Image source Brian Auer

So Many Image Sites

The images you select and where you choose to find them will vary depending upon their application. There are enough different types of image sites out there to find exactly what you need.
Always read the agreement and terms of use for every image you use, regardless of where you acquired it.

*All links open in a new window

Free Images

For writers on a budget, there are plenty of sites which offer their images for free use under creative commons licenses. There are several different types, but generally they require a link back from you as credit.

1. Flickr (creative commons)

Creative Commons Search
One of the best spots to find interesting images people haven’t seen before is flickr. Use the creative commons search to find images you are allowed to use.

Should you find images you want to use that don’t fall under commons licensing on flickr, email the person who took them and ask for permission. Won’t always work, but always worth a try.

2. Stock.xchng

Stock.xchng
This site offers free uploads for blogs and websites as long as they aren’t used in any trademarks, logos or porn. The image quality varies, but on the whole there are plenty of decent pictures on Stock.xchng.

3. Webshots

Webshots
This is an enormous website similar to flickr, only easier. All of their images are free to use on your website or blog. In fact, Webshots provides you with code to use, already linked back to the source for you. Not ideal for commercial blogs, but a great source of images for a beginner or personal blogger.

4. Stockvault

Stockvault
Stockvault offers free images for use, and don’t let that pesky black advert detract you, it only displays on the preview pages.

5. Cepolina

Cepolina
Cepolina is a little different than the rest, but has a selection of unique images free for use with a link back to their site. All of the images were taken and uploaded by the Cepolina family and friends.

6. Burning Well

Burning Well
The images found on Burning Well are public domain and can be used for any purpose (be sure to read any terms or licensing for each image).

7. Morguefile

Morguefile
Morguefile is an archive for post-production images. These images are free for use on the web as long as they are not re-sold, used for anything objectionable or downloaded to create another archive.

8. Free Stock Photos

Free Stock Photos
The images on Free Stock Photos are free for use with a credit back to them, either in the image or via text link.

9. Photorack

Photorack
Photorack images are free for use in both private or commercial aspects. They do not require a credit link, although they do appreciate them.

10. Photogen

Photogen
Photogen has a selection of images free to use as long as they don’t violate their specific terms of use.

11. Photorogue

Photorogue
An interesting take on image websites, Photorogue accepts requests. Fill out a quick form requesting specific shots and they will notify their volunteer photographers. If someone can handle the request they will upload the image. There is also a gallery of previous requests but no real terms of use on the site, if you use them link to the source.

12. Freefoto

Freefoto
Freefoto images are free for use as long as the proper attribution is given for each image. They also offer the purchase of licenses for use of the images without attribution.

13. Free Photos Bank

Free Photos Bank
Free Photos Bank has images for use with a source link and images uploaded by member which are individually licensed by each photographer.

14. Openphoto

Openphoto
An interesting collection of images, the pictures at Openphoto are submitted by members and each one is licensed individually.

15. Designpacks

Designpacks
Designpacks has sets of images with a common theme for download via zip file. The images are free for use as long as you aren’t selling them.

16. Free Media Goo

Free Media Goo
Free Media Goo is filled with amateur photography and free for use.

17. WP Clipart

WP Clipart
WP Clipart has a huge selection of clipart free for use by all.

18. Download Free Pictures

Download Free Pictures
Download Free Pictures has a large selection of images pre-formatted and optimized for the web. They are for non-commercial use and require a resource link back to their site.

19. Openstock Photography

Openstock Photography
Openstock Photography is part of Wikimedia Commons and is filled with images that can be used under creative commons licensing. Read the license information for each image you use.

Free, But Require Permission

These sites offer free imagery, however the images are licensed by the individual photographers and they require permission for use.

20. Woophy

Woophy
A different take on image websites, Woophy has a great selection of images by some amazing photographers. The photos are the property of each individual photographer, prior to use on the web you must receive their permission. May take a little longer, but good images are hard to find.

21. Abstract Influence

Abstract Influence
Abstract Influence is a design community where people can upload images and graphic design. No terms of image use on the site, to be safe ask for permission from the photographer prior to using their images.

Royalty-Free Pay As You Go

These sites offer images you can purchase a license for. The type of license will vary by site as will price and image quality.

22. iStockphoto

iStockphoto
One of the more popular royalty-free image sites, iStockphoto images are widely used across the web.

For smaller sizes most images are a dollar apiece, the site is easy to navigate, loads quickly and saving images to lightboxes and downloading them is virtually idiot proof.

23. Dreamstime

Dreamstime
Similar to istock, Dreamstime has a variety of royalty-free images at reasonable prices, you can purchase a pack of credits, or subscribe monthly.

24. Absolutvision

Absolutvision
A convenient option, Absolutvision allows you to subscribe for a day, a month or a year and download up to a specified amount of images within that time.

25. Big Stock Photo

Big Stock Photo
Big Stock Photo offers a quick sign-up, easy credit purchase and a great selection of stock.

26. Fotolia

Fotolia
Fotolia lets you buy credits and pay per image or subscribe and pay to download up to 25 images a day for a month, 6 months or a year.

27. Image Catalog

Image Catalog
Image Catalog provides stock images for a reasonable cost and it’s easy to use.

Print Quality Images

These sites offer images taken by professionals for intended print use. They offer the highest quality and the highest cost.

28. Shutterstock

Shutterstock
The image quality on Shutterstock has the potential to get you lost for hours. A wide variety and print quality images makes this site worth the high price of admission.

29. 123 Royalty Free

123 Royalty Free
123 Royalty Free is home to some good quality images and offers two different monthly plans, a basic and a premium. Each one allows you to download a specific amount of images every day.

30. Inmagine

Inmagine
Inmagine is full of beautiful, print quality images. Another pricier option, but if you have a budget it is a good place to bookmark.

31. Jupiter Images

Jupiter Images
Jupiter Images offers several different plans, none of them are cheap. Their search draws from a number of other image sites as well, allowing them a wider variety in one location.

32. Acclaim Images

Acclaim Images
Acclaim Images carries mainly print and poster quality (priced accordingly). Images can be licensed for web use, however there is are limited timeframe and usage involved.

Now that you have a selection to choose from, get image hunting and use them in your work.

For most writers this is a no-brainer, checking your work should be part of the process (as should research).

WordPress allows you to view your posts (as they will appear on your site) while you write and edit them.

This is a handy feature that should be used frequently as you write, format and edit your posts.

Editing Checklist

Spelling
Spelling mistakes are an instant credibility killer. If your browser doesn’t check your spelling for you, (that means you internet explorer users) cut and paste your text into a word doc and check the spelling before you publish. Save that copy so you have a physical backup of your work too.

Grammar
What you say can be sheer genius, but if you say it incorrectly no one will listen anyway. Proper grammar is on the decline and while it is important to absorb web trends, it is also important to keep your english simple and standardized enough that it can be read by a larger audience. People reading translated into other languages, handicapped and mobile readers everywhere will appreciate you.

Common Mistakes
We all make them, but when you are writing you have the opportunity to correct them before anyone sees them. Find a funny way to remember them and use it.

Punctuation
Created to emphasize points and separate ideas in writing, proper usage gets your point across most efficiently. Try to avoid excess punctuation, one question mark is just as effective and far less irritating than four of them.

Cliches
We’ve all heard them our whole lives, do we need to read them too? Before you publish be sure to go on a cliche search and destroy mission.

Formatting Errors
No one speaks HTML as a first language, so expect mistakes. It’s a good idea to check your code as you go along (mistakes can be hard to find), but not everyone can be bothered. It doesn’t matter when you check it, as long as you do.

The Squint Test
Give your post the squint test, when you squint your eyes can you follow the important ideas by reading headers and bold text? Formatting should take into consideration all types of readers, the ones who want to read in-depth about a topic; and those who are looking through your post for the specific bit of information they searched for.

Self Love
Link to yourself wherever possible (within reason), sometimes as you read back through a post you’ll find new opportunities to do so, take them.

Sourcing
I can’t stress enough how important it is to credit your information and image sources. Your proofreading process should automatically include checking for sources.

Consider Your Audience
Ask yourself a few questions: What do you want to accomplish with your post? Sell a product, provide a reference, become popular on social media? If your post is a call to action, does it get your reader there? Read your copy as objectively as you can to see if it accomplishes its intended goal.

Checking Links
This is the one editing step I recommend you do after posting. Check your code when you edit, but wait until you have published the article to check each link. As soon as you click that link (yes, even if you haven’t published) you alert whoever you are linking to. Better to have them come back to your site to find a polished and published piece in which you reference them rather than an error page.

Again, The Reminder
Once you hit save (or autosave kicks in) what you have written is no longer just on your computer, it’s on someone’s server. That’s right, you don’t even have to publish for your words to be out in cyberspace, under someone else’s control. Write accordingly.

This is the grand finale for my wordpress posting tips series, be sure you read all of them to learn how to write the best wordpress post in town.
The Intro
Pt. 2 Formatting
Pt. 3 HTML
Pt. 4 Images

Selecting images that get noticed is an art itself and a few things need to be kept in mind during the selection process:

1. The Internet audience is overwhelmingly male.
2. People are attracted to pictures of people, particularly faces.
3. Studies indicate that even women prefer to see women in advertisements.

I’m not saying add pictures of hot chicks to every post on your blog, I’m just saying for best results, know your audience and be clever in your selection.

What to Look For

That said, here are some tips:

White background - Chances are, the background of your text is white (if it isn’t, it should be). That means an isolated image with a white background will sit seamlessly in your copy, saving you editing time.

Avoid the obvious - Try not to search for the same keyword everyone else does to illustrate your topic. Find a remote association (or add one) and search for that instead.

Be unique - Select images that have the very few downloads; the more times it has been used, the more likely it is to already be associated with another brand.

Keep it simple - One good picture grabs far more attention than 10 of them. Too many images and your post becomes jumbled and distracting.

Where to Find Them

There are an endless number of places to find images online, from free user generated pictures, to professionally taken print-quality photography. Here are a few of my favorite spots to find pictures.

For Free

If you want to use recognizable shots of people from these sites, legally they must sign a release. Bear in mind that the amateur photographer who took and posted the image probably doesn’t have a signed release on file. Especially consider this when posting pictures of children.

Free Stock Sites
Generally offer decent quality stock photos, the selection is never as big as the paid sites, but they are handy on a tight budget. Licensing varies by site and by image, be sure you read licensing info.

• scx.hu
• Free Medina Goo
• Public Domain Photos

Creative Commons
Be sure you understand the creative commons laws and then follow them.

• Creative Commins
• Wikimedia
• CC Pics
• Public Domain Pictures

Social Photo Sites
User generated image sites are useful, and many offer an advanced search for images with creative commons licensing. Ask permission and always credit your source.

• flickr
• flickr cc search
• webshots
• fotolog

Google Images
I recommending asking permission to use images, and always crediting the original source.

For a Fee

Paid Stock Sites
Growing in numbers, there are a wide range of these sites, from inexpensive stock photography, to higher-end print quality images.

• istockphoto
• Getty Images
• shutterstock
• 123rf
• absolutevision
• dreamstime

Professional Photographers
Unique images go a long way in our istock world. Making friends with a professional photographer is a good way to keep your content fresh regardless of your topic.

DIY

Your own photos
Depending on your industry this is probably the cheapest option. If you don’t want to source free photos, take and edit them yourself.

How to Edit Them

There are a few essential things to learn when it comes to manipulating images (whether you use a web-based service or software like photoshop).

1. Cropping - Keep images simple, crop off excess so the focus of your image is clear. If you are going to align images to the left or the right of your text, be sure to make them a bit smaller for aesthetic purposes.

2. Padding - There needs to be a buffer of white space between text and images, this makes copy easier to read and looks polished.
tip: if you are using Adobe Photoshop, you can create padding by changing the canvas size about 10 pixels wider and longer than the image itself.

3. Sizing for the page - The size of your images depends on the type of post you are writing and the types of pictures you are using. In the end, they are the accessories, they shouldn’t distract from the words themselves.

4. Saving - Be sure to save your image optimized for the web, (photoshop offers a save for web option).

Now that you know your image basics, check out the other articles in this series for blog post advice, formatting tricks, and some basic HTML. The final chapter will offer editing tips and advice.

WordPress does have a built in editor, but it can become cumbersome and confusing to use. I recommend turning the visual editor off and doing it the old fashioned way: actually learning the tags you’ll need most often.

HTML Code

Although it looks complicated, the basics of HTML are sensible and easy to grasp. Code is inserted on either side of the text you’d like to affect and there is always an opening tag and a closing tag.

Header Tags

Used to break up sections and emphasize points. h1 is the largest and they grow smaller as the number goes higher.

The code looks like this:
<h1>h1 tag</h1>
<h2>h2 tag</h2>
<h3>h3 tag</h3>
<h4>h4 tag</h4>

The results will look similar this: (They vary by WP template design).

h1 tag

h2 tag

h3 tag

h4 tag

Bold Text

Gives your words emphasis.

<strong>The code looks like this</strong>

The result looks like this

Italics

Another (less obvious) way to emphasize your text.

<italics>The code looks like this</italics>

The result looks like this

Small

Used to credit sources and make notes.

<small>The code looks like this</small>

The result looks like this

Centering

Often used for images, but can also be used to emphasize text or quotes.

<div align=”center”>The code looks like this</div>

Lists with bullet points

For listing short points – keep them one line long if you can.

The code looks like this:
<ul>
<li>List point 1</li>
<li>List point 2</li>
</ul>

The result looks like this:

• List point 1
• List point 2

Images

The code for images is a little more complicated, but learning it (or just cut and pasting it) allows you to not only manipulate your images, but to optimize them and make your blog more user friendly for handicapped and mobile readers.

When you use WordPress you can upload the images and copy the link URL into the code example below.

The code looks like this:

Opening tag —> <img src="http://www.yourwebsite.com/image/image-name.jpg" alt="The alt tag is what is vocalized to blind people when they visit your website" title="The title is the text that appears when your curser hovers over an image" width="width of your image" height="height of your image" /> <---closing tag.

If you want to align your images to the right or the left of the text you can add (align="right / left") before you close the tag.

Here is a shorter example (if you want to cut and paste one)
<img src="http://www.yourwebsite.com/image/image-name.jpg" alt="A pen nib dripping ink" title="A pen nib" width="100" height="177" />

The results look like this:

Links

Linking is a good way to get yourself noticed and give credit where credit is due. The concept of anchor text is often misunderstood. When linking to someone, give them a good one, use the name of the website, the website URL, article title or relevant keywords as your anchor text. I promise, very few people want you to point at them saying “click here”.

Best practice is to write with links in mind, crafting your words to create good links (to yourself and to others) benefits everyone involved, makes your links more valuable and keeps your copy on-topic.

The code looks like this:

<a href="http://www.somewebsite.com">Insert anchor text here</a>

The results look like this

There is plenty more to learn about HTML, however for your average blog post these are the few important bits everyone should know.

Be sure to look for more tips in the introduction to this blog post series, and part 2 on formatting. Up next in part 4 I will discuss images, how (and where) to look for them and some tips on editing and copy insertion.

My point is: write that way too.

Formatting

Here are a few tricks to use which will help get your words noticed, and make your posts more readable.

1. Keep paragraphs short - Avoid long blocks of text, they are boring and tiresome. Small paragraphs are easy to read quickly, limit them to a single idea and 1 or 2 sentences.

2. Use white space - A buffer of white space around copy and images adds impact and makes your text look more professional.

3. Use bullet points and numbered lists - An easy way to organize information for quick viewing, keep them short, one line if possible.

4. Create sections - Break your post up into sections and utilize header and subheader tags to format them so they provide the reader insight into what is written below.

5. Don’t be afraid to use bold text - Call attention to important statements and information by making the text bold.

6. Use images - Pictures are a clever way to punctuate points and emphasize specific ideas, well selected images can create a memorable post.

7. Don’t over to it - Too much formatting can make your post so busy it’s hard to read. Keep it simple, the idea of formatting and images is to drive the point home, not confuse your audience.

Be sure to check out the introduction to the series for more useful tips, and HTML basics which will help you in your formatting endeavors.

As professional writers it’s our duty to ensure that we provide the most relevant, well researched information in a format that makes it easy to use, understand and source. Writing a good post can earn you credibility, more traffic and a long-lasting authoritative voice.

I put together a list of tips I go by when writing a post in WordPress, I’ve broken it into several parts to make each post easier to digest.

Before You Start Writing

Get wordpress - if you don’t use it, you should, it’s free. Hosted blogs are a waste of your time, you are writing on rented space and you receive no real benefits from your traffic. Purchase a domain name ($10 a year), get some inexpensive hosting, and install wordpress. Say what you want to say, just be sure to do it on your own space.

Write ahead - Life happens, having a stack of posts ready to go means that when it does your reading audience doesn’t have to know about it. Some call it their insurance policy, I call it my travel policy.

Write when the urge hits you - Often I will pick a topic (like this one) and start writing on it. I’m longwinded, so 1500 words later I’m satisfied I’ve made my point. Staying methodical in your writing makes it easier to break a long thought process into smaller, more targeted posts.

Write in batches - If you have a recurring post, or a long series of them to publish, it’s more efficient to write them in batches. WordPress allows you to save them as drafts, or pre-publish for a specific date.

SEO - WordPress itself is fairly well optimized, and of course there are some tricks and plugins to enhance that. Copy should remain on-topic, limiting posts to one general idea makes them more relevant to your keywords and potential search terms. The articles to follow in this series will show you formatting for images and text which will help to further optimize your work.

Keep a list - As you research keep a list of quotes and images you want to use along with their sources. Both are good tricks which add depth to copy and reinforce ideas. Always credit your sources and collecting them as you go along saves time later. Often I start a post with just a series of links I want to use, then build from there.

Consider your audience - What do you want from your reader? Make it clear and write with the intention of giving them an obvious path to get there.

Link to yourself - Use yourself as a reference wherever you can. Keep that in mind as you write.

Link to other people - Don’t reinvent the wheel for every idea, if someone has already written it well, link to them. Providing your readers with a source of good information will earn you brownie points. On the flip side, whoever you link to can (and probably will) know instantly.

That said, a word to the wise: what you publish is there forever (yes, even if you delete it later), electronic data never goes away. Publish accordingly.

The next installment covers the basics of formatting. In the meantime, be sure to brush up on industry lingo, types of content and writing resources.

Each link is something I use on a regular basis (a few of them are links to places I think are cool or gain inspiration from).

All of them provide either useful information and / or services to writers and most should be helpful no matter what your skill level.

So use them wisely and don’t be greedy, share yours with me too.

Essential Resources

These are some of the tools that quickly earned themselves prime real estate on my bookmarks bar.

Word Count

I use this one all the time. When it comes down to it we get paid based on how many words we write, even crappy writers get paid for their words.

This tool is simple and there are tons of them out there. Cut and paste your text into the field and it will give you either a word count or a character count.

Eye Tracking

Thanks again to Mr. Nielson and his timeless content, we gain a greater understanding of how users / readers use websites.

Utilizing eye tracking, makes it possible to gauge what people actually read on web pages. This article breaks it down into much more depth, so it is important that you read and understand the concepts.

In a nutshell, when you look at a website, you look at it in an F pattern. Down the left hand side and across the top of the site in an “F” shape.

The articles are long, but worth a thorough read no matter what you do or how much time you spend online.

Thesaurus

We all need them; we should all use them, A thesaurus is as important as a dictionary to someone who wants to use words for a living.

I use this one because it is fairly reliable and combined with a dictionary and an encyclopedia.

Sometimes a thesaurus can open you up to a whole new way of saying what you want to say.

Research

Research Journals

Any good web writer has to also be a good web reader. Research is the defining line between someone who writes and someone who creates.

Where you find your information is as important as how you write it, so use credible sources like the Directory of Open Access Journals which offers access to both scientific and scholarly publications.

There is some pretty in-depth stuff in there, so for technical writing this is a good place to start.

Google News Services

With their plan intact to take over the world someday, Google is ahead of the game when it comes to instant delivery of information to its readers.

There are two different ways to do it

1. Sign up for their RSS reader and have all of your favorite sites’ RSS feeds delivered to one place and updated dynamically.

2. Use their Alert system to have news delivered to your email.

I say try the RSS; it is the fastest way to stay up on what is going on and it will continue to grow in popularity.

Wikipedia

The Wiki is an open source encyclopedia. By open source I mean anyone can edit it. If you see a line you know to be incorrect, you can change it. If there is a section that is missing information, you can add it.

I use the Wikipedia as a resource all the time, and it is a handy way to get a general overview of almost any topic out there.

Their information is usually complete, although as you can imagine their accuracy may be questionable. So don’t use them as your one-stop shop for information.

The Fun Stuff

Rhyme Thesaurus

This is one even those who don’t write can enjoy. Find that elusive word that rhymes with pickle for your masterpiece, (for pickle alone there were 45 results).

Don’t start at work, because this Rhyme Thesaurus will keep you writing silly poetry for hours.

Alphabetize

There may be those random times when you need a list of words alphabetized, and this is the tool that will help you do just that.

If you have long lists of items putting them in alphabetical order makes it much easier for people to get to the one they are looking for.

Cliche Finder

This one is a little strange, but I’ve included it just because you don’t realize how many cliches you use on a daily basis.

Enter a word / phrase and it will deliver all of the known cliches with that word / phrase in them. Just so we are all clear, that’s a big no on using cliches in any type of writing.

Name Anything

Need help naming something?

Whether you want help naming your next pharmaceutical venture, your next band or your next pseudonym these naming tools are a good place to get ideas.

My next band name is Who Da Chic, oh yeah.

Headline Templates

Headlines are often a source of frustration for writers; fewer words really are harder to write, (you can see how creative I was in titling these articles).

Sometimes the usual tricks to get past writers block just don’t work with the short and catchy expectations of the dreaded title.

I’m not saying use them, but here are 54 Proven Headline Templates That Sell to give you ideas.

Urban Dictionary

Another fun afternoon-long website is the Urban Dictionary, and while I don’t recommend using many of the words in your web copy it is a good giggle to pass around.

Convert Your Images to ASCII Art

This isn’t a writing tool, but it is a handy way to impress your friends. Convert your images into ASCII, or numbers, characters and letters.

For those of you who don’t know what ASAII art is, some of it can be beautiful and some of it is crap. Here is one of the former; this example from ASCII Art is simple and well done.

Online Reading

Online Library

If you enjoy reading online books there are plenty of resources, but here are the best two in my bookmarks for finding a wide variety of genres and titles.

This one is geared towards academics so Read Print has a great selection of classic authors to choose from.

More Reading

This is a fantastic site, FullBooks had lists and lists of titles to choose from, all organized alphabetically. I am particularly impressed with the speed this site loads, click and instantly you are on the next page. Very efficient.

Games

Practice Typing

This is a great typing exercise because it doesn’t actually use real words. They are close to real words, so it forces you to un-train your fingers from typing words and re-train them to type letters.

This is the coolest typing practice site I’ve ever seen and I give it to everyone that wants to learn to type faster.

Free Rice

Help people while you increase your vocabulary; it’s a win-win situation. For every correct word definition, they will donate 20 grains of rice to people who need it. Free Rice wants you to help people and get smarter all at the same time.

Word Games

Not only are word games beneficial for writers, they are also good for keeping your mind limber. If you don’t use your noggin, you lose it.

This site has several word games to choose from; these are the best kind of games to play because you take something (namely a strong brain) away with you.

Organizations

National Writers Union

Pretty self explanatory, the National Writers Union is dedicated to all writers, whether you write screenplays or Viagra brochures.

The dues are on a sliding scale based on your writing income, and they are reasonable no matter what you make. Those dues entitle members to support, jobs, help in filing grievances, and even health insurance.

Poets and Writers

This is a non-profit organization and they offer tools like lists of other literary organizations, writing contests, conferences and other important networking information for writers and poets alike.

Pen American Center

The Pen American Center is another resource for writers that includes freelance and web writers. It is a membership that will cost you, but 100 dollars a year may be chump change compared to the networking this site makes available to you.

BBC Learning English

If you want to learn English why not learn it from the BBC? After all, they bloody well invented the language.

They will teach you News English, or Business English, grammar and vocab; there is a little bit for every level of English speaker. Even those of us who have spoken it our whole lives have something to learn here.

Most of us know the BBC for their savvy reporting and snarky tone and this website offers that and some learning too.

Writers Resources

This is quite literally the biggest list of writers resources I have ever seen all in one place. It might take you ten years to get through all of them, but you’ll want to bookmark it and spend the next ten years trying.

What’s Next

This concludes this particular series of articles dedicated to writing a good blog post. Not only will these articles help you in your blogging, they will help you in all aspects of your writing career.

If you haven’t read the first three in the series, be sure to take a look at them too.

Pt. 1 – The Basics
Pt. 2 – Tips and Lingo
Pt. 3 – More Lingo

Don’t push away from the table just yet, make some space because there is so much more to learn.

Making sense of all of that information helps when you have a firm understanding of the terminology people are using and what will be expected of you.

Types of Content

This guide is designed to give a general overview of different types of web-based content.

Quality Content

When it comes down to it quality content is writing that people will read, refer to and share for years to come.

It may not be a quick fix for a struggling website, however it is a good way to build credibility in a specific industry. Asserting yourself as an authority within that industry is an honest way to generate natural links and traffic.

This can be achieved in a number of ways

• Well researched informative articles
• How to’s
• Lists of tips
• Best of lists
• Info not already published on the web
• Instructional articles

I stress this point here because many of these writing methods and definitions are not considered good practice.

Well thought out writing that imparts an interesting and informative message is really the best way to go.

Your tools should always be a snappy title, a unique voice and even a strong opinion.

Quality content must be

• Original
• Timeless
• Unique
• A marketing tool

For more information on online copy, (I’m going to drill it into everyone’s head), read over these three articles too.

• How Good Copy Sells More Online Pt. 1
• How Good Copy Sells More Online Pt. 2
• 9 Edge Pieces of The Quality Content Puzzle

If you’d like to read more about quality content from someone else’s point of view, take a look at 25 Ways to Add Quality Content to Your Website.

Viral Content

All of those forwards in your inbox, things someone found funny so they forwarded them, those are all examples of viral content.

The ultimate idea is writing something that people will like enough to bookmark and forward to their friends who forward to their friends who forward to their friends. You get the idea.

Although I don’t advise creating the next ‘Best Girlfriends Day’ forward, creating factual, reliable and interesting copy is far better for credibility.

This is achieved by posting well-written articles with catchy titles, good research, scannable formatting and interesting information.

Linkbait is different in that it also tends to be successful when it is controversial and opinionated too.

For some more in-depth information on viral content there are two articles you should read, 5 Reasons Why Viral Content is the New King and The 7 Secrets of Viral Content from Daily Blog Tips.

SEO Content

First of all SEO means Search Engine Optimization. Ensuring your copy is well optimized should be done no matter what type of writing you are working on.

The initial idea of SEO content was developed to earn visibility in search engines based on the formula the engines used to rank sites in their results pages.

Essentially the idea of copy optimization encompasses several different factors

• Search engine friendly
• Navigation within the copy
• Formatting
• Keyword saturation

Many people throw the term around loosely, and because it is used by so many there is no strict definition of SEO copy as a rule anymore.

Make no mistake, the best way to do well on the web overall is to post good writing that is both well-researched and interesting.

SEO content is generally frowned upon as a source of traffic and rankings on search engines.

Linkbait

Like a shot of tequila, the sole purpose of linkbait is to create a buzz. The concept can be achieved in many ways, but basically you have to generate something that wows people enough to make them share it…with everybody they know.

It’s not as easy as it sounds, part of it is picking your topic, part of it is snazzy writing and part of it is knowing which audience (and social networks) to submit it to.

If done right, linkbait is great to generate interest in a website, and you don’t have to be Shakespeare to make it work for you.

Create linkbait by

• Writing definitive resources for hard to find information
• Being first to report the latest news in the industry
• Writing something opinionated about something (or someone) very popular
• Saying something really funny

Performancing breaks it down very well and my examples above are based on their article on The Art of Linkbaiting.

This is another technique that is somewhat frowned upon in the industry, although there is the possibility of stumbling across and posting something that earns popularity in its own right.

Spam

Not just for email anymore, spam is used in different applications, it’s new and improved spam. Essentially spam is an attempt to get as many keywords as possible into articles to manipulate search engine results.

A practice often used under the guise of search engine optimization.

This practice can earn web designers traffic and rankings (and money from various affiliate schemes).

Generally they are in the form of information stripped from other sites by a program and changed just enough to pass as original copy.

Their sole purpose being pages and pages of content filled with keywords.

Results-Based

Technically all of the above can be called results based writing.This term means essentially copy that gets results, whether that means better traffic, visibility in search engines or higher conversion rates.

Most websites want some form of results-based writing; corporations, small businesses, online services, all of them need marketing.

The ultimate job of a web content writer is to get results from the writing. In fact, the ultimate idea is to convince a customer to convert after they read the first 3 words, or 5 words, or sentence.

Sadly enough for us writers, the goal is to write so well that people don’t read our work because they are too busy filling out the form, buying the service or subscribing.

What You Know

If you have completed this series of articles so far (and read all of the links too) you are in a unique position. You already know more than many ‘writers’ out there.

The majority of potential clients don’t understand that content is a fundamental key to a quality website.

So our position is often overlooked and undervalued. Don’t get discouraged, your words are important and if you continue to plug away researching and writing good stuff you will continue to get work.

Plus I will continue to post helpful articles here which will educate you and help you to further your knowledge within the industry.

Be sure to read Pt. 1 The Basics and Pt. 2 Tips and Lingo if you haven’t already and stay tuned for Pt. 4, which will complete this specific series and provide new writers with tons of cool tools, resources and practice.

This installment is dedicated to insider tips and important lingo basics.

Pt. 3 is dedicated to even more terminology, specifically types of content and Pt. 4 will offer tools and resources found across the web.

Getting Started

We’ve discussed writing catchy titles, but a successful blog post means more than just a good headline. Research, terminology and the opening lines of your post are just as important.

The ultimate goal of most websites is to convert sales or get subscriptions, so the first few lines of every post need to be designed to keep your readers on the page and ideally to convert them right away.

More Reading

If you haven’t already read it, check out the first article of this series too Write A Blog Post Pt. 1 – The Basics

Again I turn to Copyblogger to give you some information on Opening Your Blog Post With A Bang.

Another article worth reading before you begin is Seth Godin’s post which offers 56 Ways to Get Traffic to Your Blog. Take a minute to read the comments, there are plenty of resources about the topic there too.

Finally, it is important that you understand How Users Read the Web before you start writing. Because when it comes down to it, people are lazy and they don’t really want to read stuff.

I recommend that every web-based writer read the above article from time to time, because although it is 10 years old it holds as true today as it did the day he wrote it.

The Lingo

Knowing the basic terminology used within the industry will make your job easier no matter what you write.

Blog Post

Blogs can be about anything. There are corporate blogs, animal blogs, political blogs and even blogs about blogging. Posting on a blog can be as simple as uploading an image or as detailed as the post you are reading right now.

A blog post can be considered an article or a post. Many businesses hire writers to help them maintain their blogs by writing and posting articles to it.

This can be done in a variety of different writing styles (and called a number of different things), each of which I will define for you later in the series.

You can even make money posting to your own blog using affiliate programs like Google Adwords, but the best money to be made is writing for clients who want quality over quantity.

Article

Although almost every blog post is an article of sorts, not every article is a blog post. Articles can be used in a number of applications, for ezines, newsletters, in print, for linkbuilding and on blogs.

Like a blog post an article can be about anything, I’ve written articles about renting horses to taking road trips to plastic surgery.

The concept of articles really began in journalism, articles were written initially to deliver news. Web articles are another animal entirely, however that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t write them about breaking news.

The earlier you catch a story the better.

Keywords

These are the words people use to find you in the search engines.

For example: on my horse site I just wrote a post about black horses, the title is (not at all catchy) Base Horse Coat Colors – Black

Some of the basic keywords for that article would be:

• Horse
• Black
• Base
• Coat
• Color
• Coat colors
• Base coat
• Base colors
• Black base
• Black horse
• Black coat

This is based on the idea that when people are looking for information on black horses they will type something similar to one of the following phrases into a search engine:

• “Black horse color”
• “Horse coat colors”
• “Black horse coat”
• “Black coat base”
• “Black base coat”
• “Base coat colors”

Too many keywords and you end up with spam, which is always to be avoided. However if you want to be found, you have to put yourself out there.

The easiest way to include keywords into your website copy is to write authoritative articles about your industry. This will help people find what they are looking for faster and help the search engines recognize your site for industry-related keywords.

Links

Essentially links are text that navigates to a new page when clicked.The idea is to earn yourself as many incoming links as possible.

For example: Say I become privy to interesting and brand new information. I write about and post it online, as more people hear about it they begin to look it up and it brings me traffic.

Other bloggers want a piece of that pie without too much work so they write a short paragraph summery and link back to my article. They use my news and supply me with a link as their source.

This is further explained in the next section of the series, however the idea of earning natural links is not just a way to manipulate the system.

Linking to other people within your text (like I do in this article) is not a bad idea, it is a good one. Always give credit where credit is due and you earn respect of those you source.

The below articles are a must read for beginners, they will help you grasp the concept and understand how it is best used to help you (and those you link to).

• Why Links Matter Pt. 1
• Why Links Matter Pt. 2
• Why Links Matter Pt. 3

They are not the bible of links, but the information is well laid out and they are easy to grasp conceptually.

Be sure to read Part 1. The Basics and if you haven’t already, and stay tuned for Parts 3 and 4.

Until you find the time to take a night class or two you can use this series of simple (but long) guides to writing a blog post with a solid foundation.

The Basics

Here are some of the basic elements of writing on a blog, whether you use it to find work or write about your favorite hobby.

Every bit of reading I link to in this series of articles is essential for those who want to write online and do a good job of it. Read them once, then read them again. I still go back and read through many of them from time to time.

In fact, some of the examples I use in this series are over ten years old. A testament to the idea of quality content.

Headlines

A good headline can make an article; the idea is to keep it short and sweet, make it catchy and include a keyword or two.

Copyblogger lays it out very well in their article about Writing Headlines That Work which provides examples of different types of titles and the capitalization that should be used.

Another helpful list by Chris Bloczynski offers 99 Headline Techniques to help give you some quick ideas.

Or if you just need some inspiration, check out Wordsmiths cool little title tool.

HTML

HTML means Hypertext Markup Language and is used to format both pages and posts on websites. Generally the formatting is left to the designers, however it is handy to have a working knowledge of the language.

I will expand on HTML in an article dedicated to it. However, these links offer basics for new writers.

HTML Code Tutorial is a very comprehensive guide and they offer tutorials, forums and resources.

And if all you need is a handy cheat sheet, this HTML Quicklist is a fantastic tool.

Punctuation

My first issue here is the excessive use of multiple punctuation marks across the web.

One question mark is enough, adding more does not make it a stronger inquiry, and don’t even get me started on multiple exclamation marks!!!!

Extra punctuation smacks of infomercial and that is never the vibe that should be pursued, unless of course, you are writing an infomercial.

My second issue is that when it comes to editing, I run across more punctuation errors than any other kind of mistake.

Building credibility through your writing (especially on a blog) means that you need to proof read your work and keep excess punctuation to a minimum.

For a quick and easy reference sheet (which everyone should scan over periodically) check out National Punctuation Day, they offer a section dedicated to each punctuation mark.

Or if you want to read something more involved, the University of South Florida put together a resource called Punctuation Made Simple. It’s long, but worth a read, especially if it’s been a few years since you sat in an English class.

Common English Errors

We all have words or phrases that somewhere along the way we seem to have memorized incorrectly.

In fact, there are plenty of slip-ups that people use every day without even realizing they are wrong.

Your loved ones may think it’s cute, but I can almost guarantee that your readers won’t.

Although our misuse may not be intentional, as writers we are expected to know better and avoid the common mistakes.

Washington State University put in a lot of work to make it easy for writers to brush up on their Common English Errors.

Fair Use Laws

Another point I will elaborate on later; images are a good way to help emphasize points, explain concepts and even make readers giggle.

If you use information or images that don’t belong to you always source them.

While there are plenty of places to find free images for use on blogs and websites, you must respect Fair Use Laws if you want to use them.

For a plain English version check out the Wiki.

These laws are put in place to ensure that everyone receives credit where credit is due and to make sure everyone stays honest.

Stay tuned for the second installment filled with tips, lingo and resources.