A Twitter friend posted a link to an article on Writers Digest about best-selling fiction. It is surprising -- or on second thought, not surprising -- how many of the qualities of good fiction are also the qualities of good web content. Writer's Digest excerpted the list from "The Writer's Little … [Read more...] about 21 Key Traits of Best-Selling Fiction That Work For Web Content
Using Search Tools to Help Decide What Content to Feature
Search tools aren't just for SEO, they can also be useful in getting a sense of what content your audience might be interested in. There is a big caveat with this approach: it is backward-looking, focusing on previous performance. However, it's handy -- if you don't over-rely on it. Here's an … [Read more...] about Using Search Tools to Help Decide What Content to Feature
Using Search Tools to Determine if a Topic is Evergreen
It can be a waste of time, effort and money to publish an article that is only of interest for a week when, for the same amount of effort, you can publish something that will continue to attract readers long-term. Search tools can help with this as well. Does "Summer Reading" have legs? Is it of … [Read more...] about Using Search Tools to Determine if a Topic is Evergreen
Using Search Tools To Help Decide When To Publish Content
When is the best time to publish our article on summer reading? When to Publish Based on this Google Trends chart, we'd try to publish the "Summer Reading" roundup in late March -- because it can take two weeks to begin ranking significantly on search results pages. After the page developed … [Read more...] about Using Search Tools To Help Decide When To Publish Content
Using Search Tools for Headlines and Key Terms
Google Trends is handy for suggesting key search phrases that can be incorporated into titles and body copy. Adwords can give even more detail. What headline should we give to our "Summer Reading" roundup? Based on the Google Trends chart above we should include the key phrase … [Read more...] about Using Search Tools for Headlines and Key Terms
Steve Jobs And the Power of “No”
Steve Jobs once said that he was as proud of the products that he didn't launch as the ones that he did. He believed that he kept his company focused by saying "no" to virtually everything. It was a lifelong trait. In 2004, he told Businessweek that his success "comes from saying no to 1,000 … [Read more...] about Steve Jobs And the Power of “No”
Headline Tweaking for Better Click-Throughs
Can changing headlines post-publish impact readership of an article? According to Visual Revenue, an analytic tool provider, during the 2012 Olympics, USA Today underwent a testing campaign of their headlines. As you can see from the results below, the newspaper was able to almost double … [Read more...] about Headline Tweaking for Better Click-Throughs
Why Your Site Fails To Attract The Audience It Deserves
This may be my favorite cartoon ever. The marvelous webcomic XKCD explains in one simple diagram what is wrong with most websites: They aren't about what the users want. Has this always been so? In 1981's "The Soul of a New Machine," Pulitzer-Prize winner Tracy Kidder describes an … [Read more...] about Why Your Site Fails To Attract The Audience It Deserves