It’s a business website and you wrote the content for it yourself (You are not a professional writer)- Your website ranks on page 75 (or even worse) for most keyword phrases connected to your business in almost all search engines
- Your kid who’s a 4th grader can spot grammatical errors in it
- You have 100 hits in a day but not even one is converting into a lead
- Your web designer wrote the content for you
- The content on your website is one huge chunk of text
- It takes you 20 minutes to read the text on one page
- You BORROWED (?????) the content from several other websites
- Visitors say that the copy on your website lacks the PUNCH
- You are serious about generating more business from your website.
Posts Tagged ‘Content’
10 Telltale signs that your business urgently requires a Content Expert
Friday, September 2nd, 2011The importance of Content Polishing
Sunday, August 29th, 2010
Are you polishing your articles?
When you are writing a good article, you can almost feel it in your mind. ‘Oh yes, this one’s gonna be a peach’.
But if you look at it after a week, after you have read it a few hundred times yourself, it feels quite ordinary.
You can’t stop the feeling from creeping in your mind that, ‘hmm…this could have been better if I had done this!’
This is natural. It happens to the best of people.
No, you can’t stop it ever.
But minimize it, is something you can do and the best way to do this is to use the best possible polish for your article in the first go itself.
Content Polish! Hmm, how’s that for a brand?
Content Polishing is an art that you must master as you progress in your freelance writing career.
It may remotely be connected to proof reading an article and making changes as you read it again. But only remotely.
It’s more of ironing out the crevices, adding a good intro, changing that abrupt ending, adding a saying here and there or using simpler words in place of jargon.
Anything that makes the article seem better, attractive and complete is polish.
It’s the art of turning a readable article into a must read one within minutes.
I am contacted by several wannabe writers each month. And while most of them can spin a decent yarn on any subject, it’s polishing where they lack footing.
So here’s my five points for content polishing for beginners.
- Split the article into 3 sections, an intro, the body and a conclusion. Yes, I know that you have all written essays in school and this point just made you nostalgic about your English teacher. But it’s true. Without a good start, you will lose half your readers by the time they reach the body. The same is true for the body. It keeps the reader attached and takes him towards that final punch which is delivered in the conclusion. Remove either one of these three and you have a blob of text which seems like pasta minus sauce.
- Further split the article into short paragraphs. Nobody likes to read a 500 word article split into 3 chunks of text. So use the space and split it into small paragraphs of one, two or at the most, 3 sentences.
- Use a quote. A lot of wise people have preached millions of things which can make your article lively. Use it. But please give credit to the original author.
- Be interactive. Speak to your readers. Ask them questions. Give them answers. People like personalized articles.
- Read it again and again and again until you are satisfied or saturated. If you are saturated, then take a break and read it again after a while until you are satisfied!
That’s all for today folks! I hope that you found this useful. For those who did and those who didn’t, there’s always the comment box down below to rant. Cheers!
Article Courtesy: Flickr: Originally uploaded by Darwinbell – http://flic.kr/p/25AtR3
A Bucket List for your blog
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
A couple of days ago on a lazy afternoon, I was busy woolgathering and an intriguing thought happened to cross my mind. What are the things that I wish to do before I die? The things that I would like to accomplish in my lifetime? In other words, what is my Bucket List? Now, it’s not everyday that you think about your death.
So the thought got me quite interested. I jumped out of the couch and got my scribbling pad and started to scribble away.
I jotted down a few things which I would like to do before I die. I cannot post them here for more reasons than one. At least not now! I might just post it in the future. But, that’s just a ‘Maybe’! 
By the way, have you created your bucket list? Think about it! It’s quite interesting.
For those who didn’t know, ‘The Bucket List’ is a list of things that you would like to do before you die. The term became famous when a blockbuster movie of the same name starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman released last year.
What got me even more interested in the subject was, creating a Bucket List for my blog. Now that would be interesting. What would my blog like to do before it died? Not now, not in the next few years, but maybe when I got too bored of blogging and decided to bring down the curtains on it.
Maybe when I jumped on to a different profession. Quite possible.
Or maybe when I left god’s green earth for the unknown that lies beyond.
What would my blog like to do? Here’s what I could conjure up for my blog!
1) Have more than 30,000 subscribers via RSS – That doesn’t seem likely for two years at least.
2) To have two posts everyday – Now that one’s achievable. Hmmm. Did someone mention writer’s block?
3) Generate a 6 figure income for at least one month – You see, my blog loves me and wants to see me filthy rich!
4) To become the holy grail for Freelance writers and Amateur Bloggers – This ‘could’ just work out.
5) To visit the Blog World Expo – I will be there at the Expo in 2011.
6) To win a Web Log Award – Cast thou votes!
7) To have a memorial blog created in my memory when I die – Any volunteers?
You see, he is an emotional fella, my blog! Now is a blog a he or a she? I dunno, but I prefer him being a ‘he’.
Now, most of those things are what my blog would like to do as of today. I will keep adding to the list as and when newer things come into the picture. And I will also keep scoring out each thing as I accomplish it. Maybe, I ought to create a different list for all the things that my blog has accomplished.
That can be a real morale booster on a bad day!
So, what’s the bucket list for your blog? Haven’t create one yet? Do it now and keep me posted! Cheers!
Photo Courtesy Flickr: Bucket List, originally uploaded by er3465
Are you offering value with each post?
Monday, March 2nd, 2009
Have you ever wondered why some blogs have a readership that only increases with time whilst others struggle to get even 100 visitors in a day? Problogger.net has 76894 readers subscribed via RSS. I don’t even have 9. Of course, let’s not forget the fact that he had a head start way back before I did and has been a revelation of sorts since then.
(It’s amazing how Problogger manages to find a mention in most of my posts. But readers might agree that the guy is one of the icons on the blogosphere and we can’t help but analyze and emulate his success mantra.)
So, what is it about some blogs that make them stand out from amongst the rest of the crowd? What will it take for you to be the next Problogger? Is there some hidden strategy that isn’t being revealed by the big guns? Apart from posting regularly and posting quality content (Yes, we know the drill), what is it that some blogs lack?
In case you haven’t noticed, some blogs are out there just for the sake of existing on the blogosphere and despite doing everything else correctly, they are making the one biggest mistake of their lives in blogging. And it is this mistake that might well be the nail in their coffin.
They do not offer value to their readers in their posts! Do you?
Are you offering your reader something that a million other websites on the internet aren’t? Or are your blog posts out there purely because of the necessity to post thrice a week? Answer honestly. This answer might well help you make a significant difference to your reader base in the days to come.
‘How do I offer value?’ one might ask.
There are numerous ways to do it. Offer a tip or an idea that can bring about a small or maybe, even a significant change in their lives. Offer a solution to a simple problem that no one but you has thought of. If the problem has already been spoken about and you would like to add your own tidbits to it, then do it. A fresh perspective is always accepted.
Start a series of articles on a particular topic within your niche (extremely popular), give out a compilation of your articles as an e-book, share a useful link that you might have found, write a review, start a poll, accept feedback!
Readers are ordinary human beings, who are facing ordinary problems like inflation, lay offs and the recession. Connect, empathize, suggest, enquire, assign, or ask a question. There are hundreds of ways in which you can turn each post into something unique and yet, offer value.
The only way to build a community of readers on your post is to build loyalty. To make the reader come back everyday. To make him/her interact via the comments section and for this to happen, your posts must not be good. They have to be the best.
It’s easy to follow a winning formula. It’s hard to create one of your own. The least you can do is try.
Notes: Photo courtesy Flickr: special offer, originally uploaded by sindesign.
5 easy steps to crispier content
Friday, February 27th, 2009I have been spending a lot more time off late trying to promote my blog. Have started Tweeting and Face booking purely to get the word out and the traffic in. Got some great help from Chris Brogan and his post ‘Using outposts in your media strategy‘. Have to say that I never realized the potential of Twitter until the last week. Thankfully, it’s better late than never and I am happy and tweeting.
I have also started surfing a lot more and as a result, have had the privilege of visiting some real great blogs and witness some of the best copy that I have ever read. Honestly, I must admit that some of those blogs and the writers were the inspiration behind this post.
What turns ordinary copy into great copy? How does that transformation occur if it is indeed a transformation? The aim behind this post is to help you write crisp content. Content that can be read, that can be scanned and that invites people to read through.
Although there is no rocket science (I know its clichéd but can’t help it) involved in writing readable and scannable content, it certainly isn’t the easiest thing next to breathing.
The tips listed below have certainly worked for me and they might work for you too.
• Decide on the title: The title of your article is the reader magnet and it better be good. It is almost like a billboard that screams out 24×7 and on the internet; it will help you stand out. Having a title in mind before you begin writing the article helps you frame the remainder of it. It is easy to go off track while writing and the title will help you stay focused. It’s like an invisible barrier that keeps you within limits. Ever tried doing it in the reverse order? That’s a doozy, I tell you.
• Think content, always: Once you have the title in mind, start thinking content until the article is posted. And not just when you are writing. Think content while exercising, while taking your pet out for a walk and even while having a beer. Some of the best chunks of my articles have surfaced out of nowhere in my mind when I was guzzling on Carlsberg. (I have recently shifted to Carlsberg from Budweiser). Maybe you should drink more Carlsberg then. ? And don’t forget to scribble it down the moment it hits you, no matter what you are doing at that time.
• Keep writing: For me, the most difficult part has always been the start of the article. But I don’t stop writing once I get a go ahead. I think it always helps to get those first 800 to 900 words on the paper. No mater how bad it sounds. Toss those grammar rules aside for sometime and type away. So once you begin, stop only after you have the rough draft with you.
• Take a break and then get back: Always take a break after you have the rough draft. It helps to get your mind off it for a while. Trust me; you will be looking at the article in a different light the next time you lay your eyes on it.
• Additions and deductions, brevity is the key: Lo and behold, what you have in front of you now is the raw material for what can turn into a killer post. But the real work begins now. Read the article again and again. Identify points where you can make additions or deductions. Subtle changes that can make a difference. Using bullet points, quotes, analogies and axioms always makes it more interesting. What you are doing now is polishing the diamond and make sure that you take your time to do it. Cut down the unwanted stuff. Always remember, brevity is the key to great web copy.
And if you really want to know whether this works, go to some of your oldest archived posts and rework on them. You might just come up with a new and updated version of the dusty old post. And if you want to chip in with a thought or two, just drop me a comment down there!
Notes: Image Courtesy Flickr : 14th August 2007 / Day 226, originally uploaded by Mrs Magic.
Tags: additions, billboard, Blogging, bullet points, comments, Content, crisp, easy, posts, quotes, title, writing
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