Jane van Velsen

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Writing Online Content for Browsers

In Advertising and marketing, Articles & Features, Blogs, Commercial writing, Copywriters & Writing, Long copy for DM, SEO copywriting, article writing and editing, blogging, business and social media, feature writing on February 4, 2010 at 08:42

Many writers still think that writing online to attract readers is pretty much the same as writing hard copy for a direct mail piece. Unfortunately they are wrong.

How does online writing differ?

For an online writer the most important difference is the reader’s mindset. An online reader skip reads or skims content for relevancy and will search out the information they want whereas a hard copy reader is more leisurely and often meanders in their reading, spending more time on each page. When writing online the geography of the offering also needs to be accounted for. Are you writing for a localised website or a national ezine or even a global site? The tone and content will alter dramatically for each. What makes it even more interesting to write online is that the elements of a direct mail piece and the way a consumer interacts with it is vastly different to an online approach. Take for example the envelope.

Writing keyword rich subject lines

Direct Marketing writers always know that the message on the envelope can make or kill your campaign. Online, there are no envelopes so it’s the subject line that suddenly becomes vital. The cut off point in Google for title characters is around 65 so the writer is subject to producing a relevant subject line of keywords within 65 characters and ensuring that they’re enticing enough to secure a unique open from the recipient, whereas on an envelope you can use a variety of techniques to get a recipient to open it.

Writing body copy for online users

The body copy alters online as it needs to be written specifically for web users so the writer has to consider the varying online calls to action and be aware of tips like using primary keywords in the first paragraph of text and title and heading tags, not over using internal links within the copy that contain keywords where possible and inserting cross links to strengthen web pages within the search engines.

As mentioned earlier the writer may have to alter tone and content to suit Geographic’s, especially when segmentation of a database occurs and copy is written to satisfy specific interest.

The first few lines of body copy are often used as the meta description tag for a search engine listing so the writer needs to include targeted keywords and in a manner that entices the user to click on the listing i.e. influence the click through to engage the user in a call to action.

Apart from that the writer needs to remember keyword density though out the body copy. Too little is as bad as too much. Strike a balance and remember to list in footer and navigation.

Online copy is never as long as hard copy mailers either. The average article online is between 600 – 800 words. A restricted area in which to secure a definite call to action! Because of this some writers use video to embellish their message and gain space.

Breaking up copy online with shorter sentences, paragraphs and bullet points helps ensure ‘stickiness’. Online readers want easy reading even if they are a regular at your blog.

Using Twitter is a great way to train as an online writer mastering brevity. Get to the point quickly and make your call to action clear. Strong verbs and sharp nouns are called for and if you develop a pithy tone your online writing will have higher recall.

Writing a happy ending

Briefly summarise the message and remind the online reader of the call to action. Naming images using keywords as well as highlighting them in the body copy is also recommended. Above all remember that although the requirement is for shorter online copy it still has to be well written as online readers are fickle and recognise being fobbed off with inferior content.



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<em>© Jane van Velsen and http://www.therightwriter.co.uk and http://therightwriterblog.co.uk, 2010. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jane van Velsen and http://therightwriterblog.co.uk and http://www.therightwriter.co.uk with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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The Way to use White Papers Online

In Advertising and marketing, Articles & Features, Blogs, Commercial writing, Copywriters & Writing, Network marketing, Social networking, article writing and editing, blogging, business and social media on February 4, 2010 at 07:27

Way back, white papers used to be known as Government epistles on legislation but today, white papers are part and parcel of online marketing strategy for most businesses.

A strong white paper has the ability to ensure that your company is seen as a leader in it’s field. The thing about white papers is that many people write them from the stand point of shouting out about their product or service when the trick is to do just the opposite.

A good white paper is one where a viewpoint is taken on a particular product or service and developed using examples of that product or service with full explanations of it’s benefits, failings, disadvantages and impacts. The white paper is structured and backed up with a full reference to where the facts were found. A strong white paper is also backed up visually with explanatory diagrams as well as promotional photography where necessary.

To write a strong white paper takes time and most of that time is in research. White papers have a very different tone to the usual online article or post and can be quite lengthy and formal. Before you start using white papers as part of your marketing arsenal you need to ask yourself what your objective is.

The most obvious objective of a white paper or a series of white papers on a particular topic, product or service is that of gaining visibility and ensuring that you are seen as forerunner in this market. To achieve this you need to write from a factual viewpoint and ensure that this view is supported with relevant data. You need to remember that people who read white papers are decision makers and influencers within those markets and you need to develop their trust on your opinion.

To do this you need to think carefully about who are writing it for. The approach to a scientist would be totally different to that needed to convince a mechanical engineer about your point of view.

By concentrating on the readers interest and needs you will gain credibility in their eyes instantly but, to do this, you need to walk in their shoes for a while understanding their problems in the market you are writing about and addressing them succinctly and clearly.

The end result of your white paper should be to gently lead your reader to the self drawn conclusion that the product, service or business you are suggesting will more than meet their needs thereby ensuring that they take action.

Delivering a white paper can be done online through your website or your business blog. It is a wonderful way to offer added value to your site as you can offer it for FREE in return for their name and email details thereby building your database of subscribers while you build credibility in your niche.

For more on writing white papers or if you want a writer who can write a strong white paper for your business, service or product please email jane@therightwriter.co.uk


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Using Social Media to Elicit Sales IV

In Advertising and marketing, Articles & Features, Blogs, Commercial writing, Copywriters & Writing, Network marketing, Social networking, article writing and editing, blogging, business and social media, feature writing on February 4, 2010 at 06:58

This is part four of a ten part series of how to use social media to elicit sales. In this issue I’m going to talk to you about the importance of sharing and syndication.

By now you have started your blog and determined your audience and niche. You have spent time writing your first series of articles/posts and inserted them with visual support on your blog. You’ve learned the lessons of short, pithy writing and the tricks of tagging and categorising your content. You’ve also opened accounts with Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr, Youtube and ezinearticles.com to mention just a few and you’re now starting to understand the vast web of social media and how it works.

One of the most under utilised social media resources we have is the good old ’sharing’ button. You’ll see on some of the web pages that you’ve visited that there are strange symbols above the word/s ’share’ something like this:


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The code for adding a ’share’ button is easily found on websites like www.addthis.com or www.pingfm.com. These sites are purpose built to enable you to ’share’ and spread your content or other content that you find interesting. If you are writing posts or articles on line my advice is to add this to each and every post you write. You can access these share symbols via sites like those I just mentioned or via www.onlywire.com. You’ll see once you register what their terms are. Normally you get the button for free as long as it’s displayed prominently on your site/blog.

In this way your posts can be picked up by a reader and shared with the community at large as well as shared automatically by the site whose button you are using. In the case of Pingfm this can mean your message is shared with over 100 social media sites. The nice part is, you get to choose which ones you want your message sent to. So log on to one of the sites mentioned and try it! Remember to add this button to each and every post you place!

Article seeding online can be a tedious and time consuming business. My advice? Syndicate your articles via sites like www.ezinearticles.com or www.goarticles.com. There are so many of them but to spend time researching and contacting each publisher will take forever so article syndication sites are a great help. In some you can’t choose who uses your articles but you must remember that they will use it and spread it on the net and what this means to you is that your name, avatar and article/post will be seen by numerous more readers than you could manage to send it to in a week. Great free advertising! You’ll also be creating back links to your site/blog which helps your rankings.

There are article syndication sites that charge but to be honest you don’t need to do that when there are so many out there who offer the service for free to decent writers. Once you get a reputation you’ll find that people start looking you up online and calling you to write for them.

Don’t forget to cross link your articles by inserting links back to previous posts on the topic that you have written to create more traffic for yourself!

In the next issue I’m going to cover some issues on writing white papers and how they should be written and used online. Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog.

If you need assistance or advice – just email jane@therightwriter.co.uk

Keep on writing!

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