Posts Tagged ‘writing’

Should your blog show post extracts or full posts? [Survey Results]

Have you ever wondered whether you should set your blog homepage to show full blog posts or post extracts/excerpts only with a link to read more? Or maybe a combination?

What do most blog readers prefer? I asked myself this question recently and some quick online research didn’t give me a definitive answer.

I asked around on Twitter, but got mixed responses. So I set up a survey (in the form of a quick poll question, with an optional field for comments) to try to get a better idea of what blog readers prefer.

The outcome may surprise some. And the comments help remind us that everyone has different habits and preferences and that includes the way people like to read blogs.

Recommendations are at the end of this post.

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Content Writer’s professional New Year’s Resolutions for 2009

At the start of a new year, I’ve made a few resolutions – or really, a list of things I’m determined to do in 2009, career-wise.

They’re all related to my diverse profession as a copywriter, website consultant, search engine optimiser, content specialist, public relations consultant and freelance journalist.

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Writing for the web – 10 basic tips

Writing for websites is different from any other kind of writing.

Visitors to websites don’t spend a lot of time reading text on a website. They quickly scan the page with their eyes and will leave in just seconds if they don’t see anything that interests them or that answers the question they had.

Web content has to ensure people quickly find what they’re looking for. They have to know immediately that they’ve come to the right page, otherwise you my have lost them forever.

Here are some important web writing tips to start with:

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No, I won’t write your 500-word SEO article for $5

Apparently there are people out there willing to write articles or web content for peanuts. (Where, you ask? Mostly likely in India, the offshore bulk content capital of the world.)

Before I put a “rates” page on my website, I used to get a lot of emails with requests for quotes from people who were obviously looking to get the most content for the absolute cheapest price.

Since content has become king, you can almost divide website owners/managers into two categories:

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