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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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Oct 08, 2025
5 forgettable first lines
Walk with me through your reader’s article feed. Scroll, scroll, scroll. Then, a headline captures his eye. He clicks to read more.
Congratulations! Your article has moved past the initial hurdle. But will Robert Reader keep reading your masterpiece?
That’s up to the first lines of your article.
Those opening words have just 10 seconds to convince Robert to stay. Will they be memorable and interesting?
I’ve seen too many writers launch an article with a stumble, grasping at cliches. Don’t let that be you...
Oct 07, 2025
How long should my blog post be?
Researchers who are immersed in blog data can give you all kinds of analytics about how many words to write, what kinds of words to use, and even where to place those words in your blog post. That information is useful.What is the ideal blog post length?
To be honest, the jury is out.
But if you’re like me, you want to get past all the explanations ASAP and learn the quick and dirty answers about blog post length so you can get on with writing...
Oct 06, 2025
Everyone talks about "content," but what is it?
Good content writing drives your communications.
But what exactly is “content”? You hear that word used a lot, whether you’re a business owner, leader, staffer, and even more so if you’re a writer.
When I first started writing, the term “content” puzzled me. Was it ...
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Oct 05, 2025
3 kinds of short stories to use in your content
Short stories are a way to illustrate a point in your content writing.
Jesus was a master at this.
By using short stories – parables – Jesus was able to paint word pictures that appeal to our senses and reveal ...
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Oct 04, 2025
How to build a writer's platform
A writer’s platform is a forum that you use to connect with your specific set of readers.
“Publishers and agents seek writers with credentials and authority,” says editor Jane Friedman. “They are visible to their target audience as an expert, thought leader, or professional.”
But before you throw your hands up in despair at building a writer’s platform because you are just starting to accumulate readers – thereby lacking credibility and visibility – understand a bit of history.
Prior to the age of the Internet ...
Oct 03, 2025
Get started writing your first devotional in less than an hour
Use this mini-course, Getting Started Writing Devotionals, and in less than an hour you’ll be writing your own devotional.
And you can enroll in this mini-course for FREE...
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Oct 02, 2025
Tips for writing a fundraising ask (so you can avoid the cringe)
There’s no way to dance around the "fundraising ask" in an effective fundraising appeal.
You must ask readers to relinquish their hard-earned dollars to your cause in a way that makes them thrilled to do so.
First, in terms of technique, the fundraising ask always includes some important elements.
But while those specifics are necessary, you must earn the right to present them. ..
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Oct 01, 2025
Save time BEFORE you write – 4 pre-writing tips
Pre-writing is the key to making your writing go faster and be more focused.
True, you’re not “officially” putting down words for your actual piece.
But wouldn’t you like to eliminate all those rabbit trails as you try to move to Point A to Point B to Point C?
Plus, writing lets you avoid one of the biggest stumbling blocks to clear writing …
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Sep 30, 2025
Write like a pro FAST with these 5 quick writing fixes
Let’s be clear: quick copywriting fixes don’t take the place of good writing.
But no matter your skill level, there are a few concrete steps to follow that will make your writing clearer and more focused. Try these quick fixes to focus your cover letters, emails, appeals, and web content ...
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Sep 29, 2025
How to write a summary statement for any piece of content
It’s tempting to think of a “thesis statement” as squarely plunked into the domain of those in academia.
Wrongo. I write a thesis statement for nearly every piece of content that I peck out on my keyboard.
No, I’m not going all nerdy. Writing a thesis statement for a piece of content is an incredibly helpful tool.
Here's how to get one in front of you as you write nearly any kind of content and you can save time, stay on track, and write clearer...
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Sep 28, 2025
Specialist? How a Jack-of-all-trades niches down
A specialist focuses on writing in a particular niche or two, either in an industry or in a writing genre.
A generalist, on the other hand, writes on multiple topics and in several genres.
One week, the generalist is writing a series of articles on sailing regattas. The next week, the generalist is writing a ...
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Sep 27, 2025
Top writing tips from the world's most famous letter writer
As I studied how to write a letter, I decided to go to the best source I could think of for letter-writing tips: Paul of Tarsus.
He wrote 13 letters that are published in the best-selling book of all time – the Bible – which enterprising geekologists tell us make up 28% of the New Testament.
In those letters, Paul ...
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Sep 26, 2025
Less than 10% of blogs succeed. But yours can.
Less than 10% of blogs succeed.
But yours can ... when you have time-saving tools.
Tools for building high-quality posts FAST. Tools for finding and using the proper SEO keywaords. Tools for gathering free email addresses, focusing your blog's content, scheduling content ....
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Sep 25, 2025
Nonprofits: Avoid these 7 deadly mistakes
When times are hard, one of the biggest nonprofit fundraising mistakes you can make is to complain.
Partners and prospects read negativity, and click “delete” or toss your letter quicker than the latest stock market indicator plunge. And why not? They hear plenty of it already on the news.
Whining is deadly.
Even in down times, you can ...
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Sep 24, 2025
How I publish on 7 writing platforms each week without losing my mind
“I can’t keep up with more than one or two channels.”
“I’m too busy to publish on multiple platforms.”
“I know I should build more profiles on more sites, but I can’t maintain the ones I’ve got already.”
If you’re building an online biz, the pressure to grow your visibility is real. And no wonder you’re overwhelmed. More than 100 social sites are clamoring for your attention.
And that doesn’t include news groups and forums and publishing platforms, like Medium and Reddit and Quora.
There’s a nifty solution to your dilemma: cross-posting. Once you create your own process for posting on multiple channels simultaneously, you’ll be surprised at how quickly you can reach more readers. And you’ll keep your sanity, too...
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Sep 23, 2025
Website or blog? Write these 3 pages FIRST
Writing content for a website – particularly if it’s a new site – can be an overwhelming project.
Where should you start? What are the “must-have” pages?
Think about what YOU need to know when you land on a website.
The best place to start with writing content for a website is to write ...
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Sep 22, 2025
No time to write? Bust these 3 myths
“I can’t find time to write.” If that’s you, then you’re not alone. Forces conspire against writers to prevent us from getting words on the page!
Maybe you can’t find time to write because you’re ...
Sep 21, 2025
How to tackle a big writing project (and succeed)
I launched my first big content writing project – my website – before content management systems like WordPress were around.
In order to build the site, I needed to learn to use Dreamweaver software.
Which meant I had to take a course in Dreamweaver.
Which took six weeks of ...
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Sep 20, 2025
The problem with writing persuasively
Writers of faith are told to be persuasive. Jesus Himself told us to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19).
But when I think of being a persuasive writer, I get uncomfortable.
To be honest, I fear rejection. Readers may disapprove of my zeal. And I don’t want to come across as a slimy, manipulative ...
Sep 19, 2025
Write your blog post with this fill-in-the-blanks worksheet
You want to build your blog.
The problem, you’ve found, is two-fold: (1) organizing your ideas … and then (2) writing a post in segments when you have just spurts of time.
What can make a difference is a template to follow as you write each post...
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Sep 18, 2025
What your fundraising letter MUST have
An effective fundraising letter contains certain key elements – pieces that must be included in order to accomplish its goal of persuading the reader to give.
While this list is not a template, it offers a good sequential order to follow in a fundraising letter body.
Not every letter will follow this formula exactly. This particular order is simply a logical one to follow.
In fact, each of the elements is 100% necessary for your fundraising letter to be a success ...
Sep 17, 2025
Starting a blog or website? Here are 4 tips to make it easy and FUN
If you don’t yet have a blog or website, you may be uncertain where to start. If you already have an online home, you may be unsure how to grow it.
All that uncertainty breeds fear and procrastination … as well as money, tech, overwhelm, and time frustrations.
But what if your website or blog were a source of creativity and fun?
It can be. I promise! Mine are.
These 4 tips help you get past the frustration so you can enjoy your online home. And build a following with it...
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Sep 16, 2025
Have plenty of content stories at your fingertips when you ...
Using anecdotes breathes life into your content. Readers are energized when they hear how your biz or your organization makes a difference in the lives of people you serve.
But you know what happens when the deadline for your next article or newsletter looms ...
You have to trudge through all kinds of phone calls and dead ends to find an exciting anecdote to include as the centerpiece...
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Sep 15, 2025
How to write a call to action in 3 words or less
When it’s time to write a call to action, you may hit a writing roadblock.
Because it's awkward.
Your call to action (CTA) tells your reader what to do as a result of reading your post, letter, or email. You ask her for money or time or permission to invade her personal space and you may be stumped about what to say.
For many of us ...
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Sep 14, 2025
Here's how to organize your book
A table of contents (TOC) lists sections and chapters at the beginning of a book or other piece of writing to guide the reader to where he needs to be.
Today, writers can use software to create a table of contents.
But before technology came on the scene ...
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