Archive for September, 2009

There are a few spots left for my final public web writing course for the year.

Where: Editor Group Head Office, Pitt St, Sydney

When: October 22 2009, 9am-5pm

Why: Because everyone needs to think about their web copy critically from time to time!

Cost: $550 pp includes yummy catering and workbook.

Hope you can make it. It’s always an interesting and stimulating day.

Check what the course covers

Book online here

Got a question? Get in touch with Libby.

I’m very pregnant and possibly a weenie bit grouchy at the moment so here’s my chance to get a few things about bad-website-habits off my chest.

‘What’s new’ without a question mark.

Isn’t this a question? You see this one everywhere and it seems to have become a norm. Adding a question mark makes it a ‘hotword’ statement (stands out, promotes curiosity etc) and I believe is grammatically more correct. So let’s unite and bring back ‘What’s new?’

FAQs not FAQ’s

There is no apostrophe necessary in FAQs. Full stop.

Meaningless About Us page

Please… don’t tell me your mission statement or not mention the names of the people who lead your company. Tell me who you are, what inspires you and how your organisation came to be. I don’t want a thesis. Just a simple little story that makes me want to get to know you better.

Hidden Contact us page

I know this is sometimes a tactic to encourage us to self-serve on your site but chances are I still want to know where you are and how we can get in touch if need be. Don’t be shy. And whatever you do, don’t give me a form as the only contact option.

I think that’s enough now.

What irks you?

Before I incorporated this blog into my company website, I tested the waters by setting up a free wordpress blog. I linked this blog from my old site. This was a cheap and safe way to see if it was worth pushing the blog envelope a little further. And it was!

What I’ve learnt about company blogging:

You have to have something to say (and some weeks, you simply don’t). In these cases, it’s great to get inspiration from something you’ve read or watched. Even a good image can do the trick.

People may not comment, but they still check it out. I had a number of conversations with clients saying they’d enjoyed a particular post and in some cases, even passed the link on to colleagues. So don’t be disheartened by a lack of comments. They may be silent but they’re watching…

It’s an authentic and effective marketing tool. With consumers turning further away from traditional marketing messages, a blog gives me the chance to speak openly and (hopefully) intelligently to my target audience. I often learn something myself as well. Never a bad thing.

My old blog is still up (though not getting updated). So if you want to read my old posts, feel free.

See my old blog

• Project where you are right now and where you want to go.
• Make you feel warm and fuzzy inside when someone says they’ve looked at it.
• Encourage the right kind of clients to pick up the phone and chat to you. People who don’t get your site are not really your people.
• Have some new feature that makes you feel like you’re moving forward.

Early 2000s

First write-minded website