According to a survey that examined online job trends among companies throughout the Western world, web content writing was among the most important priorities for firms that maintained a prominent internet presence. In fact, jobs that had to do with web content creation came out in sixth place in an extensive survey which rated the prevalence of various types of internet-based contracts. Other than content writing, search engine optimization (21st place) and copywriting (23rd place) were also among the top 25 most popular internet jobs. </p> <p>Web content creation, copywriting and search engine optimization (SEO) have been largely untouched by the current recession and world financial crisis, even as companies cut back on many other expenses and lay-off staff. What makes content writing so popular is that this remains a highly economical way of advertising and marketing a firm?s services, without all of the extra expenses that would result from having to employ a team of full-time, in-house writers, or the services of a PR consultant. Instead, content writing is most often arranged through content creation companies that keep large and diverse staffs of freelancers from all walks of life, who are flexible enough to write on just about any topic and on a contract basis. </p> <p>As traditional news rooms shrink and as unemployment continues to rise, content writing seems to be bucking the negative trend. The rise of Web 2.0, social networking sites, blogs and microblogging have all increased the importance of quality content writing, as firms realize that well-designed websites form only one part of a successful online marketing strategy, as this has to be coupled with relevant and targeted written content.<br />

After having first appeared 15 years ago as the niche hobby of a small group of computer-savvy computer enthusiasts, corporate blogs have now become a staple marketing strategy for companies and private organizations throughout the world. Author Scott Rosenberg?s recently released 400 page book entitled ?Say Everything?How Blogging Began,? is the most extensive publication ever written on the colourful history of blogging. The very fact that publishers would be willing to print such a book is evidence of the international popularity and prominence of blogs. Rosenberg?s book explores some of the most important entrepreneurial success stories associated with the world of blogging, including that of Pyra Labs owner Evan Williams. In 2001, Williams quite literally operated Blogger out of his flat, with an initial investment of only $40,000. Only two years later, Williams sold his modest blogging business to Google, which paid millions for the first software and platform which popularized blogging among ordinary internet users and transformed the world of online media.</p> <p>Some of the world?s most prominent journals and journalists are realizing the potential in blogs as well, including the Financial Times? Nick Denton. Denton was a trendsetter in many ways, as he quickly came to understand the two most important characteristics that can make a blog especially popular, namely frequent postings and a focused, clearly defined topic. Corporate blogs should post at the very least one entry per week, in order to keep their readership, but they must also be careful not to lose focus and ensure that blog posts are all relevant to the services and products that the firm offers, or to the general industry that it functions in.<br />

Content writing is taking an important role in the marketing strategies of companies both large and small throughout the world. What this means is that a rapidly expanding number of corporations are turning from the traditional avenues of marketing?namely brochures and overt advertisements?in order to draw in clients by offering them useful, non-commercial information , while also spreading the word about their products and services. An experienced freelance content writer can produce articles on just about any newsworthy topic, but the best way to get the most out of such a piece is for the given company to pre-select a group of keywords, which can then be used in the actual article. Google?s search tool crawls through websites by looking for keywords. Ensuring that central expressions are included and repeated in an article will make it much more likely that potential clients will find the page when they use major online search engines.</p> <p>For companies using software and platforms other than WordPress, it is also important to keep metatags in mind when uploading new written content to the site. Google uses metatags when indexing new pages and it is often necessary to include these manually with most website builder programs. Another good way to increase a site?s visibility is a method called off-page optimization. While regular search engine optimization (SEO) involves sprinkling keywords in a text, off-page optimization means that the company in questions comments on other related blogs, or uses popular social networking sites to link back to the original article, and ensure that readers find it without even having to rely on Google.<br />

As a clear sign of the rapidly rising importance of blogs, bloggers from the four corners of the world met in Montreal this past weekend, to discuss the role that blogging will play in consumer society as Web 2.0 technology gains ground. Entitled WordCamp, over 200 bloggers met up in Montreal for a two day conference on the rapid expansion of the blogosphere, as well as how blogging has challenged the traditional world of journalism. </p> <p>Some of the world?s largest corporations and media companies rely on WordPress to serve as a platform for their blogs, including international giants such as CNN, as well as the New York Times. Matt Mullenweg, WordPress? successful founder, came up from Texas for the Montreal symposium and spoke about the way in which blogs have altered the media world. According to Mullenweg?s analysis, blogs did not challenge journalism itself, but rather the traditional practitioners of the journalistic profession and old elites. Mullenweg believes that ?traditional media is in trouble,? while journalism itself stands to benefit from blogging.</p> <p>WordPress is not only useful for private bloggers and large media conglomerates, but companies of any size. The platform allows for the construction of a clear, easily readable blog, while also ensuring that the firm in question gets the best exposure through major search engines, like Google. In fact, blog entries are indexed by Google almost immediately after they appear on the site, and are listed separately by search tools that gather all material published on blogs. The best news-related blogs also make it into Google News, which allows for companies to win their clientele?s loyalty by providing them with useful information, while also informing them of product developments.<br />

Content writers don?t only have a responsibility of providing well-written news articles, informative short essays and other pieces, but they must also aim to ensure that the information that they base their story on is credible. In an age when the internet offers an information overload and when thousands of blogs are springing up each day, credible content writing can sometimes be easier said than done. But following three key steps can help ensure that what freelancers produce is both well-written and well-researched.</p> <p>The first and most important step in credible content writing is finding a reliable news source. Google News is a great tool when searching for news stories, but it is important to rely less on press releases?and there are plenty of these on Google?and more on journalistic articles published in prominent journals, or on sites run by major media organizations. For example, if the New York Times, the Ottawa Sun and an anonymous blogger all report on the preponderance of cheap tickets and discount carriers in the commercial airline industry, then it makes most sense for the freelancer to base the article most heavily on the New York Times, which is a reputable, internationally-known publication. </p> <p>The second pointer to keep in mind when writing online content is to avoid relying solely on press releases whenever possible. Press releases are heavily based on spin and may not be newsworthy or balanced on their own. As such, it is best to use press releases when looking for direct quotes and official statements, or in conjunction with other material, but the core of the given story should come from a reliable news source.</p> <p>Thirdly, it is always helpful to supplement content gained from news sources with more lexical, background information on the given subject. Any range of reliable websites and online encyclopaedias can serve as useful sources when a freelance writer aims to provide richer and more in-depth content or contextualization.<br />

Being considered an expert in your niche is one of the keys to driving traffic to your web site and ultimately increasing sales for your product or service. The reason is very simple: you need to give people a reason to buy from you. The Internet is a very busy place, to say the least, and a potential customer has many options available to them. Establishing yourself as an expert is a way to distinguish yourself from the rest of the pack.

Blogs are increasingly showing that they have the power to transform entire sectors of the market, and the food industry is not an exception, according to a report in the Washington Post. When most people think of canning and preserving fruits or vegetables, older, rural folk with a strong sense of tradition come to mind. But it appears as though popular blogs about the food industry have started changing the habits of a much younger generation, who are turning to canning and preserving, even though most would have predicted only a decade ago that these activities were going the way of the dinosaurs. Zach Patton and Clay Dunn, a couple in their late twenties from Washington, DC, recently discovered the benefits of canning tomatoes and decided to write an article about this on their popular blog, The Bitten Word. </p> <p>As Dunn, Patton and a growing number of other young Americans turn to more natural and organic food options, the preponderance of blogs gives them a forum to discuss their changing lifestyles and thus influence the country?s consumer culture. In fact, major canning companies such as Ball Corp, the firm which produces jars used for preserves, has seen an impressive 30 percent spike in sales, over the course of the past year. Whereas in the past most people who purchased these canning products were typically pensioners from the countryside, Ball Corp found that most of its current clients are now actually urbanites between 35 and 50 years of age. This generation is one which has tuned in to the world of blogging and it is becoming clear what a crucial role bloggers can play in influencing lifestyle decisions. The rising prominence of private bloggers also points to the importance of developing corporate blogs, in order to ensure that a company?s message gets out in an undiluted format.<br />

This is some dummy copy. You’re not really supposed to read this dummy copy, it is just a place holder for people who need some type to visualize what the actual copy might look like if it were real content.

If you want to read, I might suggest a good book, perhaps Hemingway or Melville. That’s why they call it, the dummy copy. This, of course, is not the real copy for this entry. Rest assured, the words will expand the concept. With clarity. Conviction. And a little wit.

In today’s competitive market environment, the body copy of your entry must lead the reader through a series of disarmingly simple thoughts.

All your supporting arguments must be communicated with simplicity and charm. And in such a way that the reader will read on. (After all, that’s a reader’s job: to read, isn’t it?) And by the time your readers have reached this point in the finished copy, you will have convinced them that you not only respect their intelligence, but you also understand their needs as consumers.

As a result of which, your entry will repay your efforts. Take your sales; simply put, they will rise. Likewise your credibility. There’s every chance your competitors will wish they’d placed this entry, not you. While your customers will have probably forgotten that your competitors even exist. Which brings us, by a somewhat circuitous route, to another small point, but one which we feel should be raised.

Blogs are increasingly being recognized as a key part of corporate public relations, according to a major research study conducted by Text 100, a prominent international PR agency. Text 100 recently consulted with a pool of 449 bloggers worldwide, in order to discover the role that bloggers play in corporate public relations, communication and marketing strategies. One of the most important findings is that bloggers are often seen as ?influencers,? rather than traditional journalists. This means that companies throughout the world realize that because blogs are often written by every-day people and in a more personal manner, their opinions on company services or their product reviews can impact consumer choices and trends. Most of the bloggers interviewed for this study focused on three topics in their blog entries, namely the business world, computers and technology, as well as lifestyle or consumer issues.</p> <p>In 90 percent of the cases, these bloggers had some type of contact with corporate PR representatives and also valued these contacts. The proportion, however, was even higher in the United States, were 96 percent of bloggers interviewed had weekly contact with PR representatives. Most of these bloggers also noted that what makes their writing unique and interesting to a wide range of players in the corporate world is that they offer an array of product reviews, regular interviews, as well as maintain contact with their readers through feedback. Importantly, however, these same bloggers noted that what they disliked most was when PR representatives simply forward corporate press releases, without a more personal, or targeted message.</p> <p>The fact that more than 9 out of 10 bloggers come into contact with PR departments shows how important blogging has become in the corporate world and how seriously companies take this dynamic form of communication. But this reality also demonstrates how useful it can be for companies to develop their own blogs, rather than simply relying on the blogosphere.<br />

Clear, concise and targeted online written content is one of the best ways to boost a new company?s business potential and can be more effective than the most expensive glossy brochures or print advertisements. According to a report in USA Today, the best way for small and medium-sized business to get ahead in a competitive world is to develop a user-friendly website and to fill it with well-written, regularly updated content which will be picked up and indexed by search engines. This will quickly attract readers?and potential clients?from around the world. Building a blog is generally the best way to disseminate, organize and market a company?s content, but it is very important to keep in mind that this content must be search engine optimized. This means that the business owner should select a list of keywords which will be included in written pieces whenever possible, as these will help ensure better indexing by Google. </p> <p>Once a company has quality content on its blog or website, the next step is to use the newest Web 2.0 tools to actually market these articles and, indirectly, spread the news about the given firm?s products and services. Twitter, Facebook and MySpace are just some of the most popular social networking tools that the most savvy companies are using to promote their best written content. Facebook, for example, has a tool which allows users to automatically syndicate their blog posts on the social networking site, thus allowing hundreds of friends and acquaintances to access the material through their news feeds. Celebrities and those in the entertainment industry in particular, have made good use of Twitter which has a clear newsfeed tool, but also permits users to link articles to their page.<br /> Thank you to Steve Strauss of USA Today for the initial report.<br />