Posts tagged Blogging

How to Schedule Your Web Content Writing

Your Web Content Writing is a Critical Piece of the Puzzle for SEO

Using an editorial calendar for your web content writing

If you’re creating web content for SEO then you likely already know you need to keep your content up-to-date and fresh for the best results. Search engines like Google want to see relevant and current content on your site before they will consider it worth linking to. It can be difficult to come up with ideas to write about every day, which is where an editorial calendar comes into play. Here are some tips on setting up your editorial calendar for success.

Look at the calendar

Before you plan anything else, you should look at a calendar and find topics that are related to times, holidays, seasons, or other dates. Almost every topic has some kind of seasonality to it, where certain parts of the year lend themselves to writing certain kinds of pieces. For example, you might focus on Christmas time and do the “Twelve Days of Whatever” focused on your topic. The benefit of planning out this kind of content is that you can usually write it in advance. Write it at your leisure and keep it in the queue for the day it’s going to be published. Keywords might change if you write it early, however, so it’s a good idea to do a bit of research before you publish the final post. The calendar approach doesn’t require writing in advance, however. You might plan out a day when you write about an event that’s going to happen. Obviously, you can’t write about something before it has happened, but you can plan for it on the calendar.

Focus on your business

It’s likely that your web content writing is to support a business of some kind or another. The next big area you want to focus on is the goings on at your business. If you know when a product is going to be launched, it’s time to put it on the editorial calendar as well. It doesn’t have to be just one day either. You can write a few days worth of content to go around the big announcement to build buzz and traffic. Important anniversaries are also great fodder for content. When was the company started? When did you launch a certain product or feature? Next, you can write about new employees or executives as they come into the company. If there’s something important going on at your company then you should definitely be writing about it.

Be flexible

Ideally, you will plan out every day in advance so you don’t have to scramble to find topics to cover. That said, you might not be able to find anything suitable for a day that’s a year in the future in a nondescript time. Try to fill up the calendar, but don’t spend so much time on it that it takes away from the actual writing. If you can’t find something, mark it as an open day and be sure to keep an eye out for interesting ideas. Likewise, plan on some of your plans falling through or changing based on breaking news in your industry and the like. Your calendar is a great tool, but if you’re too attached to it then your content will suffer.

If you don’t have an editorial calendar then now is the time to get started! And if you need help with your content, contact Hat Trick Associates to learn more about how their web content writing rates can create positive ROI for your buisness.

 

Maximize Your Web Content

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We’ve made the case several times that a challenging economy is probably the worst time to slash your online marketing efforts.

And for those following this sound advice, it also makes sense to optimize every piece of web content that you produce and publish, both from a sales conversion and SEO standpoint.

Though it may seem like common sense, many authors forget to figure out what they’re trying to say before they start writing, and thus waste resources creating content that doesn’t achieve its potential or goals. Here are some tips to maximize your web writing:

Tip #1 – Create an Outline

Outlines are useful tools for giving your article or webpage structure, but if you’re not a big fan of outlining, at least answer the following questions before you start writing:

Who am I writing for? What’s my ideal audience?

What do I want my readers to learn from this article?

How will I explain/prove my point?

Tip #2 – Be Informative

Readers seek informative content, so provide the “give” in your article body and leave the “take” for your Resource Box or website. The quality of your information should make a good impression by providing value to the reader, not leaving them wanting more. Resist the temptation to sell in your articles.

Tip #3 – Share Your Experience…

You’re an expert in your field or niche, your readers are not. Don’t worry about making your writing sound smart, just think of some questions your readers will have and then answer them. Use article templates to help you structure the information in your article and generate new ideas.

Tip #4 – …But Not All At Once

You have a lot of knowledge, so you’re understandably excited to share it. But be careful not to overwhelm your readers. Break up large topics into smaller components, in separate articles. This gives you more articles to write and won’t scare readers with extremely long articles.

Tip #5 – Consider Hiring a Ghostwriter

Weigh your options. Is your business better served if you outsource the article writing (or blogging, newsletter or web content writing) and focus on other aspects of your business instead? Return on Investment is all about taking your available resources and using them in the most effective way. This is especially true during tough economic times, when the reduced overhead of freelance partners has the biggest financial impact.

It doesn’t matter how big your business is, or if you’re from New York, Boston and Washington DC to Los Angeles, San Fransisco and Vancouver, Hat Trick Associates can help you build your web content online. (If you happen to be from one of these cities, the fact that I included your hometown might be a reason you found this page, for example!) Contact us to learn more about how your website content / text can help your customers find you, too.

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Web Content 102

As you have heard us say before, there are millions upon millions of online blogs and other informational websites, but what makes for great web content?

Clear and Concise

Being vague is one of the biggest mistakes a web content writer can commit, as it can compel your audience to instantly evaporate. No one wants to stay a second on something they find too complex or vague to understand. The mark of an expert lies in his ability to make complicated things clear and simple. Don’t use 200 words to say something that could easily be written with 50; people don’t have that kind of time these days.

Know Your Audience and Be Compelling

Know what your customers or general readers care about. If you think that your content can catch people’s attention because YOU are really passionate about the subject, you’re falling into the trap of assuming visitors will care because you care. Most people won’t spend a second on topics they don’t care about.

(…now it certainly does help to have a strong attachment to your topic, but you need more than just that!)

And “compelling” means that your web content not only grabs attention, but has purpose. Typically this is a sales conversion, but not always – especially on news-based blogs. Know what the end goal of your online copy truly is.

Accurate and Complete

The very first step is to create content that is accurate and complete. You need to ascertain that what you tell the world is correct. Information online is easily accessible today, but readers can easily spot posts or articles that were rushed and not fact checked pretty easily. If you don’t have the time to fully research your facts, like many business owners and others responsible for web content, find someone who does.

You also need to fully develop your ideas, or link to follow up information or action steps that make sense (such as a purchase option, if your content is made as a teaser).

And a good example is:

If you found this information helpful and would like to talk about ways to make your web content more compelling, contact us to learn more!



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