Hone Press Release Skills by Identifying These Common Errors

Nov 5,2014 / By Darren Tunstall / No Comment

Some of the most common mistakes in press releases include simple problems with content. Use of all caps is one example; this is often done in order to draw attention to important words and phrases, but it appears unprofessional. It is important to avoid grammatical errors as well. Another thing to avoid is the “direct address,” which is where press release writers use the second person; this makes the press release read like an advertisement. Hype flags should also be avoided; these include hyperbolic language, excessive use of words like “best” and “free,” and excessive use of exclamation points. This will trigger spam filters and take away credibility with readers.

Article Marketing Writing and Speaking

Article Title Examples: 85 Headlines With Keywords

Aug 25,2014 / By Darren Tunstall / 4 Comments

Do you write a lot of articles for your content marketing media plan? Chances are, you are probably going to need a good headline. You can either write article titles by yourself or view article title examples below (just replace the KEYWORD with yours):

This Is Your Brain on [KEYWORD]
3 Compelling Reasons Why You Need [KEYWORD]
Things Everyone Gets Wrong About [KEYWORD]
What Most People Don't Know About [KEYWORD]
How Successful People Make the Most of Their [KEYWORD]
Effective [KEYWORD] Elevator Pitches
3 Things Your Parents Taught You About [KEYWORD]
What Would the World Look Like Without [KEYWORD]
3 Apps to Help You Manage Your [KEYWORD]
Signs You Sell [KEYWORD] for a Living
The 3 Biggest Disasters in [KEYWORD] History
What You Should Know About [KEYWORD]
Videos About [KEYWORD] That'll Make You Cry
Enough Already! 15 Things About [KEYWORD] We're Tired of Hearing
Gifts for the [KEYWORD] Lover in Your Life
Stats About [KEYWORD] to Make You Look Smart Around the Water Cooler
Why People Love to Hate [KEYWORD]
Ask Me Anything: 10 Answers to Your Questions About [KEYWORD]
The Worst Videos of All Time About [KEYWORD]
Savvy Ways to Spend Leftover [KEYWORD] Budget
The Pros and Cons of [KEYWORD]
What's Holding Back the [KEYWORD] Industry
3 Books About [KEYWORD] You Should Read
Surprising Facts About [KEYWORD]
What the Best [KEYWORD] Pros Do (and You Should Too)
How the 3 Worst [KEYWORD] Fails of All Time Could Have Been Prevented
[KEYWORD] Explained in Fewer than 140 Characters
Where Will [KEYWORD] Be 1 Year From Now
The Most Hilarious Complaints We've Heard About [KEYWORD]
Don't Buy Into These “Trends” About [KEYWORD]
How to Outsmart Your Boss on [KEYWORD]
How to Explain [KEYWORD] to Your Grandparents
3 Bad Habits That People in the [KEYWORD] Industry Need to Quit
Undeniable Proof That You Need [KEYWORD]
3 Laws That'll Help the [KEYWORD] Industry
Up-and-Comers to Watch in the [KEYWORD] Industry
The Ultimate Glossary of Terms About [KEYWORD]
Ways to Completely Revamp Your [KEYWORD]
3 Things About [KEYWORD] You May Not Have Known
Responsible for a [KEYWORD] Budget? 12 Top Notch Ways to Spend Your Money
Don't Make This Silly Mistake With Your [KEYWORD]
The Most Innovative Things Happening With [KEYWORD]
The Most Underrated Companies to Follow in the [KEYWORD] Industry
How to Master [KEYWORD] in 6 Simple Steps
The [KEYWORD] Awards: The Best, Worst, and Weirdest Things We've Seen
Will [KEYWORD] Ever Die
7 Things About [KEYWORD] Your Boss Wants to Know
Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About [KEYWORD]
[KEYWORD]: 11 Thing You're Forgetting to Do
The 10 Scariest Things About [KEYWORD]
Watch Out: How [KEYWORD] Is Taking Over and What to Do About It
The 3 Greatest Moments in [KEYWORD] History
The Most Influential People in the [KEYWORD] Industry and Their Celebrity Dopplegangers
5 Vines About [KEYWORD] That You Need to See
10 Things Your Competitors Can Teach You About [KEYWORD]
Forget [KEYWORD]: 3 Replacements You Need to Jump On
12 Steps to Finding the Perfect [KEYWORD]
How to Explain [KEYWORD] to Your Boss
How to Outsmart Your Peers on [KEYWORD]
15 People You Oughta Know in the [KEYWORD] Industry
An Introduction to [KEYWORD]
11 Creative Ways to Write About [KEYWORD]
9 Signs You're a [KEYWORD] Expert
Where to Find Guest Blogging Opportunities on [KEYWORD]
10 Things Steve Jobs Can Teach Us About [KEYWORD]
10 Misconceptions Your Boss Has About [KEYWORD]
The History of [KEYWORD]
7 Trends You May Have Missed About [KEYWORD]
Are You Getting the Most Out of Your [KEYWORD]
20 Best Tweets of All Time About [KEYWORD]
How to Explain [KEYWORD] to a Five-Year-Old
Responsible for a [KEYWORD] Budget? 10 Terrible Ways to Spend Your Money
How to Get Hired in the [KEYWORD] Industry
11 “Faux Pas” That Are Actually Okay to Make With Your [KEYWORD]
17 Reasons Why You Should Ignore [KEYWORD]
[KEYWORD] Poll of the Day
15 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Ignore [KEYWORD]
17 Superstars We'd Love to Recruit for Our [KEYWORD] Team
What I Wish I Knew a Year Ago About [KEYWORD]
Think You're Cut Out for Doing [KEYWORD]? Take This Quiz
How to Win Big in the [KEYWORD] Industry
10 Signs You Should Invest in [KEYWORD]
Why the Biggest “Myths” About [KEYWORD] May Actually Be Right
10 Principles of Psychology You Can Use to Improve Your [KEYWORD]

As you can see, these article title examples are fairly simple. By replacing the keywords with your, you can create a unique article title that search engines love and your readers can stop, read, and appreciate.

Article Marketing Writing and Speaking

Writing Article Titles: It’s Not As Difficult As You Think

Aug 18,2014 / By Darren Tunstall / 20 Comments

Writing Article Titles Is Easier Than You Think

[title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”single” sep_color=”” class=”” id=””]Writing Article Titles[/title][fusion_text]When you write an article, you need to capture your readers attention by generating catchy headlines based on keywords within your subject matter. This will ensure that you grab your reader's attention, immediatley. There are few requirements for writing effective titles:

Know the category the article will be published under
Know the sub-category
Know your keywords or phrases
Have a good description of your product, service, or personality
Search the web or your own website for details

Sub-category

The sub-category is similar to that of the main category. They are the children of the a parents. For example, take home improvement. There are so many children under this category such as appliances, audio video, bath and shower, cabins, cleaning tips and tools, concrete, DIY, doors, electrical, energy efficiency, feng shui, flooring, foundation, furniture, green living, heating and air conditioning…the list goes on and on. It's much simpler for a users to drill down by selecting the category the he or she is interested, thus, finding the content they want to read more quickly.

Keywords and Phrases

Keywords and phrases play a critical role with ALL content on the web. If you want to get found, then you need to embed the keywords within your article title, meta description, meta title, excerpt, and body. Again, search engines will rapidly run through it's database of indexed pages looking for these keywords, per the category, and return results to its user. If you are not including keywords inside all fields on the pages, then you are not going to get found. After brand, you should know what your keywords are before anything else. Do not stuff keywords. Ideally, 3-5 keywords is enough for a 400 to 600 word articles.

Description

The description is a brief summary of your product, service or personality. It acts kind of like a mission statement for content. It will tell you how to carefully construct the article titles to convey a specific message to search engines users and reader across the web. The description allows you to write headlines clearly. This is the beginning of building your online presence.

Website

Chances are, if you are looking to write article titles, then you most likely have a blog or website. There are more golden nuggets to be found within your own content than there is trying to be creative from thin air. In other words, you probably already wrote a lot of good stuff (i.e. bullet points number listed, quotes, services, products, etc.) that can be turned into 400-word articles.

Example of Writing Amazing Article Titles

Category: Health and Fitness
Sub-category: Personal Training
Description: At Zash Fitness we strive to build confidence in all areas of life. We work with top level athletes as well as clients who are beginning their fitness journey towards a healthier lifestyle. Our encouraging environment enables all ages to build strength, acquire endurance, learn the importance of injury prevention, and enhance performance levels. Our staff is at constant attention of proper technique while conditioning and our athletic trainer is able to teach the significance of strengthening the body with correct form. Zash Staff designs training groups in accordance to ability, age, and goal of each member. Our passion is to show each individual that they can reach their own idea of greatness on and off the field.
Website: http://zashfitness.com
Keywords: injury prevention, performance, nutrition, endurance, strength, fitness, health

Now that all the details are available, it's time to start writing. For example,

Injury Prevention: 3 Things I Wish I'd Known Earlier
Why the Biggest “Myths” About Fitness May Actually Be Right
Undeniable Proof That You Need Muscle Conditioning
3 Tips About Nutrition From Industry Experts

When it comes time to start writing your articles, you then write to the title, per the category. For example, if you are writing to “Injury Prevention: 3 Things I Wish I'd Known Earlier,” then write the content to that title as it relates to the category and sub-category, Health and Fitness and Personal Training. The above are just a few examples, but you get the point. Finally, keep your headlines under 60 characters. Search engines will cut off the end and leave trailing periods (i.e. …).

In conclusion, don't make a big deal about it. Know who you are as a business and what you offer as a product, service, or personality. Implement keywords that you know people might use; Finally, write to the title using categories as a compass. Chances are, you just might drive more traffic to your website.

About the featured image on this page: To the best of my knowledge, the image on this page is public domain. If you believe a photo copyrighted or recognize that it violates any use terms, please contact me and I will remove it.[/fusion_text]

Category : Writing and Speaking