Writing for the Web: Part 2

In Part 1 of this series, I told you some things about your potential website readers. Now that you understand them a bit more, it is time to begin writing for them.

Here are my top ten pointers for writing content on your website.

1. Be informal. This isn’t a formal English class or a research paper. This is you and your company addressing potential and current clients. Talk to them as though they were there with you.  Also, address your customer as “you.” For instance, “ABC has what you need” rather than “ABC has what our customers need.”
2. Talk in plain language. In addition to being informal, be plain. Don’t use jargon or acronyms. Unless you are a writer, you don’t know what POD is, so if I told you that I could help you write a POD book, you wouldn’t know what I was offering. POD=Print on Demand – so I would need to say so!
3. Be consistent.  If you call your product XYZ, always call it XYZ. If you refer to a process, call it the same thing every time. For instance, I could say Print on Demand or self-publish. I would need to pick my terminology and then stick with it. You also want your site to have a consistent feel. Each page should reflect the same style as the homepage.
4. Scan the pages easily. Use bullet points, bold type, highlighted areas, or underlined words. You want your reader to continue to scan down the page and not be bogged down in paragraphs and paragraphs of type.
5. Answer the “So what?” question. Your customer doesn’t want to know all the features of what you have to offer. They want to know what they are going to get out of it on an emotional level. They want to know “What’s in it for me?”
6. Answer “What Now?” Tell your customers what you want them to do next. Tell them to order or subscribe. Tell them to join or visit. Tell them to donate or enquire. Don’t just assume they will know.
7. Be definite. Don’t use wishy-washy words like might or maybe or can. You don’t want to tell your customer that they might get more return on their dollar using your product. You need to tell them that they will get more return on their dollar. If you can’t state it 100%, don’t state it at all.
8. Be reachable. Do not just have an email contact form. If you use a form, be sure that the page also includes your phone number and email address so they can contact you directly. Also, add specific contact names. For instance, if you have someone in charge of marketing, list them as such.
9. Be helpful. Provide useful, free information that your customers may need. Provide links to informational sites. Provide PDF downloads. Show your customer that you care about more than earning a dollar. Be sure that you update your page often, both adding new information and deleting information that is no longer relevant.
10. Be interactive. You want your customers to “do” something while at your site rather than just read. Invite them to do things while there, such as sign up for a newsletter or enter a competition, or participate in a poll or survey. Make them feel involved in your company.

If you follow these ten tips, you will be well on your way to writing a website with good content; and good content keeps people coming back to your site.

[Feel free to contact me with any of your writing needs: teribclark@gmail.com] 

Writing for the Web: Part 1

Your marketing plan should include the Internet. At the very least, you need to have a website. You might also want to consider a blog, a Facebook presence, a Twitter account, a local social media, LinkedIn, Google Advertising, an ebook, and more. For many businesses, Internet marketing is a large portion of their advertising. Therefore, it is important to know a few things about your potential readers.
 
Research suggests that website users:

1. Visit your website for a reason. Most visitors are not just surfing around for fun. They are looking for something specific. If they can’t find what they want, they leave your site for another.
2. Don’t read everything. That’s right. Visitors often scan pages and read headlines.
3. Want to feel active. They want to click through to pages and take surveys and be involved, rather than just read along.
4. Visit pages quickly. Most visitors will scan from page to page without staying on one page for very long.
5. Have a short attention span.
6. Want everything to show on the page. They do not want to scroll up and down and really do not want to scroll left to right.
7. Dislike flash intros. Most visitors click the “skip” icon.
8. Don’t always enter via your homepage. As they search, visitors often come up with a URL for any one of your pages on your website.

Understanding what your website visitor is looking for will help you write good copy. In Part 2 of this series, I will give you some helpful writing hints and tips.

Eight Tips to Improve Your Business Writing

All businesses are information driven. Communication is the key. And for most people in business, the communication often comes in the written form. Think about it: there are emails, business letters, presentations, memos, proposals, training materials, promotional materials, grant proposals, and more. 

In the business world today, you need to be able to write. In fact, writing becomes more critical with each passing year. Learning to write effectively will help you improve your business and improve your chances for promotion.

Here are 8 tips to point you in the right direction.

 

1. Keep It Brief: People do not want to read reams of paper. They do not want to hear every thought process that went through your head. They want the facts and they want them laid out neatly. One way to keep someone moving through what you have to say is with bullet points. Be sure to answer the relevant questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? And How? 

2. Avoid Business Jargon: Don’t say synergy when you can just say working together. People want to know what is really on your mind and not be bothered with some fancy term. Stick with what they know. If you must use a technical term, be sure to explain it plainly. The point of the communication is to have your reader understand you.
 
3.      Check Your Work: Proofread. You do not want a stupid typo making you look bad. The worst time to proofread your work is immediately after writing it. Always give yourself several hours between writing and proofing so that you can spot those embarrassing errors.
 
4.      Watch Names, Titles, and Genders: I do not like being addressed as Mr. Clark, nor do I like it when someone adds an extra “r” to Teri. I am not alone. No one wants to be addressed incorrectly. If you aren’t sure of the spelling of someone’s name, either avoid using it or check with someone that does know. Use “they” and “their” when you aren’t sure of the gender.
 
5.      Keep Your Writing For Future Use: Oftentimes, we can use the same materials again with only minor changes. Keep documents that you may be able to use again as a template for future communications.
 
6.      Keep It Professional: Business writing is not the place for jokes, gossip, or personal comments. You don’t’ have to use formal language, but you do want people to see you as a professional.
 
7.      Get Them to DO Something: Business communication is meant to achieve something. Your written material should ask your reader to do something, and preferably, do something right away.
 
8.      Give Them the Benefits: Explain right up front what your written material is going to do for the reader. You want them to care about your communication to them. For instance, in the beginning of this blog, I told you that writing better could help your bottom line or get you promoted. If you were interested in either of those benefits, then you are still reading this post!
 

Effective writing is a learnable skill. It just takes practice. Keep these tips in mind this week as your communicate effectively with those around you.

[If you have important information to convey and don’t feel that your writing is up to the task, the best advice is to hire someone who is. Feel free to contact me concerning any of your business writing needs at teribclark@gmail.com]

Say What You Mean

Have you ever gotten an email meant to sell you something, but you had no idea what they were selling? I have. I've gotten emails so filled with jargon that they may as well have been speaking ancient Greek.

Your business has its own vocabulary. For lawyers, we call it "legaleeze". Whenever you hear someone telling you the small print, you know they are talking legal jargon and it often doesn't make sense. The same is true for my business of writing. POD means nothing unless you want to "publish on demand."

It is important to look at your written communication to your customers and see it as they will see it. Are you using acronyms that only you will know? Are you using intellectual sounding terms that will have no meaning to your customers?

The point of communicating with your customer is to get them to understand what you have to offer and then to purchase that product or service from you. It is not to show how smart you are through the use of your giant or obscure vocabulary. You must speak your client's language. You must motivate them to do something, such buy a product or request more information. You must meet their needs.

If you currently have a written marketing campaign, look it over and be sure that it is written in your customer's language. TAFN, (That's All For Now, for those that don't speak text!)

[If you have written materials that you'd like to have edited, or if you are creating materials from scratch, feel free to contact me. I'd love to help. teribclark@gmail.com)

Immediate Credibility With a Book

Do you want to be an authority in your field? One of the fastest ways to do this is by writing a book. Being the author of a book commands the respect of your peers and your customers. It gives you and your business credibility – instant credibility.

Perhaps you will want to sell your book. Perhaps you will just want to use it as a free offer or a thank you. Perhaps you will use it to inform potential clients about what you do and how it will benefit them. Whatever the case, a book can be a great boon.

You may be thinking, “Me? Write a book? About what?” Your industry, that’s what. Or a particular niche in your industry. You have the knowledge, experience, and passion for what you do. Let others know about it!

Your book is not likely to be a best seller (though it could be). The likelihood is that your book will appeal to a narrow band of people, but that’s ok. Your business only applies to a narrow band of people. Reach out to them and show them how you can solve their problems.

A book of this nature does not have to be a tome. Just 40 to 60 pages will do. If you write just 500 words a day, you can have your book finished in a month.

How can you make sure you write your book? Here are a few tips:

1. Commit to the project. Keep track of what you do each day and make a time each day to write. 
2. Perfection is not the key. Once you’ve actually written the book, you can edit and clean it up.
3. Start with an outline. What topics do you want to cover? What subtopics can you think of to go with each topic? What order of topics works best?
4. Don’t worry about publishing options until you get your book written. There are many different “print on demand” options available. It is easy to get a book for $4 or less with as little as 50 printed on the first run.

A book is not going to make you wealthy in the short-term, but it can certainly add to your bottom line in the long term. Get started today!

(If you still feel like a book is beyond your capabilities or if you feel you don’t have time for a book, feel free to contact me about possible ghostwriting services: teribclark@gmail.com)

Have You Considered a Survey?

Email is a great marketing tool. It is fast, targeted, and effective. If someone has asked to be on your mailing list, then you can rest assured that they want to hear from you. The question becomes, what do you send them?

One idea is a five to six question survey. Ask them about something related to your business. You could ask them about their recent experience with your company. Maybe you have a product that could use some feedback. Perhaps you are considering a new product and want to do a bit of market research. 

After the survey, write a sales offer for completing the survey. It could be a great discount on one of your most popular products, a coupon for any purchase, or even a free gift with their next order. Think about your audience and what would appeal to them.

This is what I would call a ‘twofer.” Two for the price of one. Not only do you learn valuable information about your business, but you get sales you would not have had otherwise. 

Another option is to send an email with a link to your survey. After they fill out the information, your customer will get an email with their coupon or code for the offer. An excellent source for an online survey is www.kwiksurveys.com. To see what a survey might look like, you can go to http://kwiksurveys.com?u=CreateaSurvey.

Don’t underestimate the power of email or the power of a survey. Understanding your client’s needs and wants, as well as providing them with great services and products for that knowledge, is a win-win situation.