What’s the Best Length for a Business Website?
Planning a website from scratch is a bit like building a house. Where do you begin? How many rooms should you have? Is it possible for a kitchen to be too big? A website can be designed in an infinite number of ways, with an infinite amount of content. If you start without a plan, you’re basically building a house with no blueprint. And that’s not a house I’d like to live in. Your website content can be broken down into two primary categories—the number of pages on your site, and the amount of content on each page. Here’s how to get started. How Many Pages Should My Website Have? If only…
11 Overused Words (and Spicier Options to Try Instead)
There are over 170,000 words in the English language. Yet most of us only use around 1,000 words in 89% of our everyday writing. We default to the same overused word choices over and over, which can make each new piece of writing sound much like the last. While there’s value to plain language, we never want to be boring. Next time you write, do a search for any of these yawner words, and swap them out if you can. Overused Words (and Some Spicier Options) These are words that spring to mind without even thinking about them. If something is decent, it’s good. If it’s better than good, it’s…
Creative Content Ideas to Make Your Blog Unique
Did I ever tell you about the time I met Fabio? I was a bartender in Boston at the time, headed in to work around 9am. As I crossed the Quincy Market plaza, I saw a big clear box truck parked in the square. Outside the truck, a few people were milling around. Inside, I could see a very large man with long flowing hair and a button-down shirt that was barely keeping itself together. “What the hell,” I thought. “Is that Fabio?” Sure enough, Fabio was in the truck doing a promotion for I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter. There was a faux-Mediterranean backdrop against one wall, and some…
74 Content Ideas for a Popular Hotel Blog
I’m gonna level with you. Hotels have it easy. Not in an overall “the hotel industry is a cinch” kind of way. Just in a “there are a million great topics for hotel blog posts” kind of way. Events or attractions that makes your city sound cool and desirable? Fair game. Any kind of neighborhood or food guide that a potential guest might find useful? Awesome. Updates on what you’re changing around the hotel? Bring it. As a hotel, you have a whole city’s worth of content, waiting to be explored. To get started, it can help to organize your blog into categories that you think would be valuable to…
Blog with Purpose (Because Otherwise, You’re Just Journaling)
Pouring yourself a cup of tea (or bourbon) and quietly writing your thoughts in a journal is a great way to clear your mind. I write a few longhand pages most mornings for this very purpose, sans bourbon of course. But if that’s how you approach your business blog, you’re probably not having the kind of success you’d like. Blogging is part of a larger marketing strategy, which means we have to be strategic about how we approach it. You can have fun with it! But it needs to have a clear purpose if it’s going to help you achieve your goals. Whether your blog is for an event venue, a…
The Hotel Blog: Do You Need One?
When you’re planning a trip to somewhere new, what’s the first thing you do? You probably head to the ol’ internet to do a little research. What is there to do in the area? Any big events coming up? Great outdoor spaces? Must-visit restaurants? The answers to these queries will often appear as blog posts from those in-the-know. Well-written blogs connect searchers to small businesses all over the internet — including hotels. With some time and attention focused on written content, your blog posts could get you more site traffic and — if it’s done right — more bookings. Why does my hotel need a blog? It may not! Not every single hotel is a great…
57+ Creative Topics for Your Wedding Venue Blog
Coming up with content ideas is one of the toughest part of blogging, no matter the industry. Fortunately for wedding venue managers, there is a wealth of ideas to write about weddings! From bridal style to centerpiece ideas to etiquette to the newest trends, you have a vast range of topics to write about. I’ve pulled together nearly 60 topic ideas that you can refer to any time you’re stuck and need a bite from the blogging muse. Real Weddings You have a steady stream of content ideas flowing through your venue every weekend during wedding season. I’m talking about the real weddings that you’ve already booked. These are your calling card. They’re…
5 Reasons Copywriting is the Special Sauce You Need
Listen, I understand that it seems a little self-serving for a copywriter to explain why copywriting is so important. That would be like a turkey explaining why ham is a superior Thanksgiving protein. But the value of copywriting is an established fact, just like ham’s dominance over turkey. Since there is often some confusion about what exactly this type of writing entails, I thought I’d share an overview of copywriting — what it is, and why it’s important for businesses of all sizes. What is copywriting? The simplest definition? Copywriting is the words on the page (aka the “copy”) that get the audience to take an action. This includes the…
The Magic of Transition Words for Better Writing
Today, we’re going to unlearn one of the silly rules that was forced upon us in high school English class, and instead do something that makes sense. We’re going to add informal transition words to our writing. Now, the powers-that-be never banned transition words on their own. But there were certain words that we were absolutely forbidden to use at the beginning of a sentence, like “and” or “but.” I am here to give you carte blanche to throw that rule out the window and go bananas with transitions. Why use transition words? Transition words display the logical relationship between two thoughts. They help the reader follow your ideas from…
