The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers: Score your posts out of 100

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

COPYRIGHT NOTICE © Copyright 2010 ProBlogger.net and Divine Write Copywriting Pty Ltd. The right of ProBlogger.net and Divine Write Copywriting Pty Ltd to be identified as authors and joint copyright owners of this work is asserted by ProBlogger.net and Divine Write Copywriting Pty Ltd in accordance with Australian copyright laws, as determined by the Australian Copyright Council. Copyright extends to any and all countries in which this publication is purchased and/or viewed and/or read. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form by any means without the prior written permission of the authors, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover, other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. The purchaser of this publication indemnifies Darren Rowse and Glenn Murray, their respective companies, ProBlogger.net, Divine Write Copywriting Pty Ltd and Silver Pistol Pty Ltd, and the directors, officers, employees and agents of those companies, from and against all losses, claims, damages and liabilities which arise out of any use of this publication and/or any application of its content.

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The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

CONTENTS Thanks ......................................................................................................... 5 Reading this .PDF .................................................................................... 5 Feedback .................................................................................................... 5 Introduction ............................................................................................... 6 When you’re blogging, you’re selling............................................... 6 And you want lots of traffic ................................................................. 7 This book is a system for scoring your posts.............................. 7 Oh, and one more thing… ..................................................................... 8 Before you start ...................................................................................... 9 Know your objectives ............................................................................. 9 Know your brand .................................................................................. 10 Know your audience ............................................................................ 10 Know your target keywords ............................................................. 11 Plan your post........................................................................................ 11 Use these questionnaires ................................................................ 13 Chapter Summary ............................................................................... 17 Write your post .................................................................................... 18 Start with whatever comes to you first ...................................... 18 Be flexible ................................................................................................. 19 Don’t aim for perfection .................................................................... 20 Be disciplined ......................................................................................... 20 But know when to take a break...................................................... 20 Chapter Summary ............................................................................... 21 Recommendations ............................................................................... 22 Writing recommendations .............................................................. 22 Scannability recommendations...................................................... 33 SEO copy recommendations ........................................................... 36

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Grammar Pitfalls .................................................................................. 43 What next? ............................................................................................. 49 Your scorecard ..................................................................................... 50 What your score means ................................................................... 53 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 54 Break any of these rules when you need to ................................. 54 Believe in yourself — let it happen ................................................. 54 Get help if you need it ......................................................................... 55 Have fun ................................................................................................... 55 Keep in touch ......................................................................................... 56 Continue to improve your blogging ............................................... 56 Tell a Friend ............................................................................................ 56 50% off our other ebooks ................................................................ 57 Appendix .................................................................................................. 58 3-page printable scorecard ............................................................. 58 1-page printable Scorecard ............................................................ 61 Worked Example .................................................................................. 62 Index .......................................................................................................... 96

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Thanks

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

THANKS Although this ebook has only two authors, many people contributed to it, behind the scenes. Particular thanks to Naomi Creek, Ian Butler, Paul Cunningham and Rachel Segal. Without you, this book wouldn’t be what it is.

READING THIS .PDF To get the most out of this ebook, you really need to install Adobe Reader. ―Yes, I’m looking at you Mac users! Preview just doesn’t cut it.‖ For a start, you won’t be able to use the electronic scorecard without it. And I worked very hard on that! You’ll also be unable to see a few other bits and pieces. So please, if you’re not using it already, download Adobe Reader, so we’re all talking the same language.

FEEDBACK If you can think of any other tips that should be included in the next version of this book, please contact [email protected] with your suggestions.

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INTRODUCTION Blogging is fun. It’s one of the only forms of writing that offers true choice, flexibility and creativity. True freedom. You choose the niche, the style, the post frequency and the individual post subject matter. You even choose the audience. You’re not constrained by product deadlines, and you’re not frustrated by pesky editors (or paying clients). So in many respects, blogging is completely unlike conventional copywriting. Copywriting is all about working within imposed constraints: The client, their brand, their customers, their deadlines, their tastes, their prejudices, their priorities, their legal team, their demands and their budget. On a day-to-day basis, it offers very little of the freedom enjoyed by the average blogger. But in one respect — one critical, undeniable respect — blogging is identical to copywriting…

WHEN YOU’RE BLOGGING, YOU’RE SELLING If you’re a business blogger, you’re selling credibility, authority, respect, trustworthiness and — ultimately — a product or a service. If you’re a professional blogger, you’re selling you — your personal brand — in order to persuade readers to subscribe and, ultimately, in order to sell real estate on your site or promote affiliate products. Either way, you’re selling. So if you’re really serious about blogging, you have to get serious about copywriting. That’s what this ebook is all about. Writing well. Writing for your audience, while remaining true to yourself. Writing for conversion, while remaining true to your audience. And writing for fun, while remaining true to your bank account. Above all, it’s about writing to sell. It won’t help you decide what to write, and it won’t really help you commit to the work. But it will help you do a good job, when you put pen to paper. It will help you write compelling, usable, grammatically correct, search engine optimized copy for your blog posts.

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AND YOU WANT LOTS OF TRAFFIC You already know that if your blog doesn’t rank in the search engines, you’re missing out on a lot of traffic. Fortunately, simply because you’re a blogger, Google likes you. By its very nature, blogging is a search engine-friendly activity. You’re writing quite a bit of useful information — usually on a niche subject — and you’re updating fairly regularly. That’s exactly what Google likes to see and is why blogs tend to rank quite well for relevant searches. Trouble is, Google likes all bloggers. So you really have to pay attention to your search engine optimization (SEO), if you want to outrank your competitors. And it just so happens that the way you write can impact your rankings significantly. As well as helping you write well for readers, this ebook will help you write well for search engines. It’ll help you use the right words, in the right places, and at the right frequency, to help ensure Google deems you relevant for the right searches. TIP: The words you write are only one part of the overall search engine optimization (SEO) process. The rest of the process is outside the scope of this book, but you can learn all about it by reading my SEO ebook, ‘SEO Secrets’. SEO Secrets covers everything from choosing the right host, to optimizing your WordPress blog, to generating links back to your site.

THIS BOOK IS A SYSTEM FOR SCORING YOUR POSTS This ebook is more than just a reference guide. It’s a system for scoring your posts. It’s a world-first way to objectively measure the quality of your writing. From a reader’s perspective, and from a search engine’s perspective.

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How to score your posts Read through recommendations and pitfalls from p.22-49. Every recommendation is worth a certain number of points — the more important the recommendation, the more points it’s worth. Conversely, each pitfall is a loss of points — the more damaging the error, the more points you lose. E.g. If you promise an outcome in your post, you get 2 points. But if you use “then” when you should have used “than”, you lose 3 points. Once you’re comfortable with the theory, complete the electronic scorecard on page 50 (or print it if you like — or the single page version on p.58). If you write a post and you’ve followed every recommendation, and avoided every pitfall, your post gets a perfect score — 100 points — and will most likely be quite engaging and effective. If you’ve followed only a handful of recommendations, or you’ve tripped up on a few pitfalls, your post scores fewer points, and will probably be less engaging and effective. TIP: Take a look at the Worked Example on p.62, where I score one of Darren’s Problogger posts.

Of course, your ultimate score is a guideline, not a verdict. You may, for instance, have such a knack with words and such amazing audience empathy, that readers will love your work, regardless of how your blog posts score. Alternatively, you may score really well, but still not manage to resonate with readers, for one reason or another. Nonetheless, the recommendations throughout this book are common features in most great copywriting. Assuming you combine them with some degree of sophistication, your score should approximate the quality of your writing.

OH, AND ONE MORE THING… Forget as many of the old rules as you can, because many of them no longer apply. In fact, many of them never did! Now grab a coffee, and let’s get into it.

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Before you start

BEFORE YOU START Don’t just wing it. There’s no point sitting straight down to your post, and hoping for the best. That time may come, but for now, you really need to put some conscious thought — some proper planning — into every post. Nothing to be worried about! You know most of the answers already; you just need to make sure you’re writing with those answers in mind. So let’s get to it…

KNOW YOUR OBJECTIVES We hear a lot about the audience being the most important factor in writing, but that’s not true for blogging. (Gasp!) Ultimately, the most important thing you need to think about is your own motivation. Without a clear understanding of your motivation, you can’t even know who your target audience is, much less remain true to your cause day in, and day out. What’s more, being able to clearly articulate your motivation will help you through the dry patches — the times when you encounter blogger’s block, and the times when you just can’t make yourself start writing. When you have a vision, you’ll be able to push on until the job is done. But without clear goals, you have no clear incentive. And without clear incentive, your blog won’t last long. So always think of yourself before you think of your audience. Why are you writing this post? (Indeed, why are you maintaining this blog?) Is it to provide news? Advice? Practical guidance? Opinion? What do you want to get out of it? Are you just trying to entertain your friends? Are you a service provider building credibility and authority? Are you an online retailer building trust? Are you trying to improve the search engine ranking of your corporate website? Are you simply selling ad space? Or are you promoting a product for which you’re an affiliate? We all have our own reasons for blogging. For me, as a copywriter, it’s about building trust, credibility and authority, and it’s also about maintaining my high search engine ranking. For Darren, as a professional blogger, it’s also about building authority, trust and

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Before you start

brand. It’s about using the blog to convert readers into buyers of his products. And it’s about generating traffic in order to make his sites attractive to advertisers. What’s your particular reason? Whatever your answer, it will play a significant role in the approach you take to your posts — not just the type of post (e.g. 10 tips to…) and calls to action, but also your writing style.

KNOW YOUR BRAND Another key factor in your blogging approach is your brand. If you’re blogging to promote an existing business, you already have a brand. If you’re aiming to become a professional blogger, you may not sell a product or service, but you still have a brand — a personal brand. Whether yours is a business or personal brand, you have to consider it whenever you blog. If you’re a lawyer, your brand will most likely be trustworthy, conservative and slightly formal. Although you can be more personable in your blog than in your regular web copy, you’ll still need to remain true to this brand. If you’re a skydiving instructor, on the other hand, your brand will be more dynamic — more fastpaced, casual and fun. If you’re aiming to be a professional blogger in the IT field, you’ll need to be a little more conservative than, say, a professional blogger in the personal fitness training field. Think carefully about your brand, because everything you write reflects on it and contributes to it.

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE Now that you know who you are and what you’re trying to achieve, spend some time thinking about your reader. Who are they? What kind of person are they? How well educated are they? Why are they reading your blog? What do they hope to get from it? What do they want to know or be able to do, after they’ve read it?

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Without answers to these sorts of questions, there’s no way you’ll be able to know how to write for your audience. You’ll risk alienating them with your style, boring them with your discussion, and underwhelming them with your promises.

KNOW YOUR TARGET KEYWORDS What words are your target readers Googling when they’re looking for the sort of information you provide in your blog? These are the words you want to rank well for. Your keywords (or, more accurately, key-phrases). To find out what your target readers are actually Googling, use a paid tool like WordTracker, WordStream or Keyword Discovery, or a free tool like the Google Adwords Keyword Tool (combined with Google Insights). Better yet, use a combination of paid and free; they each have their strengths and weaknesses, so a combination should give you more accurate insights. Then, once you know what words people are actually Googling, you’ll need to use those phrases in the right places and in the right way on your blog. See ‘SEO copy recommendations’ on p.36 for further information on optimizing your blog for search engines.

PLAN YOUR POST For many bloggers, starting a post is the hardest part. In my experience, that’s usually due to a lack of planning. Before you write even a single word of your post, you need to have a very clear picture in your head of what you’re going to do.

Post topic The first part of planning your post is knowing what to write about. This comes down to knowing your audience and knowing what they’re Googling (as discussed above). With that knowledge, and an understanding of the limits of your own expertise, you should have no trouble coming up with blog post ideas.

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Post type Then you’ll need to decide what type of post it’ll be. Will it be a ‘How to…’ post? A ’10 tips…’ post? A ‘Truth behind…’ post? Or something entirely different. Once again, as discussed above, your audience needs will largely determine this.

Post style And finally, you’ll need to settle on a style. Here, too, your audience is the determining factor. For example, a law-related post would typically use a trustworthy, conservative and slightly formal style. You’d likely avoid humor, and use longer sentences and paragraphs, and more complex words. A skydiving-related post, on the other hand, could use slang, humor and possibly even swearing. It would use shorter sentences and words, and be punchier and much more casual. Choosing a writing style is largely a matter of commonsense and natural tendencies. Nonetheless, it’s something you need to plan and constantly bear in mind. Otherwise you may find yourself adopting an inappropriate style simply because “that’s how you were taught to write in school” or “that’s the way ProBlogger writes”. Generally, you’ll adopt a consistent style across your entire blog, but there may be times when your style for an individual post will differ from the overall blog. For example, a blog post discussing car safety may be a little more conservative than one discussing performance; especially if you happen to discuss the injuries likely to be caused by poor or absent safety features. Eventually you’ll develop a writing style all of your own; one you won’t even have to think about. In fact, your writing style may eventually become part of your blog’s audience appeal — one of the main reasons readers keep coming back.

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USE THESE QUESTIONNAIRES To help you consolidate all of the above information and remember it in your planning, we’ve prepared a couple of questionnaires for you.

Blog-wide questionnaire Here’s a questionnaire to focus your thinking about your entire blog. Print it out, complete it, and keep it handy when you’re planning and writing your posts. By referring back to it periodically, you’ll ensure you stay true to your goals and true to your brand, in every post. 1. What is the objective of this blog? Why are you maintaining it? What do you hope to gain?

2. What is your core area of expertise?

3. Why would readers want to read your posts and not get their information elsewhere?

4. Describe your brand. (Maybe try to assign a personality to it. E.g. Is it a James Bond or an Austin Powers? A Dr Phil or an Oprah? A nightclubber or an opera-goer?)

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5. Who is your typical reader? (E.g., brain surgeon, male, 30-45, professional, affluent, physically active)

6. What is that reader’s current opinion of your blog? (E.g. Unaware / suspicious / loyal customer / indifferent)

7. Do you know of any barriers to subscription / loyalty / trust? (Reasons the reader might decide NOT to trust you and do what you want)

8. Why should readers trust you?

9. What style are you aiming for in your posts? (E.g. Formal, informal, casual, funny, conservative, cutting edge)

10. What will your readers NOT want to see in your posts? (E.g. Slang, clichés, 10-tips, discussion of last night’s dinner, criticism of competitors‖

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Questionnaire for each post For your first, say, 10 posts after reading this ebook, you might find it useful to complete the following questionnaire. Print out a few copies, and use it just to get your thinking straight before you start writing. You’ll be amazed by how much it helps. (Note that some of the questions are the same as in the questionnaire above; that’s because your answers may be different, from post to post.‖ 1. What do you want to get out of this post?

2. What will your readers want to get out of this post?

3. What problem / need / situation / interest has led them to read this post?

4. Why would readers want to read this post rather than get their information elsewhere?

5. What points / claims do you want to make in this post?

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Before you start

6. Can you validate these points / claims? If so, how? (E.g. Asics running shoes help prevent injury, and here are the studies that prove it)

7. What style are you aiming for in this post? (E.g. Formal, informal, casual, funny, conservative, cutting edge youth)

8. What will your readers NOT want to see in this post? (E.g. Slang, clichés, 10-tips, discussion of last night’s dinner, criticism of competitors)

9. What is the call to action for this post? i.e. What do you want the reader to do after reading it? (E.g. Comment, visit another page on your site, visit the Buy page of an affiliate product)

10. What is your primary keyword / phrase for SEO?

11. What is your secondary keyword / phrase for SEO?

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CHAPTER SUMMARY     

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Always plan before writing Know what you want to achieve and what your reader wants to achieve Plan a style that suits your brand Find out what your target readers are Googling Use the supplied questionnaires until you’re comfortable planning without them

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Write your post

WRITE YOUR POST Now that you know why you’re writing the post, what it’ll be about, the style you’ll use, and why your readers will read it, you need to actually get your hands dirty and make a start. While it’s a good idea to bear this book’s recommendations in mind as you write your first draft, you may — at first — find that difficult to do, and still say what you’re trying to say. If you find that happening to you, focus first on writing something; after that, you can focus on making it great. Over time, you may develop the ability to do both at once, but for now, you may need to take it a step at a time. This section of the ebook is dedicated to getting something ‘on paper’.

START WITH WHATEVER COMES TO YOU FIRST Writing isn’t always a sequential process. In fact, in my experience, it’s rarely sequential. Some people start with the post title. Others with the introduction. Some start at what eventually becomes the middle of the post. It doesn’t really matter where you start, so long as you do start. I’ve always found the easiest way to start is simply to write down whatever comes to me first: usually the title or the introduction. But you may find it easier to start somewhere completely different, like in the meat of your argument. That’s a perfectly good place to start, so long as you position it as the meat of your argument, not as the post title or introduction. E.g. Let’s say the first and only thing that comes to mind is your conviction that a particular group of researchers confused cause and effect in their study. While that’s a great foundation for a thought-leadership post, it’s not likely to make a good post title: “Longitudinal childhood obesity study confounded by confusion of cause and effect”

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Write your post

Not particularly attention-grabbing is it? So instead of trying to force your first thoughts into the title, just start writing at the point where those first thoughts naturally fit best. In this case, that might be the paragraph after the introduction: “A recent childhood obesity study by Dr. Foo Lishman and Prof. Not Aclue was based on the flawed assumption that excessive TVwatching is a cause of obesity, when, in fact, it may equally be a symptom. As a result, its findings that…” Then, having expressed your opinion ―‘gotten it off your chest’‖, you’ll naturally start to draw conclusions about the impact of these flawed assumptions. And it’s this impact that will make a far better entry point to the post, because it’s the impact that the reader is ultimately most interested in: “TV doesn’t cause obesity after all!” Much more engaging, wouldn’t you say?

BE FLEXIBLE Just as your first thoughts won’t always make a good headline, the rest of your thoughts won’t always come to you when you’re ready for them — or, more to the point, when your post structure is ready for them. In writing your introduction, for instance, you may find you’ve crafted a perfect conclusion. Or when writing the meat, you may be struck by a brilliant headline. You may even write an entire paragraph, maybe more, only to find it’s in the wrong spot. Similarly, you may find the act of writing actually reveals new insights, prompting you to add more information. Or your words may not come out as you expected, causing you to re-assess your structure. You may even find yourself re-thinking your entire viewpoint, simply because articulating your reasoning provides unprecedented clarity on the subject matter. That’s all OK. Good writing evolves. It’s a living, breathing animal, and you merely have a leash on it; you don’t have complete control. Forgive yourself when you jump around, and go with the flow.

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DON’T AIM FOR PERFECTION You’ll probably find that every post feels a little disjointed for the majority of the time you’re working on it. That’s normal; it happens to everyone. So don’t expect to feel like you’re writing an award-winning post — because even if you are, you probably won’t be happy with it until you’re done. Be prepared to compromise. Recognize when a sentence isn’t getting any better, and let it go for a while. Don’t fret that your structure isn’t hanging together as you’d hoped. And don’t panic if you can’t find the right headline. These things tend to iron themselves out. Well… actually… they tend to remain kinked until the time is right to fix them. You don’t always have control over when the time is right, so don’t aim for perfection every step of the way. Settle for ‘nearly there’, and you’ll find that by the time you’re done, many of the issues you thought you had, have fizzled away.

BE DISCIPLINED Of course, it’s one thing to give your post a bit of freedom to evolve, and another, entirely, to expect it to write itself. Rarely will you find it’s coming out easily; it always takes work. And it can be a very, very frustrating process! The trick is to keep chipping away. Return, again and again, to problematic areas and constantly re-assess your structure. Think of it as an archaeological dig: Your job is as much to uncover the post as it is to plan and write it. If you keep working at it, you’ll find there comes a point in every post when it all falls into place. Suddenly it’s well structured, and you’ve clearly articulated your point.

BUT KNOW WHEN TO TAKE A BREAK There’ll come a time — maybe in every post — when you’re just not making any progress. You may, in fact, feel like you’re going backwards. You’re not alone. All writers experience this. Often!

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I don’t know the physiological reasons for these lapses, but for some reason, your brain has decided to take a short break. This is a signal that you need to do the same. Unfortunately, however, this phenomenon can be hard to distinguish from the usual minute-to-minute difficulties of writing, and it tends to occur when:   

you’re deep into your post; you feel like you can least afford a break; and you feel that a break couldn’t possibly help you.

But trust me, it will help. In fact, I’ve found it’s essential. Even if you don’t leave your desk, it’s important to let your mind wander for a bit, when you feel like this. If you’d like to know the scientific reasons why, have a read of Robert Lee Hotz’s article, A Wandering Mind Heads Straight Toward Insight. Hotz cites research that suggests that “our brain may be most actively engaged when our mind is wandering and we’ve actually lost track of our thoughts.” He says, that during daydreaming, “… our brain activates several areas associated with complex problem solving, which researchers had previously assumed were dormant during daydreams. Moreover, it appears to be the only time these areas work in unison.” Translation? Take a break, let your mind wander, and it will resolve problems without any conscious input from you. Nice, eh?

CHAPTER SUMMARY       

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Start your post wherever you need to — wherever feels most natural Resign yourself to the fact that you’ll often feel like your post is out of control Go with the flow and don’t aim for perfection Don’t sweat it; many problems will fizzle away as you progress Be disciplined — keep chipping away But learn to recognize when you need to take a break Accept that taking a break isn’t always a waste of time

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Recommendations

RECOMMENDATIONS Following is a series of recommendations for your posts (and pitfalls to avoid). Each recommendation or pitfall is worth a certain number of points. Once you’ve written a post, score it with the electronic scorecard on p.50. The higher your score, the better your writing should be.

WRITING RECOMMENDATIONS Make your intro easy to read When your intro is easy to read and understand, this is a good signal (to your audience) that the rest of the post will be the same. Start with a short sentence, keep the majority of your sentences relatively short, use short, easy-tounderstand words, and make the intro paragraph as short as possible.

Write as much as you need to, but no more If someone’s really interested in your subject matter, they’ll read it, even if your post is very long. But will someone who thinks they’re only marginally interested? Probably not. While it’s important to make your posts information rich, you should write only as much as you need to. Never pad it out, and always edit ruthlessly. This way, even marginally interested visitors will be more likely to read your entire post. You may even get a few tire-kickers! And remember, just because they weren’t intensely interested before they read the post, doesn’t mean they won’t be intensely interested after they’ve read it.

When you’re blogging, you’re talking to someone, not about them. So don’t address them as “the reader” or “the user”. Always address them as “you”, just as you would in a face-to-face conversation.

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Write effective headings The most effective headings usually possess one or more of four qualities: 1. Self-interest ―e.g. “Pay 50% less on PCs”‖ 2. News ―e.g. “PCs now 50% cheaper: World first ecommerce site”‖ 3. Curiosity ―e.g. “Half-price PCs: You won’t believe how they do it!”‖ 4. A quick, easy way ―e.g. “Get a half-price PC in just 5 minutes!”‖ Obviously there’s a bit of overlap between these example headings. For instance, it’s likely that they’ll all pique the reader’s curiosity and engage their sense of self-interest.

Tell a story People love stories. That’s why movies, novels and fairy-tales are all so popular. It’s also why the best sales letters are so successful. (One of the most successful starts: “They Laughed When I Sat Down At the Piano — But When I Started to Play…”‖ When your reader encounters a story, they’re not only instantly comfortable (with the format), but they also become curious about what happens next. Stories also give you the opportunity to build anticipation, and to incorporate characters and emotions people can relate to. Of course, your story has to be relevant and only as long as it needs to be. E.g. If you’re writing a post discussing how a particular piece of software saves you hours every day, tell the story of how that came to be.

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Recommendations

Answer the questions your reader will probably ask When you have a face-to-face conversation, the other person will nearly always ask you questions — especially when you’re the expert. Readers are no different. They’ll be asking questions in their head and sometimes even out loud. You need to anticipate those questions, and use your post to provide answers. When the reader gets answers to all their questions, they’ll appreciate your expertise, and go away feeling satisfied. (In fact, you should even consider using those questions as your headings.) E.g. If you’re writing a post about the perfect grind setting for 10 day-old Ethiopian coffee beans, you can expect your reader to ask where you got the beans, what region they’re from, how you’ve had them stored, what the humidity is like, what grinder you’re using, how hard you’re tamping, and so on.

Provide a call to action This is one of the most overlooked copywriting techniques, and is largely absent in blogging. What do you want your reader to do when they’ve finished reading your post? Read a related post? Click through to an affiliate product page? Post a comment? Whatever it is, they’re far less likely to do it if you don’t ask them to! E.g. “What do you think? Are red M’Ms better than all the rest, or am I just losing my mind? Please comment…

If someone’s offering you advice, but it’s clear they don’t really understand your situation, are you likely to heed their advice? Are you likely to trust that their words are relevant to you? No. The same applies in blogging. Only, on the Internet, you’re irrelevant unless proven otherwise! Your readers are impatient, and experience has taught them that most information on the Web is irrelevant. So be sure to engage your readers and instill confidence by proving you understand their situation. E.g. If you’re posting about being aware of the hidden costs involved in building a backyard swimming pool, show you understand how scary those hidden costs are.

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Recommendations

Your readers will then be far more confident that you’re taking their concerns seriously, and that your advice is, therefore, likely to be decent and considered: “When you’re having a pool built, it’s the hidden costs that keep you awake at night…”

Show some personality People connect with people, not posts. And they remember people. And trust people. So forget all you’ve learned about business writing, and write in a way that conveys your personality — the things your friends like about you. E.g. Don’t say, “Bicyclists who jump the queue at traffic lights are a nuisance.” Say, “Nothing annoys me more than bicyclists who jump the queue at traffic lights!”

Be open and honest There are few better ways of gaining someone’s trust than by simply being open and honest with them. But funnily enough, this is one of the trickier things to do online. Not because it’s particularly hard to be honest, but because it’s particularly hard to prove you’re being honest. So when you can’t prove your honesty, you have to signal it. Be selfeffacing. Discuss your flaws or your past mistakes. Make believable promises. Undersell (obviously). When readers see you being honest in these things (who would make up flaws?‖, they’ll assume you’re being honest about everything else too. E.g. “Now I’m no wine critic, but I can usually tell a good red from vinegar…” Or: “It’s not money-for-nothing. But if you work at it for an hour a day, you should soon be earning an extra $150-$200 a week.” Or: “In 2002, I was forced to declare bankrupt. But now I pay the closing balance off my credit card every month, and I don’t pay a cent in interest.”

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Use contractions When you’re blogging, you want to sound much as you do when you’re talking face-to-face. But without all the ums and ahs. So don’t say “you are”, say “you’re”. Say “it’s”, not “it is”, “you’ll” not “you will”, and “that’s” not “that is”. These are all contractions. There are plenty more too, like “isn’t”, “can’t”, “wouldn’t” and “let’s”. Of course, it does depend slightly on the audience, but only the most conservative — and I mean really conservative — readers won’t like contractions. Most won’t even notice them. But I guarantee they’ll notice if you don’t use contractions. Your post will sound a lot stodgier and disjointed. E.g. Without contractions: “You will notice how much fun the go-carts are. They are not at all scary. Let us have another go!” Sounds very stodgy, doesn’t it? But with contractions, it’s much better: “You’ll notice how much fun the go-carts are. They’re not at all scary. Let’s have another go!” It also depends on the particular contraction. I tend to use contractions like “what’re”, “where’ve”, “what’d” and “where’d” only for very informal readers.

Use short sentences for impact Short sentences stand out. See? They’re easy to understand, quick to read, and they balance out longer sentences, like this one. They even draw the eye. For all those reasons, they’re excellent for creating impact. E.g. Just read any great speech. Kennedy: “Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.” King: “This is our hope.” Mandela: “I am the First Accused.” Obama: “All this we can do. All this we will do.” Roosevelt: “We must act, and act quickly.” Churchill: “You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory.”

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Promise an outcome It’s a sad truth, but humans are pretty selfish creatures. Whether it’s sales copy or a blog post, most readers will ultimately want to know what’s in it for them. So whenever you can, make a promise — particularly in your post titles. In sales copy, your promise is usually expressed in terms of benefits (as opposed to features). In blog copy, you’re not usually taking a direct sales approach, so your promise probably won’t be benefits, it’ll be some sort of outcome. E.g. What the reader will learn, laugh at, improve, remember, etc. You don’t have to make an explicit promise, mind you; implicit is fine. E.g. “The funniest video you’ll see all year”.

When you get people saying “yes” as they’re reading, they’re psychologically more likely to read on, to heed your call to action, and even to develop a sense of loyalty to you. So try to ask questions to which you know the answer will be “yes” ―or some other positive response). This is one of the fundamental techniques for keeping your reader on what copywriting big-gun, Joseph Sugarman, calls the ‘persuasion slippery slide’. E.g. “We’d all like to earn a little more money, right?”

Use active language Active voice: “Bob kicked the ball.” Passive voice: “The ball was kicked by Bob.” Generally, readers respond better to active voice because it’s a direct representation of what’s happening. Their brain doesn’t have to work as hard to figure it out. And when you’re addressing the reader directly, this rule is even more applicable. Readers want to do something, or learn something, or become something, and they prefer to see themselves as the do-er. E.g. Say, “You’ll learn how to…” not, “I’ll teach you to…”

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IMPORTANT: There’s one important qualification here: Don’t use active voice in your post title and headings if it stops you from including the real meaning words at the beginning. This is bad for SEO and scannability. (Read Passive Voice Is Redeemed For Web Headings for more information.) E.g. Say, “Asics Gel runners are worn by more athletes than any other shoe.” Don’t say “More athletes wear Asics Gel runners than any other shoe.”

Provide closure How do you feel when you miss the end of a movie? Or get right to the end of a novel, only to find the last page has been torn out? Ripped off and disappointed, right? Well that’s exactly how readers feel when you don’t provide closure in your post. (Granted, they may not feel as deeply dissatisfied, but the type of feeling is the same.) Interestingly, they may not even know why they feel let down; but they’ll certainly remember they were, and they’ll tend to associate that emotion with your blog. So make sure you tie up all loose ends and summarize. E.g. If you’re posting about the merits of jogging at an aerobic pace, the discussion will be fairly complex. Make sure, when you get to the end, that you summarize your argument and how it leads to your conclusion.

Be positive There’s an old advertising law: focus on the positives, not the negatives. You’ll sell more by talking up the benefits of buying, than you will by harping on the risks of not. (For more on this, read Positive versus negative advertising.) The same applies in blogging. Focusing on the negatives will simply make your blog feel glum and unpleasant. (Unless, of course, your blog is intended to be negative — such as a social critique.) E.g. Many people will be put off by this: “If you’re tired of being overweight and hate how you look at the beach, try this intense workout routine.” But if you put it

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like this, it’s much more palatable: “If you want to be slim and look great at the beach, try this dynamic workout routine.”

Link with active language Ideally, you’ll only use links when you really want the reader to click through. And if that’s what you want, make those links compelling. Use active language, useful detail and key-phrases in the anchor text. E.g. Don’t say, “there’s a great post by John…”, say, “read this great post by John…” Better yet, make it active, informative and search-engine friendly: “read this great tractor post by John…”

Be rhythmic, but not repetitive People respond naturally to rhythm. Song lyrics, nursery rhymes, music… All rhythmic. But while complete rhythm is good for those forms of communication, it’s not so good in blogging. Partial rhythm is good in blogging. Complete rhythm is a little too lulling, a little too repetitive. It distracts the reader from the message, and can even bore them. It sounds contrived and formulaic. So mix things up a little. E.g. This is too rhythmic: “Take the new Toyota Corolla, for example. It’s quiet, economical and environmentally friendly. It’s also stylish, bold and surprisingly spacious. And, of course, it’s safe, speedy and technologically advanced.” Three lists of three closely matching descriptors is just too much. Even two would have been too many. By mixing it up, we can make it far more engaging: “Take the new Toyota Corolla, for example. It’s quiet, economical and environmentally friendly. Not to mention surprisingly spacious. It’s a bold — yet stylish — speedy car, that’s also safe and technologically advanced.”

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Use emotive language Without emotive language (language that makes readers feel a certain way), your post may seem very dry. You don’t have to try and make your reader cry, but you don’t want them to be bored to tears, either! E.g. Talk about how they’ll feel when they do something. “You’ll be surprised…” or “You’ll laugh out loud, I promise.” And use emotional descriptors, or descriptors that are closely associated with emotions: “It was a daunting morning…” or “It seemed the day got a little brighter…” or “It was the same smell as Grandma’s kitchen…”

Use contrast Sometimes the most effective way to explain what something is, is to explain what it is not. (Or to combine both.) E.g. On a parenting blog: “Parenting isn’t something you do; it’s something you are.” Or on a surfing blog: “Jono made all the other boys in the heat look like long-boarders.”

Use repetition Used appropriately, repetition can lend a sense of drama to your post. It can also bring some nice rhythm to your writing. Think along the lines of inspirational speeches. Or even David Attenborough’s narration of the BBC’s Planet Earth documentary. Of course, it doesn’t have to be melodramatic. It’s all in your word choice. E.g. “This really is a camera to get excited about. A camera to drool over. A camera to save up for.”

Signal your professionalism Even if you adopt a conversational style, some colloquialism, slang, humor, or whatever, you should always make sure your reader knows you’re a professional. Intersperse your post with some language that your reader will perceive as professional. Whether it’s a certain way of phrasing things, some meaningful jargon, or just a big word or two.

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Use the right version of English (US / British) Remember, your audience may use a different version of English from what you use (UK vs. US‖. It’s not a showstopper if you use the wrong one, but it will certainly make your post feel less relevant to them. Some commonly mis-used words: US English s / analyze, optimize z re center, liter, meter / er our harbor, behavior, labor / or practice (noun or verb) specialty license (noun or verb) check gray orient tidbit

UK English (used throughout the Commonwealth) analyse, optimise centre, litre, metre harbour, behaviour, labour practise (verb), practice (noun) speciality license (verb), licence (noun) cheque grey orientate titbit

TIP: These are just some of the more common mistakes. Here’s a more comprehensive analysis of UK v US spelling. And another. If your blog targets readers from around the world, with no particular country dominating — which I suspect would be very unusual — pick the version of English you think will offend the fewest people. I don’t have any evidence to support this theory, but I suspect British English users would be quite used to seeing US English, whereas Americans wouldn’t see a lot of British English. So I’d opt for US English, myself.

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Use metaphors Metaphorical language is when we say something is like something else, or that it is something else. It’s a great way to create associations and evoke emotions. If you don’t believe me, once again, think songs and poetry; they’re eternally popular for a reason. E.g. On a body-building blog: “Like you, I’ve been body-building for years, and I’ve seen a lot of big boys. But, I tell you, this guy was a gorilla! Scratch that; he was King Kong!”

Use incomplete sentences for emphasis Sometimes rules just get in the way. For example, a sentence is supposed to express a complete thought, and have a subject (the thing the sentence is about) and a predicate (something about the subject). Usually, complete sentences are hunky-dory, but occasionally, something a little less orthodox is called for. Used appropriately, incomplete (grammatically incorrect) sentences can convey certainty and confidence. E.g. “She played her part convincingly. With heart. With soul. With gusto.” The second, third and fourth sentences, here, aren’t grammatically correct, but they do their job beautifully. (I.e. they reinforce the first sentence.‖ There’s absolutely no need to say, “She played her part convincingly. She played it with heart. She played it with soul. She played it with gusto.”

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Issue a challenge When you issue a challenge, you’re making your post interactive, which is exactly what a conversation should be. You’re also invoking the natural competitive spirit. Just as importantly, you’re conveying your confidence, your open-mindedness, your objectivity and your willingness to be proven wrong. E.g. “I’m in no way affiliated with Sony, and I can honestly say, these headphones pump out the best bass I’ve ever heard. Try them. And if you’ve heard better, come back and let us all know.”

SCANNABILITY RECOMMENDATIONS Lead with the important stuff Make sure visitors who scan can quickly understand what your post is about, and what it offers them. Lead with that information. E.g. If your post is about how to cook healthy, delicious meals with whole wheat pasta, you might start as follows: Post title: Whole wheat pasta: How to make it yummy, not just healthy Post body: I know whole wheat pasta is healthy. But I never knew it could taste great. Until I met Angelo. He showed me some guarded Italian secrets for making it taste every bit as yummy as the white stuff.

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Segment with sub-headings Headings are the most scannable part of your post. They also break up the page, making it less overwhelming. So use them frequently as a way of summarizing what would otherwise be long blocks of text. In fact, you can use sub-headings every paragraph or two, and you still won’t be overdoing it.

Front-load your headings When readers scan your post, they pay a lot of attention to the first two words in your headings, and not a lot of attention to the rest. So you have to make sure your sentences start with the important meaning words. E.g. “German Shepherds: Malicious or misunderstood?”

Use lists instead of long sentences Even if you’re not writing a list post ―e.g. ‘10 ways to improve your love life’‖, lists are an excellent way to break up a page, visually, so readers aren’t overwhelmed by big blocks of text. They’re also great for scan-readers, who are likely to glean a great deal of information from a list, but would glean very little if you constrain the same information to a regular paragraph. E.g. Don’t say this: “There were three main participants in the search engine workshop: small business owners, with zero search experience; marketing managers, looking to expand their search engine experience and make better use of their search budget; and search engine marketing (SEM) managers, looking to update their knowledge with the latest research findings.”

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Say this, instead: “There were three main participants in the search engine workshop: 1. small business owners, with zero search experience; 2. marketing managers, looking to expand their search engine experience and make better use of their search budget; and 3. search engine marketing (SEM) managers, looking to update their knowledge with the latest research findings.”

Signal when the reader can stop reading Readers don’t want to read your whole post. If they can glean everything they need without reading right to the end, they will. So signal where the meat of your post ends. E.g. For a simple numbered list post, without a trailing discussion, the stop-reading signal is the end of the list. For other posts, a ‘Conclusion’ sub-head is a good idea.

Use sentence case for headings Sentence case is where you capitalize the first letter of only the first word and any proper nouns. Just as you would in a sentence. Title case, on the other hand, is where you capitalize all the meaning words in the heading (or, according to some people, all the words in the heading). E.g. This is sentence case: The German influence is obvious These are title case: The German Influence is Obvious The German Influence Is Obvious Why should you use sentence case? Because it’s easier to read. Copywriter and style guide specialist, Sally Bagshaw, offers a very useful summary of why.

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Bold the important bits Bold text grabs the eye. So use it to your advantage, by highlighting key meaning elements. E.g. If you’re debating the merits of a new clinical drug trial, bold the main claim(s) in each paragraph. Then readers will be able to scan the post to see which paragraphs they’d like to read in detail: “For almost two decades, doctors have been advising parents to avoid exposing babies to common allergens (like eggs, peanuts and milk) for as long as possible. The belief was that this would reduce the chance that those children would develop allergies. However, over the past two decades, there has been no corresponding reduction in the number of kids with allergies. So allergy experts now agree that avoiding allergens is not an effective way to minimize the risk of allergy development in children.”

SEO COPY RECOMMENDATIONS Most of the SEO copy recommendations below focus on how to use your key-phrases. (A key-phrase is a phrase you want to rank for.) Whenever we suggest you do something with your key-phrase — like include it in a heading — we mean the exact phrase (all words, order unchanged). It’s important to remember this, because it’s the most effective way to optimize. If you optimize for just some of the words in the phrase, or you reorder it, or you insert words, your results probably won’t be as good. The more competition you face, the more important exactphrase optimization becomes. Note: We discuss key-phrases — not keywords — because we figure you’re trying to rank for a niche phrase, not a single word. Something achievable like, “how to make your own building bricks”, not something insanely difficult, like “bricks”. If, however, you are targeting a single word, just use it when we say “keyphrase”.

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Add your post to a cluster dedicated to the same key-phrase Assume you’re after information on trout fishing in summer, and you stumble across two blogs with likely looking posts. While trying to decide which one to read, you notice that the first blog has a total of 25 posts on trout fishing, whereas the second blog has just the one. Which do you think is more likely to be useful? The one with 25 trout fishing posts, right? Right. Well Google thinks in much the same way. So it’s important to dedicate a group of posts to each of your key-phrases, and to interlink those posts, to help Google ‘see’ the group. This group is known as a ‘cluster’, and the process of grouping is known as ‘clustering’ or ‘theming’. You can cluster your posts by assigning them to a Category, Tagging them, adding internal links within the post body and/or adding a list of links to related posts. E.g. If “trout fishing” is your blog’s most important keyphrase, and you’ve written a post about “trout fishing in summer” (a niche or longtail key-phrase), you’d ideally do one or more of the following: 1. assign your post to the Trout Fishing category; 2. tag your post with “trout fishing in summer”; 3. link to other relevant trout fishing posts you’ve written in the body of your post; and/or 4. include a list of links to other trout fishing articles at the end of your post. If you do all of the above: 

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The Trout Fishing category archive page will automatically link to the post (and the post will automatically link back to the category page).

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

The “trout fishing in summer” tag archive page will automatically link to the post (and depending on your setup, the post may automatically link back to the tag page).



The post will be linked to other related posts.

Do it enough, and you’ll eventually have clusters around your primary key-phrase, your longtail key-phrase, and whatever phrases Google identifies as shared between your interlinked posts. Of course, to do this effectively and strategically, you need to think about your keywords and your clustering strategy long before you starting posting. Note also that by thinking about your keywords before you start posting, you’ll spend far less time optimizing your posts for search engines, and it’ll be far easier to do. TIP: Watch my video blog post on clustering pages around key-phrases.

Use your key-phrase in your post title & headings Just as readers rely on your post title and sub-headings to figure out what your post is about, so too do search engines. (In fact, search engines do it because readers do it.) So make sure you include your most important (primary) key-phrase in your headings, wherever practical.

Target a max of two key-phrases Choose two phrases you’d like the post to rank well for — a primary and a secondary. You can target the primary key-phrase assertively, and the secondary semi-assertively (and none aggressively!). Any more, and your post will start sounding contrived and unnatural and/or Google will have difficulty identifying what it’s about. IMPORTANT: Ideally, as mentioned above, you’ll choose your key-phrases before you even decide the subject of your post.

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Link to related posts & pages A naturally written, helpful post will naturally feature links to other related pages and posts (sometimes targeting the same key-phrases, sometimes not). It will also tend to link out to other related sites. So Google looks at your internal and external links when identifying your post’s subject matter. If, after identifying your most frequently used key-phrases, it finds internal and external links to related posts and pages, that’s one more indication that your post is about its intended subject matter ―it doesn’t just mention it), and that it may actually be useful to searchers. TIP: There are a number of WordPress plugins that automatically list related links. For more information, see my SEO ebook, ‘SEO Secrets’.

Use key-phrases in links Again, because Google focuses on the things that readers focus on, it pays quite a bit of attention to the words used in your links. This is one of the signals it uses to identify your relevance. So try to use the same key-phrases in your links as you targeted in your post. E.g. If you’re posting about home beer brewing methods for tropical regions, and your primary key-phrase is “home beer brewing”, you could link out to a helpful related site with a link like, “Great home beer brewing recipes for the tropics”. And you could link to a related post on your blog with a link like, “Home beer brewing in sub-tropical climates”.

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Forget keyword density Keyword density is an outdated, inaccurate, irrelevant measure of the number of times you’ve used your key-phrase on a particular page. Ignore it. Don’t even calculate it. ―If you don’t know what it is, good! I won’t explain it here.‖ Unfortunately, most people who use keyword density place way too much emphasis on achieving a particular density (e.g. 3%-10%), without any real regard to how that density impedes readability. TIP: If you want to assess your keyword frequency, use a word cloud instead, as discussed below.

Check key-phrase frequency Google doesn’t make sense of your post the way a reader does. It’s nowhere near that smart. Instead, it analyzes the words on the page mathematically. The math is well beyond the scope of this ebook (and beyond the abilities of this author!‖, but when it’s boiled down, one of the more significant factors is key-phrase frequency. Specifically, Google assumes the most frequently used phrases are indicative of your subject matter. So if you use the phrase “WordPress backup plugin” a lot, Google will think your post is about — you guessed it — a WordPress backup plugin. Using a phrase counter To verify that you’ve used your key-phrases enough, copy and paste the text of your post into Ontolo’s Phrase Occurrence Analysis tool. It’ll tell you exactly how many times you’ve used your key-phrase, and how many times you’ve used other phrases.

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E.g. Here are the most frequently used phrases in Blogging Teacher’s Review of the Backup Buddy WordPress Backup plugin.

Using a word cloud For a more visual assessment, generate a word cloud from your post, using Wordle or the more advanced CloudMaker (it allows you to combine words to reduce noise). If you’ve used your key-phrases frequently enough, the individual words of those phrases will be prominent in the cloud. TIP: CloudMaker would see “Backup” and “backup” as the same word, so the cloud would be more helpful than the below. E.g. A word cloud generated with Wordle from the same Blogging Teacher post looks like this:

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Use key-phrases at the start of post title & headings Because scan-readers rely on the first couple of words in a heading, Google does too. So include your key-phrases toward the start of your post title and sub-headings. (Assuming, of course, you can do so without making things difficult for those scan-readers. I.e. If your main meaning words are also key-phrases.) E.g. If your readers are searching for “filter chlorine drinking water”, consider a heading like this: “Filter chlorine: drinking water without the chemicals”.

Bold your key-phrases or their parts Scan-readers and search engines, alike, pay attention to bolded text. Logically, if it’s bolded, it must be key to the post. From Google’s point of view, this means it must be a good indication of the subject matter of the post (and therefore useful for assessing the post’s relevance‖. So, once again, if your exact key-phrases are, in fact, helpful to people who scan read, be sure to bold them. If they’re not, don’t. Perhaps you can bold the individual words (parts) from the key-phrase instead? ―This isn’t as good as bolding the exact key-phrase, but it’s better than neglecting your reader. E.g. If you’re discussing chlorine in drinking water, the exact phrase “filter chlorine drinking water” might be difficult to bold. So instead, you might bold — among other things — its individual parts: “Chlorine in drinking water has been linked to many health problems. It reacts with other chemicals in your water supply, forming toxins that may cause asthma, eczema, bladder cancer and heart disease.” ―Note that I didn’t bold only the individual parts of the key-phrase, because that wouldn’t have provided much meaning to readers.)

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Use key-phrases or their parts in lists Numbered and bulleted lists, like bolded text and headings, generally contain information that is key to the subject matter of the page. As a result, Google pays some attention to lists when assessing relevance, and it’s therefore a good idea to include key-phrases (or parts of those phrases) in lists, if you can. E.g. Again using the drinking water example above, you might have a list of the types of filters available on the market, and the pros and cons of each:   

Charcoal Water Filters — blah blah blah… Ceramic Water Filters — blah blah blah… Ultraviolet Water Filters — blah blah blah…

GRAMMAR PITFALLS TIP: For each error you find in your post, you lose points.

Your To shorten “you are”, use “you’re”, not “your”. Many people will notice if you get it wrong. Use “your” to indicate ownership. Correct use:  

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“You’re driving very fast.” “I like your new car.”

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their

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here

Correct use:   

“The boys rode their bikes.” “They rode over there.” ―A good way to remember: “here” and “there” look very similar, and both refer to a place.) “Now they’re going to ride back.” ―Shortening of “they are”.‖

oo Correct use:  

“The boys went to the shops.” “The girls went too.”

its Only use “it’s” if you’re shortening “it is”. You don’t use it to indicate ownership. Correct use:  

“The dog chased its ball.” “It’s a very fast dog.”

Then instead of

han

Correct use:  

“He is bigger than her.” “But she will chew him up then spit him out.”

ffect

ffect

Correct use:  

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“How will the storm affect business?” ―“Affect” is a verb — a doing word.) “What was the effect of the storm?” ―“Effect” is a noun — a thing.)

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e Correct use:  

“Philip, James and I went to the shop.” “Give it to Philip, James and me.” TIP: Remove the other people from the sentence, and you’ll know immediately which to use.

dvice

dvise

Correct use:  

“I advise you to read this book.” “That is my advice.”

ompliments omplements Correct use:   

“Please accept this bottle of wine, with our compliments.” “He gave me some very nice compliments.” “That shirt complements your trousers.”

ractice Correct use, US English:  

“He owns a law practice.” “Practice makes perfect.”

Correct use, British English:  

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“He owns a law practice.” “Practise makes perfect.”

ractise

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icense

Correct use, US English:  

“He has a driver’s license.” “He is licensed to drive.”

Correct use, British English:  

“He has a driving licence.” “He is licensed to drive.”

Lay

ie

Correct use:  

“Lie down on the bed, dear.” (Present tense — now.) “She lay down beside him.” Or “She lay the shirt next to the pillow.” ―Past tense — something that has already happened)

ll right

lright

Many old-school grammarians still argue that it’s never OK to use “alright”. But languages evolve, and English has evolved to the point that “alright” is now alright, in most contexts. “Alright means” OK. “All right” means all correct. Correct use:  

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“She fell over, but she’s alright now.” “Her answers were all right, so she scored 100%”

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ACME Inc are

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ACME Inc is

Companies are single entities. So you should always use “is”, just as you would if you replaced the company name with a single person’s name. Correct use: 

“ACME Inc is a very successful company.”

Note that the rule for “team” is slightly different. Even though a team (like a company) is a single entity, there are times when you may say “the team” but you’re really saying something about all of the individuals in the team.  

“The team is very efficient.” “The team are fighting among themselves.”

ho “Who” is for people. “That” is for things and animals. Correct use:  

“It was Jane who said yes.” “It was the dog that bit her.”

Different

ead om

“Different to” is always wrong. “Different from” is always right. “Different than” is wrong unless you’re talking about degrees of difference. Correct use:  

“My hat is different from yours.” “My hat is more different than yours.”

Bored

with

“Bored of” is technically wrong, but it appears it is gaining acceptance. Correct use: 

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“I’m bored with work.”

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Clear use: 

“She likes only two people.” ―This means of all the people in the world, there are only two she likes.)

Ambiguous use: 

“She only likes two people.” ―Although this is probably intended to mean the same as the example above, and will usually be interpreted correctly, technically it means that she merely likes the two people. i.e. She doesn’t love them. It doesn’t say anything about how she feels about the rest of the people in the world.)

Over“That” is one of the most commonly over-used words. E.g. “She told me that she loved me.” There’s no need for “that” in this sentence. Correct use: 

“She told me she loved me.”

In

hat

hich

This is one of the trickier ones to understand, because it’s quite subtle. “That” introduces information that’s essential to the meaning of the sentence, whereas “which” introduces information that’s merely incidental. Correct use: 

“The computers that we fixed are working beautifully.” In this case, “that” introduces an essential clause: “that we fixed”. This clause is essential to the meaning of the sentence. Without it, the meaning would be different. “The computers are working beautifully” is not the meaning of the original sentence.

48

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2



Recommendations

“The computers, which we fixed, are working beautifully.” Here, “which” introduces a non-essential clause: “which we fixed”. This clause is not essential to the meaning of the sentence. Without it, the meaning would be the same. “The computers are working beautifully” is the meaning of the original sentence. The fact that they were fixed is merely incidental.

Most of the time, “that” will be the right choice, and it won’t require any commas. (On the odd occasions when you do use “which”, it’ll normally be preceded by a comma.) So if you’re using “that”, you’re probably right. It’s usually only when you find yourself using “which” that you have to think about this rule.

WHAT NEXT? So now you know the theory, complete the electronic scorecard on p.50 (or print it or the single page scorecard on p.58) and try scoring one of your posts… OR If you’d like a little further guidance, take a look at the Worked Example on p.62, where we score a post of Darren’s and discuss our reasoning.

49

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

Your scorecard

YOUR SCORECARD

Good Bad

IMPORTANT: You need Adobe Reader to use this electronic scorecard. Download Adobe Reader. Select Yes or No for each row in your electronic scorecard and it will automatically calculate your total. (Or you can print a scorecard and fill it in by hand: 3-page or 1-page.)

DID YOU DO THIS IN YOUR POST?

50

YES/NO

Make your intro easy to read

(see p.22)

Select

Write as much as you need to, but no more

(see p.22)

Select

Use “you”, not “the reader”

(see p.22)

Select

Write effective headings

(see p.23)

Select

Tell a story

(see p.23)

Select

Answer the questions your reader will probably ask

(see p.24)

Select

Provide a call to action

(see p.24)

Select

Show you understand the reader’s situation

(see p.24)

Select

Show some personality

(see p.25)

Select

Be open and honest

(see p.25)

Select

Use contractions

(see p.26)

Select

Use short sentences for impact

(see p.26)

Select

Promise an outcome

(see p.27)

Select

Ask “Yes” questions

(see p.27)

Select

Use active language

(see p.27)

Select

Provide closure

(see p.28)

Select

Be positive

(see p.28)

Select

Link with active language

(see p.29)

Select

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

Your scorecard

DID YOU DO THIS IN YOUR POST?

51

YES/NO

Be rhythmic, but not repetitive

(see p.29)

Select

Use emotive language

(see p.30)

Select

Use contrast

(see p.30)

Select

Use repetition

(see p.30)

Select

Signal your professionalism

(see p.30)

Select

Use the right version of English (US / British)

(see p.31)

Select

Use metaphors

(see p.32)

Select

Use incomplete sentences for emphasis

(see p.32)

Select

Issue a challenge

(see p.33)

Select

Lead with the important stuff

(see p.33)

Select

Segment with sub-headings

(see p.34)

Select

Front-load your headings

(see p.34)

Select

Use lists instead of long sentences

(see p.34)

Select

Signal when the reader can stop reading

(see p.35)

Select

Use sentence case for headings

(see p.35)

Select

Bold the important bits

(see p.36)

Select

Add your post to a cluster dedicated to the same key-phrase

(see p.37)

Select

Use your key-phrase in your post title & headings

(see p.38)

Select

Target a max of two key-phrases

(see p.38)

Select

Link to related posts & pages

(see p.39)

Select

Use key-phrases in links

(see p.39)

Select

Forget keyword density

(see p.40)

Select

Check key-phrase frequency

(see p.40)

Select

Use key-phrases at the start of post title & headings

(see p.42)

Select

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

Your scorecard

DID YOU DO THIS IN YOUR POST?

YES/NO

Bold your key-phrases or their parts

(see p.42)

Select

Use key-phrases or their parts in lists

(see p.43)

Select

“Your” instead of “you’re”

(see p.43)

Select

Incorrect use of “their”, “there” or “they’re”

(see p.44)

Select

“To” instead of “too”

(see p.44)

Select

“It’s” instead of “its”

(see p.44)

Select

“Then” instead of “than”

(see p.44)

Select

Incorrect use of “effect” or “affect”

(see p.44)

Select

Incorrect use of “me” or “I”

(see p.45)

Select

Incorrect use of “advice” or “advise”

(see p.45)

Select

Incorrect use of “compliments” or “complements”

(see p.45)

Select

Incorrect use of “practice” or “practise”

(see p.45)

Select

Incorrect use of “licence” or “license”

(see p.46)

Select

“Lay” instead of “lie”

(see p.46)

Select

Incorrect use of “all right” or “alright”

(see p.46)

Select

“ACME Inc are” instead of “ACME Inc is”

(see p.47)

Select

“That” instead of “who”

(see p.47)

Select

“Different to” or “different than” instead of “different from”

(see p.47)

Select

“Bored of” instead of “bored with”

(see p.47)

Select

Ambiguous positioning of “only”

(see p.48)

Select

Over-use of “that”

(see p.48)

Select

Incorrect use of “that” or “which”

(see p.48)

Select

TOTAL

0 100

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The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

Your scorecard

WHAT YOUR SCORE MEANS This scorecard system is quite simple: the higher your score, the better your writing is likely to be. If you scored poorly, it’s likely you have a bit of work to do. If you scored very well, there’s a good chance you have only to refine your skills. However, as stressed in the introduction of this ebook, your score is a guideline, not a verdict. You may, for instance, have such a knack with words and such amazing audience empathy, that readers will love your work, regardless of your score. Alternatively, you may score well here, but still not manage to resonate with readers, for one reason or another. (Perhaps you tried to squeeze too many recommendations in, and they didn’t mesh well?‖ The only truly accurate way to assess the quality of your writing is to publish it for an audience. Let your readers decide. Having said that, the recommendations throughout this book are common features in most great copywriting. Assuming you combine them with some degree of sophistication, your score should approximate the quality of your writing. Your score

How to improve

81 to 100

Your writing is most likely excellent. If you don’t already, you’ll probably soon have quite a loyal audience. Continue refining your skills by focusing on the 1-point recommendations throughout this book.

61 to 80

Your writing seems very good. With a little practice, it should become excellent. Focus on avoiding the 1 & 2-point grammatical errors, and concentrate on the 1 & 2-point recommendations throughout this book.

41 to 60

Your writing shows promise. By concentrating on eliminating the 2-point errors and improving on the 2-point recommendations, you should improve quite quickly.

21 to 40

To effectively engage and retain a blog audience, you’ll most likely need to improve your writing a bit. Focus on implementing the 2 & 3-point recommendations, and eliminating the 2 & 3-point errors.

-41 to 20

It’s likely you have quite a bit of work to do before your writing is good enough to make good blog content. Keep practicing, and focus specifically on adopting the 3point recommendations throughout this book, and eliminating the 3-point errors.

53

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

CONCLUSION Blogging can be a fun, creative, lucrative job, with a lot of freedom. But that doesn’t mean it’s always easy. Like copywriting, it can be very, very tricky. You have to be very clear about your own objectives, as well as those of your audience. And you have to be prepared to work at it. To write — a lot. To rewrite, again and again. And to edit ruthlessly. This ebook and your blogging scorecard will help you greatly, in each of those departments. It’s no silver bullet, but it will give you a strong and reliable foundation, and quantifiable goals to work toward.

BREAK ANY OF THESE RULES WHEN YOU NEED TO All good writers know it’s OK to break the rules. When you need to. Indeed, it’s often the broken rules that make your piece most effective. Obviously it’s best if you know the rules before you break them, but please feel free to use and abuse some / most / all of the above recommendations however suits your purpose. So long as you understand them, I’m more than happy for you to ignore them, whenever you have a good reason, and the reader will benefit from your sins. In fact, I’ll applaud you for it!

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF — LET IT HAPPEN Whatever your score here, there’s one thing you must always remember. (And this is the only rule you CANNOT break.) Always believe in yourself. I’ve been a professional writer for more than 17 years, and during that time, I’ve written badly countless times. I’ve encountered numerous big problems in my own writing style and approach. And I’ve seen many writers who can write in ways I just can’t. But my belief in what I am good at has prevented those failings and shortfalls from becoming showstoppers. Instead they’re merely hurdles. I’ve never questioned my ability as a writer; I’ve only ever questioned specific writing skills. I’ve acknowledged my weaknesses, recognized my strengths, and learned when to stop flogging a dead horse.

54

Conclusion

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

Conclusion

Like me, you have your own style. You have your own appeal to readers. Whether or not you know that style yet, or that appeal, they’re there. Believe in them, and yourself. Keep working at it, and the rest of the pieces will fall into place. (Usually when you least expect it!)

GET HELP IF YOU NEED IT If you feel you need some copywriting training, we can highly recommend the following organizations:   

CopyBlogger and Michel Fortin (US) Men With Pens (Canada) Divine Write, Magneto and Write Minded (Australia)

HAVE FUN So. Now go and have some fun with your writing. Think of unique ways of combining these recommendations. Ways that reflect you, your message and your style. Ways that make you chuckle. Not necessarily because the outcome is funny, but because you’re just amused at how clever you are! That’s what I do, anyway.

55

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

KEEP IN TOUCH Thanks for grabbing a copy of THE COPYWRITING SCORECARD for BLOGGERS. I trust you’ve found it helpful in improving the quality of your blogging.

CONTINUE TO IMPROVE YOUR BLOGGING If you’d like to continue to improve your blogging and your writing skills, in general, we’d love for you to connect with us, wherever works for you.   

Subscribe to our blogs — Subscribe to ProBlogger.net or subscribe to the Divine Write blog. Follow us on Twitter — Follow Darren or follow Glenn. Follow us on Facebook — Visit the ProBlogger Facebook page or visit the Divine Write Facebook page.

TELL A FRIEND If you’ve enjoyed this ebook, we’d love for you to share news of it with a friend. Not only do we think they’ll thank you for helping them improve their blogging, but it enables us to keep improving the ebook itself. 



Email a friend — Share this link with any friends and colleagues who you think might appreciate learning how to improve their blogging: http://www.problogger.net/scorecard Tweet about it — Click here to tweet the following message: “Just read @problogger’s ebook, The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers. Highly recommend it. http://www.problogger.net/scorecard”

Thanks again for grabbing a copy of our ebook. Happy blogging! Darren Rowse & Glenn Murray

56

Keep in touch

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

50% off our other ebooks

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Remember, this is an exclusive offer just for you, as a ProBlogger Scorecard buyer. Use the code “Scorecard” ―without the quotes‖ to get your 50% discount.

57

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

Appendix

APPENDIX 3-PAGE PRINTABLE SCORECARD Print and complete this scorecard each time you blog. (Go to single page scorecard.)

YES

DID YOU DO THIS IN YOUR POST?

NO

Circle your score

Make your intro easy to read

(see p.22)

3

0

Write as much as you need to, but no more

(see p.22)

3

0

Use “you”, not “the reader”

(see p.22)

3

0

Write effective headings

(see p.23)

3

0

Tell a story

(see p.23)

3

0

Answer the questions your reader will probably ask

(see p.24)

3

0

Provide a call to action

(see p.24)

3

0

Show you understand the reader’s situation

(see p.24)

3

0

Show some personality

(see p.25)

3

0

Be open and honest

(see p.25)

3

0

Use contractions

(see p.26)

3

0

Use short sentences for impact

(see p.26)

3

0

Promise an outcome

(see p.27)

2

0

Ask “Yes” questions

(see p.27)

2

0

Use active language

(see p.27)

2

0

Provide closure

(see p.28)

2

0

Be positive

(see p.28)

2

0

Link with active language

(see p.29)

2

0

Be rhythmic, but not repetitive

(see p.29)

2

0

Use emotive language

(see p.30)

2

0

Use contrast

(see p.30)

2

0

58

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

Appendix

YES

DID YOU DO THIS IN YOUR POST?

NO

Circle your score

Use repetition

(see p.30)

2

0

Signal your professionalism

(see p.30)

2

0

Use the right version of English (US / British)

(see p.31)

2

0

Use metaphors

(see p.32)

1

0

Use incomplete sentences for emphasis

(see p.32)

1

0

Issue a challenge

(see p.33)

1

0

Lead with the important stuff

(see p.33)

3

0

Segment with sub-headings

(see p.34)

3

0

Front-load your headings

(see p.34)

2

0

Use lists instead of long sentences

(see p.34)

2

0

Signal when the reader can stop reading

(see p.35)

1

0

Use sentence case for headings

(see p.35)

1

0

Bold the important bits

(see p.36)

1

0

Add your post to a cluster dedicated to the same key-phrase

(see p.37)

3

0

Use your key-phrase in your post title & headings

(see p.38)

3

0

Target a max of two key-phrases

(see p.38)

3

0

Link to related posts & pages

(see p.39)

3

0

Use key-phrases in links

(see p.39)

3

0

Forget keyword density

(see p.40)

3

0

Check key-phrase frequency

(see p.40)

2

0

Use key-phrases at the start of post title & headings

(see p.42)

2

0

Bold your key-phrases or their parts

(see p.42)

1

0

Use key-phrases or their parts in lists

(see p.43)

1

0

59

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

Appendix

YES

DID YOU DO THIS IN YOUR POST?

NO

Circle your score

“Your” instead of “you’re”

(see p.43)

-3

0

Incorrect use of “their”, “there” or “they’re”

(see p.44)

-3

0

“To” instead of “too”

(see p.44)

-3

0

“It’s” instead of “its”

(see p.44)

-3

0

“Then” instead of “than”

(see p.44)

-3

0

Incorrect use of “effect” or “affect”

(see p.44)

-3

0

Incorrect use of “me” or “I”

(see p.45)

-3

0

Incorrect use of “advice” or “advise”

(see p.45)

-3

0

Incorrect use of “compliments” or “complements”

(see p.45)

-2

0

Incorrect use of “practice” or “practise”

(see p.45)

-2

0

Incorrect use of “licence” or “license”

(see p.46)

-2

0

“Lay” instead of “lie”

(see p.46)

-2

0

Incorrect use of “all right” or “alright”

(see p.46)

-2

0

“ACME Inc are” instead of “ACME Inc is”

(see p.47)

-1

0

“That” instead of “who”

(see p.47)

-1

0

“Different to” or “different than” instead of “different from”

(see p.47)

-1

0

“Bored of” instead of “bored with”

(see p.47)

-1

0

Ambiguous positioning of “only”

(see p.48)

-1

0

Over-use of “that”

(see p.48)

-1

0

Incorrect use of “that” or “which”

(see p.48)

-1

0

TOTAL for your post (out of a maximum of 100 points)

60

(print your total here)

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

Appendix

1-PAGE PRINTABLE SCORECARD YES

DID YOU DO THIS IN YOUR POST?

TOTAL for your post (out of a maximum of 100 points)

61

NO Circle your score

Make your intro easy to read Write as much as you need to, but no more Use “you”, not “the reader” Write effective headings Tell a story Answer the questions your reader will probably ask Provide a call to action Show you understand the reader’s situation Show some personality Be open and honest Use contractions Use short sentences for impact Promise an outcome Ask “Yes” questions Use active language Provide closure Be positive Link with active language Be rhythmic, but not repetitive Use emotive language Use contrast Use repetition Signal your professionalism Use the right version of English (US / British) Use metaphors Use incomplete sentences for emphasis Issue a challenge Lead with the important stuff Segment with sub-headings Front-load your headings Use lists instead of long sentences Signal when the reader can stop reading Use sentence case for headings Bold the important bits Add your post to a cluster dedicated to the same key-phrase Use your key-phrase in your post title & headings Target a max of two key-phrases Link to related posts & pages Use key-phrases in links Forget keyword density Check key-phrase frequency Use key-phrases at the start of post title & headings Bold your key-phrases or their parts Use key-phrases or their parts in lists “Your” instead of “you’re” Incorrect use of “their”, “there” or “they’re” “To” instead of “too” “It’s” instead of “its” “Then” instead of “than” Incorrect use of “effect” or “affect” Incorrect use of “me” or “I” Incorrect use of “advice” or “advise” Incorrect use of “compliments” or “complements” Incorrect use of “practice” or “practise” Incorrect use of “licence” or “license” “Lay” instead of “lie” Incorrect use of “all right” or “alright” “ACME Inc are” instead of “ACME Inc is” “That” instead of “who” “Different to” or “different than” instead of “different from” “Bored of” instead of “bored with” Ambiguous positioning of “only” Over-use of “that” Incorrect use of “that” or “which”

(see p.22) (see p.22) (see p.22) (see p.23) (see p.23) (see p.24) (see p.24) (see p.24) (see p.25) (see p.25) (see p.26) (see p.26) (see p.27) (see p.27) (see p.27) (see p.28) (see p.28) (see p.29) (see p.29) (see p.30) (see p.30) (see p.30) (see p.30) (see p.31) (see p.32) (see p.32) (see p.33) (see p.33) (see p.34) (see p.34) (see p.34) (see p.35) (see p.35) (see p.36) (see p.37) (see p.38) (see p.38) (see p.39) (see p.39) (see p.40) (see p.40) (see p.42) (see p.42) (see p.43) (see p.43) (see p.44) (see p.44) (see p.44) (see p.44) (see p.44) (see p.45) (see p.45) (see p.45) (see p.45) (see p.46) (see p.46) (see p.46) (see p.47) (see p.47) (see p.47) (see p.47) (see p.48) (see p.48) (see p.48)

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

(print your total here)

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

Appendix

WORKED EXAMPLE We scored one of Darren’s posts ―Calls to Action – 12 Tips To SNAP Readers Out of Passivity) and added a discussion of our reasoning. This should help you complete your own scorecard.

DARREN DID IT…

―Note that we’ve since updated the post. Here’s a screenshot of the post as it was when we scored it.)

DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST?

Right Wrong

You can’t change these. They’re Darren’s answers.

Make your intro easy to read Darren’s intro is 1 sentence, with just 12 words, 1 idea and simple phrasing.

Write as much as you need to, but no more Although Darren’s post is more than 2000 words long, it’s not bloated. It’s informative, but succinct. It all needs to be there. Some examples:

Example 1

Darren says only that he’s going to discuss how to significantly increase interactivity. He doesn’t expand on that because he knows his audience understands what “interactivity” means. ―A bloated post might go on to say, “How to get people commenting on, retweeting, Liking, Stumbling or Digging your post.”

Example 2

Here Darren chooses not to expand on the concept of ‘steps’ and ‘points’, presumably because they’re peripheral to his main point. Instead, he links to some examples.

62

YES/NO

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Use “you”, not “the reader” Darren has used “you” or a variation ―like “your” or “you’re”‖ 80 times in his post:

Example:

Write effective headings In his post title, Darren appeals to his readers’ self-interest by promising an outcome all bloggers want. He also piques their curiosity by heralding 12 tips; readers will wonder what those steps are, and if they’re doing them all. And finally, he hints at a quick easy way — he offers tips, not a lengthy strategy. Tips are easy to understand and implement. ―Note that he’d still have scored 3 points, even if he’d done only 1 of these things.)

63

Appendix

YES/NO

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Tell a story Darren uses a story about his own experience to engage readers by showing he understands their situation, and implying that they can improve and become successful, just as he has.

Answer the questions your reader will probably ask With a headline like ‘Calls to Action – 12 Tips To SNAP Readers Out of Passivity’, I think it’s a fairly safe assumption that readers will be asking questions like, “What is passivity?”, “How do calls to action snap readers out of it?”, and “How can I do this myself?” Darren anticipates all of these questions in his post, and answers them with a section dedicated to each:

64

Appendix

YES/NO

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Provide a call to action No prizes for guessing that Darren’s example post has a call to action. It’s about calls to action, after all! As you can see below, he dedicates a

heading, at the end of his post, to prompting readers to engage in a comment discussion. That’s the main call to action. He also has a number of secondary calls to action.

65

Appendix

YES/NO

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Show you understand the reader’s situation Darren’s second paragraph shows clearly he understands the reader’s situation:

Then there’s this:

Show some personality The second example above, about passive readers getting him down, is one way Darren shows personality in this post. It’s excellent because sharing is a great way to make people feel closer to you. But it’s not the only personality he shows.

Example 1

Example 2

66

Appendix

YES/NO

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Be open and honest One of Darren’s greatest strengths as a blogger is his openness and honesty. He’s perceived, worldwide, as a genuine person, and that’s partly because he’s not afraid to discuss his weaknesses, share his mistakes and admit when he’s wrong.

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

67

Appendix

YES/NO

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Use contractions Darren uses 5 contractions in just his second paragraph, and across the entire post, he has a total of 45.

First paragraph:

Entire post: Here’s a word cloud generated from all 45 contractions in the post (courtesy of Wordle.net.)

This should have been a contraction Note that although Darren scores full points on this recommendation, I still think he should have used “it’s” instead of “it is” below. There are 4 or 5 other places where he’s used “it is”; I think they should all be “it’s”.

68

Appendix

YES/NO

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Use short sentences for impact There are only 2 impactful short sentences in this post. But they’re good ones:

Promise an outcome Darren promises an outcome up-front, in his headline. (The promised outcome is the ability to snap readers out of passivity.)

Ask “Yes” questions

Example 1

Ironically, Darren’s first ‘yes question’ relates to a negative emotion. It’s ironic because I say to use ‘yes questions’ to get the reader responding positively to you. It is, nonetheless, a question to which many readers will answer “yes.”

Example 2

The answer here isn’t “yes”; it’s more like, “Yeah! Why do we do that?” But that’s still a yes type of answer.

69

Appendix

YES/NO

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Use active language

Example 1

The passive version of this sentence would be, “If you want people to comment, they must be invited to do it.”

Example 2

The passive version would be, “… I saw similar things as readers were ‘asked’ to do other things…” Provide closure In this post, Darren doesn’t use a Conclusion as the closure device. Instead, he uses his main call to action. This can be an effective technique: it saves space, and quite often people won’t read the conclusion anyway, especially if the rest of the post is very scannable ―as Darren’s is‖.

The heading clearly signifies that the lesson is over, and the paragraph following draws all Darren’s points together as “my experience”. All neat ‘n tidy.

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Be positive Although Darren focuses on some negatives in the post, he does start on a very positive note. (And remember, he is discussing a blogging problem; it’d be virtually impossible for him not to touch on some negatives.)

Firstly, a call to action is an active, encouraging device. So just seeing “calls to action” as the first words lends an air of positivity to the post. Then we have the whole ‘SNAPPING readers out of passivity’ thing. This is actually a very clever piece of wording. Very clever. The more I think about it, the more I like it. ‘SNAP’ and ‘passive’ are like polar opposites, so whatever those 12 tips are, they must be bloody good! A more negative headline might be: “Why are readers so passive? And what can be done about it.” Obviously the post itself is a discussion of how to improve, as well, so that’s also a positive.

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Link with active language This post contains links in the actual body of the post. 3 contain active language, 2 are neutral, which is good enough for full points.

Example 1 — Active

―The passive version would be “series about the creation of blog posts” or something equally silly)

Example 2 — Active

―The passive version would be “posts that are made to matter” somehow combined with “purposes identified”… Obviously not very realistic, but you get the idea.‖

Example 3 — Neutral

―The link would be better if the whole sentence were changed to “See how I do this in my Group Writing Projects; it works quite well there.”

Example 4 — Active

Could be made better by commanding or imploring the reader to do something. E.g. By changing the entire sentence to, “Learn how to craft blog posts, by reading this series…”.

Example 5

Definitely the weakest in the post, this link offers no meaning. Ideally the entire sentence should be made a link.

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Be rhythmic, but not repetitive Darren’s rhythm is slightly out in this post. In fact, there are a couple of places where it’s actually a little jarring:

Example 1

For a more pleasing rhythm, Darren should have used 3 questions, here, not 2. Like this: “What’s the purpose of your post? What do you want readers to do as a result of reading it? What do they want to do? Answer these questions…”

Example 2

I’d prefer: “I asked for comments, I pointed to my RSS feed, I pointed to my newsletter. I even asked people to link to the post…” You’ll see I: 1. Added “I” to each clause ―“I pointed to my…”, “I asked…”‖. 2. Turned clause 2 ―“pointed to my RSS feed and newsletter”‖ into 2 separate clauses ―“I pointed to my RSS feed, I pointed to my newsletter…”‖ 3. Turned the final clause into a standalone sentence and added “even” ―“I even asked people to link to the post.”‖ The result:  An easier reading experience, with a long, staccato, list of 3 items ―“I, I, I”‖, that’s softened by the following short, smooth, single item ―“I even…”‖.  A focus on “I”, which highlights the rhythm and implies an admission of selfishness — a focus on Darren’s needs, not his reader’s needs.  4 clearly discussed calls to action, which better shows how much Darren was asking of his readers.

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Use emotive language Darren uses emotive language well. It’s one of the things that’s always made him sound genuine.

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Use contrast Darren just scrapes in with this one. Technically, all of the following use contrast, but only the second is half-way decent.

Example 1

“You’re not alone” uses contrast, but because it’s a common expression ―cliché‖ the contrast has lost most of its impact.

Example 2

“I’m by no means a copy writing expert…” is definitely the best of the bunch. It’s clear, original and the thing that he is not (a copywriting expert) offers us an insight into what he actually is.

Example 3

Darren reinforces the benefits of a simple next step by offering an alternative that happens to be the exact opposite of simplicity. Note that while all of the above are technically examples of contrast, I would rather see some more stark comparisons. Like this: “It was a far cry from New York, but it still made Sydney look like the 19th World Scout Jamboree.” When the contrast is very marked, you paint a much clearer picture.

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Use repetition Darren knew his second paragraph had to work hard to grab and keep the reader’s attention, and he’s used repetition to do the job.

He’s successful here, but only just… By using “they ‗don’t do something‘” 6 times, he went dangerously close to sounding repetitive. (Any more than 3-4 is usually risky.) But he gets away with it because he also uses some softening devices in-between. He:  Varies the negative, using “never”, “don’t” and “won’t”.  Varies the length and complexity of each. ―E.g. “They never comment” is short and simple, whereas “they won’t subscribe to your feed or newsletters” is long and more complex.)  Opts for a slightly modified, “most of them will never…”, instead of using “they won’t” or “they don’t”.  Makes sure the final repeat is simple: “and most of them will never come back.” A plain-English, no-sugar-coating summary of the most important outcome. Still, it’s a little too close for comfort. I’d have written it like this: “They never comment. Or vote in polls. Or buy the affiliate products you recommend. They won’t bookmark your post, subscribe to your feed, sign up for your newsletters or email your link to their friends. And most of them will never come back.” See how the first 2 sentences are short and punchy, the third is slightly longer, the fourth is long and flowing, and the last is sudden and ‘alone’? There’s enough repetition in the first 4 to be rhythmic, but not enough to be repetitive. The long sentences counter the short, and the short highlight the ‘musicality’ of the long. There’s balance, throughout. Until, that is, you get to the very last sentence. Its suddenness and brevity — its loneliness — make it stand out, like a bell tolling, to drive home its point.

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Signal your professionalism Darren definitely does this…. He occasionally uses complex words like “passivity”:

He quickly establishes his understanding of the blogging domain:

He employs a logical structure:

He positions the post as part of something bigger:

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Use the right version of English (US / British) Darren’s biggest audience is the US, and, yes, he uses US English.

Example 1

Example 2

Use metaphors Yep, Darren uses metaphorical language.

Example 1

Example 2

Use incomplete sentences for emphasis

Issue a challenge Although Darren does ask for reader examples, he doesn’t technically issue any challenges in this post.

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Lead with the important stuff Darren’s headline definitely helps scan-readers quickly identify what his post is about. In fact, every single word pertains to either the post’s subject matter or its purpose.

Then, of course, the intro and image describe the passivity problem in greater detail:

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Segment with sub-headings Yep, plenty of sub-headings here. 17 of them, in fact — each clearly heralding the information to come. Here’s just a taste:

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Front-load your headings Every one of Darren’s major headings is front-loaded with meaning. The first few words are key to understanding what the following section is about.

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

Example 5

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Use lists instead of long sentences Definitely full marks here. Darren has incorporated 2 bulleted lists. (Not to mention the fact that the post itself is a list-type post: “12 tips to…”.‖

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Signal when the reader can stop reading Although Darren obviously wants his readers to heed his call to action, it’s actually the call to action that tells readers the lesson is over. That doesn’t mean they won’t heed it; it just means they know they’ve read what they came to read.

Use sentence case for headings Darren uses title case for his headings. (He capitalizes all meaning words.) So no points!

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Bold the important bits Although I’d like to have seen Darren use bolding a little differently, he does bold one his posts most important takeaways. So full marks.

Add your post to a cluster dedicated to the same key-phrase Darren’s key-phrase for this page was “call to action”. His Related Posts plugin has identified 3 other posts that target this phrase too (more or less). This means he has a 4-post cluster around the key-phrase, “call to action”, complete with interlinking to help Google ‘see’ the cluster. So he scores full marks.

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Use your key-phrase in your post title & headings Darren’s key-phrase is “call to action”, but he has unintentionally optimized his post title and headings for “calls to action” — with an “s”. Yes, Google’s smart enough to know that “calls to action” is the plural of “call to action”. And, yes, it’s technically capable of returning pages optimized for the plural when someone searches for the singular. But in practice, that just doesn’t happen for this search query. ―See for yourself. Even when you Google something very specific like “call to action blog post problogger”, this post doesn’t rank.‖ So Darren scores a big zero!

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

And so on… Note that this mistake has a significant flow-on effect, because on Problogger — as on many blogs — the post title is automatically used as the page’s Title tag, which is the only really important HTML meta tag insofar as rankings are concerned. So now Darren’s Title tag is incorrectly optimized too!

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Target a max of two key-phrases Although Darren’s stated key-phrase for this page is “call to action”, when you analyze what phrases are used most frequently ―and where‖, you quickly see he’s targeting two phrases — albeit unintentionally.

Phrase frequency

As you can see, “calls to action” and “call to action” are by far the most frequently used phrases on the page. (This analysis courtesy of Ontolo’s Phrase Occurrence Analysis tool.) So because he’s targeting only 2 key-phrases, Darren scores full marks.

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Link to related posts & pages The Problogger blog uses a plugin to automatically generate a list of related posts and append it to the end of the post. This post, like every other, has this list by default:

The post also includes 5 links within the body content, each of which points to a related post. So full marks here! Use key-phrases in links None of the links Darren inserted himself (manually) actually contain key-phrases. And although 2 of the automatically generated Related Links contain parts of his keyphrase, it’d be far better if they contained the exact key-phrase. So we’ll have to call this a fail.

Forget keyword density I know for a fact that Darren never uses keyword density as a metric to guide his optimization. Definitely full marks here! Check key-phrase frequency I also know for a fact that Darren doesn’t use a phrase counter or word cloud to assess keyword frequency. So no points on this one.

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Use key-phrases at the start of post title & headings Although Darren went close here, he hasn’t done it. His actual target key-phrase was “call to action”, but his post title and most of his headings are optimized for “calls to action” — the plural form. So no points, I’m afraid.

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

And so on…

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Bold your key-phrases or their parts Darren just sneaks in on this one. He hasn’t bolded his entire key-phrase anywhere on the page, but he has bolded the word “action” a number of times. So he scores a point (but only by the skin of his teeth).

Use key-phrases or their parts in lists Again, Darren just qualifies for a point here. As you can see in the above screen capture, he has bolded the word “action” in his list of reasons why calls to action are important.

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? “Your” instead of “you’re” Darren uses “you’re” whenever he contracting “you are”. So he loses no points.

Incorrect use of “their”, “there” or “they’re” Darren uses “their” and “there” appropriately, and doesn’t use “they’re” at all. No loss of points.

Example of “their”

Example of “there”

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? “To” instead of “too” Darren uses “to” and “too” appropriately. No deduction of points.

Example of “to”

Examples of “too”

“It’s” instead of “its” Darren doesn’t use “its” at all, and he uses “it’s” perfectly. Loses no points.

“Then” instead of “than” All appropriate usage. Doesn’t use “then” at all, and uses “than” properly. No points lost.

Incorrect use of “effect” or “affect” Neither used, so no points lost.

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Incorrect use of “me” or “I” Darren doesn’t use any sentences that put him at risk of mixing his “me’s” and “I’s”. In every instance, it’s easy to tell which to use. So he loses no points.

Example of “me”

Example of “I”

Incorrect use of “advice” or “advise” Again, appropriate use of “advice”, and no use of “advise”. No deduction.

Example of “advice”

Incorrect use of “compliments” or “complements” Neither used, so no points lost. Incorrect use of “practice” or “practise” Neither used, so no points lost. Incorrect use of “licence” or “license” Neither used, so no points lost. “Lay” instead of “lie” Neither used, so no points lost.

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Incorrect use of “all right” or “alright” Neither used, so no points lost. “ACME Inc are” instead of “ACME Inc is” Darren doesn’t use any sentences that put him at risk of confusing “is” and “are”. In every instance, it would have been easy to tell which to use. So he loses no points.

Example of “are”

Example of “is”

“That” instead of “who” Darren doesn’t make this mistake. ―He also doesn’t use “who”.‖ No points lost. “Different to” or “different than” instead of “different from” Darren doesn’t use the word “different” in his post, so no opportunity to make this mistake. “Bored of” instead of “bored with” Darren doesn’t use the word “bored” in his post, so no opportunity to make this mistake. Ambiguous positioning of “only” Darren uses “only” only once, and he gets it right. ―Notice how I didn’t say, “Darren only uses “only” once…”? That might be taken to mean he doesn’t jump on it, he doesn’t throw it in the air, he doesn’t cook it, he only uses it. Or something like that!)

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST? Over-use of “that” Unfortunately, this is one mistake Darren makes a lot. There’s no need for “that” in any of the below examples. (Read them out lout without the “that” to see what I mean.)

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

Example 4

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DID DARREN DO THIS IN HIS POST?

YES/NO

Incorrect use of “that” or “which” Darren doesn’t confuse his use of “that” and “which”, so he loses no points.

Examples of correct use of “that” If we remove the clause that “that” introduces, the sentence would lose its original meaning.

Examples of correct use of “which” If we remove the clause that “which” introduces, the sentence would retain its original meaning. (Note, however, that he probably should have had a comma before the “which” in each case.‖

TOTAL

85 100

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Index

INDEX active language, 27 advice vs advise, 45 affect vs effect, 44 all right vs alright, 46 American English, 31 answers providing, 24 are vs is, 47 audience planning, 10 Australian English, 31 belief self, 54 bold keywords & related words, 42 bolding the important bits, 36 bored of or with, 47 brand planning, 10 British English, 31 call to action, 24 case title v sentence for headings, 35 challenges issuing, 33 closure, 28 cloud keyword, 40 compliments vs complements, 45 compound nouns, 47

96

conclusion, 54 contractions, 26 contrast, 30 different than to or from, 47 effect vs affect, 44 emotive language, 30 example of scored posts, 62 front-load headings, 34 fun, 55 Google, 7 grammar recommendations advice vs advise, 45 all right vs alright, 46 bored of or with, 47 compliments vs complements, 45 compound nouns, 47 different than to or from, 47 effect vs affect, 44 is vs are, 47 it’s vs its, 44 lay vs lie, 46 licence vs license, 46 me vs I, 45 only, 48 over-use of that, 48 practice vs practise, 45 than vs then, 44 that vs which, 48 their vs there vs they’re, 44 too vs to, 44

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

who vs that, 47 you’re vs your, 43 headings capitalization, 35 front-loaded, 34 keywords in, 42 segment with sub-headings, 34 headlines, 23 honesty, 25 I vs me, 45 introduction easy to read, 22 lead with the important stuff, 33 Introduction, 6 is vs are, 47 it’s vs its, 44 keyword density forget, 40 frequency, measuring, 40 keyword frequency, 40 keywords and post title & headings, 38 bold, 42 consider when choosing post topic, 37 in links, 39 lists, 43 maximum to target in post, 38 planning, 11 post title & headings, 42 lay vs lie, 46 length of post, 22 licence vs license, 46 lie vs lay, 46 links

97

Index

active language, 29 keywords in, 39 to related posts & pages, 39 lists instead of long sentences, 34 keywords & related words, 43 me vs I, 45 metaphors, 32 negative vs positive, 28 nouns compound, 47 objectives planning, 9 only ambiguous use, 48 openness, 25 personality, 25 planning, 9 audience, 10 brand, 10 chapter summary, 17 keywords for SEO, 11 post style, 12 post type, 12 questionnaires, 13 topic, 11 your objectives, 9 positive vs negative, 28 post score, 60, 61 post length ideal, 22 post style planning, 12 post title

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

keywords in, 42 optimizing, 38 post topic consider keywords when choosing, 37 post type planning, 12 practice vs practise, 45 professionalism signalling, 30 promise, 27 questionnaires blog-wide, 13 for each post, 15 planning, 13 questions answering, 24 reader planning, 10 reader’s situation, 24 recommendations active language, 27 advice vs advise, 45 all right vs alright, 46 answer questions, 24 bold the important bits, 36 bored of or with, 47 call to action, 24 challenge the reader, 33 closure, 28 compelling writing, 22 compliments vs complements, 45 compound nouns, 47 contractions, 26 contrast, 30 different than to or from, 47

98

Index

effect vs affect, 44 emotive language, 30 front-load headings, 34 grammar, 43 headlines, 23 honesty, 25 incomplete sentences, 32 intro easy to read, 22 introduction, 22 is vs are, 47 it’s vs its, 44 keyword density, 40 keyword frequency, 40 keywords & post topic, 37 keywords & related words in lists, 43 keywords and post title & headings, 38 keywords in links, 39 keywords in post title & headings, 42 keywords, bolding, 42 keywords, maximum number of, 38 lay vs lie, 46 lead with the important stuff, 33 licence vs license, 46 link with active language, 29 links to related posts & pages, 39 lists vs long sentences, 34 me vs I, 45 metaphors, 32 negative vs positive, 28 only, 48 openness, 25 over-use of that, 48 personality, 25 positive vs negative, 28 post length, 22

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

practice vs practise, 45 promise an outcome, 27 related words, bolding, 42 repetition, 30 rhythm vs repetition, 29 SCANNability, 33 segment with sub-headings, 34 short sentences, 26 signal when the reader can stop reading, 35 signalling your professionalism, 30 stories, 23 than vs then, 44 that vs which, 48 their vs there vs they’re, 44 too vs to, 44 understand reader’s situation, 24 US vs UK English, 31 who vs that, 47 yes questions, 27 you vs the reader, 22 you’re vs your, 43 related words bold, 42 lists, 43 repetition, 30 repetition vs rhythm, 29 rhythm vs repetition, 29 rules breaking, 54 forget old, 8 scannability recommendations bold the important bits, 36 front-load headings, 34 lead with the important stuff, 33 lists vs long sentences, 34

99

Index

segment with sub-headings, 34 signal when the reader can stop reading, 35 score how to, 8 Introduction, 7 meaning, 53 total, 60, 61 scorecard, 50 multi-page, 50 single-page, 58 Search Engine Optimization Introduction, 7 self belief, 54 selling and blogging, 6 sentence case headings, 35 sentences incomplete, 32 lists instead of long sentences, 34 short, 26 SEO Introduction, 7 planning, 11 SEO recommendations keyword density, 40 keyword frequency, 40 keywords & post topic, 37 keywords & related words in lists, 43 keywords and post title & headings, 38 keywords in links, 39 keywords in post title & headings, 42 keywords, bolding, 42 keywords, maximum number of, 38 links to related posts & pages, 39

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

related words, bolding, 42 signals when to stop reading, 35 stories, 23 style planning, 12 sub-headings segment with, 34 tag cloud, 40 than vs then, 44 that over-use, 48 vs which, 48 that vs who, 47 their vs there vs they’re, 44 then vs than, 44 title keywords in, 42 title case headings, 35 too vs to, 44 topic planning, 11 total score, 60, 61 score meaning, 53 traffic, 7 UK English, 31 US English, 31 volume content, 22 which vs that, 48 who vs that, 47 word cloud, 40 wordcount, 22

100

Index

writing breaks, 20 chapter summary, 21, 49 discipline, 20 don’t aim for perfection, 20 flexibility, 19 getting started, 18 writing recommendations active language, 27 answer questions, 24 call to action, 24 challenge the reader, 33 closure, 28 contractions, 26 contrast, 30 emotive language, 30 headlines, 23 honesty, 25 incomplete sentences, 32 intro easy to read, 22 link with active language, 29 metaphors, 32 negative vs positive, 28 openness, 25 personality, 25 positive vs negative, 28 post length, 22 promise an outcome, 27 repetition, 30 rhythm vs repetition, 29 short sentences, 26 signalling your professionalism, 30 stories, 23 understand reader’s situation, 24 US vs UK English, 31

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers V2

yes questions, 27 you vs the reader, 22 writing style planning, 12

101

Index

yes questions, 27 you vs the reader, 22 you’re vs your, 43