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No matter what kind of writing you do, you must always consider its purpose, where it will appear, and who will be reading it.
While some of the videos may look a bit dated, rest assured that all of the videos have been reviewed for accuracy and the core concepts you're learning are still highly relevant today. If there are any updates or newer approaches you need to know, I'll provide them in the teacher's notes. The foundational knowledge in these lessons is timeless and will serve you well as you continue learning!
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But no matter what kind of writing you do,
you must keep
0:00
some key questions in mind so that your
writing projects always remain focused.
0:03
First, what is the purpose of what I'm
writing?
0:10
Secondly, where will this writing appear?
0:14
And, for whom is this writing intended.
0:19
Purpose, location, and audience.
0:21
Now, the purpose.
0:26
Identifying the reasons why you're writing
something is key to making it effective.
0:28
Keeping your purpose in mind helps guide
your writing, and it keeps you on track.
0:32
You often find the purpose of a blog
0:37
post for example within its title or
description.
0:38
And the same goes for the title of a page
that you might write for a website.
0:41
However this doesn't only refer to the
subject of what you're writing about.
0:46
It can also refer to your goal for writing
about it in the first place.
0:50
Now, if you're selling products online,
and need
0:55
a need to build a page for each product,
0:57
the purpose of each page should be to
effectively
1:00
communicate all the details you can about
a product.
1:02
But what you must also consider is how to
use helpers like images
1:05
and video to complement what you're
writing,
1:09
to make it as effective as possible.
1:12
Now sites promoting apps often include
photo
1:15
or video walk-throughs to show how
features work.
1:18
And they complement the visuals with
helpful text.
1:22
This example here is the Instagram Tumblr
blog.
1:26
And when they release their Photo Maps
feature they
1:29
did a video walk-through, and they
included it here.
1:33
As a way to help communicate the features
and to
1:36
help break down, you know, any concerns or
misconceptions that
1:39
people might have to lead them closer to
the goal
1:43
of, you know, downloading the app or using
the feature.
1:46
The next thing is location.
1:51
In addition to considering the purpose
behind your
1:53
writing, you also need to know where the
1:56
text will appear, and not everything you
write
1:58
will be displayed within the body of a
webpage.
2:01
Some text will have limited space, such as
a sidebar in a
2:04
layout with columns, which you'll actually
see here on the MarketingProfs website.
2:08
Over on the right side you have these
email sign ups, and
2:13
you have the social medial links that
they're trying to call out.
2:16
But they don't have a great deal of text
2:19
to promote these things and describe the
value behind them.
2:22
But you can see the value very clear in
2:25
that top one, it's free the email
newsletter, it's free.
2:28
And the little link there says we also
respect your privacy.
2:32
And as far as the social media section
where
2:35
they're trying to get people to connect
through there,
2:37
you can see 623,000 marketers follow us,
so this
2:41
is a huge network and there's the value
right there.
2:44
So with limited space, whether it's a
sidebar or a carousel or any
2:48
number of spots within a page you need to
communicate this value very succinctly.
2:52
Blog post titles again work best when you
limit the number of
2:58
words or characters, but not just for SEO
purposes but for basic readability.
3:01
Now forms are another location where space
is usually limited.
3:08
You probably don't have to explain every
single step
3:13
of a contact form for example, many things
are self-explanatory.
3:15
But if you write anything, make sure that
you're clear about
3:19
how the form works and what users can get
from their efforts.
3:24
And if you're asking them to do something,
3:28
they should get something of value in
return.
3:30
This particular slide here, from the
Krispy Kreme
3:33
website, includes an item called Locate on
the navigation.
3:37
But instead of linking to another page, it
actually brings
3:42
down a very, very short form, it's got one
field.
3:45
And it tells you right there: city, state,
province, or postal code.
3:49
And after you enter that information in
there and submit it,
3:52
you'll get a list of locations that are
close to you.
3:55
It's very short, very simple, and it's
easy to understand.
3:58
Now calls to action are very similar.
4:02
They must be short and compelling, and
4:06
only include what's necessary and helpful,
and in
4:09
the cases of marketing text, you need to
be clear about what the reader can gain.
4:11
From completing whatever, whatever action
you want out of them.
4:16
For example this screenshot right here of
a, the Ford C Max website.
4:20
You have a, a lot of information, you have
a
4:25
navigation across the top, but one of the
key things
4:27
that you'll see on this page is the call
to
4:30
action in the upper right corner, the
Build and Price.
4:32
They're trying to compel users to go
through
4:36
the Build and Price process because it's
part of
4:39
the, the process of conversion, of getting
people
4:42
to look up information or to purchase an
automobile.
4:45
Maybe they don't purchase online, but they
can reserve one.
4:49
But also, while you might have considered
the
4:52
location of your text on a website or
form.
4:54
Be sure to give it the same consideration
on a mobile device.
4:58
Smaller screens mean smaller text.
5:02
So make sure that what you write is still
readable.
5:05
You gotta check this stuff.
5:08
Responsive designs can also change the
layout or
5:10
per of, potentially, any element and that
includes text.
5:13
So make sure that you review your website
on a phone or tablet
5:18
and ensure that the text is where it
should be, and it remains helpful.
5:21
Okay?
5:26
So the third thing is audience.
5:27
Now beyond the purpose of what you need to
write and it's location,
5:28
you should also understand who will be
reading the work that you produce.
5:32
Knowing your target audience will help you
plan what and how you'll write.
5:37
Now many targets are easy to figure out.
5:42
If you're writing a cover letter, or
excuse
5:44
me, if you're writing a cover letter it's
5:46
going to get read by hiring managers and
5:48
often by the person that you'll be working
for.
5:50
So you should make sure you write about
details and
5:53
information that they want to know, and
that will benefit you.
5:56
Now, certain subjects can be written about
in multiple ways.
6:01
And you might have to consider all of them
in order to reach your goals.
6:04
And this is where the, the Ford website
comes in as a great example.
6:07
Companies that try to sell cars, know that
customers
6:11
possess many different needs, when it
comes to information.
6:14
Some customers need to see the product to
be motivated to learn more.
6:18
And photos and videos work great for them.
6:23
Others require more technical details.
6:26
So make sure that they have access to
6:29
specs, like you see here, and other
detailed numbers.
6:30
And still others require financial
information.
6:34
Because they're most worried about the
money involved with a potential purchase.
6:37
So provide access to financial
information, or financing
6:41
terms, like you see here on the Ford site.
6:45
In fact, you can bet that many potential
customers are going to
6:48
need a mix of this content, in order to be
sufficiently influenced.
6:51
Now one practice that can benefit your
writing, especially for
6:56
professional and corporate writing is the
creation of user personas.
6:59
User personas, you might have heard about
them before.
7:04
They're kind of imaginary characters that
represent
7:07
a common type of user on your site.
7:10
But they can also be used to represent the
7:13
ideal reader that you want to reach with
your writing.
7:15
One site that can also provide helpful
details is
7:20
Quantcast, which provides demographic
data, as well as some
7:22
related online interests, which you can
see in this
7:26
view, for the users of many different web
sites.
7:29
And this is a analysis we did on Ford.com
on the Quantcast site.
7:32
And you can see that the audience likes
certain types of topics.
7:38
Well with information like this you can
create
7:42
personas in mind when you begin your
writing process.
7:44
And when you put all these aspects
together, the purpose, the
7:49
location, the target, the focus of your
writing should become very clear.
7:52
And if you understand the purpose of what
you need to write.
7:56
Where it's going to appear, and who you
hope to
8:01
influence, you'll have a much better
chance of writing effectively.
8:03
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