How to write how-to headlines that pull in more readers by adding one simple tweak — How-to headlines: their popularity is nothing new. The formula has been touted as one of the best-performing of all time by master adman John Caples (1900–1990) in Tested Advertising Methods. In fact, “Many advertising writers claim if you begin with the words ‘how to,’ you can’t write a bad headline,”…

Avoid three obstacles that keep you from being readable — I’ve never heard a user complain, “This is too easy to read.” Have you? That’s why you should write simply. You want readers to grasp your point, don’t you? A large-scale study of literacy rates in UK teenagers found that they could not read well enough to understand their GCSE…

Build a steady flow of cash from multiple sources and you can make a good living — Smart entrepreneurs don’t put all their financial eggs in one basket. Instead, they build wealth in a variety of ways, following the code practiced by millionaires for decades: maintain at least 7 streams of income. …

Even in down times, you can cultivate your readers and build your audience — When times are hard, one of the biggest content writing mistakes you can make is to complain. Readers are negativity radars. At the moment they sense pessimism, it’s natural for readers to click “delete” or move on to another piece of content quicker than the latest stock market indicator plunge…

The 1–2–3–4 copywriting formula is not just for sales letters — The 1–2–3–4 copywriting formula has long been used to sell. But there’s no reason why this writing template should be relegated for use in ads and direct mail only. I’ve been trained as a copywriter — those who write to sell. But to be honest, I don’t like to “sell”…

Open the door to writing opportunities when you write a classy pitch like a pro — A guest blog post gives you the chance to meet and greet a whole new audience in your niche. But to get the nod to write for another publisher’s site, you need to pass muster. First impressions matter — big time. I write as many guest posts as I can…

Use these 5 tips to write cleaner and engage more readers — “Write cleaner.” You hear that all the time from writing coaches. In order to hook your reader and keep him, you’ve got to grab his attention with enticing content — facts, anecdotes, statistics, angles, ideas. But it’s clean writing that will make or break you. …

Backlinks act like “votes of confidence” to build your traffic — If you have an online home, you want to build backlinks. Doing so increases the number of visitors to your blog or website. …

5 ways to use this little three-letter powerhouse to empower readers to act — “Yes is a very powerful word,” writes award-winning Canadian author Kenneth Oppel in his award-winning children’s novel, The Nest. “It’s like opening a door. It’s like fanning a flame. It’s the most powerful word in the world.” Yes certainly ranks right up there with other persuasive powerhouses like you, save…