This author has yet to write their bio.Meanwhile lets just say that we are proud Heather Lloyd-Martin contributed a whooping 424 entries.
Answer me this…
Why do copywriters create boring bullet points?
You know what I mean. Many product and service pages (maybe even on your site) highlight statements, like:
Imported
Washable and stain resistant
Comes in green, blue or black
YAWN. Are you still awake?
Me neither.
Here’s the problem:
In a perfect world, bullet points pop off the page and are quick-scan gold. Writing […]
Did you grow up hearing, “If it’s easy, there must be something wrong with it”?
Yeah. Me too.
Instead of looking for the easy way out, we often look for the most challenging, brutal way to do things. We work harder. We work longer hours. If we’re not suffering, we aren’t trying.
It’s all about the hustle.
Granted, this […]
Freelance writers receive a lot of happy-crappy “how to increase your income” advice.
There are thousands of blog posts online outlining tips like:
“Charge more money.”
“Find your niche.”
“Package your services.”
It’s not that the advice is wrong (heck, I’ve discussed those tips, too.) It’s that the advice only goes so far.
“Charging more money” doesn’t mean anything if you don’t know your numbers. And […]
Do you instantly hit the “ignore” button when you see a “special” client’s name come up on caller ID?
Do you write “please shoot me” notes during client calls?
Choosing the wrong clients is a slow, sure path to insanity. Fortunately, these folks throw up some pretty obvious red flags during the sales process. The key to business […]
Every once in awhile, someone will call me with this great, “guaranteed not to fail” idea.
The conversation goes something like this.
“Why don’t we build out another site, write a whole bunch of new, optimized content and target the same keyphrases. That way, BOTH sites can position in Google, and we can dominate the search listings. Cool idea, […]
How many times have you heard, “We can’t rewrite the web content right now. It’s too expensive”?
Or…
“Revising the SEO content is going to take a lot of manpower. We have other priorities.”
Yeah, I’ve heard it too.
Sure, the content may be horrible. But, the thought of changing it (and paying for it) is too overwhelming.
Even if […]
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Last week, I came across a Yoast article discussing Google’s longer meta descriptions (Google doubled the room we have for meta descriptions last year — from 160 characters with spaces to 320.)
The first paragraph contained a sentence that made me laugh:
“It appears that Google very often […]
Looking for B2B keywords?
What do you do when conventional keyphrase research tools do you wrong?
Here’s what I mean.
Last February, I spoke during AWAI’S Web Content Intensive (woot — what a fun event!) During my presentation, a woman asked how she could find reliable keyword research metrics for her niche B2B.
Her problem? Conventional research tools, like […]
What are the most frustrating words you can hear (or read) after spending hours writing a proposal?
“You’re too expensive. We’re going to go in another direction.”
ARGH!
But, here’s the thing…
We’ve all gone beyond our budget and spent more than we’ve expected.
We buy a slightly more expensive car because it has better safety ratings.
We buy organic produce […]
How many of you get stuck in the “what should I write about” trap?
::raising my hand::
Fortunately, there’s a simple way to create highly useful content that’s great for your readers.
Plus, Google LOVES this kind of content, and it even gives it special billing in the search results.
What’s the secret?
Answer common questions your readers ask every […]
I’ve been teaching writers for over 20 years. Want to learn my secrets?
I’ve been teaching writers for over 18 years. Want to learn my secrets? Sign up for free tips.
