Charlie Creative Blog

Studies show the more you give away the more you sell. Today, for instance, I bought a product Online because they gave me a 15-minute audio sample right in the sales letter. I felt comfortable because I could tell what I was buying. Even if I hadn’t made a purchase today, I would have bookmarked the page and returned later. This happens all the time. People aren’t always ready to purchase on their first website visit. But if you answer specific questions and provide useful material people will feel good about you… and they’ll remember. Your job is to keep them coming back. What can you give away that will help people decide to buy your product or service? What can you regularly change or update on your site so people return to see what’s new? Does a blog come to mind? A podcast? A video blog?

Too often commercial websites are written with no audience in mind. But business is based on two-sided relationships. So are websites. Good websites have personalities. They’re written with the understanding that both sides matter in a relationship. Get to know your audience and write for real people. Make your writing conversational. Anticipate questions and make clear points. Use your personality and tell a few compelling stories. Surprise your readers and give them meaningful content. In other words, fill your website with the fresh, lively conversation you’d like to have with your clients. Go on, sharpen your pen. They’re waiting for you now, all ears and bright smiles.

Everybody has different preferences, thank goodness. But what happens to your website content when you try to satisfy visitors with different needs? Is it even possible?

Bob Bly wrote a book called The Online Copywriter’s Handbook (McGraw Hill, 2002) and included a section on writing copy to “Fit the Buyer’s Mood and Intent.” In the book, Bob defines various browsing styles along with tips for layout. Here’s a selection of his advice for reaching different website reading preferences:

“Artist… text in digestible chunks”
“Writer… list(s) of words” fast downloads
“Explorer… plenty of content”
“Seeker… one-click access to what they want”

For other styles, see Bob’s excellent book. So, here’s a question: Do these methods broaden the market for a website, or do they simply enhance the experience for a chosen market?

Here’s a quick list of points to hit when you’re matching your message to the needs and desires of your audience. First, research carefully. Identify the need or desire of your audience. Next, be kind. Before writing, put the subject into a context that serves your message and your audience. Then, when you’re writing, be helpful. Ask what knowledge will really help this audience; who can you refer your readers to for more information. Last, and possibly most importantly, be yourself. Let your writing come naturally. Here’s the checklist for giving your readers what they want: Research, Kindness, Knowledge, References, and Authenticity. Tick those off as you write and your message will satisfy your audience.

Everyone gets writer’s block. There’s no way to prevent it all together. The question is how do you bust through writer’s block once it comes? Here’s a method that works consistently for me. Before you do any writing, create an outline of your project. What are the parts? Will you include a title, opening, main argument, supporting argument and so on? Decide on all the parts, list them as headings, and then fill them in. Good organization reveals your whole project before you start. You can easily make connections you might otherwise miss, and filling in the blanks speeds up your writing and makes it more efficient. When you organize your project ahead of time you’re creating a system that works. Everything has a place and a role that is designed to move your project toward a satisfying end. It’s like ordering lunch in a restaurant at noon. You get a hot, tasty meal fast. If you go to the same restaurant at 3PM you might wait an hour for cold, bland food. Why? Momentum. The secret to momentum in writing—and busting through writer’s block—is silencing your internal editor. Your mind wants constant assurance that you’re on top of everything that can go wrong. Shut out these fears by developing an outline for your project so your mind can relax. Then you can get into action, build momentum, write past your block and serve up hot, tasty writing every time.

To convey a message with fairness and accuracy, set aside what you believe is true and explore wider points of view. Not that what you believe is false. It’s just a good idea to be open to possibilities. This is hardest when you’re facing a deadline. Writers sometimes take shortcuts by making assumptions. They turn in their work on time, but—by relying too much on what they know—they unwittingly write a biased story. This is forgivable because setting aside your beliefs is unnatural. To prove it, name any subject. I bet you already have a view about it. Don’t worry. We all do this. And it’s tough to add an extra step when you’re in a hurry. So why is it necessary? As a writer, part of your challenge is to look at your subject with fresh eyes. You can do this by unraveling yourself from your beliefs—from what you expect is true. Fortunately, differences don’t indicate right or wrong. Instead, differences give us a wider view of reality. If you set aside what you know when you do your research, your writing will be richer and more meaningful. You’ll come up with more angles for balanced content. And you’ll enjoy the insights you gain about your subject.

You know that satisfying feeling you get as a reader when you finally find what you’re looking for? Or how about when the piece you’re reading makes you feel smart, included, peaceful, or inspired? Don’t you wish you could give your readers that feeling every time? Consider this: When writing, there are three major audiences: Your readers, your client, and—believe it or not—you. It’s true. Without including your take on the subject you risk sounding wooden and false. To get your writing to resonate with you, your client, and your readers, discover how the subject relates to all three. Look for connections and common themes. When you connect what you and all your readers care about you generate a sort of harmony through your writing. You needn’t announce the connection. Your audiences will feel it. Like smiling through a telephone or cooking with love. They’ll just know.

It’s a good idea to research your subject fully before you start writing. It’s not such a good idea to spend valuable writing and editing time doing research you won’t use. When you get a new assignment, determine what your audience wants or needs. There’s no point writing something no one will read. Once you narrow the subject, make a list of questions you need answered. Take each item on this list and research it separately. Always record your sources so you can verify your findings and go back for more details. Research is about thoroughness, accuracy and verification. It’s also about meeting deadlines. Focus on the right details and research them thoroughly. That’s a better strategy than researching every possible aspect of a subject. Do this and you’ll have more time to write—and that’s a good thing. Bad writing comes from researching too much and editing too little.

It’s true. Test it yourself. You give a site just under 5 seconds to stun you. And if it makes you think you’re likely to click away. So your headline matters. A lot. But what goes into a website headline? Have you got a few weeks? If so, I’d be happy to tell you all about it. But for now, here are three things that matter. You’ve got to enter the conversation your reader is already having about your product or service…

• What does she think about it?
• How does she feel about it?
• And what are her desires for it? What does she wish it would do?

To write a good headline get inside your reader’s conversation. Know what she wants and speak her language. Then, when she visits your site, she’ll give you more than a glance.

I kept bringing in precious, highly detailed pieces to my design class. The other students thought this was great. But the teacher just shook her head. One day she glanced at my latest confection and looked at me.

“Do you have a set of chopsticks at home?” she asked.

I nodded.

“And do you have paint? Not good paint… House paint. And a kitchen timer?”

Thoroughly confused I stood with my mouth open.

“I don’t want you to do this week’s assingnment,” she said. “Instead, buy a pad of newsprint with 100 sheets of paper. Set the timer for one minute and paint. Paint with the chopsticks and housepaint. When the timer chimes stop. Don’t go past a minute on any of your paintings. I want 100 paintings from you next week.”

At home in my backyard I set the timer, dipped the chopsticks in the paint bucket, and stood over the blank newsprint listening to the timer click off seconds. 43… 44… 45… And then it happened. The paint plopped a full lush blob on the center of the sheet. Without thinking, I kneeled and ran a finger through it. Wet, warm, slick. I spread five fingers out from the center of the sheet. A shape appeared. A thistle. A flower. A star burst. The bell sounded. For 100 minutes I was lost. Each painting opened out before me on the newsprint. Sometimes I used the chopsticks. Sometimes I used my fingers. Once or twice I used my feet. 100 minutes 100 paintings all spread around me on the lawn. I let them dry in the sun. When I brought them into class I didn’t care so much what others thought about the paintings. It was the process, the expression, and letting go of perfection that mattered. It was the best work I did all semester.