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So you’ve sat with your copy document for hours – switched a few words here and there, added some commas, whipped out that thesaurus you got in high school – and made it just right. It’s a good feeling, huh? Now when millions of people land on this website, they’re going to have the absolute best, most comprehensive understanding of the product, its benefits, and how it will impact their day-to-day life.

I, too, lived in that fantasy world for a little while. But you don’t cross the threshold of realistic copywriting until you come to terms with this huge, overbearing restriction. In general, people don’t like to read. So when you say that you “love to write” and people say they “hate to read,” you have a recipe for discouragement.

These days the new saying is, “content is king.” This is extra validating for the copywriters of the world. Basically the thought is that any form of media is likely to fail if it lacks strong, desirable, and relevant content. So keep your chin up because you’re needed.

So take your beloved copy document and start by condensing the text. There are few people in the world (and yes, I’m one of them – the other is anyone who has made it this far in this blog post) who actually want to read paragraphs of text. And even if they read it, odds are they aren’t paying attention or truly understanding it anyway. Group relevant concepts together. Think of it like a menu – you see everything categorized by type: Appetizers, Salads, Soups, Chicken, Pasta, etc. That way, if someone comes to your site or reads your brochure and they’re only interested in mac and cheese recipes, you make it easy for them to find only mac and cheese recipes. Make headings, throw some bullets in there, turn sentences into phrases, etc.

So now you have a bunch of different chunks of information. Perfect, right? Well it’s only perfect until they hit you with the old, “There’s only enough room for 5 lines of copy on the page.” Tough one.

Now this one is a real shot to the heart for my fellow lovers of elaborate sentences. I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to simplify them. Since I’m still stuck on the whole mac and cheese thing, let me demonstrate.

There’s a lot more to it – and anyone who has been thrown the task of “writing” a website remembers the moment they realized that it’s hardly writing in the sense that they’ve always known it. It’s a learning process, and these few points are my small contribution to the population of struggling (copy)writers. The truth is, it’s not anything like what they taught you in school and it’s certainly different than the personal writing you may do on your own.

So the next time you’re sitting at your desk, reveling in the greatness of that last sentence you wrote, remember that you’re not alone. Copywriters everywhere have struggled to find the balance between traditional writing and writing for certain platforms. The key is to be realistic about it – websites need website copy, brochures need brochure copy, and paragraphs are meant for novels. But along the way, never lose the love of writing that brought you here in the first place.

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Success is one of the most subjective terms out there, so trying to define what it means is no small feat.

This is a blog series about how to start a blog that will sometimes reference the tips and tricks I’ve learned from creating my food/booze blog, Philly-ism.com. It’ll cover all the other things you need to know – mainly: the how, the what, the where, the when, and the why should anyone care.

Around the office here at Maiden, success can be defined as anything from “genuine happiness,” to something as basic as “setting goals and reaching them.”  Other definitions floating around focused more on what success looks like when looking back like “having given something your all,” or “having no regrets.”

To be honest, success in blogging is no different – there are a ton of ways you can define “success” (e.g., getting published, having your blog purchased, receiving sponsorship, meeting new people in your industry, etc.)

Philly-ism has been up and running for a little over a year now, and in that time I’ve accomplished more than I ever expected.  Here are the things that I’ve found most valuable, and what make me feel like a success.

YOU GET TO DO THINGS YOU COULDN’T (OR WOULDN’T) BEFORE

This is pretty straight forward.  If you’re generating unique content and have an audience that’s listening, you’ll start to get invitations to all sorts of events in your category (meet-ups, parties, conferences, you name it).

YOU’VE MET A TON OF GREAT PEOPLE

As a blogger, you can’t not meet new people – other bloggers, PR people, editors, brands, and all sorts of like-minded people etc etc etc.  Putting your interests out there puts you in the center of a world filled with the all things you’re most passionate about.  WIN.

YOU LOVE WHAT YOU’RE DOING

To me, this is what success means.  You love what you’re working on, people appreciate what you’re doing, and you feel a sense of genuine accomplishment.  Plus, if you’re doing something you love, it’s going to show in the quality of your work.  Just think, a blog can become your career, or lead you down a path to another you may have never thought would be possible.

YOU’RE MAKING ACTUAL MONEY? 

I wanted to include this because a common misconcept is that all bloggers “can make a ton of money selling advertising on their website,” but really, there is so much more to gain.  Don’t get me wrong, money is great, but don’t count on it right away or at all.  There are definitely some ways to make money depending on what type of blog you run, but making money often comes at a cost so chose wisely.

WHAT’S UP NEXT?

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This is a blog series about how to start a blog that will sometimes reference the tips and tricks I’ve learned from creating my food/booze blog, Philly-ism.com. It’ll cover all the other things you need to know – mainly: the how, the what, the where, the when, and the why should anyone care.

So what do you want now more than ever?

Readers!

Spoiler alert: you’re gonna have to go and get em!

To engage readers, you’ll want content that’s shareable (aka good, relevant, and unique).  Plus it will help if your site is easy to find.   Here are some of the basics:

MAKE YOUR CONTENT SHAREABLE

Send it up to the big guys (aka the blogs/sites you want to be one day)

Truth is, you never know until you try.  Start by compiling a list of some of the sites you think might pickup some of your posts.  Include the editor’s name and contact info, notes about the type of content the site usually posts, and look to see if they ever link out to other blog posts.  Once you have a good idea what each site might be looking for, reach out to the editor with a few story ideas and/or a link to a post you think they might be interested in.  Keep in mind the posts should be timely, engaging, free of errors, and of course, the topic shouldn’t already be covered on their site.

Guest blog (friends with benefits)

You’re bound to meet a ton of blogger friends along the way, so reach out and offer to guest blog.  Be prepared to offer some topic ideas but also be sure to ask if there are any specific content ideas that would help them out.  In addition to guest blogging, commenting on other people’s blogs should be a general practice.

Put your content everywhereeeeee

This is a no brainer.  When posting, try to pique people’s interest with a question or a preview of the post so that they’ll give it a click.

Reddit, your worst/best friend

Reddit is a strange animal that can drive heaps of traffic to your page, or none at all.  Reddit posts that get voted up will drive a ton of traffic to your site but remember that people on the internet have “keyboard courage” and can be a bit rude sometimes.  All you can do is make sure you’re posting the right content to the right people and shrug off everything else.

MAKE SURE YOUR SITE WANTS TO BE FOUND

Optimizing the search with SEO

Be sure to tag all of your posts with keywords and categories to be sure that posts even a few months old still see some play every once in a while.  Not to mention, that’s how new readers are going to stumble upon your site.  There are plenty of theme plug-ins that can boost your SEO and a bunch of themes come with those things already installed.

Blogroll, gotta give some to get some

A blogroll (aka a list of all your favorite blogs with links out to them) can either be included as a side bar or in your site’s footer depending on your theme.  The more the merrier.

WHAT’S UP NEXT?

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This is a blog series about how to start a blog that will sometimes reference the tips and tricks I’ve learned from creating my food/booze blog, Philly-ism.com. It’ll cover all the other things you need to know – mainly: the how, the what, the where, the when, and the why should anyone care.

So you’ve got the blog up and running, you’ve found your “voice” and put out a few posts.

Now, it’s time to get social.

Here’s what us bloggers love about the top social networks and what stinks about them too.  I’ve sprinkled some quotes throughout the post from my Philly writer friends to make sure you get the point… it’s social media or bust.

THE BIG GUYS

Facebook – Because it’s a must / obligatory / you just gotta.

The Rundown:

Unfortunately, Facebook is one of those social platforms you kinda just have to be on.  And it’s a great place to be if you’ve got fans that like to talk. It’s also a great way to get a jumpstart on followers because you can ask the people you “know” (aka your Facebook friends) to like your page.  Plus, they also offer advertising that can actually go a long way in gaining new followers and spreading your reach.

Plus it’s Great For:

Driving traffic to your page doing some cheap advertising

It Does Have Limitations Though:

Page posts are only shown to a small percentage of the fans that actually like your page.  This leads to low engagement on posts, which makes it more tempting to spend money paying to promote specific posts. Oh, Facebook, you devil you. 

Twitter – Because it’s a great time.

The Rundown:

This is really where it’s at.  We were anti-tweet for a while but our eyes have been opened!  It’s not just about tweeting your posts or random thoughts to the world, but you actually get a chance to learn new things and interact with people who like the same stuff as you (and who you sometimes end up meeting in real life, which is way less creepy than it seems).

Plus it’s Great For:

Building relationships with people who like what you like while getting a chance to interact with other blogs, brands, and your readers

It Does Have Limitations Though:

Twitter is all in real time.  If you tweet something out and a ton of people don’t get a chance to see it, that’s more or less where it ends.  Tweeting out the same content is a bit passé, but once in an while it’s okay to do.  It’s also very difficult to get Twitter followers and your follower/following ratio is super important (which is also super silly).  We’ve found that getting over the 300 follower mark helps new followers feel like they’re making a good decision.

Instagram – Because your pictures look badass.

The Rundown:

Instagram is changing the photoverse one filtered image at a time.  This is great if your blog is about visually stimulating things like food, fashion, design, photography (ironic) and the list goes on.

Plus it’s Great For:

Documenting the things you do that you don’t write a full post about.  You can also follow anyone that doesn’t have a private account which lets you see/learn about new things.  Instagram easily links to Twitter and Facebook to push out tweets/posts.  You can even get some jazzy instagram paraphenelia by turning your pics into calendars, iphone cases, stickers, etc.

It Does Have Limitations Though:

Facebook bought em out, so it doesn’t link to Twitter as well as it could/should.  Instagram pictures now show up as links when posted to Twitter (versus being able to easily view the photo within the Twitter feed.  You also can’t find your Twitter friends easily on instagram to follow and in an ideal world, the comments would be integrated from both platforms.  A girl can dream righttttt? 

Pinterest – Because it’s all the rage.

The Rundown:

This is an amazing tool if you post about things that can be really ridiculously good looking like recipes, fashion, design, etc.  Pinterest users are mainly women, so keep that in mind if you’re thinking about whether you should join in.  It’s a great way to drive traffic to your site and, I must say, I have a pretty good time on it.

Plus it’s Great For:

Blogs that are national and can appeal to anyone, especially food bloggers, DIY bloggers, fitness, and design.

It Does Have Limitations Though:

You can’t target where your content goes, so if you write about local/regional things and want to promote it on Pinterest, you run the risk of having content that isn’t relevant everywhere and less likely to get repined/liked/etc.  Pinterest can boost traffic to your site, but it doesn’t mean those people are going to become followers. 

Foursquare – Because you earn badges and points, duh.

The Rundown:

This one you can really take or leave.  It’s fun to get badges, becomes mayors, and track where you’ve been.

Plus it’s Great For:

Keeping track of where you’ve been, congratulating yourself with fake badges/points, and sometimes you can get free stuff which is pretty awesome.

It Does Have Limitations Though:

You really only want people you know to follow you, because they’ll pretty much know your every move.

THE OTHER GUYS

Google+ – Because it seems like you should do it.

I feel pretty silly because I know very little about Google+ these days.  I’ve tried to get into it a few times but keep finding myself dropping off.

Reddit – Because you want traffic.

Reddit is more or less a super crowded newsfeed where you can comment on articles, add your own, and the articles are voted up and down by the community.

Stumble Upon – Hey, why not?

I’d recommend joining just so you can see what type of content other people are putting out there.  Plus you can add your site and hope it catches on, or you can sign up to advertise your content to specific targets – or, as Stumble Upon calls it, you sign up for their  “paid discovery” service.

Misc.

There’s a ton of other ways to interact with your community depending on what you’re into.  If you’re a food junkie like me, there are things like Foodspotting, Flickr, DIgg, Yelp, and Untappd.

WHAT’S UP NEXT?

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There’s no doubt about it – you’re busy. Maybe you’ve got piles of paper all over your desk or maybe your voicemail is filled by Wednesday afternoon. You’ve got a to-do list that consistently has more things unchecked than things checked off. It seems like every time you turn around, something else comes up.

In situations like this, it’s inevitable that marketing ends up taking a backseat to more urgent matters. Today, between the emails, phone calls, and meetings, consider the role marketing plays in your business. Is it a primary concern? How often have you found your team sitting down and discussing things like taglines, descriptors, elevator pitches, and communications strategies? Although they seem like the last thing on your list, these are some of the most important elements of maintaining a cohesive brand identity.

Take a minute and answer these 15 short questions to see where you stand in the marketing world.

1.    I would describe our marketing strategy as:

A.    Focused, up-to-date, and always on our mind
B.    Somewhat relevant to how we go about our business
C.    Not much of a factor in our business
D.    Currently non-existent

2.    For me, having a distinct marketing plan for my business is:

A.    Extremely important and necessary for success
B.    Important, but not at the top of my to-do list
C.    Something I’ve never really thought about
D.    Not important at all

3.    If you asked my customers our brand promise, they’d explain it:

A.    In about 30 seconds or less
B.    If they had a chance to sit down and think about it
C.    If they did an Internet search
D.    My brand doesn’t have a distinct promise

4.    We’ve labeled our business with:

A.    One singular tagline
B.    A few different descriptors
C.    A new message for each medium
D.    Whatever works at the time

5.    In terms of design and voice, the collateral we put out:

A.    Is always consistent
B.    Sometimes varies
C.    Is rarely aligned
D.    Is nothing like our brand

6.    Our company website:

A.    Changes as necessary to reflect changes in our business
B.    Adapts every so often when we get the chance
C.    Strays from the things we say in person
D.    Is completely irrelevant to our brand

7.    Our in-depth communications strategy:

A.    Guides all of our messaging
B.    Is unfinished, but has helped in a few instances
C.    Is not a priority for us
D.    Doesn’t exist

8.    We sit down and re-evaluate our description and messaging:

A.    Once every few months
B.    A couple times a year
C.    Once a year
D.    Never

9.    We actively communicate with our customer and partner base:

A.    Frequently – via newsletters, email campaigns, and direct mail pieces
B.    Somewhat often via these forms
C.    Rarely via these forms
D.    Never

10.    On every piece of collateral we put out, we include:

A.    A distinct and relevant call to action
B.    Some encouragement to reach out to us
C.    Little mention of how to engage with us
D.    No calls to action

11.    Our collateral includes:

A.    Fresh and appealing design, distinct headings, and categorized content
B.    Some design elements and a good amount of organization
C.    Scattered messages and minimal design
D.    Tightly packed text and no focus on structure or appearance

12.    In order to bring in new business, we:

A.    Have a formal referral program put into place
B.    We verbally encourage our clients to tell their friends and family about us
C.    We mention referrals to our clients every so often
D.    We don’t spend any time encouraging referrals

13.    Depending on our target, we:

A.    Change the medium we’ll use to reach them
B.    Generally use the same medium
C.    Rarely consider how they receive the information
D.    Never take the medium into account

14.    In order to understand our target audience, we:

A.    Researched their demographics, interests, habits, and media intake
B.    Asked around to see what might appeal to them
C.    Guessed at who they might be
D.    Never considered these elements

15.    When we execute a marketing initiative, we:

A.    Measure its success and evaluate which factors we should adjust in the future
B.    Take note of whether it performed well or not
C.    Rarely try to gauge its success
D.    Find the success of the initiative to be irrelevant

Total up your answers:

For every question you answered A, give yourself 4 points
For every question you answered B, give yourself 3 points
For every question you answered C, give yourself 2 points
For every question you answered D, give yourself 1 point

40 Points or Above

You’ve got a pretty good handle on your marketing strategy. You take the extra time to secure a solid plan and keep things consistent. You understand the importance of brand identity and communicating effectively with your customers. But remember, things are changing fast out there and it’s tough to tell if you’re executing the best possible strategy for your business, or one that simply gets the job done.

30-40 Points

Looks like you’re spending some time (and probably some money!) but it’s not bringing the astounding results you were looking for. You’ve considered your brand from a marketing standpoint, but can’t always capitalize on opportunities to communicate with your customers in line with this strategy. Keep giving the marketing arm of your business the attention it needs to bring success.

20-30 Points

It seems like marketing just hasn’t made its way onto your list of important things. Refocus your attention on brand positioning and the elevator scenario. If you only have 30 seconds to sell a customer and you can’t find the most aligned, cohesive, and relevant strategy to do so, you should put some more focus on the marketing side of your business that has been pushed aside.

Below 20 Points

Your marketing needs work. Whether it’s that awful to-do list getting in your way or just a lack of appreciation for this kind of strategy, it’s time you rethink how you’re positioning your business. If your messaging doesn’t convey a structured and purposeful approach, you certainly can’t expect your customers to understand your brand.

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Inspiration Day is an idea that grew out of one key realization: People are much more creative when they feel inspired by the things they love. We decided that rather than waiting for this inspiration to strike, we should empower ourselves to go out and find it. The rules are simple: take a day off of work, do something different/challenging/abnormal/terrifying/exhilarating/whatever, learn from it, translate your inspiration to improve your work. Sounds like a good deal, huh?

Here’s a bit of what we learned:

It all started with a tweet, “Calling all food bloggers.”

My ears, eyes and stomach all seemed to perk up and I knew this was the perfect Inspiration Day for me.  This post will immerse you in the Philly food blogger scene, provide a list of quick resources, and all the foodspiration you can handle.

TECHmunch is a traveling food bloggers dream/conference run by the lovley and talented Babette from @BakeSpace and @cookbookcafe (photo cred above: Madame Fromage).  This was a day of panel discussions with tips on how to break out from the blogging masses, photography, working with brands, and full of food lovers eating up all things tech. Check out the day and some great tips from the pros via this Storify slideshow.

I learned all these delicious gems:

1. Being with people that are working on similar things as you brings out an innate sense of motivation/confidence.  Put yourself with people who are doing what you’re doing.  It just works.
2. Reach out to others who have succeeded at what you’re doing.  What’s the worst that could happen?  They say no?  They don’t respond?  If that’s the case you’re no worse off then when you started right?  And best case, you might get answers to a few questions that’ll give you that extra push, linked to a few new key connections, and maybe even a mentor whose been down a similar road.
3. It’s important to have a niche.  But also not to let that limit your opportunities.
4. To really get ahead with something, you have to be a super specialist.  It’s not just about building your experience over time, but pushing yourself to become a master of whatever microscopic corner of the market you’ve got.
5. The Philly food scene is pretty connected.  I never knew because I guess I really never looked, but I’m looking forward to getting in on it.

Quick Resources:

Get your words out there by checking out:

• Freelancewritingjobs.com
• Newsworks.org
• Schema.org
• Goodfoodjobs.com
• Helpareporterout.com

Get in with the Philly scene:

• Follow Wendy Kirby on Twitter for updates on local events

Learn to use your backend:

• Firebug.com is a web development resource
• Girl Develop It is a local Meetup that holds classes in coding
• Webstart Women holds local classes with a HQ in South Philly

Take Great pics

• Strobist.com has great photography tips
• Google Picasa is a cheap photoediting application
• Snapseed is inexpensive and has a desktop application
• Check Tineye if you’re concerned about copyright infringement, to see where you images are being used on the web

Stay Relevant:

• Trends.google.com to see what topics close to your niche might be trending

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This is a blog series about how to start a blog that will sometimes reference the tips and tricks I’ve learned from creating my food/booze blog, Philly-ism.com. It’ll cover all the other things you need to know – mainly: the how, the what, the where, the when, and the why should anyone care.  

Picking a blogging platform comes down to three things

There are countless websites that’ll list out exhaustive pros and cons of WordPress, Tumblr, Blogger, Typepad, etc.  We want to help you choose one the easy way.  Start thinking about the answers to these three questions and roll through this blogfographic that Jackie, our amazing/llama loving intern, designed.

1. How much time do you want to invest?
2. How tech savvy do you think you are?
3. How much money have you got to spend?

Layered on top of all of that, the purpose of your blog will make the biggest difference so choose your path and get goin’.

BLOGFOGRAPHIC.  WHAT’S YOUR BLOG’S LIFE PURPOSE?

WHAT’S UP NEXT?

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I tend to fill my days with simple things that make me smile. I’ve been known to thumb tack pictures of babies, Mickey Mouse, and snowflakes to my desk to make things a little brighter. I walk around spouting off facts about Disney World and ranting about Christmas, family dinners, puppies, and weddings. But when I had to search for the ultimate source of inspiration, I have to admit I was kind of stuck. I decided that maybe a good place to start would be on the other end of the spectrum – so I began by listing my biggest fears.

Among many, I narrowed this list down to a few key pieces of myself that I hoped to overcome through my search for inspiration. I wanted to find a way to gain confidence, challenge myself, go out of my comfort zone, and do something I would normally avoid. The answer? The First Annual Pocono Cupcake Challenge.

When I initially read the rules, I felt inclined to close the browser window and move on with my day, completely missing the opportunity in the name of nerves. But with Inspiration Day on my mind and encouragement from everyone in the office, I made a not-very-Michelle decision and actually considered participating. Do something I would normally avoid: check.

So this was the challenge: bake 10 dozen cupcakes (yes, really that many) and present them to a panel of judges hailing from the TV show Cupcake Wars. The general public pays $10 for admission and receives 5 tickets, each redeemable for 1 cupcake. They’re allowed to vote for one participant as the “People’s Choice” winner and enjoy a live jazz band performance, hayrides, and activities. This would normally stick out to me as a great activity to attend as a guest, so I had to reverse my perspective and try to see myself as someone worthy of being on the other side. Go out of my comfort zone: check.

I teamed up with my friend Emily to tackle the logistics of making 120 cupcakes in one oven. She shares the same love for baking and enthusiasm for cupcakes, so I knew she’d be the perfect partner to make this into a memorable experience. We decided on two different varieties: apple butter cupcakes with a cinnamon buttercream frosting and pumpkin ginger cupcakes with a maple cream glaze. Now the only thing left was to bring them to life, balancing both flavor and appearance, while considering the daunting task of transporting them through windy Pocono Mountain roads. Challenge myself: check.

When we arrived at the event, it was immediately clear to both of us that we weren’t quite up to par with some of the other participants. Our competition flaunted tables laden with elaborate decorations and professional-quality displays. Towers of cupcakes, 5-foot tall corn stalks, and pitchers of homemade apple cider graced their displays while Emily and I nervously arranged the simple pumpkins and autumn leaves we bought at midnight the night before, catching glances with each other and sharing looks of concern. There we stood in a room full of professionals, two kids from town that just happened to like cupcakes. The event had gathered over 400 people and a 60-minute line filing out the door of the Shawnee Inn, all anxiously awaiting cupcakes and a chance to pick their favorite. Find a way to gain confidence: check.

We stood proudly at our table, smiling at every person who passed until our cheeks ached from the monotony of our speeches – “Hi how are you?! Are you having fun?! We have a pumpkin ginger cupcake here with a maple cream glaze. It tastes like a gingerbread cookie turned into a cake! Oh yes, we know, so many choices! Enjoy!” Plenty of people stopped at our table, enthusiastic to hear our story and cash in a ticket for a cupcake. It felt unbelievably gratifying to be in a room full of professionals and still get recognized as legitimate contenders, with just as much talent and passion as anyone else.

When all was said and done, we didn’t win a thing. The judges gave out awards for People’s Choice, Best, Autumn Theme, Most Creative, and Best Overall – but it didn’t really matter that our name wasn’t on that list. I was there for a different reason than most of the other people and, as cheesy as it may sound, I feel like I achieved what I set out to achieve.

When I think about how I relate this to my job, it’s pretty crazy to see just how much a cupcake contest and a copy document have in common.

I learned that:

• Some people have an upper hand – whether it’s equipment, skills, resources, time, or money
• You need to make the most out of what you have – even if it’s a few pumpkins added to your table
• When you feel intimidated or unable to do something, it’s always more rewarding to tackle it head-on
• No matter how young or inexperienced you are, the product of your efforts is just as worthy as anyone with 20 years of practice
• When you walk into a room and feel like the underdog, smiling and standing confidently can make all the difference
• You don’t always win
• A ton of people actually are better than you are
• That’s not a bad thing
• It’s good to take a risk every so often
• Even if it doesn’t work out in the end, you never have to wonder what would have happened

This was a great choice for Inspiration Day. Not only did I learn a lot about myself and relate a lot of lessons to my job, but I also got to have a ton of fun and do what I love most. And best of all, I’ll never have to ask myself, “What if you took a chance and actually did that cupcake contest?”

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