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Word Wise Blog: Content Writing Made Easy
Award-winning writer Kathy Widenhouse has helped hundreds of nonprofits and writers produce successful content , with 750K+ views for her writing tutorials. She is the author of 9 books. See more of Kathy’s content here.
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Aug 08, 2025
Writing Devotionals That Stick: take the online course
Devotionals are a unique genre. And you can write them!
Writing Devotionals That Stick is a full-length, online course that walks with you step-by-step as you learn to write devotionals in a way that stays with today’s busy, distracted readers.
Leaders, entrepreneurs, students, moms, professionals, writers – or those who want to be – have learned to write devotionals by using the principles found in this course...
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Aug 07, 2025
6 tips for writing powerful copy for your book jacket
When I wrote my first book, I needed tips for writing good copy for the book jacket – the blurb on the back of the book.
It’s a step that’s easy to overlook. But it’s uber-important, especially if you’re self-publishing.
Think about how you choose books to read.
You look at the title. Then you flip it over and read the jacket blurb or the “Look Inside” summary on Amazon. After the title, the content on the jacket is the most-read element of your book...
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Aug 06, 2025
6 secrets to writing effective subheads
You see subheads in magazine articles, direct mail, newspaper pieces … but maybe you never knew they had a name.
Subheads (short for subheadings) act like miniature headlines. They introduce a new section of your content.
You use them in articles, blog posts, web pages, copy – and yes, books...
Aug 05, 2025
Use these 3 tips to increae your email open rate
Your email open rate measures the number of people that view (“open”) your electronic message.
It’s expressed as a percentage. The open rate is configured by the number of people who view an email divided by the number you sent (minus bounces.)
The rate is measured through a bit of embedded HTML code that requests a tiny, invisible image from web servers. When the email is opened, the server meets the request (it sends the tiny, invisible image to the reader) and then records that download as an open.
Obviously, the higher the open rate for your email campaign, the better...
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Aug 04, 2025
Swap out these 7 overused words for more powerful writing
Whether you’re a brand-new writer or an old pro, be on the lookout for specific, overused writing words in your content.
These words are vague and nondescript. It’s tempting to use them because they’re an easy “out.”
But they weaken your content. As you re-write, exchange them for different writing words that are vivid, colorful, imaginative, or even graphic.
Weak writing words fall into one of three categories...
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Aug 03, 2025
How Nehemiah won a grant
A compelling funding request presents a detailed need, a clear solution, and a specific ask.
Who receives these requests? Funders fall into three main categories: private foundations (financed by an individual, family, or community), corporations (the charitable arm of a business), and government (designed to meet the needs of the community).
King Artaxerxes is a good example of ...
Aug 02, 2025
Your reader will give you 2 minutes. Can you make your point?
The shortest book of the Bible is 3 John. In the original Greek, it’s got just 219 words.
Yet this short letter is a powerful example of quality short-form content – that is, content that’s generally 600 words or less and that can be read and digested in two minutes or less...
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Aug 01, 2025
Less than 10% of blogs succeed. But yours can.
Less than 10% of blogs succeed. But yours can!
This toolkit is for writers who are starting a blog, restarting a lapsed one, or simply want to manage their blogs more efficiently.
It’s packed with a dozen checklists, worksheets, and videos that ...
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Jul 31, 2025
What kinds of newsletter articles should you write?
“I don’t know what to write!”
Yes, you do! Newsletter articles celebrate your organization’s successes. They can and should be fun, energizing, and inspiring to read!
There are dozens of article ideas to use to tell the story of what you’re doing.
Lead off your newsletter with a ...
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Jul 30, 2025
Freelancer? Get more gigs when you pitch to the right person
I recently received an insightful comment from a faithful reader.
“Making a pitch is rather useless if it is not sent to the right target,” he wrote. “Writers need to know where to look for freelance content writing jobs and who to approach.”
Absolutely right! Maybe you’re familiar with the scenario. You’ve slaved for hours and now have the perfect pitch to send to a prospect. Finally, you click “Send” or drop the letter in the mailbox.
But little do you know that ...
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Jul 29, 2025
Writing at home? Avoid this
Whether you’re writing at home or writing at work or writing at the coffee shop on the corner, you’ve got plenty of distractions. There’s email … phone calls … internet.
Yet writing at home is different than writing in a work environment. At work, you’re forced to produce for your boss. At home, you’re the boss, even when you’re ...
Jul 28, 2025
A siple tool for writing powerful headlines
You’ve heard it: writing powerful headlines is an essential skill for any writer.
It’s a skill you need now more than ever. Readers have too much content to process, be it online or in print. They skim and then choose what pieces to read more thoroughly.
How do they choose what to read?
It’s the headline that pulls them in. Which means your headline needs to ...
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Jul 27, 2025
Why have a FAQs page on your site?
An FAQs page on your website (or as a white paper) provides answers to the most common questions you’re asked about your products, your services, or your biz.
It’s a useful document because it allows you to organize information in one place.
Plus, it saves you time in ...
Jul 26, 2025
Just 19% blog for money. Do you?
A survey of 1,000 bloggers by Blogging.com found that 81% of writers make $100 or less from their blogs.
That stat dispels the common misconception that every blogger blogs for money.
In fact, when digital business expert ...
Jul 25, 2025
Use this worksheet to find your content's main point
The writing process is easier when you whittle down your main idea – the single most important thing to tell your readers – before you begin to create your content.
This worksheet acts like your own personal main idea generator. It guides you through the process of ...
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Jul 24, 2025
Weed out weasel words from your writing
You’ve probably done it. I mean … You HAVE done it.
You’ve used weasel words in your writing.
I have, too. (I did it just now, in the first sentence of this piece.)
Weasels are words that equivocate. They are vague qualifiers like ...
Jul 23, 2025
How to build a content writing strategy for your website or blog
When you start a blog, you may not even think about a content writing strategy. You’re too busy choosing a domain, enrolling with a web host, and picking a template. Then, you’re gung-ho about your first post.
Up it goes, live, and you can’t wait for the world to read your masterpiece. Friends and family log on and read and comment. But then … crickets. Or confusion...
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Jul 22, 2025
The power of "new"
New things make you (and your reader) feel good – a new gadget, a new outfit, or a new job.
New ideas stimulate her and give hope. There are solutions and answers to problems!
But going a bit further, there’s a scientific reason why using the word ‘new’ is a powerful copywriting technique...
Jul 21, 2025
Who will read your book? Answer this question before you start writing
The first step is identifying the problem your book will solve. After that, you need to identify the target audience for your book.
Who will read your book? Answer this question to pinpoint your book’s potential readers.
Here’s why this is a crucial step to take before you write one word of your book...
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Jul 20, 2025
Editing: when to cut, when to keep
Stephen King had this to say in On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft: “Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.”
Becoming too fond of a turn of phrase or a particular illustration, King said, puts a writer’s self-centeredness on display.
King wasn’t the first to urge writers to ruthlessly edit their work. That bit of advice has been attributed to writers of all eras, including Oscar Wilde, G.K. Chesterton, Anton Chekov, William Faulkner -- and King Solomon...
Jul 19, 2025
Should you specialize?
Specialize: it's one of the most effective content writing tips ever.
Attorney-turned-freelance-writer Kelly James-Enger has perfected the practice. Part of her success as a freelancer, Kelly admits, is the discipline to not "write from scratch." Instead, she specializes writing for two specific niches: health/nutrition and freelance writing.
Specializing saves time because ...
Jul 18, 2025
Fun, interactive book for girls ages 10-12
My editor asked me to write a book of fun devotionals for girls at just the right time in my life.
My daughter had only recently emerged from her preteen years. I had seen her struggles in learning to ...
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Jul 17, 2025
Writing an eBook? Write a short one.
Writing an eBook can seem like a monumental task.
For one thing, those of us lacking a tech gene shudder at the little “e” in front of “eBook.” That “e” stands for “electronic.” An eBook writer must move a typed manuscript to a digital format, load it into an electronic platform, and market it — or hire someone to do. All of that digital malarky can make writing an eBook appear to be impossible.
That said, I’m not a techie, yet I’m squarely in the eBook writing camp. And I have ...
Jul 16, 2025
It's easy to write clearly with the 4 Cs
“Why is it so hard to write clearly, and how can I make sure my readers understand what I’m trying to say?” Every week, I get those two questions from folks in my writing groups.
The answer? I use the 4 Cs of writing to write clearly ...
Jul 15, 2025
Quick writing tip (for any project)
Writing – or at least writing copy – is not glamorous.
Good writers are packagers. They work really hard to produce an effective, clean piece.
The good news is that clean writing is a skill that can be learned.
Bottom line: the best way to write clean copy and content is to ...
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