A key to a successful content project is being prepared before you begin creating anything. That means you need to ask the right questions well ahead of any content work. While the specific questions will change based on the project, here are some questions that are...
At the recent 2015 Healthcare Internet Conference in Orlando, several groups presented on content strategy. I sensed a clear theme: Slim is in. Everybody wants to cut content. I'm taking a stand against this. Not because we're a content-first company, but because...
I'm being replaced by machines, and I'm okay with it. Over the past few years, several companies have developed software and algorithms that can take basic data and transform it into content for their sites. Newspapers use these tools to write simple stories, like a...
The first rule of storytelling is “write what you know.” That doesn’t mean you can only write about things you’ve experienced firsthand; it means you should truly understand an idea, a person, or a situation before you try to tell a believable story about it. To...
We hear stories all the time—on TV, in songs, from friends. At its core, a story is simply a way of conveying information. But a story is more powerful than that. The difference between telling a story and reciting facts is that a story stays with you longer. We don't...
I am attracted to the new, the exciting, the different. I assume you are, too. As a writer, writing the same old thing 50 different ways is not new or exciting. In fact, that’s writing at its most boring. But, in a lot of instances, readers find it more valuable than...
All writers have a grammar pet peeve list -- phrases and writing errors that really get under our skin. It's/its. Their/there. But I think there's a whole other list of web writing pet peeves, and one sits at the very top: click here. Click here, when used as link...
When the time comes to write an article, web copy, or any piece, I always know exactly where to start. At the beginning. Or at the end. Sometimes in the middle. I realized a few years ago that I don't think I've ever approached two pieces in the exact same way and had...
Content creation is a multi-step process. Off the top of my head, I can think of these parts: Voice and tone: Who are you writing as? Voice and tone tells the reader a lot about the company or publication’s intent. Grammar and consistency: Content needs to obey the...