Web Trends & Information 2010

> Private Companies, Legal Organizations & Law Firms NEW

> What Does a Copywriter & Content Strategist Do?

NEW

Private Companies, Legal Organizations & Law Firms: Are You Redesigning Your Website?

My goal is to increase visits to your website by reorganizing your content into user-friendly categories that present immediate value to your users. Then, I write the copy.

Getting your audience to take action is the ultimate goal of a successful website.

Private Companies: I've worked across many business sectors from California to Texas providing strategic content development and copywriting services. I was the senior editor for a major health care organization for four years, I've contracted with Wells Fargo, I helped Genentech rewrite its intranet pages, I completed a new navigation system for the State Bar of Texas and then rewrote more than 500 pages of content, and I'm currently doing the same for the Contra Costa County Bar Association.

Get an overview of what I do.

Legal Organizations & Law Firms: From attorney tasks such as paying mandatory fees, volunteering for pro bono work, taking an MCLE class, or joining your LRIS network, I write copy that offers immediate value for your attorneys, and presents your services and information in the best light possible. Attorneys are busy. Let them complete their tasks as quickly as possible.

I also develop copy that helps your public navigate the legal environment and understand the community services that you offer. By creating simple task-based instructions, you reduce confusion and increase involvement - which means increased visits to your site.

Read about what I do.

What Does a Copywriter and Content Strategist Do?

The skill set of copywriters in the 21st century has changed to include strategic content development.

An experienced content manager now includes in his or her repertoire knowledge of how users interact with the Internet. This knowledge is gleaned from a vigilant study on recent usability research, studies and seminars from noted experts and organizations such as Adaptive Path, Jakob Nielsen, Jared M. Spool and more.

In addition, professional content managers and writers must understand the value that your product or service brings to your users. Without this, a copywriter cannot write good content. And a successful writer writes for all industries across all media.

Call a writer (who is a content strategist) today!

Google Is Forever!

Social network websites are all the rage right now. I can’t remember a time when my step-daughters didn't check YouTube, Facebook or MySpace at least once a day, monitoring their friends and their activities and engaging in incessant chatter. Kids will be kids.

This article is not about the ills of social networking. And it's not about telling you how to raise your kids. I think the Internet Age has brought us a wealth of opportunities and knowledge—and a way to connect like never before.

This is simply a quick reminder that there are consequences to social networking that may not be as transparent today as they will be in the future. Especially if something comes back to kick you in the butt.

Imagine this 5 years from now… Your daughter is applying to several colleges. She’s busy filling out the applications, applying for scholarships and studying for the SATs. It's a busy time. Suddenly, she comes running into the room, distraught, and says that she Googled her name and found a disturbing search result.

Apparently she was part of a conversation in the past about a classmate who was suspended from high school because of drug use. This caused quite a stir in the neighborhood, and she and her friends were chiming in and giving their opinions on Facebook. An article was written in the local online newspaper, quoting the many comments from these teenagers, including your daughter's.

Boom. Her conversation is now a part of digital history. She didn't say anything wrong, but she did suggest that maybe drugs should be legalized in America. Now your daughter is concerned that college application committees who are conducting research across the Internet on all applicants will misread her intent. After all, she was just talking.

And she has every right to be concerned. Today's fickle public, with our collective tendency to snap to judgment, poses a real concern about how you engage and what you say on social network websites. The sad reality is that some people create opinions with very little to go on.

In the above fictional scenario some of you may think, "What's the big deal?" Well, in this fictional scenario it was a big deal to your daughter.

I am not saying don't engage in thought provoking conversations online. I am not saying keep your children from Facebook or MySpace. I am not saying we need to live in a sterile environment.

What I am saying is this: What you do today will be on Google forever. Discuss with your kids the intricacies and complexities of sharing information with others. Help them to understand that the future matters, and they had better take control of it now.