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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It’s happened again: I need to beat writer’s block. The cursor blinks. Fear and self-doubt strangle those first words while the page remains blank. My creative juices get jammed and I’m stuck.
You, too, I’ll bet. Writer’s block is a lapse in creativity or motivation. But what’s worse than the blank page is the lie that accompanies it.
The silence of words can cause you to wrongly believe you don’t have any ideas. When you face this lapse at the keyboard, don’t mistake it for ...
Your writing project has its best chance for success when you write an opening paragraph that zeros in on your topic slant.
Notice I didn’t say opening paragraphs (plural). I said opening paragraph (singular). As in one paragraph – the first.
Your article, blog post, or book chapter is engaging or memorable when it...
I wanted to learn to write for the Christian market.
But before I drilled down into a niche, I needed writing experience. So I enrolled in an introductory course to learn the basics about how to write articles.
Lou was my first writing instructor...
Continue reading "Can a sci-fi writer teach you about the Christian market?"
When my editor asked me to write a book of fun children devotionals for girls ages 6-9, I saw a perfect opportunity to help young ladies understand that God is their friend.
I knew that God & Me! 3 (ages 6-9) would be part of a series of children's devotionals, but didn’t know then that the book and series would become an iParenting media award winner … and a best-seller ...
Over the years, I’ve made plenty of embarrassing mistakes with freelance copywriting clients.
To be honest, most of my boo-boos stemmed from the fact that I was thinking about selling myself … rather than focusing on how I could help the client. My blunders marked me as an amateur and cost me time and frustration.
On the other side of the coin, if I’m sitting in the client’s chair, I want to be ...
Continue reading "Got a gig? Here's what to ask your new freelance writing client"
Persuasive storytelling is a writing technique. It uses a story to rouse a reader’s emotions and move him to act.
Once upon a time, facts and reason were headliners in persuasive writing. But no more.
Facts, by themselves, are no longer enough to persuade readers ...
Continue reading "Why you MUST master persuasive storytelling"
A donor thank you letter is the perfect opportunity to cultivate a relationship with a supporter and show she’s personally important to you. Send it immediately (within 72 hours of receiving a gift).
And plan it with care and thought ...
Continue reading "How to write the perfect donor thank you letter"
Getting started can be awkward. Especially when writing fundraising messages. It doesn’t matter if you’re writing a formal letter asking for donations or typing out a simple fundraising text. How do you politely ask for donations?
If you feel uncomfortable putting together fundraising messages, then try ...
Continue reading "Try these 5 opening lines in your fundraising messages"
Visual content is an image, graphic, or video.
There are plenty of reasons to use a graphic in an article, on a web page, or in a blog post.
Such as ...
A graphic breaks up your content on the page and ...
Continue reading "3 reasons you should use visuals in your content"
A good title offers a benefit. A subtitle offers an additional one.
A subtitle is a subordinate heading, added after a title, that gives additional information about the content of the book or article.
Take for example, Gary Chapman’s bestseller ...
Continue reading "How your book subtitle pulls in more readers"
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 this course for several reasons. First of all, I ...
Continue reading "Free mini-course; Getting Started Writing Devotionals"
“I need a resume.” A resume worksheet solves the problem of what information you need to create one.
You will likely need a resume at various junctures in your life. And if you have a way with words, then friends and family will call upon you to write theirs. Clients, too. (And you can charge them!)
A typical resume - no matter what format you use - includes six kinds of information ...
Continue reading "Use a resume worksheet to build your own resume"
If you’re a small biz or freelancer, you’re expected to offer a freebie on your website or blog.
It’s standard operating procedure. But a lead magnet is not the unique temptation for readers that it once was.
But since everyone creates a lead magnet and offers one on their website or blog, can yours stand out so readers actually want to opt in?
Yes! The best lead magnet does one thing. I know this — and you do, too — because ...
Oh, how I wish I had this fundraising letter template when I first started writing for nonprofits and ministries!
If you’re a copywriter, ministry writer, or content writer (or want to be one), then writing appeal letters can be part of your bread and butter. Even if you’re a general freelancer, then there’s a good chance you’ve been asked (or will be asked) to write a fundraising letter, whether for a client or for an organization that you support.
Naturally, you'd like to write a good one ...
Continue reading "A simple and powerful fundraising letter template: free download"
If you’re like a lot of writers, you want to know how to start a blog and make money at it.
For a writer or a creative or an entrepreneur, could there be anything more appealing than The Blogger’s Life? You camp out at your laptop, write a page here and there, post it … and then listen to the Ding Ding as your post generates large deposits into your bank account.
Plenty of people start blogs. Few stick with blogging. And even fewer make money at it. But YOU can.
Here’s a surprise for many who want to solve the "Big Money-Making Blog Mystery": bloggers don’t make money from ...
Continue reading "How to start a blog and make money: a beginner's guide"
I love these three short story writing tips from the Master Storyteller, Jesus. They’re tucked into Matthew 13 amid six parables, almost as an aside.
1. Jesus always used stories.
He used other methods, too ...
Continue reading "3 short story writing tips from the Master Storyteller"
Is your website or blog contact page easy to find and easy to use?
“Think about it — your dream customer has made it to your website, read your blog posts, your company and product information, and maybe even downloaded some of your eBooks or product files,” says creative marketing strategist Juliette Ferraro. “But when they're finally ready to reach out, you leave them hanging. Not the best experience, right?”
That’s why your contact page is one of the most important pages on your site ...
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 help your blog succeed ...
Continue reading "12 practical tools to help you build your blog"
Planning a website can be overwhelming, especially if you’ve never done it or if you’ve got a zillion other things to do to run your business.
There’s the whole question what content to include.
But before I get to that, there’s the technical gobbledygook: how do I “get online”?
I've planned and launched websites more than a few times ...
Continue reading "3 things you need for planning a website (or updating one)"
The AIDA formula is widely used model in copywriting. It’s a particular favorite of those who create sales letters and appeal letters.
But I find it handy for writing all kinds of content, especially for writing articles, web pages, and blog posts.
I'll explain how in just a sec. But first, a bit of ...
Continue reading "Use this time-tested writing formula for persuasive content"
Readers don’t want to hear from you only when you want to sell them.
Content-rich communications in your newsletters, email, letters, blog, brochures, posts, and website appeal to followers – four out of five, in fact. A recent Penn State study showed that 80% of readers conduct online searches in order to get information.
Just 10% of searches are navigational – that is, the user is looking for a specific website. And just 10% of those same readers get online to make a transaction. But ...
Continue reading "27 content ideas to build your audience and extend your reach"
Pre-writing is the key to making your writing go faster and be more focused.
Whereas a project may start with many options, pre-work eliminates rabbit trails, helps you organize your raw material, and lets you sort out your ideas. Decisions you make in this phase give you a sense of direction allowing you to get from Point A (a project that needs to be written) to Point B (a completed project) in the shortest route possible...
Continue reading "Take these 4 steps before you write - and it will go faster"
A writing clip is a sample of your articles, copywriting, or other content writing.
Clips are proof that you can do the job. A strong clip or two show that you can be entrusted to use words well on behalf a prospective client.
“No one wants to ...
Continue reading "How to show a client you can write his content"
A hashtag is a tool for social media users. It’s comprised of the hash symbol (#) followed by a term or phrase.
When users click on the hashtag, they are pointed to a page listing all other posts that have been tagged with the same term. For instance, the hashtag ...
You’ve got a book idea. You’re gung-ho to get writing. But should you proceed?
Before you invest time and energy in writing your book, you want to know you’ve got a solid book concept – and an audience that is eager to nab your book and read it from cover to cover...
Continue reading "How to test your idea for a book before you start writing"
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