Social media is one of the most popular communication outlets people use in the 21st century. Many utilize social media as a way to develop their brand or business and to reach people all over the world. As writers, we have to be innovative when reaching vast audiences and getting them to view our brand or business. Here are five tips that can help improve your performance:
Write Great Headlines. A headline is the first thing, if not the only thing, a prospective reader will see when they scroll upon a post. Make sure your headline is impactful and states the real purpose of your post or page.
Use Action-Oriented Language. The purpose of using social media is to get your audience to do something, whether it’s to attend an event, purchase something or watch a video. By using interesting adjectives or even posing a question, you can draw in your reader to doing exactly what action you want them to perform.
Tailor Your Message. How you write your posts on Facebook should not be the same way you construct your posts on Twitter. Tailor your message depending on what network you are trying to reach your audience on. The content you share will perform differently depending on the social network.
Post with Purpose. Make sure that you’re not posting things blindly and that there is meaning behind what you post. Always keep in mind why you are posting, and make sure your content reflects that message.
Put Share Buttons at the Bottom of EVERY post. After you’ve constructed a beautifully written and innovative post, make sure the post is easily accessible for readers to share. By placing social media share buttons at the bottom of all posts, your content will then have the potential to spread to reach a wider audience.
With these tips, you can create social media posts your audience will find captivating and shareable.
Every time the end of a semester comes, I never know what to do with my books. As an English major myself, I’ve wrestled with this problem throughout my college career. I just spent months pouring into these texts, marking up their pages with my own thoughts as well as comments my professors have made. Throwing them away is not an option. It’s possible to sell them, but again—I just spent months in their pages.
This problem is particularly relevant to professional writing students. The books in that particular branch of English are such a valuable resource. I don’t think I’ll be rereading Dickens’ Our Mutual Friend from a past literature class anytime soon, but I’ve already looked at The Non-Designer’s Design Book by Robin Williams a few times this semester for extracurricular design work.
Sure, I could have Googled what I was looking for, but that’s another reason professional writing textbooks are great to keep around. Even though books are essentially out of date the moment they print, books in the professional writing field will always have an edge over online resources. The first result on a Google search for “document design rules” is The 50 Most Important Rules of Document Design.
This article was a wall of text—even the section on the color wheel. By the time I scrolled down the long list, eyes blurring, trying to find the subtitle I needed, I could have flipped through Williams’ guide and seen an image related to my topic of interest.
That isn’t to say all webpages are walls of text, but students may be more likely to remember something learned from their book. I would rather look through an old textbook for the concept I vaguely remember than search online for an article that might not give me the same advice. I can look at my books to reference something a professor said about a certain topic. I can return to my original frame of mind when I first read the text. I can read my old insights and pen my new ones.
Keep your textbooks—they’ll always be useful, even if their use is taking up bookshelf space and helping you appear smarter.
By Mandy Riggs How can you stand out from the crowd?
When I wake up in the morning, I already have emails asking me for donations.
If I just get on Facebook, I’ll encounter GoFundMe campaigns, Kickstarters, nonprofits and crisis updates from around the world. Before I can put on my shoes, I’ll have been solicited repeatedly.
Nonprofits have new platforms to communicate with their donors, and writing is central to the process. This is good news for nonprofits and writers. Unfortunately, since social media and email are saturated with demands for money and attention, just posting the piece isn’t enough. You can shine a light on your campaign and needs, but any professional writer who wants to shine a light on their campaign is essentially standing in a room full already flashing lights. How can you stand out without being obnoxious?
Know Your Donors
This is a crucial starting place, because it will dictate the rest of your decisions. Spend some time building relationships with people who are passionate about your cause. What is it about your project that appeals to people? What do they want to see their help accomplish? As you go through your routines keep track of how people respond to your outreach. Different people have different reasons for altruism.
Communication Over Content
When you have an email list of people who care about your goals, build your mailers around them. For dedicated supporters, consistent communication is more important than content.
Tammy Riggs is an administrator and writer for Por Su Amor, a nonprofit in Peru. Email works well when people know who you are, she said. People who want to give see the email and are reminded, but they don’t always read the full content. Make sure the most important information is the most readable, and keep letters skimmable and visually interesting.
Don’t Overdo it!
Here’s a sobering thought: Facebook likes may have a negative correlation to charitable giving. When people feel like they have done their part, they move on. It’s good if people know who you are and care, but popularity is not the same as income, especially if you’re doing good that’s not controversial.
Send your emails on a timeframe that works for your donors. When inboxes get clogged, people miss things or get frustrated and unsubscribe. Regardless of the medium, don’t create a crisis for a hard fundraising push unless there is an actual crisis—you’ll vaccinate your donors against your cries for help. Your donors believe in your cause, or they wouldn’t see a reason to give.
Give Back to Your Donors
Ideally, the donor gives to the charity because they believe in the goals of the charity. They want to see good things happen. Sometimes all you can give them is journalism, said Tammy Riggs.
In the 2016 election, it was startling to people in both parties that the Bernie Sanders campaign could fare so well on small donations. But it’s simple math. Small gifts do add up, and these days there’s a growing focus on small donation, effective philanthropy. Be sure to communicate to your donors that any gift is helpful. Show appreciation to everyone.
Know Your Voice
It’s important to know who you are. Don’t follow trends that change basic elements of your voice. Maintain a consistent voice across your platforms. Be willing to learn from your experiences, but when you find your voice, stick to it.
We all have encountered or been the person who watches a cursor blink in silent despair, or changes the font twenty times, before giving up and going to bed.
This feeling of having no idea what to write about and feeling frustrated with beginning a writing assignment is known as writer’s block. If you are reading this article you probably know this feeling. We have writer’s block when we can’t get started writing, or when we are stuck halfway through our paper and can’t seem to move forward.
Reasons why we Experience Writer’s Block
Fear
Writer’s block can often occur in the drafting stage of a project
Writing can be scary for anyone, especially someone who is very introverted. We experience fear because we are afraid of putting our thoughts out into the open and being judged by our readers, ultimately leading to stress. Wanting to be as good as everyone else, striving to be perfect when you write something or holding unrealistic standards can lead to writer’s block.
Someone who is good at writing may experience writer’s block because of high expectations and not wanting to let anyone down. Maybe you are presenting an idea in class, and fear of rejection makes it harder to write.
Content
Josh is unsure of how to begin his sports article
Several specific things about a writing assignment can lead to stress but the content of the paper is a major reason why we experience writer’s block. Sometimes it is hard to find information about what we are writing about or we run out of ideas for the assignments. The content could be complicated, hard to write about or we just don’t want to do it because it does not interest us.
Writer’s block is frustrating and getting around it can be challenging. Sometimes taking a break and doing something fun to take your mind off of a paper for a while can help with writer’s block.
Some creative ways to help with writer’s block includes: listening to music, going for a walk (walking helps to relieve stress and free thoughts), and playing games—whether it’s on a PlayStation, laptop or phone will help you focus on something else.
Eliminate Distractions
While some people need to ease the tension by doing something like playing games, other people struggle with avoidance and distractions. Turn your phone on airplane mode to mute distractions, use an app like AppDetox to lock individual apps or turn off all electronic devices. Changing your workspace could help eliminate distractions as well. If you are sitting in your room trying to write a paper, going to a library or somewhere quiet with other people who are also studying helps with distractions. A change in setting could really get ideas flowing.
Just Write
Write about something that is fun and changes the subject to something different. There are websites that support writers and give them a chance to write about something different with fun writing prompts. Sometimes the only way to get past writer’s block is to write what you are struggling with and get it down on paper; handwriting things before typing them can help with your ideas and thoughts.
You can’t think yourself out of a writing block; you have to write yourself out of a thinking block- John Rodger
Coherence and cohesion are important to keep in mind when writing
From news to fiction to blog posts, writers seek to grab attention with their work. It is one of the reasons why creators create: to express themselves in a way that leaves an impact. In writing, however, that impact can be heavily hampered by flaws in coherence and cohesion.
To keep the reader happily invested in whatever they are reading, the text must seem natural and accessible, or flow.
Coherence and Cohesion
For readers to connect to a piece of writing, the text must be capable of comfortably communicating with them, which relates to coherence. But to be coherent, the words themselves must be able to connect as seamlessly as possible, which is to be cohesive.
It can be daunting to revise the flow of a piece. Sometimes, the issue with an article can come down to just one word choice, and finding that problematic phrase can feel similar to looking for a needle in a haystack. There are some ways to help make the process simpler.
Who? What? Where?
First and foremost, to know if you’re communicating fluidly with your audience, you must know who they are. If the article or story is meant for a younger audience, using complicated language won’t be very effective. If the target is an academic group, See Mike hike and similarly simple phrasing might come across too dull.
Another thing to consider is sentence length. While it is good to have some sentences that run for a decent amount of space, having too many can leave the reader feeling like they cannot breathe. Too many short sentences can be equally overwhelming. Utilizing a good mix of the two can help keep a reader from breaking away from the text.
Sometimes the issue with a piece of writing isn’t in the sentences. Paragraphs can be too lengthy or too brief, or they may introduce material at wrong times. Looking at how you could restructure what you’re working on can lead to finding new ways of strengthening it.
Resources Around You
There is some writing that, no matter how much we rethink and revise, we’ll never be satisfied with. Something is forgotten, leaving the whole text feeling incomplete. Or, maybe, something is awkward, but you can’t figure out what it is. Times like these are when you should have someone review your work with you. Visiting the University Writing Center on campus, meeting with a professor or finding a good friend are all great solutions for when revision feels like hitting a wall.
Caret is an HTML text editing software that I have been using for Dr. Bacha’s Digital Publishing EH 455 course.
The Caret logo
Chosen for its simplicity and convenience; Caret made html easy to jump into. For anyone who needs to learn basic HTML, Caret is a good option. The Caret logo can be seen to the right. For Chrome users, here is a link to download Caret via the
Chrome Web Store.
Pros
This image shows what happens when the software detects an issue with your code
One of the biggest perks of using this software is that it is free. Thus, it is accessible for anyone with internet access.
Usability is also a major plus. I’m not the most computer savvy individual, which is why I was shocked at the ease with which I began using the software without hiccups. An important aspect that makes it so user friendly is the feature that displays a red X next to any line of code where the software detects an issue. When you hover your cursor over this icon, a tooltip appears that alerts you to the problem with your code.
Cons
Line 37 can be found at the bottom of the image next to “disableBehaviors”
I would recommend this software to new coders. However, aspects of the software need to change in order to improve usability. I don’t like the default setting that autocompletes lines of code.
For example, when I type the opening paragraph tag, the software automatically inserts the closing tag after it. This feature shouldn’t be a default setting, and could lead to learned laziness when it comes to closing tags.
As the image above demonstrates, you can change this setting yourself in the user preferences page by changing “false” to “true” on line 37, beside the phrase disableBehaviors.
This brings me to the final issue I have with the software: Caret’s user preference page is difficult to navigate. I had to seek out online guides to help me find and fix the problem I had with the auto closing of tags.
Professional Writing is a versatile field that combines the creativity and beauty of language with logical instruction and organized information. Although Professional Writing skills are valued in many fields, an interesting minor can make new graduates stand out from their peers.
Computer Science
We are living in a time where technology is thriving and innovation is second-nature. Employers like to see that prospective hires are well-equipped to deal with tasks that require a secure grasp on programming; those with a Liberal Arts degree are no exception. For example, jobs in Technical Writing require skills from both Professional Writing and Computer Science. With a minor in Computer Science, a Professional Writing degree becomes more appealing to employers in the tech industry.
Graphic Design
Alongside technological innovation is the rise of aesthetically-pleasing design. Consumers want more than well-placed subheadings and bulleted lists; they want to be dazzled by interesting graphics and professional photography. For a Professional Writer who decides to freelance, a minor in Graphic Design is an excellent choice. One can both design websites and create copy; they can become a one-stop shop for clients looking to incorporate digital marketing strategies into their business plan.
Marketing
Professional Writers are trained to write with clarity, creativity and meaning; these are all necessary for those considering in a career in Marketing. Learning the tricks of the trade when it comes to Marketing can be a bit difficult, so it is better to take some courses to familiarize oneself with technical terms. Whether a job requires one to write copy for ads, a website or social media posts, Professional Writing never disappoints. When paired together, Marketing and Professional Writing can be a powerful combination for the success new graduates want to see in their career.
Employers today like to see that prospective hires are versatile. Studying Professional Writing is the first step to develop a skill set that reaches across a wide variety of careers. However, choosing a minor that may not seem to quite fit with Professional Writing can help one become more well-rounded.
Many times, in a job, we’re given tasks that are new to us. Professionals often find themselves doing things they never thought they would be doing when they accepted their position. Often the skills learned through these experiences can help define our careers and shape our professional image. They help us find our purpose.
Finding a Chameleon
Robin Lehnberg is an administrative assistant working for smaller companies, and doing a lot of tasks he didn’t think he would. He was originally hired to do accounting but has been assigned many different types of tasks over his career. Managing social media, writing official documents and translating documents between languages are all hats he has worn without trying them on before.
Finding a Habitat
Robin says he actually prefers the variety of tasks that he has at a smaller company, as opposed to a larger one where the work would be more focused on a single type of task. A more intimate work environment also allows employees to bounce ideas off each other and help each other out when they get stuck on a problem. Having a general knowledge of a variety of tasks and freedom to collaborate in the workplace can increase productivity and also help employees discover skills they want to work to improve.
Learning New Skills
The hardest task Robin says he’s had was writing a quote to offer a service to another company. He hadn’t written anything like it before and he wasn’t familiar with the kind of language used in them. He looked up a template online to help him learn how to word it and found it very useful.
Overcoming the Writer Mindset
The world of professional writing is a widely varied field. Sometimes a person may mainly write for their career and other times they may have a different set of skills used for the focus of their job, but their writing skills still come in handy. There isn’t anything wrong with working off templates if you’re new to a task or a particular type of writing style.
What’s important isn’t really what you’re originally hired to do, or what your skill set mainly involves. What’s important is being open to learning new skills and gaining experience that helps you figure out what you like and are good at. The unexpected skills you discover and your changing interests might end up surprising you.
In 2013, Microsoft released a new iteration of Word folded into their ubiquitous Office suite. Amazingly, it came with the option to pay a recurrent subscription fee for a premium license.
Even five years on, the notion of paying a subscription fee for something you could find floating somewhere in pre-installed bloatware was questionable. Not to mention the free version was relatively feature-complete for someone uninterested in much more than simple formatting or editing functionality.
If you bought a laptop with Office pre-loaded around that time, you were probably spoiled with a generous free trial from Microsoft, but you’d eventually get a prompt to re-up for continued service.
And service really is the operative word here.
At a certain point the entire business realized that as for selling software outright,
there just isn’t cash in it like there ought to be. We’re now buying services in lieu of
programs, games, or utilities because the real money is in the customer captured.
That is, the sustainer. In the subscriber.
The consumer should be a dairy cow eager to be milked, not some one and done steer ready for slaughter.
Okay, that’s a bit much, but the point is that regular (and palatably inexpensive) purchases became standard. Take a look at Apple’s highest grossing apps list. How many offer in-app or incremental purchases?
This is really all to say I can’t call myself a fan of this business model, and I know I’m not alone because the term “microtransactions” by itself is enough to raise a certain type of person’s blood pressure, but I’m burying the lede here.
What I want to address isn’t just the incremental payment model, but the resulting feature creep of software. Why do we need so many versions of Microsoft Word if not to justify the narrative that it’s not a page you put words on, it’s a whole ecosystem?
You should be signing up for another year of service, looking at banner ads next to your unfinished novel (really coming together, by the way), and boning up
on Word’s upcoming Chinese social media integration.
All kinds: stone tabla with stylus, dictating to a manservant, screaming your copy directly to readers, pen and paper.
Now, if you’re like me you can’t afford yet another manservant. I also like typing on computers, and the way they can save my writing as document files. So really, none of those quite get the job done.
Gaze not too long upon its glory, for neon green settings in full screen mode disturb the weak of heart and sensitive of eyes.
Well, almost perfect. Like I said, it has no other export options besides .txt, doesn’t have shortcuts for bold and italicize, and I have not been able to discern what the middle two buttons in that upper right column actually do (seriously, let me know if you find out).
Also, if you rely heavily on spellcheck, well, this probably isn’t for you, albeit if you’re like me you find autocorrect more frustrating than helpful and that’s mercifully absent as well.
In any case, I’d highly recommend checking out minimal software like Darkroom. I saw a noticeable uptick in productivity when I started using it. It feels good to write outside the visual context of document creation for once.
There’s nothing but the words when you’re finally writing “writing” rather than a Word or Google doc.
With so much taking place online, effectively designing and marketing websites are important skills; but, acquiring those skills can be difficult.
The problem? Apart from taking a Digital Publishing course, there are millions of places to look for advice, but what advice is actually helpful?
I turned to UAB Digital Media for guidance, interviewing Courtney Lassiter, a Media Fellow. Her job involves producing creative content for the University, as well as editing and building websites.
And pursuing a career in graphic design means offering tips on design and marketing is in her wheelhouse.
Below, I’ve condensed her many helpful tips into a few practical ones:
Developing Your Layout
Courtney joked about her habit of analyzing every menu she encounters, but stressed that it’s because of the important role layout plays in any visual medium. It’s a major part of marketing.
“How you lay out the content completely changes the meaning,” she said, “if you have something that’s poorly laid out it’s not going to convey what you want to say effectively.”
Practical Step: Start on Paper
Creating a “wireframe” sketch for your site’s layout on paper (like this example Courtney traced in Adobe Illustrator) is a great starting point.
Wireframe sketch
Then, a program like Sketch (which she recommended), can help you transition those ideas into your website. “Sketch is cool because it allows you to see the differences between various screen sizes, like desktop, tablets and phones,” Courtney said.
However, Sketch is only compatible with Mac and does charge you yearly,
so you might want to check out some alternatives depending on your budget.
For designing visual content for your site, Canva offers helpful design templates, works on Windows and Mac, and has a free option.
Using Links Effectively
With this tip, Courtney discussed that when linking to other sites you never want to send your audience away completely. That is: you don’t want your audience to leave your site for another within the same tab. Courtney explained that if you link to another site like this “[your audience is] going go there, and they’re going to stay there, and they’ll never come back.”
Practical Step: New Windows
Direct your links to open in a new tab
Instead of leaving your site for another, have links open in a new tab.
She stated, “that way they’ll have to at least come back and exit out of [your site].
Always make them come back to you.”
Be Mindful of Accessibility
This, she claimed, is “the most important part of designing a website.” Courtney said: “if you have a glass hamburger, it’s nice to look at, but you can’t eat it.” That’s a similar problem for a website that’s visually appealing, but lacks accessibility.
Practical Step: Assess Your Content
According to Courtney, some ways to check your website’s accessibility are: assess who it might be alienating, ensure content is functional and, again, examine the layout.
Resources
Additional helpful resources she mentioned were:
Sprout Social for utilizing social media in marketing (yearly fee)
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