Word Wise Blog: Content Writing Made Easy

Jun 24, 2026

9 surprising places you need a powerful headline

It’s been drilled into you from the beginning: you must have a powerful headline for your article, blog post, or web page.

But what about all the other places you need a powerful headline … and may not know it?

A headline is text that introduces the subject matter of the piece and pulls in the reader by ...

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Jun 23, 2026

Free mini-course: Getting Started Writing Devotionals

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.

I created the course for several reasons. First, devotionals are growing in popularity. So many writers tell me they want to write and publish their own devotionals.

But many are uncertain where ...

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Jun 23, 2026

Top business email writing tips

Of all business email writing tips, just one is supreme: know the goal of your business email before you write it.

What do you want the reader to do when she gets your email?

Yes, you need ...

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Jun 22, 2026

Write a pitch email that gets a YES

If you’re a freelance writer who wants to get article and blog post bylines, you need to know how to write a pitch.

A pitch is a letter or email you write to an editor or site owner, explaining your story idea for the publication. A successful pitch moves the editor to say, “Yes! Go ahead and write this piece for me” and get paid, if it’s a commercial publication...

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Jun 21, 2026

All about writing bullet lists

A bullet list is a series of short phrases, each preceded by a small dot or other symbol.

It’s a widely-used tool in blog posts, business reports, articles, and books – even in text messages.

That’s because a bullet list is easy to read, especially online. A list organizes valuable information. And the bullet or symbol allows you to

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Jun 20, 2026

The best freelancing tip for newcomers

“Write what you know.” It’s the best freelance writing tip you’ll ever get.

I heard that statement a lot when I first started writing. It both encouraged me and intimidated me.

It encouraged me because it was ...

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Jun 19, 2026

Learn grant writing from a successful grant writer June 23 – August 5

Grant writing is a specialized skill—one that is increasingly in demand.

YOU can offer this desperately needed service to nonprofit organizations. And you can make money, too.

I created the Grant Writing Fundamentals course for writers like you! By the end of the course, you’ll have completed a full grant proposal.

You can take the course online June 23 – August 25. Or you can use the self-paced version at any time. Learn more ...

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Jun 18, 2026

Why should readers bother to opt in to your content?

Think about it for a minute.

All of us have chosen to opt in to various email lists at one time or another.

Why do you? Consider your own behavior and then apply that to ...

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Jun 17, 2026

Should you learn grant writing?

“We found a grant opportunity and would like to apply. Could you write the grant proposal for us?”

That question from a nonprofit client gave me the chance to learn grant writing.

Writing grants, I knew, was a specialized skill — one I was a bit nervous to tackle. A worthy cause would be placing its funding future in my hands.

Yet I soon discovered the fun in ...

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Jun 16, 2026

Be 20% more persuasive with one simple tweak

One of the most powerful persuasive writing tips you can use is to raise objections.

That is, anticipate why your reader may protest, question, doubt, embrace skepticism – and address those objections head-on in your copy or content.

But won't raising these objections lead the reader to jump ship even before you’ve made your argument? Maybe you're hesitant to ...

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Jun 15, 2026

Eat the frog. Beat writer's block.

“Eat the frog first!”

The quip has become a rallying cry for productivity and self-improvement experts, made popular in the international bestseller Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy.

But it’s also a powerful principle for writers, too.

The idea behind “eat the frog first” is to complete the one task that you’re least motivated to do - right at the start of the day. Maybe it’s ...

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Jun 14, 2026

Why use short sentences?

“Keep sentences short.”

That is the first of ten clear writing principles recorded by American businessman Robert Gunning, the creator of the readability Gunning Fog Index.

Fog being lack of clarity, of course.

Gunning believed that writers.

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Jun 13, 2026

Good, bad, nice, really, very: eliminate them ruthlessly

Overworked words that are tired and ambiguous: good, bad, nice, really, very.

“The writer who has a definite meaning to express will not take refuge in such vagueness,” said author and English professor William Strunk, Jr. (1869-1946) in his classic The Elements of Style.

I “take refuge” in overworked words to avoid writing with depth (laziness) … to dodge overwhelm (hurry) … or to sidestep self-revelation (fear). Overworked words are an easy ...

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Jun 12, 2026

Busy? Distracted? Overwhelmed? Try this ...

It's easy to get busy, distracted, and overwhelmed. You beat yourself up and then focus on what you don’t do.

Just Take A Step points out what you can do. Each of the eight chapters of this devotional Bible study walk you through ...

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Jun 11, 2026

20 kinds of evergreen content you can write

Evergreen content is information that stays relevant long after you publish it.

It’s content that’s not time sensitive. Evergreen posts are not tied to the latest trends, news, or fads. Instead, evergreen topics never go out of date.

These are the kinds of posts that become the most-clicked pages on ...

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Jun 10, 2026

Just 20% of your content's success depends on wrtiing

You’ve poured hours into your blog post … article … email campaign … sales page. Finally, you hit “Publish.”

Then … crickets.

Why do some pieces get attention while others flop and disappear into the noise … even after you’ve slaved to perfect it?

The answer is quite simple, dear writing friend.

It’s a hard truth. But grasp it — and your writing will succeed...

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Jun 09, 2026

3 helpful tips for writing your hook

Writing a hook – your attention-getting introduction – starts by knowing the end of your piece.

Which may come as a surprise, since your hook is the first sentence or two to your article, blog post, essay, marketing copy, short story, letter, web page, or nearly any other written work. You might also call it your “hook sentence.”

Just as it is the hook that snags the fish, the hook sentence catches the reader’s interest so that he keeps reading...

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Jun 08, 2026

Where to find freelance writing jobs with nonprofits

You want to write for your favorite cause, but you are not sure where to find freelance writing jobs with nonprofits — ones that will pay you. The good news is that no matter what your interest is, there are hundreds of nonprofits working in that niche. And there is a proven way you can discover how and where to find freelance writing jobs that will help them carry out their wonderful work.

Hundreds of opportunities? Yes. There are ...

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Jun 07, 2026

Interruptions: Hindrance ... or help?

Does an interruption throw you off your concentration as you write? If you said yes, you’re not alone.

Among a writer’s worse interruptions are email and texts, according to a study published by Gloria Mark at the University of California-Irvine. Mark reports that after only 20 minutes of computer interruptions (like email), workers indicate significantly higher stress, frustration, workload, effort, and pressure.

Concentration produces more ...

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Jun 06, 2026

Which do you expect: acceptance or rejection?

The Imposter Syndrome is typical in the new writer, but it’s a thinking pattern that impacts long-time writers, too.

You may recognize it in yourself. Why would people read your words? You’re a phony. A fraud. A counterfeit or fake.

If you’re a new writer without a stable of clips, you may expect ...

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Jun 05, 2026

Make a personalized book writing plan to get your book done

“I want to write a book.” You’ve said that more than once. In fact, your book idea has been floating around in your head for some time.

You may have jotted down some notes or you’ve got a file folder with clippings and facts and anecdotes. Maybe you even have an outline. But an actual manuscript? You haven’t made much headway on that, if any.

What you need is a book writing plan — a plan that is simple enough to ...

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Jun 04, 2026

How to write SMART objectives

Here are 5 important tips for writing objectives.

It's one of the more important writing skills to have – specifically, for writing grants, writing business plans, and strategic planning – that I wish I’d known when I first started out.

It ain’t a bad list of tips to have on hand just in general, either, when you're trying to write with clarity.

Just for the record, you can use these 5 tips when writing any kind of objective statement...

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Jun 03, 2026

How to use keywords to write better web pages and posts

When you know how to use keywords, you can write better web pages, blogs, and social media posts.

Keywords are terms and phrases that define a piece of content.

They help drive search engine page results rankings, so the keywords you choose can lead readers to your website, blog, or social media platform for free. (Yay!)

But for many of us, using keywords creates jitters …

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Jun 02, 2026

SELWAB: A simple (and foolproof) formula for your lead

The SELWAB formula is a self-check for writing leads for letters, but it applies to writing leads for articles, headlines, and emails, too.

The reason I use SELWAB is simple: I want my reader to keep reading.

It’s an easy guideline formula: as I begin to write any lead (for a letter, an article, a headline, email subject line, a blog post), I frame my opening sentence or paragraph with ...

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Jun 01, 2026

How to use keywords to write better web pages

When you know how to use keywords, you can write better web pages, blogs, and social media posts.

Keywords are terms and phrases that define a piece of content. (How keywords work.)

They help drive search engine page results rankings, so the keywords you choose can drive readers to your website, blog, or social media platform for free. (Yay!)

But how do you know which keywords to use? You can ...

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