The fastest way to learn about writing for the web is to have fun… while writing for the web.

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Coffee Detective websiteYou probably remember this from your own time at school.

When you enjoyed the subject, and liked the teacher, you learned faster and did well. And the most enjoyable classes where those in which you were actually doing something rather than just studying a text book, line by line.

Long story short, you always learn more when you’re having fun. And what you learn sticks when you learn by “doing” instead of just reading text books.

The same is true when learning online writing and copywriting.

You can study all you want, but you’ll learn most when you “do it”, and when you’re having a good time.

Which brings me to my own favorite learning tool.

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The broadcast medium formerly known as social media.

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Being social at a partyBefore it became commercial, the web was social.

By the late 1990s it was definitely more commercial than social.

Then, with the fast growth of dedicated social media channels like Facebook and Twitter, it became seriously social again.

The arrival of the smartphone in 2007 made the web even more social. Smartphones are, by definition, social devices. And many of the most popular apps for these devices are hard-core social.

And then…

And then social media became a commercial broadcast channel.

OK, that’s the short version.

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Curiosity didn’t kill the cat. It fed the cat.

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A curious catI’m a pain in the behind when I first start working with a new company.

I have a zillion questions I want to ask about their business and their marketing. And most of my questions reach out way beyond the scope of the project they want me to work on.

Why do I ask all these questions? Is it part of some cunning plan or process I use?

Nope. I ask them because I’m curious by nature. Business fascinates me. Marketing fascinates me. Business people and entrepreneurs fascinate me.

I read books about business and entrepreneurship.

I invite business people to lunch so I can find out what they are doing and what they are thinking.

It’s not about working smarter. It’s not about prospecting.

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Why writing for the web is like driving a car in traffic.

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Driving in trafficYou’re driving downtown, in three lanes of traffic, during rush hour on a Friday afternoon.

Your foot is jumping between the accelerator and the brake. Your eyes are looking out front, but also frequently checking the rear-view mirror.

And you’re in the middle lane, so you’re watching your wing mirrors and turning your head to check the blind spots.

In short, you’re moving forward, but constantly aware of everything that is happening around you, and adjusting how you drive accordingly.

And then…every now and again you’ll end up behind one of those annoying drivers who does none of these things, other than staring straight ahead. These bad drivers act as if they are completely alone on the road, without any regard to anything that is happening around them, with the exception of what’s right in front of their noses.

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Employees wait. Freelancers shouldn’t.

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In a waiting roomAs an employee of a company, you’ll often turn up for work and then wait to be told what to do.

That’s the nature of being an employee. You have supervisors and managers who draw up lists of what needs to be done, and then you get allocated items from that list.

I have worked with dozens of “newbie freelancers” who find it hard to shake off the habit of waiting.

They put up their website, do some promotion…and then they wait. They wait for someone to call them and offer them work.

Or they wait for a response to a bulk email they have sent out to dozens of prospective clients.

Or they make fifty cold calls, waiting for someone to say yes.

Always waiting…and acting as if they were still in that comfy cubicle.

Can you make a living as a freelancer by putting yourself out there and waiting? Possibly. But I wouldn’t recommend it.

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Why strong subject lines are killing your email marketing.

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slick salesmanHigh open rates are not the most important thing about email marketing.

Nor are click-through rates or conversion rates.

These are not the metrics to watch.

There is only one thing you really, really need to watch. And it’s not even a metric.

The thing to watch is your reputation.

Without a solid and positive reputation for delivering high-value, honest and useful information through email, you’re dead in the water.

Not even the best subject line will save you.

Let’s look at how this might play out, in two scenarios.

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