Tone and voice: what you need to know as a B2B content writer
I was exceptionally foolish when I started out as a writer. This was more than just the foolishness of youth, although there was plenty of that too. It was more that I saw every copy assignment as a greedily blank canvas on which to disgorge my craft, or what passed for it.
Thankfully …
How to write content your audience will actually read (Part 2: the recipe)
In part 1 of this series, we examined the different types of “leech content” that derive from targeting the wrong audience.
In this post, we’ll focus on the recipe for writing content your audience will actually read.
The recipe is simple. It has only 3 ingredients …
This is why bad content costs you more than good content, 100% of the time
I don’t like to call content “bad.” It’s like saying students are “bad,” or my 12-year-old jar of chili flakes is “bad.” It just hurts people’s feelings, to no good effect.
So let’s dispense with the labels and focus on the results.
And the results are … not there. From white papers and blogs, to case studies and e-books: zero traction.
According to research from Forrester …
How to write content your audience will actually read (Part 1: diagnosing leech content)
In the early 2000s, I spent a year living with my in-laws in a former Soviet republic. I won’t get into all the strange details just now. The only thing you need to know is that the telephone service was sporadic.
Which is why my father-in-law began every call the same way.
Introducing the “Content Writer’s Handbook” series
Welcome to the Content Writer’s Handbook blog series. This series (which is free) replicates the content of my coaching program (a paid, personalized service).
Over the course of a few dozen blog posts, I’ll cover elements such as structure and shape, word choice, the art of persuasion, off-page considerations, what you should know in the age of AI, and more. And yes, more includes SEO.
What content writing is — and what it isn't
If you ask me what content writing is, the first thing I’ll tell you is that it’s not copywriting. Not really.
More on the finer distinctions in a moment.
I’m leading with what content writing isn’t, because there are a ton of copywriting how-to books out there, and they’ll clutter up your search results the moment you search for a content writing guide.
When you should – and shouldn’t – outsource your marketing writing (pros and cons)
At some point in a tech company’s evolution, it’s no longer enough to rely on formulaic SEO blog posts and web copy derived from product documentation.
This is usually the point when the company recognizes the power of branding to boost web traffic. After all, it’s much, much easier for you to rank for your company and product names than it is to rank for the generic term that describes your offering, especially in a crowded market ...
12 tips you can use to improve your marketing copy immediately
There are a thousand reasons marketing campaigns fall flat. Your timing’s off. Your targeting’s wrong. Someone forgot to publish the landing page …
These are all one-offs. They’re easy to fix. But there’s one major culprit that many small businesses never even notice — and the same can be said for a fair share of large companies.
It’s the marketing copy.
Marketing’s big fat storytelling problem
Read any marketing job description today, and you’ll bark your shin on a reference to storytelling. I’ve got nothing against stories. Stories are arguably what drew me into copywriting in the first place ...