Award-winning writer Kathy Widenhouse has helped hundreds of nonprofits and writers produce successful content and has gained 600K+ views for her writing tutorials. She is the author of 9 books. See more of Kathy’s content here.
Word Wise is for busy people who want to write more (or need to), but don't have a lot of time.
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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 ...
Continue reading "Top letter writing tips from the world's most famous letter writer"
When I first started writing (and many times since then), I got tripped up in The Hook Writing Trap.
I mistakenly thought I had to write the hook – the lead – first.
I’d comb through search engine results for a ...
“I want to write a book.”
The problem, you’ve found, is getting started and getting it done.
Use this book writing planner and in a year (or less) you will hold your manuscript in your hands! The planner makes it easy to ...
If you’re venturing into the blog copywriting world with your nonprofit or small business, here are some basics you need to know.
Blogs (“web logs”) first emerged in the 1990s as online public journals. They have since grown to be known as informational web pages...
“I’m reaching out for your advice.” I’m not sure how the sender found me, but he sent an insightful question. “What guidance would you give yourself about building an audience if you were just starting out today as a writer?”
He went on to explain that he had a day job, and he understood the path to writing success can be long...
Continue reading "Yes, you CAN build the audience of your dreams"
I put together this list of five tips to make money writing in order to explain how to a freelancer can earn money with words by cultivating multiple income streams.
Over the years, I’ve heard writers say, “Yes, you CAN make a good living from writing.”
Before I began my writing journey, I never thought that was possible. But it is ...
Continue reading "Use these 5 tips to get started making money with your writing"
Computer-speak can seem like an insider language to a newbie copywriting website content. You can make sense out of the niche lingo using these handy glossary pages.
These acronyms – words formed from initials – are among the most confusing in digital writing jargon ...
During the first days of online marketing, a lead magnet – then, usually an eBook or a PDF download – was a novelty. People were used to paying cold hard cash for books and information products. Who gave away free books, especially good ones?
Lead magnets revealed The Myth of Free Content. That myth was based on a few erroneous assumptions ...
Continue reading "Why you need a lead magnet (or two or ten)"
It’s easy to dismiss a direct mail postcard as impersonal. Particularly these days, when social media marketing pushes us to engage readers.
But if you want to get a message out fast – or reinforce one you’ve already sent – then use ...
Continue reading "A simple promo tool you've forgotten to use"
If you're a writer, small biz owner, leader, or solopreneur, you need a content writing strategy.
Don’t get put off by the marketing experts that summarize a content strategy as “the high-level planning, execution, governance, and ongoing management of the content lifecycle to sustain key business initiatives, drive traffic, increase engagement, multiply sales, and strengthen other business outcomes through content.” Or some other such high-level jargon.
If you’re a marketer, that kind of explanation makes sense. But if you don’t have an MBA, it may be difficult to translate that definition ...
Continue reading "Create a content strategy you can stick with"
These 5 magic words can open doors and get readers to support your cause ...
Continue reading "5 magic words that open doors for your nonprofit or biz"
Copywriting vs content writing: the terms are often used interchangeably. And to be honest, it’s taken me a while to figure out the differences between the two.
You’d think as a writer for more than a couple of decades, this would not be hard for me. And to be fair...
Continue reading "Copywriting vs content writing: wha's the difference?"
The "power of new" is not just a gimmick to use in persuasive writing.
Sure, 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 technique in your writing arsenal...
I admit it: when I first started writing, the idea of different writing styles not only confused me but intimidated me.
“I’m barely learning the craft,” I thought to myself. From where I sat, I could not envision developing my own style.
Then I learned that...
Continue reading "How to write in the 4 writing styles - and when to use each one"
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 logging online, completing assignments, interacting with other students, and asking questions...
Continue reading "How to get started with a big content writing project"
Why do you opt into a mailing list?
Years ago, when I first started writing, my mentors encouraged me to launch an online newsletter – a type of formatted group email, they explained.
I balked. Sending mass emails felt impersonal. I didn’t like the idea of throwing a lot of content into cyberspace to see what stuck.
Until then, I received ...
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 ...
Writing homepage content is different than writing content for other pages on a site.
A lower-level page has one simple job to do: provide information.
A homepage, too, provides information. But it has two additional jobs to do ...
When I sat down to write this article, all I had was a hazy concept and a couple of keywords I thought I should use.
I brainstormed, but I hit a wall. I even tried ChatGPT to drill down my point.
In the end, I reverted to my favorite nifty acronym to move from a vague article concept to a solid article main idea.
You, like me, might be so overwhelmed that you simply don’t know where to start writing an article. We are not alone. About half of the 1,200+ members in my private writing Facebook group tell me one of their main writing struggles is, “I don’t know how to get started writing...”
Continue reading "Writing ideas are gold. Here's how to refine yours."
Early on in my writing life, I adopted a mantra:
ABW: Always Be Writing.
If you’re always writing, then you’re always producing content.
The more content you produce, the more clips you have whether you’re a newbie copywriter or a seasoned pro. People find out that you write and ask you to write for them. Here are 12 tips to help you ...
Clever design and a reliable delivery schedule are helpful, but they will not make up for dull writing and high-falutin’ readability.
Newsletter success boils down to the quality of your articles. Are yours interesting? Are prospects eager to read them? Do they learn great information or get inspired?
Your newsletter won’t get read unless your articles are interesting and easy to read.
Plenty of ...
Continue reading "Here's how to make sure your newsletter article gets read"
One indispensable copywriting skill you must have has little to do with writing at all.
It’s empathy.
“It’s your job to be Chief Empathy Officer for your audience,” says Copyblogger co-founder Sonia Simone...
“How much does it cost to write a blog?” That’s a question I hear a lot from writers.
They’re not talking about writing the content. They’re asking about the cash layout, which can be really, really cheap. As in about $10 a month for web hosting and $9.99 a year for a domain name.
It’s smart to calculate monetary expenses before getting started with blogging. In fact, Jesus said, “Don’t begin until you count the cost..."
Crunched for time? You can still build your blog.
Just do it 20 minutes at a time ...
When you’re writing website content, you need to know the lingo.
Mainly so that you‘ll be able to write each element. But also so that you can work with a client, or web designer, or simply speak with your web host to get problems solved.
Use this glossary to ...
Continue reading "Terms you need to know for writing website content"
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