lunch & learn 2014 - writing for the web
TRANSCRIPT
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CONFERENCE ID:837-241-225
Writing for the Web.
Writing for the Web.
KNOW YOUR PURPOSE
SPEAK TO YOUR AUDIENCE
WHAT TO WRITE
POLISH YOUR STYLE
PERFECTING YOUR PROCESS
Writing for the Web.
Meet Monica
Know your purpose.
All marketing content is essentially composed to achieve the same goal:
To get people to read it.
Know your purpose.
Why do we want them to read?
To educate To build rapport To build credibility To develop a relationship
To SELL!Generate Revenue( )$
Know your purpose.
Back in the day…
Sales was asymmetrical, sales person held all the info, the buyer had little.
NOWBuyers hold the info, it flows freely online.
Know your purpose.
Why do need to write?
People are contacting sales 57% later in the buying process.
57%Of the sales process has already taken place before they contact you.
Your buyers are going to find information to form their buying
decision from somewhere.
Do you want them to hear it from you?
ORFrom your competition?
Before you start: Get your head on straight.
Don’t assume viewers will read what you’ve written simply because you wrote it
Writing is selling, it is not meant to meet your emotional needs
Forgive yourself Make an adequate
timeline to achieve your process
Know your support group
Hold true to your process
Know your purpose.
Before you start: Set goals.
Know your purpose.
What do you want your viewers to do or learn? Knowledge Action
Your agenda Their agenda
To educate businesses about the benefits of blogging
Discover if blogging is a good marketing fit for their business
HOW?
Share information about how to get started blogging with statistics of how it helps drive traffic to a site
A big link button leading to a page on the website with more info about the guide and a call to action to download
EXAMPLE
What’s your goal?
Before you start: Set deadlines.
When do you need to: send your email publish your post finalize your content
Create a timeline working from end to beginning
Know your purpose.
What will your timeline look like?Allow for wiggle room.Two days for revisions.How MayeCreate works as a group.
Before you start: Brainstorm keywords.
What are keywords and why are they important? Search terms or phrases Resonate terms or phrases that evoke emotion and/or action
What are key words or phrases you need to include for SEO or to relate to your audience?
Make a list to use during brainstorming and editing to include in blog post and page: Content Titles Meta Tags
Know your purpose.
What keywords do people use to search for your business online?
What keywords resonate with your audience?
Speak to your audience.
When trying to reach to everyone you end up touching to no one at all.
Speak to your audience.
Interests
Income
Gender
Education Level
Communication Style
Life Style
Age
Location
Relationship
Who are youspeaking to?
Will these factors impact effective delivery of your message?
What is your communication style?
Communication Style: DISC
Strong-Willed
Competitive Demanding Independent Direct Self-
Centered Decisive Tough Impatient
Sociable Talkative Open Enthusiastic Energetic Persuasive Spontaneous Emotional Impulsive
Steady Laid Back Modest Trustworthy Family
Oriented Sincere Patient Careful Calm
Precise Exact Analytical Systematic Follows
Rules Quiet Careful Formal Disciplined
Speak to your audience.
D I S C
Speak to your audience.
D I S C
Doesn’t matter what style you are, everyone loves to see their own name!
Communication Style: DISC
Brief and to the point
Results oriented
Focus on the future
Get to business
Positive and conversational
Quirky and friendly
Ask for feedback
Get personal Be excited!
Take your time
Do what you say you’ll do
Remember the little things
Human interest
Go into
details Keep it
formal Explain why Reflect on
the past (working results)
What communication style are your readers?It’s okay if they’re not the same.Get mentally prepared…
Buyer Personas
What Are Buyer Personas? Buyer personas are fictional
representations of your ideal customers.
They are based on real data about customer demographics and online behavior, along with educated speculation about their personal histories, motivations, and concerns.
?Slide content courtesy of HubSpot Buyer Persona
Template
Persona Name
1. BACKGROUND Basic details about persona’s role Key information about the
persona’s company Relevant background info, like
education or hobbies
2. DEMOGRAPHICS Gender Age Range HH Income (Consider a spouse’s
income, if relevant) Urbanicity (Is your persona urban,
suburban, or rural?)
3. IDENTIFIERS Buzz words Mannerisms
You can find this
informatio
n by
administerin
g
online surveys o
f
your target
audience.
Slide content courtesy of HubSpot Buyer Persona Template
Persona Name
4. GOALS Persona’s primary goal Persona’s secondary goal
5. CHALLENGES Primary challenge to
persona’s success Secondary challenge to
persona’s success
6. HOW WE HELP How you solve your persona’s
challenges How you help your persona
achieve goals
Conduct interviews with your target audience to learn about their goals and challenges in more detail.
Slide content courtesy of HubSpot Buyer Persona Template
Persona Name
7. REAL QUOTES Include a few real quotes –
taken during your interviews – that represent your persona well. This will make it easier for employees to relate to and understand your persona.
8. COMMON OBJECTIONS Identify the most common
objections your persona will raise during the sales process.
Identifying common objections will help your sales team be better prepared during their conversations.
Slide content courtesy of HubSpot Buyer Persona Template
Persona Name
9. MARKETING MESSAGING How should you describe
your solution to your persona?
10. ELEVATOR PITCH Make describing your
solution simple and consistent across everyone in your company.
Establishing your messaging prepares your
entire organization to convey the same
message.
Including a real
photo from
Creative
Commons or
iStockphoto helps
everyone envision
the same person.
Slide content courtesy of HubSpot Buyer Persona Template
Who are you talking to?
Where do they consume online content?
Building a online bridge to your customers.
Speak to your audience.
Your Audienc
e
Closed Busines
sFacebook
Email Marketing
Blog & Website
Other possible digital components of your marketing bridge:Twitter, LinkedIn, Houzz, Google+, YouTube, Google AdWords
Don’t just build a bridge, cast a net.
Speak to your audience.
Your Audienc
e
Closed Busines
s WEBSITE
Blog
Email Marketing
Sometimes in the process this is a good stopping point. Let your thoughts simmer and come back in a day or two to start writing.
Now…What to write?
Goal: Get people to read it…but what to write?
Subscribe to RSS feed of other popular blogs in your industry.
Keep a list of FAQ from clients & prospects.
Share photos, video, events and event summaries.
Testimonials
Check out your competition and those you admire.
Summaries explaining current events or technological advances in your industry.
Featured clients Industry specific
controversy
What to write.
You don’t just have to write about what you do.
You do have to write about topics that interest your audience.
www.hubspot.com/blog-topic-generator
Product/Service
Audience
Blog Business OwnerConcerns Questions
Not enough time How do I fit it in with everything else?
No sure what to write about
What should I write about?
Not sure why they’d do it Why would I blog?What are the benefits of blogging?
Not sure how much to write
How often do I need to blog?How long does my article need to be?
Not sure how to write it How do I write it? How do I make it pretty?
What to write.
What to write.
Social Media Rule of Thirds:
A balanced approach to sharing content with the rule of thirds: Promotes a well rounded
relationship Talking about you as a
person or company Promoting your content
or services Positioning you as an
industry resource
33.3% Personal or Professional Interactions
33.3% Brand Promoting Posts
33.3% Industry Related
Posts from an Outside
Source
What to write.
What information would they expect to find?
Read competitor sites to see how much information they provide.
Will you share pricing? (Does your competition?)
What questions are you commonly asked in a first meetings or phone conversations?
What will tip the scales in your favor?
Example: What can you share that your competition does not to show you’re a great company who knows what they’re doing?
?
?
When writing about a specific product or service place yourself in the shoes of your audience:
What to write.
Are you promoting or conversing? Social media is about building a relationship, selling
constantly and never bonding does not build relationships
Are you contributing too little or over contributing? Everyone likes a chuckle or a helpful hit but steer clear of
continually talking about mundane tasks
Are you keeping true to company culture? If you’re formal everywhere else keep your conversation
formal yet inviting in social media, don’t change your persona.
Stay positive, no one likes a whiner.
?
?
When writing for social media:
?
!
Tonality: What personality do you want to portray?
Conservative Clinical Traditional Professional Resonate Powerful
Distinct Brave Courageous Heavy Steady
Polish your style.
Tonality: What personality do you want to portray?
Agreeable Fair Friendly Pleasant Helpful Tender Kind Quaint
Innocent Warm Calm Easy going Gentle Laid back Neutral
Polish your style.
Tonality: What personality do you want to portray?
Lively Light Charming Curious Thoughtful Cheerful Witty
Comfortable Open Encouraging Energetic Enthusiastic
Polish your style.
Tonality: What personality do you want to portray?
Trendy Youthful Clever Alive Outrageou
s Bold
Unusual Wild Funny Different Noisy
Polish your style.
Tonality: What personality do you want to portray?
When we do website
design for others we
make sure they don’t
stray too far from the
yellow brick road. Now
we need your help to
keep us from being
attacked by those darn
flying monkeys.
When we do website
design for others we
keep them on track
ensuring they reach
their goals. Now we
need your help to make
sure we don’t stray
from our original
objectives.
Polish your style.
-VS-
What tonality will you use?
Format for success: Textbook meets inverted pyramid.
A textbook organizes information with a
table of contents, easily identifiable
chapters, sub-titles and captions on images.
Polish your style.
website navigation
page titles
Format for success: Textbook meets inverted pyramid.
Vocal story telling Build interest
This is so funny That reminds me of
this one time when… You won’t believe this
Supporting details Bang!
Inverted pyramid Bang!
If you don’t get past this statement it’s OK, the reader still got the information they needed.
Supporting details Less important
information
Polish your style.
You only have 3-5 seconds to hook your reader.
Speaking vs. Writing: Free flow then edit.
When you talk you add all kinds of unnecessary words into each sentence to get your point across. I know my brain clips along faster when I’m speaking than when I’m writing. When communicating with your audience they probably don’t want to read all the fluffy stuff in between, they want to get right to the point.
When speaking you add extra words into each sentence unnecessarily. My brain clips along faster when I’m speaking than writing. Your audience doesn’t want to read all the fluff, so get to the point.
Polish your style.
Format for success: Textbook meets inverted pyramid.
Create visual hierarchy with text sizing and colors
Bold key informationBreak apart information into bulleted lists Place captions with graphics to emphasize
key elementsUse meaningful original graphics instead of
clip art or stock photos whenever possible
Polish your style.
How long is too long?
Blog PostsKeep entries around 250-300 words, less
than 500 300 words not enough? Breakdown your article into
logical parts and make a series of entries.Keep paragraphs short, 3-5 sentencesBreak up every few paragraphs with a sub
heading to help viewers skim for contentRemove all content that is not needed
Polish your style.
These rules
also apply to
e-newsletters.
How long is too long?
Twitter Max is 140 characters This includes links
names and all! So shoot for 124.
Facebook Ideal length is 100 to
119 characters Max 63,206
Email Newsletter Take the very best
content Put that in your
newsletter Link to everything else
on your website Try for 500 characters
or less
Polish your style.
E-Newsletter Styles
Magazine-style Short copyYour newsletter is primarily used as a portal to content on your website.
Polish your style.
Hybrid Medium-length copyBoth inform readers and promote a product or service — one large excerpt with link to site for more.
Single-Topic Long copyInclude all the information readers want into the email itself. No links necessary unless needed.
How often is too often?
Facebook 1-2 times per day, be consistent
Twitter As many times as you want say the
message in different ways each timeBlog
At least 1 time every two weeks (depending upon desired results)
Email Marketing 1 or more per month is effective,
readership drops until 5 then holds steady
Polish your style.
Tasty title writing tips.
Short and sweet is best, keep it 50 characters or lessPack a punch, make it interesting, the subject is the
first thing viewers see and maybe the only thing if it’s not intriguing
Capitalize Letters of Each Word for Easy Recognition.Consider starting emails with the business name so
they know who the email is coming fromAVOID: help, percent off and reminder, special, ALL
CAPS, !!!!!!!, freeCreate urgency and the must read feeling (BUYER
PERSONA)
Polish your style.
Questions Titles
How do I fit blogging in with everything else?
Here's How I Wrote This 1,000-Word Blog Post in 10 Minutes
How to Shave 20 Minutes Off Your Next Blog Post
What should I write about?
How to Think Up a Year's Worth of Blog Post Topics in an Hour
How to Turn One Idea Into a Bottomless Backlog of Blog Posts
How to Choose a Solid Topic for Your Next Blog Post
How to Identify Content Topics That Hit Home With Your ReadersWhy would I blog?
What are the benefits of blogging?
The Benefits of Blogging: Why Businesses Do It, and You Should Too
Why Blogging Is Like Running for Small Business Owners***
Why the Blog Post Is the New Ad Unit
Polish your style.
Polish your style.
Polish your style.
Test your call to action.
Close your eyes and open them, what do you see first?
Put yourself in the shoes of a viewer, be objectiveDo you know where to click instinctively?Did you ask your viewers to take action? Is it front
and center?Look for consistent punctuation and capitalization of
bulleted lists and subtitlesDon’t forget your contact information
Polish your style.
The final edit.
Plug in additional key words (web pages and blogs only)
SPELL CHECK!!!Read it out loudConsider composing in Word to easily recognize
spelling and grammar errors. Note: writing in Word doesn’t negate reading proofing your grammar and spelling upon completion!
Send to the proofing authorities in your process
Polish your style.
Put your new found knowledge to work!
Perfecting Your Process.
GOAL:
TIMELINE: Sooner the better, supplies are needed. No approval needed from superiors, I’m the boss of my own blog!
AUDIENCE: Followers of the task force blog. Friends, family, fellow search and rescue professionals. Varied communication styles and backgrounds.
KEYWORDS: Joplin, MO, Needs List, Search and Rescue, Task Force
Knowledge Action
Your agenda Their agenda
To let readers know about the Joplin situation.
Tell them how to donate supplies.
HOW?
Tell our story about Home Depot and share a picture.
Highlight needs list and how to contact for pick up.
OUTLINE: • Explain the mission• Share the GPS story• Street sign not right• What Home Depot?• Share Nancy’s contact info• Needs list
Our experience in Joplin.Our taskforce was deployed to Joplin, MO to search for missing persons. We were assigned to search the Home Depot area. We piled in the car and drove toward the corner of Main and 20th Street. We drove in circles around the fallen 19th Street sign a few times in search of 20th Street, looking for Home Depot but didn’t see the store anywhere in sight. Finally we consulted our GPS navigation system and searched for the Home Depot. Turns out we were on the corner of Main and 20th Street all along! The street sign from 19th Street had been torn out of the ground by the tornado and thrown a full city block to the corner of Main and 20th were it lay impaled in the ground. All that was left of Home Depot was a bunch of shelves sticking out of a bunch of concrete that looked like a parking lot.
The people of Joplin would greatly appreciate all supplies and donations you can provide. Much needed items are water, bandages, blankets and canned food. Please contact Nancy with the Red Cross at [email protected] to coordinate supply pick up.
Get it all out.
First impression? Be a critic!
What information is the most important?What makes you think, “Wow I’m glad I read that?”
Our experience in Joplin.Our taskforce was deployed to Joplin, MO to search for missing persons. We were assigned to search the Home Depot area. We piled in the car and drove toward the corner of Main and 20th Street. We drove in circles around the fallen 19th Street sign a few times in search of 20th Street, looking for Home Depot but didn’t see the store anywhere in sight. Finally we consulted our GPS navigation system and searched for the Home Depot. Turns out we were on the corner of Main and 20th Street all along! The street sign from 19th Street had been torn out of the ground by the tornado and thrown a full city block to the corner of Main and 20th were it lay impaled in the ground. All that was left of Home Depot was a bunch of shelves sticking out of a bunch of concrete that looked like a parking lot.
The people of Joplin would greatly appreciate all supplies and donations you can provide. Much needed items are water, bandages, blankets and canned food. Please contact Nancy with the Red Cross at [email protected] to coordinate supply pick up.
Get it all out.
Our experience in Joplin.Our taskforce was deployed to Joplin, MO to search for missing persons. We were assigned to search the Home Depot area. We piled in the car and drove toward the corner of Main and 20th Street. We drove in circles around the fallen 19th Street sign a few times in search of 20th Street, looking for Home Depot but didn’t see the store anywhere in sight. Finally we consulted our GPS navigation system and searched for the Home Depot. Turns out we were on the corner of Main and 20th Street all along! The street sign from 19th Street had been torn out of the ground by the tornado and thrown a full city block to the corner of Main and 20th were it lay impaled in the ground. All that was left of Home Depot was a bunch of shelves sticking out of a bunch of concrete that looked like a parking lot.
The people of Joplin would greatly appreciate all supplies and donations you can provide. Much needed items are water, bandages, blankets and canned food. Please contact Nancy with the Red Cross at [email protected] to coordinate supply pick up.
What else can be done to improve this piece?
Revise for style.
Our experience in Joplin.Our mission was to locate missing persons but first had to locate the missing Home Depot store formerly located on the corner of Main and 20th Street. The landscape in Joplin was so unrecognizable we needed a GPS to find our task force location, the Home Depot My task force circled the impaled 19th Street sign near Main Street for 15 min before we thought to use our GPS. We then discovered we’d already reached our destination; the street sign had flown a full city block to reach its new location. What was once Home Depot is now shelving standing in a parking lot.
Help this city in need.Email Nancy with the Red Cross at [email protected] to coordinate supply pickups. Items needed include:
Bottled waterBandagesBlanketsCanned Food
Revise for style.
Joplin: Shelving , Street Signs & Needed Supplies. Our mission was to locate missing persons but first had to locate the missing Home Depot store formerly located on the corner of Main and 20th Street. The landscape in Joplin was so unrecognizable we needed a GPS to find our task force location, the Home Depot. My task force circled the impaled 19th Street sign near Main Street for 15 min before we thought to use our GPS. We then discovered we’d already reached our destination; the street sign had flown a full city block to reach its new location. What was once Home Depot is now shelving standing in a parking lot.
Help this city in need.Email Nancy with the Red Cross at [email protected] to coordinate supply pickups. Items needed include:
Bottled waterBandagesBlanketsCanned Food
Revise for style. Write title. Test call to action.
I find I tend to write the most important information last in my paragraphs. I often move the last sentence to the beginning.
Joplin: Shelving , Street Signs & Needed Supplies. The landscape in Joplin was so unrecognizable we needed a GPS to find our task force location, the Home Depot. Our mission was to locate missing persons but first had to locate the missing Home Depot store formerly located on the corner of Main and 20th Street. What was once Home Depot is now shelving standing in a parking lot. My task force circled the impaled 19th Street sign near Main Street for 15 min before we thought to use our GPS. We then discovered we’d already reached our destination; the street sign had flown a full city block to reach its new location.
Help this city in need.Email Nancy with the Red Cross at [email protected] to coordinate supply pickups. Items needed include:
• Bottled water• Bandages• Blankets• Canned Food
Joplin, MO Home Depot wreckage.
KNOW YOUR PURPOSE
SPEAK TO YOUR AUDIENCE
WHAT TO WRITE
POLISH YOUR STYLE
PERFECTING YOUR PROCESS
Writing for the Web.