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3 ultra-short tips to improve your website [Vol. 3]
Do you also agonize about an opening paragraph in your newsletters?
Well, I've been trying to make this a perfect intro for far too long now (write, delete, write, have some coffee, delete everything), and came to believe that it's not that important, and you'll probably jump past it to that bold heading below anyway.
So I'll say it the way it is:
Last week, I wrote you a new blog post with many words and pretty pictures. Which means this week, it's time for the ultra-short tips.
Here you go.
#1. Tiny content marketing tips for big results
This was my favorite article from last week written by Kevan Lee, Buffer's Director of Marketing. Also because in the ocean of 4000+ word answers to every bloody question that is the internet these days such gems of succinct up-to-the-point advice are super rare.
Here is the list of my 5 favorite tips from Kevan's article:
- Treat the headings within your post as mini-headlines.
- Use captions under the images in your posts. The research shows they are one of the most-read parts of a page.
- Delete your first sentence. Seriously, do it. In most of the cases, your post will get better without it.
- "What-and-how" guides: If you are writing a post answering a question "What is X?" think one step ahead and add a part talking about how to get the most out of X, as this would probably be your reader's next question.
- Reshare content you've written long ago.
Check out the rest of these snackable tips here.
#2. Words that turn a conversation around
We all know that words matter. Here's an interesting study that shows exactly how much.
A team at Loughborough University (UK) has analyzed thousands of hours of recorded conversations, from customer services to mediation hotlines and police crisis negotiation. They discovered that certain words or phrases can change the course of a conversation.
Here's a short list of these phrases (which I can imagine is useful even if you aren't negotiating with armed bank robbers but simply writing an email to a client or some conversational sales copy).
Words to avoid:
- Just
- How are you?
- Yes, but
Words to use:
- Willing (as in "Would you be willing to...?")
- Speak (instead of "talk")
- Some (instead of "any")
- It seems like
- Hello
This article on Guardian explains why you should avoid or use a particular phrase (in particular, what's wrong with "How are you?").
#3. An ultimate guide to no-pain copywriting
I absolutely adore this guide by Joanna Weibe called "The Ultimate Guide to No-Pain Copywriting (or, Every Copywriting Formula Ever)".
I use it mostly for blog post headlines, newsletter email subjects, and headings/subheadings of the landing pages. But you can also use it to structure a whole sales page.
And every time I use it, I feel like hugging my monitor. Because it's this helpful. So check it out. It will make many things easier for you.
If you'll be using it to create the headlines for your blog posts or subjects for your newsletter, check out this ultra-practical way to come up with a great headline. It has an Excel template that splits creating a headline in several mini-steps so that you don't feel overwhelmed.
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This would be it from me for the week.
Warm greetings from unexpectedly sunny Germany,
Gill
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