In the last episode of Rough Draft, your host explored storytelling from a myriad of angles, culminating in a thorough vetting of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey concept. This time we thoroughly vet Campbell, the man. And we do it with superstar Campbell scholar Robert Segal. Professor Segal is an unstoppable fount of knowledge about Campbell... Listen to episode

Marketers are agog over stories. For good reason … A story lifts a person out of her ordinary world … and stories take her on a journey that ultimately leads to a vision of herself as a better version of herself. This is marketing that educates your audience through the storytelling arc. And one way... Listen to episode

So, we are making a few changes here at Rough Draft. Good changes. Three in fact. One, after this episode, I m taking a month break. A month to clear my head. A month to plan the next 100 episodes, namely the content and the format. Listen to this twelve minute episode to learn about the... Listen to episode

Some astronomers and philosophers make the grand, if not absurd, claim that we are ten thousand things, but one substance. Perhaps ancient stardust. Fair enough. I have my own absurd claim: behind one single article by a seasoned writer is the weight of one thousand books, one hundreds movies, hours of lectures, a litany of... Listen to episode

It s funny. How we forget things. Sublime reflections and exalted ideas. Like they were never even there. But if they were so sublime and exalted, why did they not remain with us? And it s funny how we fear losing these ideas. The lengths we will go to preserve them. The legends are legion. Keeping waterproof... Listen to episode

As of late, it s fashionable to write hell for leather. In fact, there s a hot cottage industry in the writing culture. But is it good for the writing community? Or detrimental? For lack of potentially better terms, let s call this trend the The Hell-For-Leather Writing Movement. Or HFLWM. You see, HFLWM in titles like How... Listen to episode

Most creative people will take your head off if you butt in while they are flowing. Man. That’s for good reason. But that s exactly what the Pomodoro technique does, a popular time management trick designed to boost your productivity. The concept is simple: set a kitchen timer for 25 minutes and work until it rings.... Listen to episode

Your idea stretches out to the end of nowhere. One hundred words? One thousand? What s the angle? The structure? That s just one decision among many you must make before you write. And just one more decision that adds to your anxiety. Fail to figure this one out and your idea sits idle. Deserted. Should this... Listen to episode

Language is software (your brain, the hardware). A form of coding. It communicates information, and ideas travel from one person to the next through language. As babies, our first goal is to learn the language. Master the fundamentals. Learn your scales. And most of us are fully satisfied with this. Great writers, however, aren t. They... Listen to episode

Writing is weird. Unlike speaking, it’s not something we do naturally. And unless we train ourselves out of it, that weirdness renders some creative, but wooden and dense prose. Speaking is a natural act. Every single human being has the ability to do it. And at a very young age. The reason why, says cognitive... Listen to episode

You know that conventional wisdom that you should read everything you write out loud? Let’s put a twist on that advice. Say you lost your voice. Or are simply lazy. But you just finished a 300-word article, and are ready to refine it. It’s natural to read it out loud to see how it sounds.... Listen to episode

So there s this new browser app that allows you to write/drop content into a text box and click Edit to determine if your writing is bold and clear. It s called the Hemingway Editor. It’s simple to use, but the question remains: does it work? And how does Hemingway actual stack up against his own app?... Listen to episode

Hey, because this is episode 90, let s do something a little different today. Let s talk music. Tell me if you recognize any of these names: – The Antlers – Real Estate – Tune-Yards – M83 – Beirut – Wye Oak – Feist – Tom Waits – The Head and the Heart – James Blake –... Listen to episode

So many English teachers shoved complex sentences down my throat that now a simple sentence almost makes my skin crawl.” That s Tim Biden, during a Twitter conversation about writing for the web. He was responding to a tweet where I shared a link to my first Copyblogger post: The Disgustingly Simple Rule for Web Writing... Listen to episode

So the job of the online copywriter is to attract attention, stoke interest, create desire, and incite action. AIDA. Attracting attention used to be mainly concerned with stopping the reader dead in his tracks. A good headline will do that. Before the web in the world of print advertisers bought space in magazines... Listen to episode

Before social media entered the stage a marketer s job was two-fold: write a compelling landing page and drive traffic to that landing page. But the internet has changed all of that. Not so much the internet, but social media. In particular — networks like Twitter, Reddit, 4chan, and YouTube the most potent platforms for... Listen to episode

Ever meet someone who completely revamps the way you look at an issue? This is the story of how an older gentleman changed my mind about what it takes to be successful. The first time I met Peter Hut was in a swank, open-air lounge where the concrete floor shone from a glossy finish. Peter... Listen to episode

Never forget that the formula for writing for the web is simple: it must be clear, concise, and compelling. We’ve covered how to make it clear and concise. Let’s look at what it really takes to make it compelling. Yesterday we saw how you can make copy compelling by raising the stakes with cancer and... Listen to episode

When you say the word “data” few people perk up their ears. It s a cold word that brings to mind row after row of zeros and ones. Yet you and I need data to help us make sound business decisions, uncover lost opportunities, and perfect our current efforts. So how do you talk about software... Listen to episode

Marketers are agog over stories. For good reason. Your stories lift a prospect out of her ordinary world … and then takes her on a journey that ultimately leads to a vision of herself as a better version of herself. In 1984, Apple brought it s own story to the market, one in which agile, nonconformists... Listen to episode

Indeed, it can. It can also make you a more visible writer. But that depends on how you go about it. On this episode of Rough Draft, I interview Jerod Morris and Jon Nastor. Jerod is one of the VPs of Rainmaker.FM, my co-host on The Lede, and a co-host on another Rainmaker.FM show called... Listen to episode

Like gravity pulls objects to the earth, the web pulls people across the landscape of connected information — whizzing by landmarks (content) at break-neck speed. Thus, when people arrive at your blog they should be able to size up your content in an instant. From the headline down the subheads to the call to action.... Listen to episode

Lots of people make careers out of controversy. But constant controversy can take a toll. You could get by with a lot of controversy in the early days of your blog or books in order to gain critical mass. But soon you’ll need to take your foot off that particular pedal. The goal (when it... Listen to episode

There are about 100 ways to become a better writer. For example, you could … Read 100 books. Listen to Ira Glass This American Life. Cultivate a sick sense of humor. Think like a psychologist. Rack up rejections. Write like mad. But did you know catching hell can help you sharpen your copy chops, too?... Listen to episode

Don t panic, but one of your kidneys has been harvested. That s the punch line for one of the most successful urban legends in the last fifteen years. What makes it so successful? It s hypnotic: understandable, memorable, and effective in changing thought and behavior. How do you create stories that are like that? Just follow these... Listen to episode

You can spot a mediocre writer from miles away … Flat verbs. Obtuse nouns. Lame metaphors. Absence of stories. I should know. I used to be one. In regards to the mediocre writers, it seems to me that they d want an edge. That they d kill to get their hands on words that crank out power... Listen to episode

Who would you prefer to write for you: somebody with a vanilla personality or someone with an awkward, funny edge to them? Someone who sees the unique and can find the angle that will differentiate you from the mob? I m going for the awkward edge because, when getting attention and visibility online is SO difficult... Listen to episode

That’s a lot of books out there. What’s the benefit of reading as many of them as you can lay your eyes on? One of the fastest tracks to mastering the art of compelling copy and seductive story-telling is to observe how others do it … both the masters and the flops. In fact, you... Listen to episode

There s an old-school trick to selling ideas to movie executives. It s called the high-concept pitch. A high-concept pitch lays out the entire story premise, promise, and execution in one simple sentence. Here are a few famous examples from Hollywood: – Backdraft: Top Gun in a Firehouse – Ghost: a man dies and becomes his wife s guardian angel... Listen to episode

Anybody out there know who Cyrus Trask is? Anyone? You won t find out who Cyrus Trask is if you eyeball a list of country singers. No. The only way you can find out who Cyrus Trask is is by reading John Steinbeck s novel East of Eden. John Steinbeck describes Cyrus Trask as the father of... Listen to episode

Let s admit it: in a world where blogs and blog posts proliferate, it s hard to be original. But it s not impossible … … as long as you’re willing to do a little work. So the question is, what can you as a web writer or blogger do to write a post that stands out? That s... Listen to episode

Web readers are people on a mission. Cramped for attention. Bent on skimming rather than diving deep. They don t go to the web to window shop. They go there to drive 60 miles per hour and look at billboards. That s the unbreakable rule of the web. So what can you do as a web writer to... Listen to episode

First things first: What is a landing page? Landing pages are those web pages that are specifically designed to perform one task … one task and one task only. One goal, one page. It could be to sell your product, encourage people to sign up for an email newsletter, or recommend an event. No matter... Listen to episode

It’s actually quite simple: there is really never a topic your audience takes for granted. See, the problem is that most of us overestimate the sophistication of our readers. That s not a condescending thing to say. Even in a saturated market like weight loss, most interested readers don t know the basics. And sometimes what we... Listen to episode

There really is no right or wrong way to create about page. The only question is this: is it interesting? Remember, people will read a lot if it is interesting. However, there are a few best practices you can follow. Let s look at those … In this 5-minute episode you’ll discover: The wrong way to... Listen to episode

A good email subject line will remind you what it s like to taste blood in your mouth. What it was like lying on your back, dizzy and nausea. Granted, it s a fleeting moment. Normal, healthy people s BS detectors kick in after 4 or 5 seconds. By that time, though, it s too late. They re hooked. They... Listen to episode

Great writers write to the emotions of your readers. And they focus on just four emotional appeals. The appeal is the reason you give the reader to read, subscribe, donate, share, or buy. And the appeal is almost always expressed in the headline. John Caples, in his book Tested Advertising Methods (a must-read for any... Listen to episode

During the past four months one of the things I ve been trying to experiment with is telling more stories. Historical stories, fake stories, personal stories. See, what I m trying to do is make the audio more visual. And I ve found that best way to do that is to share stories. Illustrations. Anecdotes. Et cetera. Audio... Listen to episode

These days, you want to write a headline that will blow up on the social web. A headline that will get people to pound the Share button … a headline to clog our Twitter feed with thousands of retweets. But there s a problem … We on the web can watch our website traffic rise like... Listen to episode

Albert Lasker. Mel Martin. Eugene Schwartz. Robert Collier. Victor Schwab. David Ogilvy. John Caples. Maxwell Sackheim. Bill Jayme. Copywriters who wrote beautiful copy. Ads that drove results. As David Ogilvy said, We sell or else. This is the point. Advertising comes in two flavors: artistic and mechanical. One obscures the message and is judged by... Listen to episode

Allow me to tell you a story. A story that you will probably be able to relate to in some sense. It s about a stout, whiskered man who thinks sound decisions can come only from a cool head. And that copy should always be short. “I would never read this. It s too long.” That s a... Listen to episode

In spite of being a literary snob, one who turned up his nose at anything that smacked of business … when I was first introduced to the world of direct-response copywriting … I fell in love. I fell in love with the thought of using my writing to influence and persuade people. I also fell... Listen to episode

In the last episode I walked you through the magic that is an Upworthy headline as an introduction to a concept called The 5 Stages of Audience Awareness. The actual name is The 5 Stages of Market Awareness. A concept originally developed by Eugene Schwartz. But I modified it for our purposes. Every product or... Listen to episode

A few years back Upworthy stormed the publishing world — and eventually proclaimed to be the fastest growing media company ever with 47 million monthly uniques after just 17 months of existence. So what s their secret? Tantalizing headlines. Headlines you love to hate and hate to click but you click anyway, because you hate not... Listen to episode

Here’s yet another way to build credibility and trust when it comes to making a bold claim … which is simply this: explain the mechanism behind your claim. Here s what that looks like. Let s say you re a fitness trainer that makes the claim that in just 14 minutes a day customers can add muscle to... Listen to episode

Imagine it s late afternoon, Sunday. You are curled beneath an afghan, still bloated from the fried fish you inhaled for lunch. You are sleeping heavily. Until your doorbell erupts. A young woman in a peasant top and floral pencil skirt is standing at your doorstep. She looks over her shoulder. A tall man wearing a... Listen to episode

If you want people to believe in something that’s true-but-hard-to-believe — you simply demonstrate that your product does what you say it does. Show them how it works. Here’s one famous example … The history of the elevator is long and rich. But the first elevators weren’t installed until the mid 18th century. While these... Listen to episode

While Enlightenment-era thinkers like Denis Diderot, Benjamin Franklin, René Descartes, David Hume, and Thomas Jefferson — giants from the age of reason — would like you to believe otherwise, we are not as rational as we think we are. Recent books like Irrational Exuberance, Emotional Intelligence, and Descartes Error teach us that even the most... Listen to episode

You could have a great product, a revolutionary idea, or a compelling piece of content, but unless you position it with the right approach that instantly captures the imagination of your ideal prospect, forget it. Listen. People will rush to do business with you if you can help them achieve their dreams, calm their fears,... Listen to episode

Your product has two identities. But your customer buys your product because of just one of these identities. Oops. See, when you pay $5,000 for your son s braces, you aren t buying a middle-aged man to follow you around in a white coat … nor are you buying stainless steel rods to stick in your son’s... Listen to episode

Which desire you lead with in your headline matters. Get it wrong, and even the greatest copy won t matter. Get it right, however, and the world will beat a path to your door. See, your headline is the bridge between your customer and your product. And there are basically three ways of channelling that desire... Listen to episode

We all long for something. Love that will last. The ability to influence people. Scenic vacations. Financial independence. Less anxiety. Copywriters call these mass desires. And copywriting that actually works connects your product to one of these mass desires. When that is done when you ve convinced your prospect that you can satisfy their desires... Listen to episode

Ever wonder how you could get more people to believe you? To trust you? It s easy, actually. And quite odd the way it works. What s the secret? Never tell anyone more than they ll believe. Sounds like a moron statement, right? It’s not. See, the moment your claim passes the point of believability, credibility drops off... Listen to episode

Do you want a simple, sticky formula that turns your listless copy into something that rivets attention, stokes desire, and gets action? I mentioned it in yesterday s episode. I called it the 4 Ps. Promise. Picture. Proof. Push. . In this episode I’ll work through a short example ad (about a pill that makes ugly... Listen to episode

This is what you have to remember: your reader has hunkered down, intending never to move again. Unless of course you give him something to get worked up over. So we ve all done it. We ve all given away the farm. We ve satisfied the interest of a reader or buyer by giving away too much information.... Listen to episode

I ve got a nice little treat for you today. My go-to formula whether I m writing an article, landing page, email, or a LinkedIn profile summary. I ve used it so much this formula has become second nature. And should become second nature for you, too. It will help speed things along, allow you to structure difficult... Listen to episode

Content syndication is sort of like guest posting on steroids. You get all the benefits of guest posting without the work because you are using one article to show up on on different websites. But which websites you publish on matters. Which is why I asked Belle Beth Cooper to come on today s special interview... Listen to episode

This episode is for any one with limited time and limited proofreading skills. Like me. There’s a common myth web writers fall for: this idea that proofreading online isn’t nearly as important as writing for print. If you believe that, you would be wrong. Proofreading is essential. So today I m happy as a kitten to... Listen to episode

Are you comfortable in your own skin? Or do you feel awkward and out of place? If the latter, then today’s episode is for you. Whenever I talk about authenticity or finding your voice, Erika Napoletano is always my go-to person as someone who s owned their personality with an unapologetic, straightforward flair. Don t let her... Listen to episode

Today is a monumental moment in the history of Rough Draft because we are going to break for the first time ever the monologue mold of Rough Draft. In fact, we re going to do it all week. See, I have four short interviews for you from four superb web writers. People who will... Listen to episode

You don t have too look far to find a list of the best books a writer should read. This is a benefit for new writers, no doubt. Unfortunately, those of us who have been around for a number of years often own every book that tends to make these lists. And we read them. And... Listen to episode

If you re like me, you like to read. And you like to read a lot. In fact, some people might call you obsessed. I get that all the time. No surprise, since I try to read 100 books every year … But it can be frustrating. Daily demands. Lack of time. Big books. You get... Listen to episode

What I m about to say might make you grit your teeth. Clench your fist. Or even pick up a crow bar … I want to show you why marking in a book is a good thing. And I want to show you that unless you do this, you re likely missing out on the best kind... Listen to episode

I don’t care who you are — blogger, freelance journalist, ghostwriter, ad copywriter — if you are writing on the web then you need to read these copywriting books. Two are more recent than the others (and Influence by Cialdini is not technically a direct response copywriting book). But these are the books I would... Listen to episode

No one wants to write dull, lifeless copy that lulls even the most hyper people to sleep. Certainly not you, right? But why do we find it so hard to write what we want to say in the least amount of words — and still maintain potency? It s not easy because we tend to fall... Listen to episode

Here s a million dollar question: is there a magical blog post length? In other words, should you aim for a word-count sweet spot? The answer is no, there is not an ideal word count for a blog post. But there s is an ideal number of questions you need to ask yourself before you write. And... Listen to episode

Listen. You have control over inspiration. You run the show. Look at magicians, for examples. Curious bunch. They pull furry mammals out of their hats. Levitate humans. Hide automobiles out of sight. The great ones make a killing, jet set around the globe, and beat groupies off with a brass-tipped wand. The not-so-great ones —... Listen to episode

I am about to destroy the lie that suggests your first draft must be perfect. The illusion that great copy is born in a single moment of white hot inspiration. One of the most famous white-hot inspiration ambush stories in American literary history involves Jack Kerouac, Beat Generation pioneer. As the legend has it, Kerouac... Listen to episode

The end of your article is one last final opportunity to catch and keep the attention of a reader. Don’t screw it up. The sad thing is is that the close of an article, sales letter, or an email is usually an afterthought. It s something we writers rush to get to, and wipe our hands... Listen to episode

Why talk about dialogue in a podcast about online writing? Dialogue builds tension. Allows you to show instead of tell. And so much more. People love to read dialogue. We gravitate to the words on the page that are surrounded by quotation marks — the speech marks — because we know that two humans are... Listen to episode

So your visitor loved your headline. Will she read the rest of the article? One of the best ways to increase your chances is by using internal cliffhangers. A cliffhanger is a scene in a book, movie, newspaper story, or TV show that holds something back from the reader or viewer. More than likely you re... Listen to episode

Good writing uses transitional words and phrases to help the reader smoothly work through what you wrote. It’s strange how simple, but powerful, these words can be. Basically, these words and phrases are used to connect one idea to the next. Look at the word Consequently for example. Consequently means as a result. So when... Listen to episode

On the Internet, there is no shortage of answers to the question “What is a paragraph?” From prestigious universities to forums. Unfortunately, they are all wrong. The Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill defines a paragraph as the building blocks of papers.” Fair enough. What else would you expect from... Listen to episode

Here s the thing: your sentences don t have to say much. They just have to say the right things. Here’s how to do that. When you are trying to get people to respond to your articles, subscribe to your email newsletter, buy your products, or donate to your cause … you need to write seductive sentences.... Listen to episode

Sentences are pretty simple little things. Noun and predicate. So why do we screw them up with lame verbs? Good question. Even in the complex sentence, we still depend upon the noun, we still depend upon the verb. So those constructions better rock. And because the difference between a brilliant sentence and a bad sentence... Listen to episode

White space sounds like a design issue. So why should you, dear web writer, care? Because words matter. I want you to imagine a statue. An aged bronze sculpture of a young girl, possibly eight years old, in a long dress. She stands about 50 inches … roughly four feet tall. Her head is cocked... Listen to episode

Everything up to now — all these markers that flag a reader to come in for a landing — traded in words. But not the next element. And curiously enough, it s probably as important and powerful as the headline. Remember the episode about the headline experiment involving Google Reader? Remember how I said I learned... Listen to episode

Want to improve your chances a visitor will actually read what you wrote? Then take a look at these easy guidelines for writing meaningful, compelling links that please both people and search engines. Links are hugely important for the web. In a macro, 30,000-foot way, links are the currency that help search engines evaluate the... Listen to episode

In this Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat world, who needs words, right? Well, we all do. But only if they are readable. Enter bullet points. Why bullet points? Like it or not, they keep people reading your blog posts, pages, articles, and copy like nothing else … In the online attention economy, studies show us that readers... Listen to episode

The purpose of the subheadline is two-fold. Standing out is its first purpose. The second purpose is a little more complex. Imagine your average reader. She s fallen in love with your headline. It s a good one. It s a humdinger. And now she is scrolling down the page, evaluating whether she wants to invest the time... Listen to episode

One of the hardest things for a writer to uncover is her voice, her style, her flair. Here are four safe ways to help you find it — and one dangerous. Writers start to peel away from the crowd when they find their voice. That strong, distinctive voice that people easily recognize. But finding your... Listen to episode

So far I’ve asked “Do you have the right strategy? Do you have the right technique?” Today s question is … Do you have the right knowledge? American theoretical physicist Richard P. Feynman said, Study hard what interests you the most in the most undisciplined, irreverent, and original manner possible. I can t think of a better... Listen to episode

Wrestling with a 2,000 word essay is not unlike birthing a calf. A life is at stake here. Your job is to make sure it survives. In my experience, great writers have always been socially odd. They’ve resisted invitations to birthday parties from close relatives, pretended not to hear when people are talking to them,... Listen to episode

Have you ever asked yourself why you want to become a writer? You should. Because writing can be a thankless job. Like doing the laundry. Listen. There will be times where you will hit a wall. You are exhausted. Lost. Broken. And you ll ask yourself, “Why?” Why am I doing this to myself? You have... Listen to episode

You don’t become an exceptional writer by galloping recklessly into the ring. There’s more to conquering obscurity and overcoming neglect. Four things, in fact. I’ve always considered myself more lover than fighter. A soft-skinned, head-in-the-clouds poet. If I was a betting man, I’d put my money on the Internet. “Swallow up the swan in two... Listen to episode

This episode is personal. I offer you something that helped me during one of my most difficult times as an online writer … It was in late September 2011. Occupy Wall Street was everywhere. And I longed to drop everything and join the movement because what I was doing at the time was killing me.... Listen to episode

Don’t feel guilty. It’s okay to steal ideas from other writers. In fact, it’s essential. As long as you do this one thing … As a writer you should be swiping ideas nonstop. Stealing ideas nonstop. William S. Burroughs said, All writing is in fact cut-ups. A collage of words read, heard, overheard. Your content... Listen to episode

Captivate readers with these 8 examples from one of the best living writers on the planet. In previous episodes we ve established that beyond headlines the first sentence dominates. In fact, it s responsible for hurling the reader into the story. The headline captures the reader’s attention. The first sentence keeps it. Great writers like David Sedaris... Listen to episode

Master these six principles on first sentences and you’ll not only grab people’s attention — you’ll keep it. Master copywriter Eugene Schwartz often spent an entire week on the first 50 words of a sales piece - the headline and the opening paragraph. Sound excessive? Well, just imagine how disappointed you d be after reading a... Listen to episode

Quite a challenge, right? Especially given this is a podcast. Trust me on this one. My daughter and her strand of pink hair. The first ever triple BMX back flip. A throbbing finger. Strange way to begin a podcast about getting people to read every single line you write. But it’s a proven method to... Listen to episode

These four research studies will prepare you for the fight ahead — a fight you can win In this episode I want to put some teeth to the things I’ve been teaching. Some substance behind my claims. In this case, I’ll present four research studies you should know about. They’ll help you understand the true... Listen to episode

Creating great web content is not hard if you understand just three simple words … If you summarized every single book and article written on writing for the web, you d get the three words I’m about to tell you. Yet, no one not even the experts, authors, or pundits — has, to my knowledge,... Listen to episode

Is 90 minutes of your time worth learning about which headlines actually work online? Then listen on … Ever wonder why some headlines are better than others? I mean what makes some headlines irresistible and others fall flat? More importantly, ever dream of actually writing headlines that clothes line people and then flings them into... Listen to episode

A simple 4-step formula to writing one helluva seductive headline. Headline writing is probably the first and most important skill you need to learn as a web writer. John Caples called it the most important part of an advertisement. That s why he dedicates four out of eighteen chapters to headline writing in his book Tested... Listen to episode

Here are 10 reasons your humdinger of a headline won’t save the catastrophe that is your blog post When I was young, I sported pink hair, suede sneakers, raver jeans, and punk t-shirts. Sure, I was cool, but strike up a conversation and you’d wonder if something was wrong with me. I had nothing... Listen to episode

The number one SEO practice you can employ to get people (and Google) to pay attention to your online content. Links have become the online content creator’s currency. Get a lot of links, and you get “wealthy”. And the more quality links that point to a particular page, the higher that page is going to... Listen to episode

These 21 questions from a Google engineer will help you create original, high-quality content … If you re a good web writer, then February 24, 2011 was your day. Bad web writer? Not so much. February 24, 2011 marks the day Google took low-quality content sites out to the woodshed. It s the day they rolled out... Listen to episode

In the end, keyword research has nothing to do with SEO. It goes way deeper than that … Will anyone actually read the online content you create? It s a terrifying question, but an important one. If you re committed to building a popular and profitable media property, you ll have to write, read, and talk about your... Listen to episode

Where you find out how Google learns what a page is about, and how it ranks that page. Imagine you love jaguars. You have a blog about jaguars. You publish seven times a week about jaguars. On your site, it’s jaguar all day and all night. But Google doesn’t seem to know you exist. What... Listen to episode

A few important details every web writer should know about how Google does its job … So we need to back up just a little bit. We need to talk about how people actually find anything on the web to begin with. Why? Because as web writers we have to face that ugly monster called... Listen to episode

Like the law of gravity, when you break the law of the web things may not end well with you. The law of the web says people blaze through the web like it were an autobahn. And they blaze on the autobahn to do one thing Look at billboards. When they re driving at 170 miles... Listen to episode

The web gives you the opportunity to have a voice. The only problem is there are two almost-insurmountable obstacles standing in your way. We all love the web. It’s changed the way we communicate, research, and write. More importantly, it’s opened up opportunities for you. To build a website, publish a blog. You now have... Listen to episode