writing productivity look like to you? To kick off the chat, we asked everyone to share what writing productivity looks like to them. Check out their responses and see if any of these resonate with you: A1a: For me, it’s a state of flow. That requires clarity, purpose, direction. ? #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/f6FaDKBCcB — Forrest Dylan Bryant (@fojazz) April 18, 2017 A1b: It’s not just a matter of output. The quality and value of what I write are equally (more?) important. #ContentWritingChat — Forrest Dylan Bryant (@fojazz) April 18, 2017 For Forrest, writing productivity is a state of flow. He said it requires clarity, purpose, and direction. And of course, it’s not all about how much content you’re able to create. It’s more important to focus on the quality and the value of the content you’re writing. A1a: It’s being able to get in the zone. When words flow freely without interruption. #ContentWritingChat — Pamela Rosen (@Pambieworld) April 18, 2017 Pamela said writing productivity is being able to get into the zone. When you get to that state where the words are flowing freely and you don’t have any distractions, it’s always a great place. @ExpWriters A1: Productivity isn’t just about how much you get done, it’s about how well you do it. Set a sched that works for you. #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/x15a0eDjsP — Jeff Reno(e) (@Renoe) April 18, 2017 Jenn is absolutely right that it isn’t about how much you get done, but how well you do it. You have to come up with a schedule and processes that work for YOU, not anyone else. A1: I write in productive phases: Research, draft, edit, publish. #ContentWritingChat — Tara M. Clapper (@irishtara) April 18, 2017 Tara, our Content Development Specialist, writes in productive phases. These phases include researching, drafting content, editing, and then publishing. A1 Being able to get writing assignments done at a good time, knowing there will be a first draft & editing to be done. #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/dlWIzza3a6 — Tony Stephan (@OmnipoTony) April 18, 2017 Tony feels productivity is about getting his writing assignments done at a good time. This means there’s no time to procrastinate! @ExpWriters A1: Blocking all distractions and creatively plowing through hour(s) of time writing without multitasking. #ContentWritingChat — Jeremy Murphy (@jeremypmurphy) April 18, 2017 Jeremy knows it’s helpful to block out distractions when you have writing to be done. If you just focus on your writing, as opposed to multitasking, you’ll be much more productive. A1 Productivity to me is not spending 3 hours binging on Netflix during a deadline and actually doing work. #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/9fqphvPJvX — HeyOrca! (@HeyOrca) April 18, 2017 Sorry to say it, but writing productivity also means ditching Netflix for a while as you get work done. A1 Productivity is a balancing act: passion, focus and efficiency. It helps that excitement is a great motivator. #ContentWritingChat — Olivia Dello Buono (@oliviadello) April 18, 2017 Olivia knows that passion, focus, and efficiency are three very important factors of the writing process. And she’s right that a little excitement about the task at hand helps too! Q2: Which strategies do you implement when writing content for your brand? When it comes time to write content, which strategies do you rely on to get things done and do them well? Check out what some of our chat participants do when writing: A2a: Remember above all, it’s still people talking to people. Be human, be real. Be engaging. Don’t try to sell. #ContentWritingChat — Pamela Rosen (@Pambieworld) April 18, 2017 A2b: I ask myself, ‘do I want to read this?’ If not, I start over. #ContentWritingChat — Pamela Rosen (@Pambieworld) April 18, 2017 Pam shared a great reminder that everyone should keep in mind when writing content. You always need to be human and real because you are speaking to actual people. Another human being is going to be reading your content and you want to create something that resonates with them. To do that, focus on engaging your audience and adding value. It’s helpful to ask yourself if you would want to read the content you’ve created. If not, you should start over. While everything you write needs to appeal to your audience, it also needs to appeal to you as well. A2a: Every piece of content should deliver real value to the reader and/or generate excitement. That’s priority one. #ContentWritingChat — Forrest Dylan Bryant (@fojazz) April 18, 2017 Forrest said you need to make sure every piece of content delivers value to your reader and/or generates excitement. Before you hit publish, ask yourself if it’s serving your audience in some way. If not, you probably need to revisit what you’ve written. A2. Ideation (inspiration) Research (topic, audience, etc.) Outline/Visualize Scribble thoughts Write Edit#ContentWritingChat https://t.co/plzofTnGvu — Gabriela Cardoza (@CardozaGab) April 18, 2017 Gabriela’s writing process looks something like this: getting inspiration, researching the topic and audience, outlining the content, scribbling down her thoughts, writing, and then editing. A2: Ask yourself: does this benefit my readers? Does it fit with our goals? Is it … Read more

Some Content Writing Tactics to Avoid

January 1, 2021October 7, 2013 by Adam Oakley

As with every job, career path or even calling, there are some things it is always better to avoid as content writers. As Google improves its search technology, there are many previous habits that are no longer going to be useful. 4 Content Writing Avoidable’s The Internet is a constantly adjusting entity. It is hard to choose a word to accurately describe the technology that continues to amaze generation after generation. The older generations, like the Baby Boomers, are still wrapping their minds around the instant access to so much information. The younger generations (is that you?) still find a moment when they stop and think, “Wow, I didn’t know I could do THAT.” We all have a lot to keep learning from the world around us. The Internet is now a huge part of that world. It continues to change and create new things for the next generations to learn. For now though, we’ll come back from the cosmos that is the potential of the Internet. We’ll focus on the changes in SEO writing now and the previous successful tactics that no one liked, but they knew were useful to make money. These can (thankfully) be left behind now. 1) Don’t Write Low Quality This is good news. Any low quality writing, low quality guest posting sites and article submissions of basically fluff pieces, won’t be of any use in the future. So the writing that is done for pennies won’t even be worth that anymore. Better quality writing for better quality sites will again be the order of the day, while cheap and useless will be relegated to the past. Writers take pride in their work, much like an architect or a NASA scientist after a successful shuttle launch. That pride has been taking a huge hit because people don’t understand the effort that goes into creating good quality writing. Writers have been on a level with fast food workers or under appreciated workers in foreign countries – particularly since those workers in other countries can work for less than writers in the U.S.A. and feel like they are making a remarkable wage. Now, English as a second language – writing is not going to cut it for high-ranking results from Google. It’s back to paying for quality to get what a business needs, so avoid doing low quality work and prepare to reap the benefits of your time well spent. 2) Avoid the Ones Building Reputation the Wrong Way Building links quickly to compete with long-standing brand names or companies with impressive histories will also be something you won’t see anymore. Those who are willing to take the time and build the right image through the right processes will see the success they aim for in business. As a writer, recognize that the shortcuts previously implemented won’t be making you the money anymore. Google techies are getting smarter. Their programming is written to make sure those shortcuts and poor quality efforts to draw in customers will disappear into the dregs of the search engine results, buried in thousands of pages of more attention-worthy content. Get yourself, as a writer, back onto those pages with your writing efforts. Links will need to viewed for the quality of information they provide. Your writing, with adequate research, will be the forefront of the success of new and improved link building. Sound good? It should sound fantastic. This is the way information in print was shared previously, with care and attention to veracity and use. 3) Avoid Fluff Writing I’ve been seeing this warning more and more from companies searching for a writer to blog for them or handle their outsourced projects. Previously, as long as the SEO keyword was repeated enough, the rest didn’t matter. Next, it looked like a well-put together piece, but actual research on the topic was a waste of time. Companies wanted to give the impression of effort without paying for actual quality. Now, the quality is once again the important aspect. According to a humorously titled piece, “Friends Don’t Let Friends Write SEO,” the truth comes out. Great writing is not about the words incorporated into the set-length piece. Instead, the important part is the ideas shared and retained after the piece has been read. The great writers know this. The benefit now is that others are once again recognizing that. So writing for the Internet can go back to the level of quality it should present. 4) Never, Ever Forget the Audience From this infographic for SEO writing tips for 2013, an important Don’t is gleaned. When you write to fit in a set number of keywords during a set number of words overall, you have forgotten the main point of any piece of writing. What does your audience care if you say the company name six times? The bots may care, but they AREN’T the ones you should be thinking of as you write each piece. Remember those classes? It doesn’t matter if they were in high school or college. Even in elementary school, your English teacher talked about the audience. Remember to answer the questions the audience might ask. Give detail and share new ideas it hasn’t already seen multiple times. Well, the repetition of that keyword is not meeting the goals the audience sets for you, the writer. Remember those goals instead. As a website content writer, you know the essentials to creating a memorable piece. The classic novels, all the way to a news article or a magazine piece that will be discussed and used in future classrooms, all meet the same expectations. They improve the reader in some way once that piece, novel or article has been read in full. So don’t let your writing be dragged to the lowest level with the least respect. Take heart in the knowledge that things are turning around again, and writers will be expected to write quality work once again. Now, the battle turns to … Read more