1. Understand: the web is not print Writing for the web is different from writing for other media. Different types of sites have different types of goals. On an eCommerce or catalog site, users have two main goals of use: Research and Purchase For both of these use cases, you want to help users get…
14 Things Everyone Should Know about Writing for eCommerce Sites
By Josh Cole | Published June 28th, 2010Three Books All Aspiring Writers Should Read
By Jim Cosco | Published August 27th, 2009I’ve been working on my first novel, Murder Pseudonymous, for the better part of five years now. I might never finish it. Every couple of months I get inspired to write and then, after pounding out a chapter or two, I lose focus. Either my real job gets in the way, or worse, I get writer’s block. Whenever that happens I hit Barnes and Noble for inspiration and pick out a book about the craft of writing. I can’t tell you how many books I’ve read by successful authors (“successful” means they make their living writing books) dishing advice to wanna-be novelists, me included. Here are my favorite three. If you’re a writer, or want to be a writer, they are well worth your time.
Use the Right Channel for Your Content
By Jim Cosco | Published August 13th, 2009You must match your great content with the right channel in order to reach the right audience. Here we examine one great channel choice and one really bad fit.
Is the Secret to SEO Quality Content?
By Jim Cosco | Published July 30th, 2009We firmly believe that producing enough great content will increase your search ranking organically. In this Content in Context article, we interview an SEO guru to test this belief.
How To Look and Sound Pro on Video
By Jim Cosco | Published July 23rd, 2009A good production uses lots of tricks of the trade to make your talent look their best. But some folks get the jitters once they realize that “a simple shoot” includes half-a-dozen crew members and a plethora of hot lights. The right preparation can put them at their ease help your non-professional talent give their best performance.
If You Don’t Shoot in HD Now, You’ll Hate Yourself Later
By Jim Cosco | Published July 7th, 2009There is so much well-produced video online today that people’s expectations are high. You don’t want to be the Cable Access Channel to your competitors’ MTV.
3 Ways to Get Some Action and Give Satisfaction
By Jim Cosco | Published July 2nd, 2009Telling a great story does you little good if people don’t read it, watch it, or listen to it. Make your content more reader-friendly and get more action on your content.
Satisfying your audience’s appetite for your content can be as simple as following these three basic guidelines:
Narrowcasting: Solid Gold
By Jim Cosco | Published June 25th, 2009Which audience is more valuable to you? A) The larger one that ignores or casually notices your content? B) The smaller one that is happily engaging with and consuming your content? If you selected A, you should report to a broadcast-advertising-and-SEO-propaganda-deprogramming center immediately. Reaching the right audience Of course you want to reach the largest…
Keep it Current
By Jim Cosco | Published June 17th, 2009Be ready to react quickly to breaking news. Make sure your content creation process is nimble enough roll with a timely idea — without a lot of barriers.
Brevity is Beautiful
By Jim Cosco | Published June 11th, 2009Especially on the web, people expect you to get to the point quickly. Your audience expects to devote maybe two minutes to your content snack, so prepare it accordingly.
Tell Stories That Resonate: 5 Easy Tips
By Jim Cosco | Published June 4th, 2009The art of storytelling has been around since the dawn of humankind for good reason — people love to be engaged and entertained. The essence of good content often falls back on a good story. Keep these five hallmarks of good stories in mind the next time you set out to produce effective content.
Giving It Away
By Jim Cosco | Published May 21st, 2009You have a marketing story to tell. You’ve created valuable content. You’ve repurposed it into various formats, and you’ve exercised the foresight to create quality assets that you can repurpose infinitely. Now give it away.
Getting Mileage out of Your Content: Purposely Repurpose Your Video
By Jim Cosco | Published May 14th, 2009Essentially, you want to generate great content that can get a lot of mileage. After you invest so much time and energy into your content, put it to work for you. Use it and reuse it.
What Makes Your Content Valuable?
By Jim Cosco | Published May 7th, 2009Creating valuable content is vital in marketing online today. But when you’re putting all this content out there without substantial feedback, how do you know if it’s valuable?
Avoid Using Dabblers with your Online Strategy
By Andrew Davis | Published March 25th, 2009A Dabbler is a person or team of people purpoting to be interactive experts or online marketing professionals, but who don’t really know what they’re doing. They ‘dabble’ in it.
Talk Back — It Would Be Rude Not To
By Jim Cosco | Published August 20th, 2009It’s been written that only 1% of all online users feel compelled to publish content, be it in a forum, blogging, rating videos, writing reviews, or commenting on other peoples’ blogs. When authors participate in the conversation, their audience appreciates their accessibility, and folks will continue commenting on posts in the future.
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