My friend, Ethel, who’s been writing for print publications for 30 years decided to learn to write content for the internet. Somewhere between keywords and search engine optimization she lost her way. Trying to satisfy the mechanics, she turned out some bland, pieced together articles from various websites.
“What happened to me?” she wondered. She used to write breezy, imaginative prose sprinkled with humor and creative flair. Writing was fun. Now, writing an article was like slogging through a mud-sucking bog.
Ethel was suffering from acute creativitis. She didn’t need a doctor or medication, she needed the freedom to let her creative juices to run first. Afterwards, she could apply the internet mechanics to make the search engines happy.
If you come to internet content writing as a print writer, you may well experience Ethel’s dilemma. Especially, if you take one of the many instruction courses which tell non-writers how to write internet articles. Basically, you just look up information on web sites one day. The next day, you “free write” anything you can remember from that research. Put it away till the following day. Return and edit the material into a cohesive article.
A seasoned writer comes at internet writing from a different place. He might start with something from his experience, gather anecdotes and stories from life around him, and do any factual research necessary.
Keywords will be worked into the article or blog, in fact will be there, they just need to be placed strategically to lure the capricious SEO god to notice.
Ethel’s learning all that, but she’s enjoying her stints at the desk these days. She’s writing lively, original pieces which are beginning to garner an audience, and the attention of the search engines.
Don’t forsake creativity for craft—use both and jump into the fast flowing tide of writing internet content.
Pat Zabriskie
Pat Zabriskie
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