The About Us Page - How to Write a Website, Chapter 2

Thanks to Luke Gedeon for designing our project badge! You can grab the code here - in your choice of 12 beautiful color schemes. Thanks, Luke!
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After the Home Page, the About Us Page is the next stop for many website visitors, which makes it a pretty important page to say the least.

One of the key challenges with an About Us Page is that it can go in so many directions. It can be very “corporate” or very personal. It can detail company history or lay out the vision for tomorrow. It can speak to customers, stakeholders, alliance partners, employees, or all of…

The Home Page - How to Write a Website, Chapter 1

Earlier this month Karen Swim and I announced our How to Write a Website group project. We’re looking for your ideas, insights, and opinions! After we’ve collected all our wisdom, Karen and I plan to edit the material - crediting you, of course - into a book or e-book. Before diving in to the Home Page, a few items of business.

• Easton Ellsworth suggested collecting data on a wiki or Google Doc - both good ideas. But we thought the blog/comments approach is familiar to everyone, and seems like as good a platform as any. In the interest of keeping things all in…

To Write Persuasively, Know Your Customer’s Mind

Many moons ago in a Xerox sales training class, I learned the difference between skeptical and indifferent customers. It’s a distinction that I’ve found imperative to keep in mind at all times when writing any sort of sales copy.

A skeptical customer is one who recognizes a need for your product or service, but doubts your ability to fill it.

An indifferent customer is one who does not recognize a need for your product or service.

These two mindsets are very different. A skeptical customer is motivated to buy - just not from you. An indifferent customer is not motivated at all. In the SEO industry, skepticism…

Announcing! “How to Write a Web Site” Group Project

Fellow blogger and copywriting Karen Swim and I noticed something important not long ago - small businesses are under served when it comes to creating content for their Web sites.

Karen and I think small business owners need help. You can have the greatest programmer in the world, and the most eye catching design, but in the end, it still boils down to what words go where.

At first Karen and I thought about writing a book. But then we thought, hey, we know a whole group of experts whose collective wisdom far, far, exceeds ours.

Who is this group of content wizards?…

UK Slang, Round 2 - Join Me!

Image by SBishop via FlickrDanny Wallace’s book Yes Man is full of UK slang expressions which readers were generous enough to help me decipher. Now that I’ve finished Danny’s earlier book, Join Me!, I’ve got several more expressions to add to my list. Here they are, with my best guess as to their meaning.

(By the way - if you’re interested in online media, social media marketing, and social behavior, you’ll especially enjoy Join Me! The story of how Danny builds his collective is highly instructive - and, hilarious. Visit the Join Me! website to learn more.)

UK vs. American English, Round 2

Nutter. Someone we would…

Fix Your Content Strategy with a Web Site Evaluation

Image by jordanfischer via FlickrDeciding what to write about - and where to write about it - are daunting tasks for people responsible for corporate Web sites. One approach I’m finding that works really well is to start with a Web site evaluation. I began offering my own content evaluation program in the hopes that it would lead to copyediting business - tactical tweaking, if you will. Instead, what winds up happening is clients use my critique as a platform to discuss their entire approach to communicating with customers and prospects.

A full scale content review is an easy place to start because…

The Chicago Manual of Style - A Must for Writers

Have you read The Art of the Start, by Guy Kawasaki? Excellent book for start ups, especially if you are looking for funding.

Quite unexpectedly, one of my favorite takeaways from the book was a book recommendation from Guy - The Chicago Manual of Style.

This manual runs almost 1000 pages and covers in extraordinary depth every imaginable topic on publishing, editing, copyrights, grammar, usage, punctuation, spelling, terminology, numbers, foreign languages, quotations, dialog, illustrations, captions, tables, abbreviations, documentation, and indexing.

There are ten pages on pronouns. Not sure how to punctuate the Swiss Alps or the continental United States? See…

How to Write a Business Letter

October 25, 2008

Blog Readers
Whatever Their Title
Everywhere
Planet Earth

Dear Blog Reader:

The purpose of this letter is to share business letter writing tips. Perhaps the most important point of all is to begin by stating your business clearly and concisely.

For the inside address, always use the person’s full name and precede it with Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. Always use a colon in the salutation: using a comma is like wearing blue jeans to a black tie dinner. The following tips apply to the body of a letter:

• Use bullet points to break up text.
• Avoid over use of bold text, italics, and multiple size fonts.…

Did I Really Send That??

Image by assbach via FlickrDid you ever give in to the temptation to compose a really nasty email - and then send it?

Joanna Young posed a similar question in one of her 50 blog post ideas. Her question was, did I really write that? Well, writing is one thing, but for me there’s a big difference between writing and publishing.

Writing can be a cathartic experience. Once in a while I calm myself down over a prickly issue by writing a snarky little blog post or email. Somehow or other, articulating my frustration has a calming affect. Have you ever experienced that?

HOWEVER. On…

Why Companies Should Outsource Web Content

Image by 曼妮的閒晃世界Mani ’s lounging world via FlickrThis is a self-serving post, but what the heck. I love writing Web copy and have been doing it for years both “outside the box” as a freelancer and “inside the box” as a director of marketing. Based on that experience, I’ve come to the conclusion that any company would be wise to outsource some or all of their content development. Here’s why.

To focus on the customer. Companies tend to get wrapped up in their own products and services. But customers want to know what’s in it for them. If they believe your offering will…

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