Category Archives for Articles
What Would It Look Like If I Started Replying to Queries and Pitches With GIFs?
I receive a lot of pitches and queries for submission here at Craft Your Content, for my own writing, and on a number of the client websites we help to manage.
Most days, going through these submissions is a highlight for me.
I love finding pieces that are genius and should be published and read. I adore finding pieces that need a bit of work, but I know are going to be pretty damn amazing after some polishing. I even enjoy working on pieces that have a great story and concept, but need a lot of heavy lifting to get it ready for public consumption.Continue reading
A Writer’s Emotional Toolkit
There’s a huge amount of technical help and guidance out there for us writers.
From grammar geek websites to detailed historical information sources, it’s never been easier to access the technical resources necessary to write. Need to pen an article on electric cars? A short story with a scene in Prague? A perfectly punctuated piece of dialogue?
No sweat, the Information Age has you covered.
However, there are some things the internet can’t help us with. (I know, I said it.) Things like the vulnerability to expose your weaknesses. The resilience to cope with hostile or indifferent responses to your work. The self-knowledge to speak to something deep and true in other people. The courage to say something you feel without someone else having said it first.
These are the things I’m calling a writer’s emotional toolkit. As a writer, you probably use many of these techniques without realizing it.
Bringing Email Marketing to the Entrepreneurs and Authorpreneurs Among Us
Does anyone else remember when getting an email was an exciting thing?
The thought of opening up a digital screen and finding a message from someone was downright thrilling. It made the ear-cringing dial-up sounds that came before it almost worth it.
I grew up in a unique time, and not only because it was the 90’s, arguably one of the coolest decades. (Fight me on it, I dare you.)
I also say this because in my life, I have seen technology (cell phones and the internet, specifically) go from relative luxuries to absolute necessities. I didn’t grow up with a cell phone in the palm of my hand as my niece and future generations will.
Our inboxes evolved from hollow spaces containing only the AOL welcome email — along with a couple Hotmail addresses of tech-inclined buddies — into a bursting capsule of content, with everything from bills and ads to newsletters and updates, and, if you’re me, countless password reset requests.
These days, it’s actually much more novel to get a piece of real mail than a digital one.
SEO Started in the 12th Century: Bet You Didn’t Know That
Recent analysis of content readability has shown that most readers like bite-sized bits of information. This means headings, sub-headings, short paragraphs, and quick sentences are always a win.
If you’ve ever worked with Craft Your Content’s editorial team, you know that we spend a lot of time breaking your writing up into smaller parts.
In the busy, digital information age, this makes even more sense. Think of a commuter reading off an iPhone as she moves around the city.
Because she’s reading in short intervals from a device in a busy environment, she must be able to easily recall where she is in the article or post whenever she’s distracted. Headings, short words, sentences, and paragraphs will help her remember where she left off.
Less complex things are easier to remember.