Blog » Empower Writing

04Feb 2020 by Colleen Casey

How to Organize Your Blog Posts with Categories

Blogging, Content Planning, Grower, How-Tos, Top Posts, Wordsmith

Blog post categories let you group your content, for you and for your audience. Learn some tips and tricks to get started with categories. Blog post categories group your content to help your audience find what they’re looking for. You can display the categories on your blog to guide viewers to the right place for them. You can also keep some categories hidden so you can build out and test smaller categories or deliver content for each segment of your audience. In this post, you’ll learn how to: Decide what categories to use for your blogSort your posts into the right categoriesCreatively display your categories on your websiteUse categories alongside email marketing to help segment your audience and deliver relevant contentSet up categories in Wordpress Decide What Categories To Use…

21Jan 2020 by Colleen Casey

Can Good Writing Be Taught?

Beginner, Creator-ship

Good writers communicate their ideas in a way that others can understand. But were they born with some innate ability to use words well, or can anyone learn how to be a good writer? I’ve seen two main beliefs about writing that I want to debunk. The first belief is that writing isn't highly skilled. As a professional writer, I’ve experienced my work being discounted because when it’s done right, it seems effortless. If you speak and write every day, even if you’re only writing emails, how hard could it be to write a quick blog post? It turns out that using a language doesn't always translate to writing ability. The second belief is that writing is either something you’re naturally good at or you’re hopeless. You may be romanticizing…

07Jan 2020 by Colleen Casey

Quick Writing Tip: Less or Fewer?

Beginner, Quick Writing Tips, Writing Skills

Wondering when to use less or fewer? Use “fewer” when the noun is countable and “less” when it isn’t. Read on for some examples. This common question pops up from time to time, particularly while looking for the express checkout line at the grocery store: Is it 10 items or less, or 10 items or fewer? This quick writing tip truly is quick, because using less or fewer in a sentence is incredibly straightforward. Let’s get to it! Use “Fewer” for What You Can Count Use “fewer” when the noun it’s referring to is countable. Here are some examples: >> I need no fewer than 10 people to help me move these boxes. >> This bag has fewer chips than usual. >> If fewer people left their snack wrappers behind,…

26Dec 2019 by Colleen Casey

How to Set Business Goals for 2020

Grower, How-Tos

Learn how to set business goals for 2020 that you’ll stick to. Good goals align with your priorities and can be broken down so you can hit your weekly, monthly, and quarterly targets. Wherever you are in your journey as an entrepreneur or creator, you’ll always have new goals to achieve. But, it’s all too easy to start comparing yourself to the countless success stories around you instead of focusing on your own journey. So, how can you refocus that energy towards excitement for your future? For me, setting clear, measurable goals that I can break down into manageable steps sets me back on the right path. Sure, I still have my insecurities about my path (for example, I feel like I’m navigating my way through the business world slower…

03Nov 2019 by Colleen Casey

How to Make an Editorial Calendar: The Ultimate Guide

Beginner, Blogging, Content Planning, Grower, How-Tos, Top Posts

An editorial calendar helps you plan your content and stay ahead of deadlines. It's a useful tool for any entrepreneur or online creator because you always know what’s coming next and you can plan around big events, launches, and holidays. One of the worst places to be as a content creator is in the “what should I do next?” state of mind. Your energy should go towards your content, not towards all the decisions you have to make before you can even start creating. Your editorial calendar lets you make those decisions ahead of time so you can focus on your content. In this post, you’ll learn how to make an editorial calendar using the following steps: Start and maintain a backlog of content ideas to fill your editorial calendarSet…

27Oct 2019 by Colleen Casey

Quick Writing Tip: Apostrophes (You’re Doing it Wrong)

Beginner, Grower, Quick Writing Tips, Writing Skills

Apostrophes are used in contractions and to show ownership. But they’re being (mis)used for a lot more. Learn how to use apostrophes the right way with this quick writing tip. Quick writing tips are simple lessons for you to keep in mind as you write your web copy, sales pages, email marketing, social media, blog content, and everything else you have on your plate. This quick writing tip addresses a HUGE pet peeve of mine: unnecessary apostrophes. Apostrophes are being misused everywhere nowadays. It feels like I see them being used incorrectly more than I see them being used correctly. The rule for using an apostrophe is simple: use it for a contraction and for when you’re attributing ownership. But for some reason, apostrophes are being used for more than…

20Oct 2019 by Colleen Casey

How to Edit Your Writing Like a Boss

Blogging, Books and eBooks, Grower, How-Tos, Podcasting, Video Content, Website Copy, Wordsmith, Writing Skills

Editing is difficult, but it doesn’t have to be tedious. This post walks you through how to edit your content without losing your mind. Editing is the hardest and most time-consuming part of writing. When you hear the word “editing,” you might first think of copywriting, when you’re looking for typos, misspelled words, misused punctuation, and other granular fixes. But, editing entails much more than the tiny details. Editing is the entire process of shaping a draft into its final form. It involves looking at the entire work, then at each chapter or section, page, paragraph, sentence, and word. You’re looking at how things are working on a deeper level than spelling. (But spelling is definitely part of it!) So, let’s talk about how to edit your content without losing…

13Oct 2019 by Colleen Casey

3 Reasons to Plan Your Videos

Beginner, Content Planning, Creator-ship, Video Content

Videos are a lot to manage. Planning lets you make decisions ahead of time, leaving you the mental space to add value and entertainment during filming. Whether you make scripted content or freeform vlogs, it’s best to do a little planning before you start filming. A plan adds structure that helps you make sure that your videos attract viewers, that you have space to showcase your personality, and that you don’t ramble away from your intended message. In this post, you’ll learn 3 reasons why planning your videos can boost your views and engagement (and your sanity). 1. You Can Craft Your Story You want your video to be entertaining and useful from the first second. You do that by designing a clear path through a story or message in…

06Oct 2019 by Colleen Casey

How Focus Shapes Your Blog Posts

Blogging, Grower, How-Tos, Wordsmith

Focused blog posts give readers your knowledge in a neat package. Asking the big questions helps you shape your ideas into great content. A blog post’s focus comes from the big-picture questions that drive it. When you define your focus, you answer the big questions that determine what information to share, what order it should go in, and why your message is important to your readers. To illustrate how important focus is to your blog content, I’ll be creating a sample blog post and shaping it up as I answer some big-picture questions. What Are the Big Questions? You’re probably wondering what the big questions are. I explain these in my post 9 Skills That Will Instantly Improve Your Writing: Ask yourself:1. What am I trying to accomplish with this…

29Sep 2019 by Colleen Casey

The 2 Types of Emails You Should Know How to Write

Beginner, Email Marketing, Grower, How-Tos

You need two emails to engage your audience and share your products. Use them to build and convert your list of interested people into loyal customers. There’s a ton of content to write as an entrepreneur, but little is more fear-inducing than email marketing content. When you’re sending emails to your email list, you’re walking a fine line between turning your audience into engaged customers and alienating them with constant pitches. Your email list is the bridge between you and your audience. It’s the most direct channel you have to both reach them and hear from them. And because they’ve opted into being there, you know they think that what you’re offering is valuable. But what's the best way to connect with them? How do you deliver content regularly that…