I woke up with a gigantic zit on my chin.

My high school reunion is just a couple of weeks away and I knew if I left that monstrosity alone it would end up getting even bigger. Big enough, in fact, to warrant its own ZIP code.

I needed to get an early start today on some work but, seriously, this huge-o zit just wouldn’t let me focus. It hurt, darn it.

So I popped it. (Ewww.)

Blessed relief.

Sometimes you just gotta get the junk out before things can get back to normal.

And so it is with writing.

If you’ve struggled (even a bit) with formulating your ideas, finishing (or starting) a project, or nailing the copy, perhaps there’s some junk you need to get out before you can move on.

Junk can be circumstantial, such as a cluttered desk or disorganized office, or it can be situational, such as dealing with a family emergency or work crisis.

While I don’t believe in becoming too distracted from our productive work, sometimes it helps to deal with the thing that’s bugging us the most so we can get back to the task at hand or, better yet, break through to new ideas.

Here’s a plan for clearing out the junk and making way for good ideas and great copy:

1. Take 5 minutes to decide what’s niggling you. It may be more than one thing so make a list if you have to.
2. Decide one action you can take right now to eliminate it — and do it.
3. Make a list of other actions to take (if necessary) and plan for them in your day or on your calendar.
4. Focus for 15-60 minutes on idea generation, brainstorming or writing.
5. If the “thing” is still niggling at you, take another action or two or three, but limit your dealing of it to one hour.

That’s it. That should free up your mind and energy at least in the short term. Repeat as often as necessary.

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I’m a creative communications opinionator. I tell people what I think of their marcom, newsletters, press releases and web content based on my 23 years of professional experience in featuring writing, PR and interactive copywriting.

Which is why I was thrilled to be asked my opinion for this year’s Web Marketing Association WebAwards. I gave a critical eye and honest opinion of more than two dozen interactive sites.

Some were for well-known brands. Some were not. But throughout the judging process I saw the good, the bad and the ugly.

So where did the bad and the ugly go wrong? Many in design and navigation, but most with content.

Although I’ve blogged about content mistakes before, let’s look at the top three things that make web content suck – and how to avoid them.

Mistake #1 – Not Being Conversational

Although brochureware sites are oh-so-1997, some companies still employ the technique. Or, worse, they write as though they are some kind of 1970s esoteric marketer:

“Welcome to our virtual oasis on the worldwide web, where you are free to browse at your leisure from the comfort of your home or office.”

Who talks like that? Nobody.

The whole idea behind “conversational” is that it’s an informal exchange of dialogue. You say something. They say something. See how it works?

Of course, your site visitor won’t talk back (well, they may on Twitter or Facebook) but you can act as if you’re having a real conversation. You can approach your content as though you’re talking to real people about things that matter to them.

Mistake #2 – Being Too Wordy

This isn’t a long vs. short copy question. No, too wordy, simply means using more words than you have to in order to say something.

My husband is famous for being, um, shall we say a bit windy? He’ll say something. Then say it again. And again. And yet again.

Unfortunately, the punch of what he originally said (which is usually quite smart) gets lost in the retelling.

Say what needs to be said. Then stop. This goes for the home page as well as the FAQs.

Mistake #3 – Not Being Relevant

I already wrote a six-part series on relevant content, so let me remind you that great web content (i.e., non-sucky web content) has to mean something to the reader.

Web content should answer all the questions a site visitor could have – and then some. I call these the unarticulated needs.

Lose the fluff and tell the reader what they want to know.

How does your copy fare? For more tips on getting great copy, take my quiz, the Get Great Copy Reality Check.

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As promised, I’m continuing my discussion of relevant content and what it means. Just for fun, I’m taking a cue from one of my favorite shows, Alton Brown’s Good Eats, and from my all-time favorite episode, “Casserole Over.” For the uninitiated, that means I’ll be launching into the third person. Here’s to fun reading; but, more importantly, here’s to better understanding.

While looking to see what others had to say on the topic of relevant content, the writer had the pleasure of finding web content strategist Kristina Halvorson of BrainTraffic.com. Kristina perfectly summed up the writer’s thoughts on what makes content relevant when she said: “Web content must work for me.”

That’s why the writer spends what some might call an inordinate amount of time talking to clients and others about who their audience is. The writer believes that finding out and knowing exactly who the “me” is for that company, brand or entrepreneur is, indeed, mission critical. How, she wonders, can web content work for “me” if you don’t know who “me” is?
 
Since one of the best parts of the writer’s job is asking other people questions and listening intently to their answers, the writer invariably asks the question, “Who is your audience?” and sits back and waits patiently for the answer.

The writer notices that often she is taken on a very circuitous path toward, well, a “non-answer.” Other times, she’s regaled with demographic and psychographic profiles, such as “married couples ages 25-45 who stand on one foot every other Wednesday.” But perhaps the all-time, most-frequently given answer is this: “Everyone.”

Egad.

Everyone?

Everyone, believes the writer, cannot and must not be your target audience. The writer urges everyone (pun intended) to remember that relevant is relative; meaning that what’s relevant to you may not be relevant to the next person. The writer insists that defining and understanding audience must come first and foremost.

So for the sake of today, the writer would like to move on from the discussion of audience and begin her look at what makes content relevant. Relevant content, the writer says, is content that is of value.

To be relevant and, therefore, valuable, the writer believes content must be:
 
Accessible – The writer says content has to be found to be useful. Optimizing for search, yes, she says, but also using it logically on the site itself. Her advice? Think judicious use of links, adding related content and unburying important information (like those guilty parties who, for example, hide their phone number or mailing address).

Timely – The writer thinks relevant content, like cake, is delectable; but can otherwise get stale if left untouched for long periods of time. The writer would like to gently remind the reader that the very definition of relevant content is that it pertain to a person or persons in a particular state. If such state changes, so, too, should the content. (In other words, keep up with trends, changes in behavior, buying habits, priorities, etc. People change. So should content.)

Useable – The writer subscribes to the belief that people go online to complete a task, whether that task is to find information, make a purchase, play, interact with others, or the like. Content, she says, should help guide and support them in the completion of their task.

Engaging – The writer espouses that relevant content must be interesting, fun and/or compelling to read. And, in her own circuitous fashion, she points back to the need to know the target audience to accomplish this.

Alas, the writer believes enough has been said for today. And so she is off to continue her quest to define relevant content until all in the land know and believe its objective and importance, as well as how to get it. She shall return soon with more ideas.

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Remember the old Wendy’s/Clara Peller “Where’s the beef?” commercial? The point Wendy’s was trying to make with that particular piece of advertising was that Wendy’s hamburgers were bigger and better than its competitors.

While conducting a content audit for a client, I recently visited several sites that reminded me of that famous commercial. These particular web sites left me asking, ”Where’s the information?”

Web sites that are lean on information may look visually appealing or be quick to put up and easy to maintain, but they often leave site visitors hungry for more. Much more.

In the examples I came across, sometimes there was an egregious lack of information. Like the site that had all the contact info — except a phone number.

Other times the lack of relevant content was a little more subtle, potentially causing a site visitor to miss an important service offering or guarantee — which could send them straight a competitor.

I’m convinced that lack of relevant information is a result of one of four things:

• Bad planning
• Poor copywriting
• Company-centric focus
• Fear of being transparent

One simple solution to strengthen your content offering is to make sure your copy answers six basic questions plus my “no-fail-get-to-the-core-issue” question:

1. Who?
2. What?
3. When?
4. Where?
5. Why?
6. How?
7. What’s in it for them?

And while I don’t usually tout my services in my blog posts, it may be worth mentioning that I offer a comprehensive copy critique that can help you avoid the “Where’s the information?” recoil from your site visitors.

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