10 Reasons Why Your Content Doesn’t Attract Links 78inShare So we have all heard time and time again, “to attract links you need to build great content”. But very few actually talk about what good content looks like. Bad Title A bad title is often times the first barrier to attracting links. Bad Design I know you are probably confused with this one, but the truth is, pages that have bad designs or poor user experiences attract less links. No Hook How do you pull a fish out of the water? No Point of Difference So you wrote a post about iPhone apps for real estate? Too Long We now live in a world of 140 characters and text messaging. No Social Traction “If you build it, they will come.” No Unique Voice If you have ever read anything by, or spoken to Lisa Barone, you know she has a unique voice in her writing, and her speaking. Bad Topic Do you know how many people are talking about Doctor Who online? Not Engaging Which post do you think would get more links: “Joe Hall Eats 23 Hot Dogs in One Day” or “How To Eat 23 Hot Dogs In One Day”?
The Parts of Speech Welcome to HyperGrammar electronic grammar course at the University of Ottawa's Writing Centre. This course covers approximately the same ground as our English department's ENG 1320 Grammar course. The content of HyperGrammar is the result of the collaborative work of the four instructors who were teaching the course in Fall 1993: Heather MacFadyen, David Megginson, Frances Peck, and Dorothy Turner. David Megginson was then responsible for editing the grammar and exercises and for converting them to SGML. This package is designed to allow users a great deal of freedom and creativity as they read about grammar. This package is currently under construction! Please read the Copyright and Terms of Use before you begin using HyperGrammar, and note that we provide NO WARRANTY of the accuracy or fitness for use of the information in this package. * This site uses the Oxford dictionary spelling. We do not offer any writing help by e-mail. No permission is required to link to this site.
5 Headline Templates That Grab Readers | Michael Hyatt - Intentional Leadership Your readers decide whether your blog post is worth their time within a few seconds. Most of that decision is based on the post title (or “headline”). Some of the highest paying work in the copywriting business is creating headlines for magazine covers and tabloids. Think about it. The “How-To” Headline.The key to making this particular headline work is that you need to tie it to a benefit your reader cares about (related to your content, of course). One final piece of advice. Using these five headline templates, you should have more people reading your posts and commenting on your blog.
The Psychology Of Going Viral: 12 Proven Ways to Craft Content That Gets People Talking (About You) The web is a busy place… it’s become tough to get noticed I think that’s why so many folks have become obsessed with the idea of “viral” content. When something takes off, it’s fun to watch… but are there any commonalities between those things that seem to take-over the internet for a short while? There’s got to be… right? Luckily, you no longer have to guess, because today, I have the research that will show you. How To Push People’s Buttons I’ve just finished re-reading the book Buzz Marketing, authored by a guy named Mark Hughes. Mark was known as the VP of marketing for Half.com back in the day, and was famous for… get this, convincing the town of Halfway, Oregon to rename itself Half.com! Yes, he got a town to agree to name itself after a website. Apparently, this guy knows a thing or two about creating buzz! In his book, he outlines the six buttons he’s found in his marketing research and experience that always seem to get people fired up, when presented in the right way. Ready? 1.) Yowza!
Guide to writing & formatting text for the web Categories: How To 23 July, 2011 This is the Web Content Guide that I give to my clients. Writing for the Web Keep in mind that the Internet is a different medium to print, and that different rules and conventions apply. Research shows us that most people scan web pages rather than reading them carefully. Use bullet points to deliver informationUse clear headings and subheadingsHeadings should be descriptive and meaningfulWrite short sentences, in short paragraphsBe concise, clear, and use language that is simple and to the point (avoid jargon!) Things to avoid Don’t use all capitals as they are sometimes difficult to read clearly on a screen. Quality Control This should go without saying, but make sure everything is proofed and spell-checked. Naming Pages and Posts Web Terminology ‘Website’, ‘email’ and ‘online’ should all be written without a hyphen. Using ‘Click Here’ for Links Don’t! Microsoft Word Ruins Everything More Help Useful links:
Blogging Blues: Tips For Getting Over Your Slump I have ups and downs in my blogging life. Times where I can’t get the words onto my computer fast enough and times when I can’t muster the strength to even open my laptop or snap another photo. Can you relate? Have you struggled with any stumbling blocks or a personal lack of motivation? Yes? Biggest signs of blogging blues You feel you don’t have time to do anything.You feel stale (no fresh ideas)! Let’s fix the blogging blues Turn your “lack of” and your “feelings” around. Do you feel like nobody is reading? Write to the ones you DO have rather than wishing you had more. Here is your thought: “I only had 30 pageviews today. Here is my challenge to you: If 30 people walked through your front door and crammed their way into your living room (sitting on the couch, coffee table, floor, leaning against the wall), wouldn’t you feel as though you had a captive audience? Would you think it was worth your time and effort to open your mouth and share something with them? Do you feel stale?
How to Start a Blog that Matters Thinking about starting a blog or reinvigorating an old one? Today we’re launching a new course called How to Start a Blog that Matters that can help. This course is meant for three groups of people. you’re thinking about starting a new blog, from scratch, or you’re unhappy with the results you’ve gotten from a blog you recently launched, or you’re doing OK with your blog, but want to re-brand and re-launch it to take things to the next level In any case, the course is a step-by-step 90-day action plan for starting a blog that makes a difference. Starting a blog is incredibly easy these days. Anyone can create a blog in 5 minutes, but very few people will create blogs that matter. What’s the difference between most blogs and the select few that attract huge followings or otherwise make a difference in the world? That’s a question I started asking myself long before I started my first blog. I’ve also seen plenty of bloggers work incredibly hard on something that never takes off. P.S.
7 Simple Rules for Formatting Text on the Web by Megan McDermott, 28 February 2007 - 7:35pm There are many things to keep in mind when formatting the text on your web site. This article will introduce you to some basic terms and techniques and then outline 7 simple rules that will help you make the most of the text on your site. In most cases, most your web site is made up of text. This article will begin by defining some basic font terminology and some things to keep in mind when coding your website. Types of Fonts First, we need to learn about the basic types of fonts. Serif fonts have little flags at the ends of each stroke. Specifying fonts for your web pages Keep in mind that the only fonts available to you are the ones your visitors have installed on their computers. It is always a good idea to specify a list of alternate fonts just in case they don't have the one you want. If verdana is available on the user's computer, the body text will be displayed in verdana. 7 simple rules Rule #2: Don’t use Times New Roman, ever Summary
11 Essential Ingredients Every Blog Post Needs [Infographic] Creating and writing blogs has become a main staple for many teachers, either to use as a tool for their own reflections; opinions; or as a tool to inspire pupils to writing. Demian Farnworth has created a useful infographic reminding of eleven essential ingredients for writing engaging content within a blog, useful for teachers and students alike. A PDF Version of the list is available here. Like this infographic?
12 Things To Do before posting a new blog post The 12 Things To Do After You’ve Written A New Blog Post infographic from DivvyHQ is a self help guide that everyone who likes to post blogs could use. Also, it’s in a comically large printable design that I recommend! Instructions are below. In early 2011, I was asked to guest blog for the Content Marketing Institute, which actually came from a consistent blog commenting strategy that I have executed for years. With their heavy focus on “how-to” content, I whipped up a post on the “12 Things You Need to Do After Writing a New Blog Post”. The checklist-style post was well received with thousands of retweets, likes and shares.Now fast forward to March 2012. There’s no data shown in this design, it’s more of a process flow infographic. As a process infographic design, the content is very cool and the design matches.
by Regina [for infopreneurs + independents] Soooo, let’s take a deep dive into how to create an email course (correction: an epic email course) that you can use as an opt-in for your email list to grow it wildly and to impress your savvy audience. And yo, the first thing to note, is that there’s a 3-day online bootcamp this weekend (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) that is free for you, complete with live video, worksheets, guest appearances by Kory Woodard, and more . . . all focused on helping you create an epic email course (planning, content, design, promotion, etc.). I’ll tell you more about it at the end of this post, but you can also hop over to EmailCourseBootcamp.com and RSVP for it. It will only be available over the weened and for a short replay time after that. Okay, let’s get started with the 18 steps of creating an epic email course that people go insane for. Really, Regina? Yes, my email ninja friend, they are. 1. Let’s get into seven of the most actionable idea-generating categories. For Freelancers: 1. Legit. 2. 3.
use curiosity to get readers - How to Write a Blog Post That Pulls Your Readers In With Curiosity If you want to write a blog post that pulls your readers into your content instantly, curiosity is the answer. You see, curiosity is an innate in humans, and every TV network, movie, blog, book, and other form of media takes advantage of it. But it gets better: What if I showed you how to use curiosity to increase your blog traffic, build an email list, and earn more sales? Keep reading. The Secret to Creating Curiosity: Information Gap Theory When you write a blog post, how can you create curiosity? George Loewenstein, a professor at Carnegie Melon University, came up with what’s called “the information gap theory of curiosity,” and it’s, hands-down, one of the best ways to create curiosity on demand. Quite simply, curiosity, as defined by Loewenstein, is an innate human behavior that’s triggered when people feel there is a gap between what they know and what they want to know. But the question remains: How can you do it? How Curiosity Helps You Attract Subscribers and Sales What do you think?