4 tips for writing killer headlines—from Gawker. Powerful headlines are more important than ever. Web readers are crunched for time, and they’re bombarded with content. If your headline is too vague or too dull, they’re off to another site or task like/that. The same goes for journalists reading your press releases. You might have the most amazing pitch for a product or service, but if the headline is lousy, most reporters won’t bother to read about it. So, if you want to write better headlines, why not learn from some of the best—the staff at Gawker media. The websites owned and operated by Gawker Media—which include Gizmodo, Deadspin, Jezebel, and Gawker—attract 32 million unique visitors a month (on par with The New York Times and double that of The Washington Post), according to a report in The Atlantic.
In that Atlantic report, contributor James Fallows explores the future of journalism, and, in an unlikely twist, the former Carter speechwriter points to Gawker as the way forward. 1. 2. 3. 4. (Image via) Why Good Writing Matters – And How You Can Improve - by Dumb Lit. In today’s world, being able to write well is of vital importance, whatever your industry. You could be a computer programmer, a small business owner, an administrator … whatever your job, it’s likely to involve a lot of words. I’m sure you could extend the list. The fact is, text is the currency of the web: although video and audio content is slowly becoming more popular, text has massive advantages (like being searchable, very easy to produce and edit, easy to scan, and quick to download). So why is it so important that every time you put fingers to keyboard, you write well?
Your Writing Must Give a Good First Impression In many situations, the first contact someone will have with you is through an email or through reading a website. This could be when: You’re applying for a job, with a cover letter and CVYou’re replying to an email from a prospective customerA client is reading your websiteA colleague passes on the email address of someone they want you to contact Step One: Practice! Bad writing: Getting down to the root causes - Notebook - Writin. The Write Stuff: Solid writing skills are a job requirement | b. Text messaging, IM'ing and blogging are now the popular kids in the grammar world, leaving the little old English language stuck home alone waiting for a phone call.
Grammar, punctuation and spelling have been disregarded in favor of speed and convenience. It's understandable if you're just firing off a quick note or text to a friend, but when it comes to writing in the workplace, extra effort is required. From resumes and reports to emails and memos, writing skills are something you'll use whether trying to land a job or function in one. Writing has always been an essential part of work, but now its relevance is even more apparent as email is a primary means of work communication. It's important that all your work-related writing is clear, concise and slang-free. Resume rules As a potential hire, you're more than a simple resume. It's a good idea to edit your resume down to one page while still allowing for enough white space to make it easy-to-read.
Working stiff Cover your bases Sources: Top Company Blogs Require Content Strategy, Fast, good, cheap is the classic triangle of constraints in project management. Say that you're expected to deliver on all three and you've got a problem. You'll surely fail unless you find a way to negotiate scope of work, or reframe expectations.
Maybe that triangle is not a really good premise for this post on creating content that is strategic, written well, and from expertise/experience, or is it? For your business blog to raise about the noise and become a go-to customer destination, you need to have all three components working well -- a solid content strategy, expertise, and good writing. Yet, you may not have people on board who can deliver on all three. Good writing comes with practice Many organizations are looking to communications groups to take on blogs for brands. It's not enough to be able to articulate content in a way that is both informative and engaging. No point having a blog to repurpose press releases, either.
Expertise comes from experience What shall it be? 18 Ways to Walk the Talk on Content. A couple of days ago I wrote a post about exposure and visibility and how quality content that is valuable takes time to create. Everyone agrees with that sentiment. However, when push comes to shove, with very few exceptions, people tend to spread content that is more popular -- even when popularity means less helpful, sometimes incomplete. The ability to think critically is a gift -- it's also the underpinning of an effective business strategy, where you work from your core competencies. I worry that much of that ability gets lost to the desire to fit in and become popular -- to make the quick list, in blog parlance. Popularity doesn't equal value to your customers, the messenger is not the message.
It's counter intuitive because there is so much more content online than just a few years ago, however content that addresses the needs of your customers is not plentiful. Here are 18 ways to walk the talk on content for your consideration: (1. . ) (2. . ) (3. . ) (4. . ) (5. . ) (6. . ) (7. . ) (8. . ) (9. . ) (10.)