writing for web « FUEL LINES Fueling Ad Agency New Business Through Social Media

10 Tips for Writing for the Web for Ad Agency New Business

March 3, 2011

To fuel ad agency new business through social media, creating content is critical.

According to a social media study by King Fish Media, HubSpot and Junta42, original content, both branded and expert, is by far the most employed tactic for social media.

And … “businesses (agencies) that blog, get 55% more website traffic than those that don’t.”

Creating valuable content increases website traffic that will equate into new business leads. But writing for web can be daunting, even for experienced copywriters. They are often the ones that struggle the most with making the transition from print to web.

“Content marketing is a commitment, not a campaign.” – Jon Buscall

It doesn’t matter how great you write if no one finds your content and if they do find it, there’s no benefit to you unless they read it.

You need to think carefully about structuring and formatting your online content to ensure your readers find it and read it. Here are my 10 tips to help you write better for the Web:

Provide a Reader’s Digest or Executive Summary version. Readers love bullet pointed and numbered lists. That’s why so many readers are attracted to post titles that offer 10 tips or 25 ideas, etc.The work you do on behalf of your readers to simplify will be greatly appreciated and keep them coming back for more.
Key words in every post titles. Write for SEO. It doesn’t matter how great your article is if no one can find it. A simple tip to help boost your rankings in Google search is to identify and use certain key words in every post title. 90% of my posts will contain ‘ad agency new business’ in the title. It helps not only for search but will also help drive ‘targeted traffic’ as your posts are repurposed through Twitter. With only 140 characters that you can use for Twitter, that’s not much more than your title and a shortened URL.
Lead with the conclusion. I advise that you begin each post by starting with the conclusion, a take-away or benefits statement. Just answer this question, ‘what is my benefit if I commit to read this post?’
Break up long paragraphs. A reader’s attention span online is much less than for print. Readers tend to scan instead of reading word-for-word. Keep paragraphs concise and short.
Be sure and provide hyper links to your sources. Don’t be afraid that you will lose your audience if they go to another source. Your blog should become a repository of helpful resources for your readers.
Make your content scannable to the eye. Use bold, italics, quotation marks, indention, etc. to make copy pop. A person should be able to quickly scan through your article and get the most important parts.
Write in an Inverted Pyramid style. Similar to the way a newspaper reported would write, the most important copy should be at the top of your post.
Use common language. This is an opportunity to do away with industry jargon and agency speak and write content that resonates with your intended audience.
Get to the point, quickly. Online readers are extremely impatient. If you wade into a story and it takes 3 or 4 paragraphs to make show how it relates, you will have lost your audience before you’ve made your point.
Make your post visually pleasing. I always include a nice photo or graphic to further drive home the main purpose of a post. Using them will create interest and help draw in a reader.

Here are some additional agency blogging resources that may be a help to get you started:

6 Comments | Agency Blogs, Content Marketing | Tagged: Ad Agencies, ad agency new business, content marketing, Hubspot, Michael Gass, Social Media, writing for web | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

Use Brevity for Ad Agency New Business

August 27, 2010

If you want to reach prospective clients online, copy for email, eNewsletters, blog posts, etc. should contain half the word count of conventional text. People read a lot online plus they receive a ton of email. A majority of your readers won’t have time to read your lengthy copy.

The most frequent advice study participants had for newsletter creators was - “keep it brief.”

Nielsen Norman Group ’s research found that 79 percent of their test users always scanned any new page they came across; only 16 percent read word-by-word. A newer study found that users read email newsletters even more abruptly than they read websites.) People prefer sites that get to the point and let them get things done quickly

Improve your online writing style from this …

Nebraska is filled with internationally recognized attractions that draw large crowds of people every year, without fail. In 1996, some of the most popular places were Fort Robinson State Park (355,000 visitors), Scotts Bluff National Monument (132,166), Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum (100,000), Carhenge (86,598), Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer (60,002), and Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park (28,446).

… to this, to increase readability and usefulness:

In 1996, six of the most-visited places in Nebraska were:

Fort Robinson State Park

Scotts Bluff National Monument

Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum

Carhenge

Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer

Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park

Users spend 51 seconds reading the average newsletter. The layout and writing both need superb usability to survive in the high-pressure environment of a crowded inbox.

I highly recommend the Nielsen Norman Group, they are true pioneers in user experience studies that can greatly improve your writing for Web. Check out their online publications, white papers and reports:

Web Usability
Intranet Usability
Email Usability
Mobile Usability

Additional articles that may be of interest:

1 Comment | Agency Blogs, Best Practices, Creating Content, New Business Trends, Social Media | Tagged: email newsletters, Michael Gass, Nielsen Norman Group, writing for web | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

Ad Agencies: 97 Articles on How To Write Effectively for the Social Web

September 20, 2009

To convert content to new business leads you must learn to write effectively for the web.

There is a completely different writing style for web vs print. A lot of ad agency professionals have difficulty with the transition from print to web.

I’ve found a number of helpful tips. For example: The use the inverted pyramid style of writing for my blog …

The most important information, the take-away or the benefit from your post should be in the first paragraph.

I’m always searching for additional resources that help me to become a better writer for web, whether it is for my blog, Twitter or other social media platforms. I recently came across a post written by Robin Broitman, chief internet and social media strategist for Interactive Insights Group, IIG, titled: HOW-TO: Write Effectively for Twitter & The Social Web . This post contains a collection of 97 articles that are a tremendous resource for your online writing. The articles are conveniently organized in the following 4 categories: