The Accidental Writer: Great Web Copy for Everyone

The Accidental Writer Great Web Copy for Everyone Melanie Seibert SXSW Interactive | March 11, 2011 #accwriter

Hi. I’m Melanie.I like: • Web writing • Technical writing • Content strategy • You • Taco trucks

Flickr: jjpacres

Flickr: visionello

It depends on:• You: Do you have the traits of an effective writer? Do you understand how much time and effort you need to spend? Are you willing to spend it?• The project: Is the project suited to be your ﬁrst DIY copywriting effort?

Flickr: Picture Perfect Pose

Content is NOT cheap.There’s...• The cost of writing it.• The cost of maintaining it.• The cost of NOT writing or maintaining it properly.

“Writing is easy: All you do is sitstaring at a blank sheet of paperuntil drops of blood form on yourforehead.” — Gene Fowler

First, let’s talkabout your skills.

Are you a native speaker? Flickr: nicasaurusrex

Are you a reader? Flickr: boooooooomblastandruin

Do you write regularly?

Do you write regularly? Blog posts

Do you write regularly? Blog posts Articles

Do you write regularly? Blog posts Articles Emails, newsletters

Do you write regularly? Blog posts Articles Emails, newsletters Reports, briefs

Now, let’s lookat the project.

Who is the audience for the project? Flickr: adactio

Scope: Flickr: doviende

Scope:How muchcontent doyou need? Flickr: doviende

Say what?

Say what? Content strategy: “the practice of planning for content creation, delivery, and governance.” — Kristina Halvorson

Search: Flickr: Jeffrey Beall

HowSearch: important is it? Flickr: Jeffrey Beall

Promising projectsfor new writers• Your own portfolio/site• Small sites• Very simple apps• Sites that don’t need high search engine rankings

How to write good.

XHow to write good.

Flickr: s.alt

Charlie says:Don’t lead with your needs. livethesheendream.com

Give people something to do. Flickr: jaycoxﬁlm

• Buy• Join• Give• Go• Save• Find

Tell a story Flickr: Sugar Pond

awaionline.com

groupon.com

woot.com

got originality? * * I stole this quote from @gunsandtacos!

Be clear and concise. “Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.” — Strunk & White, The Elements of Style

“Get rid of half the words on the page, then get ridof half of what’s left.” — Steve Krug, Don’t Make Me Think

Make copy scannable. Flickr: Ryan Christopher VanWilliams - NYC

Bold key terms.

Use bullets.

http://www.rtcmagazine.com: “XMC: Enhanced Connector Design Solves Insertion/Removal Stress”

The testing resulted in a recommendedchange to the host board connector, whichwas agreed upon by the working group and incorporated into the speciﬁcation.http://www.rtcmagazine.com: “XMC: Enhanced Connector Design Solves Insertion/Removal Stress”

Don’t use passive voice. Do use short sentences. The testing resulted in a recommended change to the host board connector, which was agreed upon by the working group and incorporated into the speciﬁcation. http://www.rtcmagazine.com: “XMC: Enhanced Connector Design Solves Insertion/Removal Stress”

Don’t use passive voice. Do use short sentences. The testing resulted in a recommended change to the host board connector, which was agreed upon by the working group and incorporated into the speciﬁcation. http://www.rtcmagazine.com: “XMC: Enhanced Connector Design Solves Insertion/Removal Stress” We recommended a change to the host board connector. The working group agreed and incorporated it into the speciﬁcation.

Revise and proof.

Revise and proof. hufﬁngtonpost.com

Revise and proof. hufﬁngtonpost.com hufﬁngtonpost.com

Revise and proof. hufﬁngtonpost.com hufﬁngtonpost.com typobuddy.com

Recommended Reading Letting Go of the Words Ginny Redish The Elements of Style Strunk & White The Copywriter’s Handbook Bob Bly seocopywriting.com/trainingHeather Lloyd-Martin’s SEO copywriting certiﬁcation course

Examples

Examples Cool sites written bydesigners and business owners.

sitesquared.com

houstonapartmenthelp.com

Example quirky-bird.com

How to hire a writer without wasting time or money

Flickr: sjcockell

Flickr: tillwe

Understand your business. “Know your goals and business, ﬁrst... No amount of copy, design, or organization will save you from a bad business model, a poor understanding of your business and audience or lack of a web strategy. “...If you need someone to help you ﬁgure out what your business model is (aka, what kinds of things you offer or what your brand attributes are), it’s not time to hire a writer yet.” — Tiffani Jones Brown http://thingsthatarebrown.com/blog/2010/02/before-you-hire-a-writer/

What do you offer that’s unique?

What do you offer that’s unique? Who are your competitors?

What do you offer that’s unique? Who are your competitors? Who is your audience?

What do you offer that’s unique? Who are your competitors? Who is your audience? What do they need?

Value writing. Flickr: heartlover1717

Answer questions. Flickr: alexanderdrachmann

Learn more A few SXSW content panels Not my job: the ultimate content strategy smackdown Kristina Halvorson Intrigue me: writing compelling, credible content Stephanie Hay Creation, curation, and the ethics of content strategy Margot Bloomstein Content rules Ann Handley & CC Chapman

Thanks!Special kudos to:Tiffani Jones Brown — @ticjonesShanna Cote — @shanBarbara Aquino — @islandchick78Staci Brillhart — @imaquirkybirdLindsey White — http://hopscotchhaiku.comMolly Rodriguez — @mollyjoon

Chat me up! prosekiln.com @melanie_seibert

http://www.hotelmarketingstrategies.com	127
http://prosekiln.com	77
url_unknown	3
http://translate.googleusercontent.com	3
http://paper.li	2
http://www.holidayswithkids.com.au	1

The Accidental Writer: Great Web Copy for Everyone

by Melanie Seibert on Mar 15, 2011

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The Accidental Writer: Great Web Copy for Everyone — Presentation Transcript