THE BUSINESS OF WRITING SMARTER
1-Day or 2-Day Power Writing Seminar
Instructor: Jon Samsel
Who this course is intended for: Companies looking to train their marketing/communication staff on the importance of writing and the skills required to help a brand become successful online. Website writing best practices, search engine optimization (SEO), and storytelling are emphasized. Ideal for novice to intermediate level-staff looking to quickly boost their proficiency. No prior programming skills needed.
Inquiries: 310-402-2890 or email jsamsel@gmail.com
IMPORTANCE OF WRITING
Famed management consultant, Peter Drucker, said, “As soon as you take one step up the career ladder your effectiveness depends on your ability to communicate your thoughts in writing.” In other words, if you want to be noticed within or outside your organization, you have to be able to express yourself-clearly and concisely.
The same can be said when you are an employee representing a company online, whether that’s on a corporate website, press release, training module, marketing campaign, social media site or email. Your writing is a critical extension of your company’s brand — so it’s important that business leaders invest in assisting their employees become the best ambassadors of communication possible.
- Your writing creates an image
- Text is the universal language of the web
- Being readable and findable is critical
- Great writing attracts customers
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS COURSE
The purpose of the training course is to help you become a better web writer, whether you are writing for humans or for search engines. You will increase your knowledge of today’s effective writing techniques, better understand the emotional mechanics of storytelling, and learn how to apply winning search engine marketing best practices.
- How to make your website more relevant
- What must be done to get good search engine rankings
- Best ways to submit, subscribe & syndicate to be found
- Why stories matter and how best to exploit them
- Customers who interact are more likely to transact
- The difference between branding and direct response content
- How extending text & tags to multiple media to amplify your reach
- How usability testing can be used to validate your choices
- How to monitor and track your success over time
COURSE REVIEW
Web Writing
- Writing for humans
- Text elements of a high-impact website
- Designing content structure
- Tailoring your writing to different audiences and needs
- Editing & testing text for clarity, concision & response
- Writing to sell: persuasion & direct response
- Social media writing & representing the brand voice
- Syndication: The power of web distribution
- Measuring success with text tools
SEO
- Writing for engines & bots
- SEO basics
- Business planning & goal setting
- Keyword selection, relevancy, and density
- Competitive assessment
- Code: titles, meta tags, URLs & site maps
- Copy writing
- Offsite SEO & social search
- Measuring success with SEO tools
Storytelling
- Writing for emotional engagement
- Integrated marketing: The holy grail of marketers
- The new PR: Participation not propaganda
- Advertelling: Successful brands are about people
- Word of mouth matters when the experience is the brand
- Ratings, testimonials and user generated content
- Educational training, kiosks and demos
- Narrative stories & branded entertainment
FORMAT
One-day or tow-day tutorial encompassing lectures, live demos and exercises. Real-world examples are used to highlight points throughout the day. Copies of the presentation slides and exercises with be provided to all attendees.
INSTRUCTOR BIO
Jon Samsel is a published author, speaker, instructor, consultant and thought leader in the areas of branding, online marketing and writing. He has worked as an online marketing executive at Fortune 100 companies such as Bank of America, Ford and Countrywide where he was responsible for a broad range of marketing activities such as paid and organic search marketing, display advertising, DRTV, social media engagement, mobile marketing, and multivariate testing, including the task of coordinating teams of designers, programmers, copywriters and others involved.
His book, ‘Dead Ahead: The Web Dilemma and the New Rules of Business,’ co-authored with Laurie Windham and published back in 1999, predicted many of the changes the Internet has had on businesses and organizational processes. Jon’s book, ‘Writing for Interactive Media,’ first published in 1995, has been utilized as a textbook in over 40 colleges and universities throughout the US and Canada. He wrote and produced, ‘The Killer Content Workbook,’ for Apple, Inc., one of the first interactive PDF’s ever created to incorporate text, audio, video, embedded forms and interactive user response.
Jon is an adjunct writing instructor at UCLA and UC Irvine where he has taught courses in multimedia, fiction and non-fiction writing. Jon has co-authored four published books, edited 12 books/directories, and is a published poet and Hollywood screenwriter. Jon is an online marketing/writing consultant and a regular seminar speaker for Richmond Events.
COMPLIMENTARY VALUE ADDS
Free 1-Year Premium Subscription to Heardable.com
Heardable is the world’s first and only online brand optimization platform. All workshop attendees will receive a 1-year premium subscription to Heardable.com (a $2,999 value) redeemable via a special promotional code provided at the end of the class.
Free copy of writing for interactive media
All workshop attendees will receive a free copy of Jon Samsel and Darryl Wimberley’s book, ‘Writing for Interactive Media.’
PRICING
Custom class configurations and pricing available upon request.
TESTIMONIALS
‘Jon has an amazing understanding of consumer insights and behavior as they relate to online usability– skills that bring immediate value to strategic consulting projects. Understanding, and leveraging the technology through best practices and innovation are critical success factors, and Jon is clearly one of the best in his field. –Christophe Bertrand, Senior Director of Product Marketing at Hitachi Data Systems
‘Jon’s vision and in-depth knowledge of both the business and creative aspects of new media production is truly remarkable. This is a man truly “gets it” and empowers those around him to do their best work. Bottom line – Jon is a rare commodity, a visionary in the area of online direct response marketing and a creative powerhouse.’ –David Greene, Owner of Creative-Spark
JON SAMSEL
Digital Brand Strategist, Author & Web Consultant
310-402-2890
jsamsel@gmail.com
jon.samsel @ skype
jonsamsel.com - blog
linkedin.com/in/jonsamsel @ linkedIn
twitter.com/jonsamsel @ twitter
Social media, SEO, marketing and writing
