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Posts Tagged ‘writing’

Writing For An Online Audience

July 31st, 2009

Ask any old school copywriter and they will tell you that you need proper training and to cut your teeth at a regional newspaper before you can call yourself a pro. Nowadays however, using the power of the internet, anybody can become a copywriter and can talk about anything they like. You can even earn a living these days from distributing your content on the world wide web.

Amateur content creation really took off when webmasters decided it would be a good idea to let the world know what they were thinking via their web logs (blogs). They started to get picked up by people all over the internet and some bloggers found they soon become very popular. It was soon realised by this new breed of digital copywriters that they could accumulate quite a following and even get a good level of respect from readers and businesses alike.They found that they could direct traffic to places that they blogged about and also effect how people thought at a brand, so it is no surprise that companies soon took a big interest in looking after blogging communities in their niche. And so it was that commercialism found its way into online copy creation and this cemented it as a cornerstone of the modern internet.

You can now find information about almost any topic under the sun, like office insurance for example, and many argue that good content is the main factor in boosting the power of websites and generating traffic. Indeed the publications that started off with print distribution now almost all have online sections of their business and do very well from them as more people are moving online to find what they are looking for.

However, as with everything it seems, there comes a negative with this online phenomenon. A great deal of what you find online these days has very little credibility and is written in such bad English it is barely readable. Further more, it is almost impossible to find out and prove who wrote what on the Internet, and even harder to get offensive material removed. This means that people can write whatever they like, about small business insurance news for example and not have to worry about ramifications, which is potentially very dangerous.

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A Publishing Revolution

May 16th, 2009

Calling all journalists and freelance writers, editors and publishers. Now’s the time to breathe more life into your copy. Turn your articles into living pieces that spark measurable debate and that allows you to engage with your readers mind and soul - we’re talking revolution.

As it was in the beginning

Publishers have for many years relied on letters to get feedback from their readers and although email has opened up this method of communication it is still time consuming and difficult to monitor and process, and for the more popular articles, it is either a case of only a fraction of the received correspondence ever being used, or where online comments have been allowed, well written and good comments can be buried under poorly written and abusive comments.

As well as being an overhead for the publisher, to most people it is an unrewarding medium in terms of the amount of effort required and response received, just consider the number of letters that go unpublished and unread.

As it is now

The Internet has brought new channels of communication and created opportunities that allow us to challenge traditional methods. The Internet is now a mature technology, no longer the preserve of technical geeks but a technology that has been embraced by a global population, young and old allowing us now to re-evaluate the way things are done. Newspapers, trade journals, periodicals and ezines now have the opportunity to change the mental process.

When people read an article that provokes thought they now expect the opportunity to comment either by writing a comment, sending an email or writing a letter. Emails make communication easier but it still takes time to compose an email and time for the majority, is what they haven’t got.

The letters page, or a list of comments, although interesting, are often only a snapshot of views, or an endless unmanaged list of comments; a well crafted and well written letter on any given subject may hold the view of the majority, or the minority, but due to its free text form it is difficult, or near impossible, to measure.

As it should be

Now consider the advantages of linking articles to online surveys where as a publisher you will have the ability to obtain valuable readership feedback in a form that can be properly measured. Communicating with your readers is important but equally so is allowing your readers to communicate with you; and in a way that they know it will count.

Want a snapshot of opinion? Did they like the article? Did the readership agree with what was said or do they have a different view?

Now it is easy

In the past surveys would have taken considerable effort to design and publish and altogether was a process too long winded and therefore reserved for the niche and bigger topics.

However, using sites like www.surveygalaxy.com surveys and questionnaires can be created and published via the Internet by anyone who has a pulse. Professional looking questionnaires and surveys created in minutes make the perfect complement to articles that prompt opinion and debate.

The advantage over letters, e-mails and comments are that all the feedback gathered through a survey is managed and measured and sites like Survey Galaxy will provide you with a real time poll and charts that you can either keep to yourself or share with your readers.

It can be complementary

Linking articles to online surveys will not only extend the life of the article but will involve your readers in the discussion and in a way where that they know that their opinion will be counted.

You think they would rather send an email? - not a problem - just include the facility within the survey and get the best of both worlds.

It’s quick, low cost, and easy to do; it will empower and engage the reader, provide first class feedback and having established a communication channel you then have the opportunity to promote other related articles.

There is an opportunity to register your view of this article here:- Readership Feedback Survey

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A Publishing Revolution

May 9th, 2009

Calling all editors, publishers, journalists and freelance writers. Now’s the time to breathe more life into your copy. Turn your articles into living pieces that spark measurable debate and that allows you to engage with your readers mind and soul - we’re talking revolution.

As it was in the beginning

Publishers have for many years relied on letters to get feedback from their readers and although email has opened up this method of communication it is still time consuming and difficult to process with only a fraction of the received correspondence ever being used.

As well as being an overhead for the publisher, to most people it is an unrewarding medium in terms of the amount of effort required and response received, just consider the number of letters that go unpublished and unread.

As it is now

New channels of communication have been created by the Internet and this in turn has created opportunities that allow us to challenge traditional methods. Now a mature technology, the Internet is no longer the preserve of geeks and nerds but a technology that has been embraced by the global population, the young and the old, that invites new ways of doing things. Newspapers, trade journals, magazines and ezines now have the opportunity to change the mental process.

When people read an article that provokes thought they appreciate the opportunity to comment either by writing a letter, sending an email or writing a comment. Emails make communication easier but it still takes time to compose an email and time for the majority, is what they haven’t got.

Although of interest a letters page is at best a snapshot of views or if comments have been allowed an unmanaged and often never ending list of comments; they may be well crafted and well written but due to the free text form, collectively they are views that are notoriously difficult to measure.

As it should be

Now consider the advantages of linking articles to online surveys where as a publisher you will have the ability to obtain valuable readership feedback in a form that can be properly measured. Just as important as you communicating with the readership is providing the readership with an effective channel to communicate with you; one where they know it will count.

Want a snapshot of opinion? Did they like that article? Did the sentiments expressed in the article have the support of the audience or do the readers have a different view?

Now it’s easy

In the past it would have taken considerable effort to design, publish and collate, a process that was too long winded and justifiable only for the niche and important topics.

However, using sites like www.surveygalaxy.com surveys and questionnaires can be created and published via the Internet by anyone who has a pulse. Professional looking surveys and questionnaires created in minutes that make the perfect compliment to articles that prompt opinion and debate.

The advantage over letters, e-mails and comments are that all the feedback gathered through a survey is managed and measured and sites like Survey Galaxy will provide you with a real time poll and charts that you can either keep to yourself or share with your readers.

It can even be complimentary to sending an email

Linking articles to online surveys will not only extend the life of the article but will involve your readers in the discussion and in a way where that they know that their opinion will be counted.

You think people will still want to send an email? - no problem - include the facility within the survey and get the best of both worlds.

It’s quick, low cost, and easy to do; it will empower and engage the reader, provide first class feedback and having established a communication channel you then have the opportunity to promote other related articles.

Take the opportunity to register your view of this article here:- Readership Feedback Survey

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