{"id":8611,"date":"2018-06-26T18:29:54","date_gmt":"2018-06-26T18:29:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/publicityhound.com\/tips\/?p=8611"},"modified":"2024-05-02T16:15:31","modified_gmt":"2024-05-02T16:15:31","slug":"7-ways-to-write-for-skimmers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/tips-of-the-week\/7-ways-to-write-for-skimmers\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Ways to Write for Skimmers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Issue #1235 June 26,\u00a02018<br \/>\nPublisher: Joan Stewart<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">&#8220;Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity&#8221;<\/h2>\n<h3><strong>In This Issue<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>7 Ways to Write for Skimmers<\/li>\n<li>Mention Copyscape in Blog Post Pitches<\/li>\n<li>What the Heck is Amazon Doing?<\/li>\n<li>Hound\u00a0Video\u00a0of the Week<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<blockquote><p><strong>This Week in the Hound House:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Grow, babies, grow! A few more weeks, and the baby groundhogs will be big enough to catch in the live trap and transport to my friend&#8217;s house about 20 miles from here. Yesterday, I discovered a hole that a groundhog, presumably the mama, had dug at the bottom of the front of my garden shed so she and the babies don&#8217;t have to walk around to the back to enter their hideaway. Can&#8217;t wait to rid the yard of these pests.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\">1. 7 Ways to Write for Skimmers<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-8617 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/publicityhound.com\/tips\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/06\/eyes-skimmers.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"128\" \/><\/p>\n<p>When you write blog posts, articles, press releases, email pitches, sales page and other copy that people will read online, avoid clunky paragraphs of gray that repel readers.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s one of the most frequent mistakes I see when clients <a href=\"https:\/\/publicityhound.com\/need-immediate-one-on-one-help-rent-my-brain\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rent My Brain<\/a> and ask me to critique their writing. Follow these seven writing tips to communicate your message quickly, so important because so many readers are seeing your copy on mobile devices:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Write short sentences within short paragraphs.<\/li>\n<li>Use sub-heads. These are smaller headlines under the main headline in a press release, and throughout the article. Sub-heads break up the gray, tell readers what&#8217;s coming next and summarize your most important points.<\/li>\n<li>Include bulleted or numbered lists, like I&#8217;ve done here.<\/li>\n<li>Use bold text rather than italics, which is difficult to read on a screen, to draw the readers&#8217; eyes to important phrases.<\/li>\n<li>Don&#8217;t underline words unless they link to another web page or you&#8217;ll confuse readers.<\/li>\n<li>For sales pages, consider highlighting words and phrases in yellow.<\/li>\n<li>If you&#8217;re writing a paragraph to sell, explain how your product or service will help readers save time or money or make them smarter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>To do:<\/strong> If you&#8217;re struggling to write sales copy, back cover copy for your book, a blog post, your bio or a proposal for a client, let me help. <a href=\"https:\/\/publicityhound.com\/need-immediate-one-on-one-help-rent-my-brain\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Schedule a Rent My Brain session.<\/a> We can even brainstorm publicity ideas, and I can recommend the best ways to pitch them.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\">2. Mention Copyscape in Blog Post Pitches<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-8616 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/publicityhound.com\/tips\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/06\/bobs-fishing.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"165\" \/><\/p>\n<p>When I edit a guest post that someone has submitted for my blog, I usually run it through Copyscape, a tool that tells me how much of the post appears elsewhere online.<\/p>\n<p>I can tell, within seconds, if the writer has plagiarized sentences or entire paragraphs.<\/p>\n<p>This morning, someone pitched an idea for a guest post to me and mentioned within the pitch that his article will be &#8220;Copyscape friendly.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>How clever, I thought. I&#8217;ve never seen anyone include that helpful nugget in a blog post pitch. It tells me the writer understands that I want original content. What the writer didn&#8217;t do, however, is read my guidelines for <a href=\"https:\/\/publicityhound.com\/blog\/how-to-pitch-a-guest-post-for-the-publicity-hound-blog\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pitching a guest blog post to The Publicity Hound.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>To do:<\/strong> Learn more about Copyscape in the video above. Then consider using it for guest posts at your blog, and for your own writing, especially if you do a lot of online research. Do you have guidelines for others who want submit guest posts to your blog? My policy saves time because I can send someone the link when they ask if I accept guest posts.<\/p>\n<p>#Plagiarism #Copyscape<\/p>\n<h3>3. What the Heck is Amazon Doing?<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-8614 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/publicityhound.com\/tips\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/06\/amazon-Add-to-Cart-button.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"275\" height=\"122\" \/><\/p>\n<p>When I speak at author conferences, I always attend the sessions about what&#8217;s new with Amazon, because the site can be so frustrating for anyone who sells books or other products.<\/p>\n<p>Many authors, publishers, and other sellers are seeing that the &#8220;Add to Cart&#8221; button doesn&#8217;t place an order for them like it used to. For the last year, Amazon has been awarding the button to the lowest-priced seller, regardless of who they are.<\/p>\n<p>The result? A dramatic drop in the author&#8217;s Createspace sales.<\/p>\n<p>Amazon expert <strong>Amy Collins<\/strong> recommends a way around this problem. She explains it in the article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebookdesigner.com\/2018\/06\/book-promotion-do-this-not-that-june-2018\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;Book Promotion: Do This, Not That \u2013 June 2018.&#8221;\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Amy and I are speaking at the Author You Extravaganza <strong>Aug. 23-26<\/strong> at the beautiful Beaver Run Resort in Breckenridge, Col. She&#8217;s presenting an entire session on what&#8217;s new with Amazon. I&#8217;ll present separate sessions on how to write a press release for a book and how to pitch.<\/p>\n<p>This year, 15 authors with manuscripts at least 75 percent completed can pitch their books to five publishing pros. One winner will walk away with a publishing bonanza package: editing, cover design, interior design, and printing.<\/p>\n<p>This is a perfect mini-vacation amid the breathtaking Rocky Mountains for your spouse or significant other. Register before <strong>Saturday, June 30<\/strong>, and your name will be entered into a drawing for a chance to attend free.<\/p>\n<p>To do: Read about the Extravaganza, and why smart authors will be there, <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20210727124827\/https:\/\/authoryouextravaganza.org\/?ref=PublicityHound\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">using this affiliate link.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>#AuthorMarketing #BookMarketing<\/p>\n<h3>4. Hound\u00a0Video of the Week<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/gzx0uZD4Y8s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-8615 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/publicityhound.com\/tips\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/06\/ugliest-dog-zsa-zsa_625x300_1529900886808.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"165\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>You may have seen <strong>Zsa Zsa<\/strong>, the English bulldog that won the <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/gzx0uZD4Y8s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;World&#8217;s Ugliest Dog&#8221;<\/a> Contest last week. But have you seen some of the other contestants? Who knew ugly could be so cute?<\/p>\n[Tweet &#8220;#PublicityTips &#8212; 7 Ways to Write for Skimmers #WritingTips #Copyscape #BookMarketing&#8221;]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h2>The Publicity Hound&#8217;s Tips of the Week<\/h2>\n<h3>&#8211; Issue #1235 June 26, 2018<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>7 Ways to Write for Skimmers\n<\/li>\n<li>Mention Copyscape in Blog Post Pitches<\/li>\n<li>What the Heck is Amazon Doing?<\/li>\n<li>Hound Video of the Week<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/tips-of-the-week\/7-ways-to-write-for-skimmers\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"rmlink\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8613,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","iawp_total_views":7,"wds_primary_category":6,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[143,43,155,294],"class_list":{"0":"post-8611","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tips-of-the-week","8":"tag-author-promotion","9":"tag-book-marketing","10":"tag-guest-blogging","11":"tag-writing-tips","12":"entry"},"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Joan Stewart","author_link":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/author\/jstewart\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8611\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}