How do you get a potential client to trust that you are as good as your word?

You pay attention to detail. In Ideas and Opinions, Albert Einstein tells us, “Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.” (1)

One of the small matters in freelance writing is mechanical correctness.

Paying attention to grammar, punctuation, and spelling goes a long way to showing your expertise in writing. Part of the mechanics of writing is properly citing your research sources and that’s a “small matter” that is often overlooked in web freelance writing.

Because the web can be a very informal means of communication, freelance writers often view citation as an unnecessary, time-wasting extra that only serves to lead their readers to other domains by linking to researched content. However, the core principle of creating trust for the freelance writer is credibility. While your opinions may be valid, they are only your opinions unless you can back them up with solid facts. Citing your sources is that extra small matter that improves your credibility in both the originality of your content and as an authority on your topic.

Citing your sources gives your readers (sometimes potential clients) access to your research. Not only can they explore your topic as fully as you explored it, they can also see that while well-researched, your content is original… not just a copy-paste version of someone else’s idea.

The easiest way to cite Internet sources is to just leave a link under a “Resource” section at the bottom of your web page, but if you want to build trust and confidence in your writing expertise, easiest isn’t always the best. Properly citing sources takes a little more effort, but once you have the basics down, it becomes almost second nature.

Although different methods of citing sources apply to different types of content, the most often used traditional methods come from the Chicago Manual of Style, which offers acceptable solutions for citing most types of documents, online and off.

The following method of citation is also acceptable for most types of Internet content writing.

1. Author Name (if known)
2. Document Title
3. Content Date (if known)
4. “Site Name or Title”
5. Date Accessed
6. <http://domain.tld/directory/page.ext>

For instance, to cite this article, use:

Linda Jenkinson. Are You as Good as Your Word(s)? Dec 2007 “Older Space” 20 Dec. 2007.

If you have trouble getting the hang of correctly citing resources, you can get started with the Son of Citation Generator or explore the various methods of citing sources at Online’s Citation Styles.

Theodore Roosevelt is remembered for saying, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” In freelance writing, the combination of research and citation is a bat that turns soft opinion into hard-hitting content, which builds trust in your writing expertise and adds credibility to your content.

1. Albert Einstein. Ideas and Opinions. New York, NY: Wings Books, 1954. World Cat. 6 Dec. 2007 <http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/48862178&referer=one_hit>
2. Theodore Roosevelt. The Columbia World of Quotations. Ed. Robert Andrews, Mary Biggs, and Michael Seidel. Columbia University Press, 2006. eNotes.com. 2006. 6 Dec, 2007 <http://www.enotes.com/famous-quotes/speak-softly-and-carry-a-big-stick>

• The Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide. 2006. “The Chicago Manual of Style Online”. 6 Dec. 2007 <http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html>
• Harnek & Kleppinger. Citation Styles. 2003. “Online!” 6 Dec. 2007. <http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/citex.html>
• David Warlick. Son of Citation Machine. Apr. 2006. The Landmark Project. 6 Dec. 2007 <http://citationmachine.net/index.php?source=166&callstyle=11&all=#here>

Popularity: 100% [?]

Writing an article like this one is probably one of the easiest forms of writing because I get to say exactly what I want to say exactly how I want to say it.

Write what you know.

That’s what they tell you in school, but in the real world of professional web content writing you’ll often be called upon to write content on subjects that are completely foreign to you. When you write for a client, even if you are “in the know”, you still need to thoroughly research the subject just to be sure your knowledge conforms with present day facts. Researching topical articles can be time consuming, but at least once you’ve done your homework you have a solid base of information to begin your client’s content.

Although writing sales content is the type of writing I find most profitable of all web content writing, sales content poses special problems. In order to write sales content for a client you, of course, first have to know 1)what the client wants on his/her website and 2)what needs to be on the website in order to make it rank well in the search engines and convert visitors to customers. Often those two elements butt heads. If the client doesn’t have an existing web site, it can be like pulling teeth to get the information you need. If s/he does have a website, you’ll frequently find that the current copy isn’t written to sell. Most often, it’s written to tell.

The Client Content Questionnaire

This was a real problem for me when I first started writing web sales content for clients. I know what I’d like to see on their pages but often my clients opinions differ radically from mine. Finally, I developed a client Content Questionnaire that my clients fill out before I begin their web content projects. In less than 20 questions it gives them an idea of what they’ll see on their pages and discreetly helps them learn what needs to be on their web pages.

The Content Questionnaire is built into a MSWord® form with a text block under each question that my clients may use to add extra information. Below is a truncated version of the form. If you’d like a copy of the complete form, I’ve put it in a zip file for you and you can download it here (It’s free!).

1. What information is the most important to emphasize throughout your website content? (products or services)
2. What is your business structure? (corporate, partnership, sole proprietorship)
3. What additional information would you like to see mentioned on your home page?
4. How long has your company been in business. (Year started if known)
5. Who founded the business and what was their incentive to begin the business?
6. What specific information about key people would you like to see on your website?
7. What other information about your company would you like to see on your about or company history page?
8. How would you describe your business in your words?
9. Do you have brochures, flyers or other media that contains product or service information?
10. Who is your primary market? (commercial or consumer)
11. What is the range of your market?(local, regional, nationwide, global)
12. Should your website cater specifically to your present market range or work to extend your market?
13. Is location or regional information important to your business?
14. What sort of feel do you want your website to have? (Sharp and professional; Friendly and Inviting; Intellectual; Down to Earth
15. Does your business hold any special qualifications, certifications, licenses, memberships, etc. that you would like mentioned on your website?
16. If your business is product oriented, what shipping information would you like included in your website, if any?
17. Does your business have a slogan, mission, and/or vision statement that you would like included in your website content?
18. Does your business have any product and/or service disclaimers that are necessary to your website content?
19. Do you have other comments, requests,or information that will help us to write the content of your website to reflect your business accurately?

Popularity: 74% [?]

It probably comes as no surprise to anyone familiar with reading on the web that narrow text column widths are preferable to wide ones. Because web designers pay attention to resolutions and screen sizes, most templates are designed so that the active window is the appropriate column width. The length (inch-wise) of an article is more important to the webmaster.

The frequent question is, “How long is too long?” Is it better to expect your reader to scroll down or to expect them to click to another page in a longer article? Or would it be better, to keep articles to a length that allows the reader to complete reading without needing to either click or scroll?

The definitive answer is that there is no definitive answer. Just as writers develop their own individual writing styles, readers develop their own styles of reading. Some readers prefer long articles that are more detailed and others like their information in a nutshell. Some favor clicking from page to page and others find the need to click annoying no matter how long the article is.

You’ve probably read or been told to “write for your readers”. If you write for your readers, you’ll develop a following of those who enjoy your writing style. Of course, the first step in developing a following is to know not only what information your readers are seeking, but also how your readers read.

Make Reading Easy

The experts tell us that before you begin reading a web page, your eye canvases the screen for something of interest. Now, this canvas is ‘above the fold’, so if you must scroll to access the meat of an article, your attention may wane before you find the point that piques your interest in the topic.

Although the more white space you use, the less area you have for ‘above the fold’ content, being generous with white space makes finding that ’something’ easier for your reader. That’s also why headings are important to good content. They make eye-catchers out of the main points of your content.

As you read down this page, notice what your hand is doing. It’s probably on your mouse, scrolling the page as you read. Reading on the web differs from reading the print word where you eye travel downs the page.

What happens is that when reading on the screen, your eye finds its point of interest and fixes on that point of interest, reading while you use your mouse or keyboard to scroll the page, helping you maintain your focus on the page even as you search for the next major point of interest. That’s what the experts mean when they tell you that Internet readers scan a web page. There’s more to it than that, but reading while scrolling is a big part of scanning.

Bulleted and numbered lists are also great attention grabbers that allow your reader to scroll and scan while quickly accessing the most interesting and/or most important parts of your message.

Some self-proclaimed gurus will tell you that the tendency to scroll is indicative of the short attention span of those who read on the web. The truth is, that readers, whether reading print media or reading on the screen, are just regular people that bring their normal attention spans to your web content. Your topic draws their attention. How you format your content, holds it.

Give Your Reader a Chance to Click.

They already have the itch. Notice your own urge to click while reading long content. How many times have you right-clicked unintentionally or clicked on a link that you really didn’t mean to click?

Turn your reader’s urge to click to your advantage. Give your readers the opportunity to click to other areas of your site and eventually through your sales process to conversion, using text links within content and breaking longer articles into shorter sections.

Aside from making important areas of your content stand out, contextual links scratch the itch to click and allow your readers to move on to another area of interest or a more specific definition of their present one.

If your topic is broad, divide specific points into separate pages. Keeping web pages relevant to a particular aspect of your message not only gives your readers a chance to click, it also helps you create optimized pages that hold single-topic information that search engine spiders love to eat.

Breadcrumb navigation helps readers advance through a site while providing them with the ability to go back if they choose to do so. It also allows readers to bookmark a page of specific information, something that they can’t do on a one page article.

Whether your goal is to entice your reader to click on an affiliate link or your contact page, sooner or later you want your reader to click. Give him/her plenty of chances to satisfy the urge.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Keyword density is always a hot topic and to quench the webmaster’s thirst for keyword density knowledge, a lot of other webmasters have developed keyword density tools. In fact, a search for “keyword density tool” brings up 1,900,000 listings in Google. Even the top SEO programs, such as IBP and Web CEO have keyword density tools.

Calculating Keyword Density

Just about every keyword density tool calculates keyword density differently than the next. Some keyword density tools count stop words, such as ‘the,’ ‘an,’ and ‘it’ in calculating keyword density; some tools do not. Some keyword density tools calculate single keywords and some calculate keyword phrases that contain up to four words.

Depending on which keyword density tool you use, how it calculates the density, and which ‘expert’ you believe, optimal keyword density can be calculated from anywhere between 1% and 9% of your content word count. The problem with on-page optimization based on percentages is that if you optimize at 3%, your competition may go for 4% and so on up the ladder.

Here’s an example:

Suppose you write 500 words on hidignablios (that’s just a word I made up - could you tell? ) How many times do you suppose you would need to repeat it to rank well for the word hidignablios in the SERPs? My guess is that once would be enough.

However, more often, targeted keywords are common words that may have many different meanings. For instance, the word ‘toast’ can mean ‘make a toast’, ‘toast bread’, or “You’re toast!” So to be sure that your content ends up on the right SERPs, you’ll need to optimize your page using keyword phrases.

The mistake many webmasters and keyword density tools make with keyword phrases is that you needn’t keep words in keyword phrases adjacent to each other. The sentence “White bread makes good toast” will fair just as well in search engine results as the phrase “white toast”. Creative use of keyword phrases makes your content both more informative and a more enjoyable read for your visitors.

Keyword Placement

Keyword placement is far more important than keyword density. Heavily weighted areas include your title element, headings (h1 - h3 are best), contextual links, bolded or emphasized text, possibly alt text and possibly title attributes - probably in that order. These are the same things that draw your visitor’s focus to your content so make sure they are visitor friendly as well.

Write your content for your visitors. They are the final judge of how well you describe your topic. Optimize your pages for what you believe your targeted visitors will put into a search query. If your page is visitor friendly, it should prove to be search engine friendly as well.

The way to write keyword-optimized copy is just to write content that covers your topic and then reread your content to find the spots where you could better describe your content with the addition of a keyword or two. For instance, get rid of as many of the pronouns as you can and use your keyword phrases instead. That is the true measure of good keyword density.

Popularity: 19% [?]

One of my pet peeves is the misuse of words and one of the biggest ones is the title ‘tag’. The phrase “title tag” is such a misnomer. There is no such thing as a title tag. There is the title element that goes in the head section of your page and the title attribute that is meant to describe where a link will take your visitor.

Use title attributes to tell your visitors where contextual links lead them. I really hate clicking on an external link when I don’t mean to just as much as I hate the wikipedia text links that take me to information that is neither need to know or nice to know.

Keep your titles short and to the point. If you create a title that’s relative to your content, it will naturally contain a keyword or two.

To stuff either the title element or the title attribute with keywords is poor form. First of all, when users bookmark your page, it’s the title element that appears in their bookmarks folder. I bookmark a lot of pages and its really annoying when I have to weed through keyword garbage to find what interested me in the page enough to bookmark it.

Moreover, I think you get more clicks on your contextual links if your users don’t have to worry they will end up lost in a cyberspace black hole.

So, keep your title elements and attributes short and to the point — pointing your visitors in the right direction… and please, don’t call either of them “title tags“.

Popularity: 18% [?]