Content creation
Checking facts for credible writing
16th April 2019 | Posted in Blogging, Content creation, Journalism, Marketing communications
Once upon a time I was berated in a journalism training class. I’m not often told off for anything, being almost a perfect rule abider and non-risk taker. There was that time in a Body Balance class when I stretched further than was wise, and I vaguely remember my mother not being that impressed […]
Timeless content
20th March 2019 | Posted in Blogging, Content creation, Web content
I wrote this Loneliness Guide for the When They Get Older blog five years ago, and it’s still one of the most popular pieces on the site. It’s collected some impressive backlinks along the way, which helps enormously with the profile of the site. Why has it lasted so well? Partly because the subject matter […]
Sports fans and business blogging – spot the difference
23rd April 2018 | Posted in Blogging, Content creation, social media
Last night I listened in to a webinar about sports marketing and social media*. This is odd for two reasons. First, it was all about football in Europe, and I only ever pretend to be interested in that to keep other people happy. Second, it was about engaging with fans on social media. And I […]
What is the point of a copywriter?
28th September 2016 | Posted in Content creation, Marketing communications
Many people write these days. Content is a massive thing. So why pay a professional copywriter to create the words for your marketing programmes? Here are five reasons why they can bring real value to your business. They don’t work for you. Well, not all the time anyway, if they are with an agency or […]
Copywriting that sales people can actually use
5th July 2016 | Posted in Content creation
Marketing people can give great briefs to copywriters. They really can. They’ve got a product or service to promote. They’ve researched its advantages and benefits for customers. They know who the customers are and something around their needs and aspirations. It’s all good. So marketing build a campaign that includes maybe direct mail marketing, articles, […]
Are our calls to action too demanding?
23rd June 2016 | Posted in Content creation
Yesterday we took the day off and drove down to the coast. By the time we got there I was fighting an impulse to pull over, knock on various strangers’ doors and complain that their attitude was patronising, over-bearing and downright out of order. I totally admit that would have been a complete over-reaction. But […]
Customer insight: empathy or numbers?
22nd April 2016 | Posted in Content creation
I know data and analytics are all the rage. But I just don’t believe that numbers are everything. They may give us some insight but are they helpful in driving empathy? Are numbers a goal in their own right? For a while I worked for an extremely large, well-known company writing articles for their corporate […]
6 tips to get your contributed content accepted
25th June 2015 | Posted in Content creation
I’m the commissioning and content editor of a web site that’s all about information. We’re the place that a niche audience goes when they want advice, facts and support – often urgently. How we work with content providers We’ve clearly reached a tipping point in the past few months. There’s been a very noticeable rise […]
Why it’s good to ignore your own content rules – sometimes
3rd February 2015 | Posted in Content creation
As a content manager for web sites and blogs I get to both make decisions about what gets published and write some of that content myself. I’ve been in this writing business for a fair while now as a journalist and a copywriter. That means I have pretty strong views on how we should […]
Why positive words aren’t always good words
19th September 2013 | Posted in Content creation
We’ve been having a bit of a “discussion” on our Twitter feed for WhenTheyGetOlder, our web site for people supporting ageing parents. We were talking about an article around helping parents to feel they aren’t a burden, when there is a great temptation sometimes for them to feel like they are. Our Twitter correspondent took […]