blogher pro '13: old-school skills that still matter
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Old-School Skills That Still Matter by Julie Ross Godar at BlogHer PRO '13 in Silicon ValleyTRANSCRIPT
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DAY 2: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23,
2013
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Breakout #1: Content 10:00am - 12:00pm
• Content Optimization Strategy• Unleashing Creativity• Pivoting Your Brand• Old-School Skills That Matter• What You Need to Know about Key New Content
Platforms:
• LinkedIn• Medium• YouTube
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BREAKOUT #1: CONTENT
Old-School Skills That Matter
Julie Ross GodarExecutive Editor, [email protected]
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You are the newsroom.
Image: D. Services via Flickr / Creative Commons license
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#1. Headlines
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POST TITLE “HEADLINE”• Title of post (duh)• Use relevant keywords in
natural order• Think of how people would
search for the content you’re blogging about
• Programmable areas of site• Social media• Newsletters• If you can naturally add
keywords in juicy headline, do so, but it’s advanced wizardry
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Tips for Catchy Headlines• Be USEFUL to the reader,
• Provide her with a sense of URGENCY,
• Convey the idea that the main benefit (of reading the story) is somehow UNIQUE;
• Do all of the above in an ULTRA-SPECIFIC way; and
• Keep a little of the story UNTOLD.
• Practice: Upworthy has its editors write 25 headlines for each story.
Source: Copyblogger.org
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Find the Balance for Your Voice• “29 Cats Who Will Be President Someday” may not work for
your brand or intended audience.
• Monitor your metrics for wording that works
• A/B test when possible
• Look at your blog/promotions as a whole to make sure it’s not looking redundant. Write them into the editorial/promotional calendar if you can.
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#2. The Most Important Paragraph
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The Inverted Pyramid
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LEDE GRAF
Image:
(“Lede” = Lead“Graf” = Paragraph)
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TL; DR
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NUT GRAF
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“Newsy” posts “Bloggy” posts• Reporting,
straightforward facts (tutorials, eg)
• Put in “lede” -- first graph
• Who, what, where, why, how (as relevant)
• Think of the inverted pyramid as you write
• Not necessarily first paragraph, but nut graf should be far up enough for readers and search engines to notice
• Answers “Why should we care?”
• Put in your summary/meta description field (so people know why to care)
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#3. Fact Checking
Image: Proofreader with red pen checks a transcribed page, Shutterstock.com
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Images: YouTube video
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IF YOUR MOMMA
SAYS SHE LOVES YOU ...
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CHECK IT OUT!
IF YOUR MOMMA
SAYS SHE LOVES YOU ...
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Best Practice:When you can, link to claims of fact to sources of record: NYT, Washington Post.
If something’s happening right now and only reported by a single source, note that.
This takes the burden of reporting OFF you and puts into ON the reporters.
BONUS: It is also still a generally good thing for SEO.
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ResourcesHeadlineshttp://www.slideshare.net/Upworthy/the-sweet-science-of-viralityhttp://www.copyblogger.com/magnetic-headlines/ http://www.theawl.com/2013/01/take-a-minute-to-watch-the-new-way-we-make-web-headlines-now
More about lede and nut grafshttp://www.poynter.org/how-tos/newsgathering-storytelling/writing-tools/225036/why-stories-need-a-focus-or-do-they/http://johnkrolldigital.com/2013/09/7-common-pitfalls-of-newspaper-narratives/
Fact checkingBreaking news on Twitter: Follow @acarvin for exampleshttp://grammarguide.copydesk.org/2012/01/02/check-the-facts-10-tips-for-copy-editors/