Writing Quality Online Content for a Popular Audience

Crafting unique content for online publication requires a skill set very different than writing for "offline" publications. You must carefully consider all the elements that set online writing apart from every other venue. The most obvious of those is of course SEO (search engine optimization), but I want to instead focus on some of the stylistic and structural elements that distinguish the online medium. Choosing a topic and considering the target audience walk hand in hand, and it's a poor writer who doesn't spend a good deal of time considering who will see the finished product. Beyond that, the essential keys to writing effective and quality online content are clarity, brevity and impact. Master those three aspects, and you're already ahead of the curve.

Topic Selection

It's an understatement to say that online content cuts across disciplines and interest groups. Everything from health to pet care to diet plans have become dominant topics for online content creators. When thinking about potential topics, you need to have at least some experience with the subject matter. Readers can generally tell if you're making things up as you go along. Write about what interests you, but still be prepared to do some research. Backing up facts with proof is an excellent way to build credibility.

Audience

The most easily neglected aspect of content writing is the audience. Consider carefully who you want to see your writing, and what they should learn from reading it. Your audience defines the angle that your writing will take. In general, academic style writing is not appropriate for online content. Unless your audience is specifically the academic community, you want a voice that reaches out to as many readers as possible.

Building an audience is more complicated in the virtual world than the physical. For one, readers are never going to deliberately search for you and your writing. They will stumble upon your content almost by accident, in pursuit of specific answers to a specific need. Online audiences have virtually no attention span. The lure of the next link, the next bit of stimulation can be overwhelming. Your content must combine quality and freshness, or your potential readership will go elsewhere.

Structure

Write paragraphs, not papers. This bit of advice runs more or less contrary to everything you learned in school about organization and flow. Internet audiences have learned to expect blocks of information rather than long-format documents. With that in mind, a 500 to 1,000 word article is about the perfect length. It's likewise important to finish and start strong. I can spare you the finer points of crafting a good "lede" or hook, but suffice it to say that your readers will only spend a few seconds deciding whether your content is worth their time. Beyond that, each paragraph must be densely constructed and focused on a single idea. Transition smoothly and quickly to the next paragraph rather than simply terminating the line of thought.

Revision

Drafting and revision are at the heart of producing superior content, no matter the venue. Hemingway once said that the first draft of anything is always poor. With most online content, the trick will be to reduce, reduce and reduce some more. Avoid unnecessary verbiage and long, rambling passages that add nothing to your message. Ask a friend or colleague to read an early draft and solicit their honest reaction. When you feel you've reached the zenith of composition, sleep on it. Look over your production one last time before publishing it for all to see.

Tie Everything Together

There can be no weak links in the writing process. Leave out one essential element, and the entire foundation is compromised. A satisfied reader will come back for more. An unsatisfied reader won't bother finishing the piece you just spent hours of time crafting. Get every element right before publication, and success will follow.

The Life and Times of Rudolph Valentino

When people saw Rudolph Valentino speak in silent films, what they heard in their minds was the language of love. That is why, even to this day, the mere mention of his name still evokes the image of a great lover.

Valentino lived a short but fabled life, dying unexpectedly at the age of 31. Nevertheless, he had many accomplishments, only some of which I shall attempt to detail here.

First and foremost, he was a talented actor. To understand why you need only to watch him in one of his most famous roles, as Julio in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, where he soared, captivating critics and the general public alike with his performance.

This film, one of the greatest of the silent era and the first ever to earn more than a million dollars, is perhaps best remembered for the tango scene where Valentino uses the structure of the dance not only to establish his character, but also to exude his own brand of sensuality. It was quite a feat, akin to Elvis Presley's first appearance on television. That he had prior experience as a dancer, of course, was very helpful. But the role also required him to turn himself inside out emotionally, something he was able to do quite well.

What made Valentino one of the most remarkable film stars of all time?

• He had the right combination of looks and talent, also perfect timing and grace.

• As an icon of love, he became a lightning rod for public opinion.

• He fully inhabited his screen characters, living intensely whoever he portrayed.

• He was able to speak volumes within the framework of silence.

• He stood out in every scene he was in without even trying.

• His appeal was universal. He was, therefore, in some sense an 'everyman.'

Valentino was also known for his soulful gaze. When his eyes peered out from the screen, people felt compelled to take note. Why? Because apart from anything else he was attempting to convey, they were always filled with love. Again, that is what moviegoers were really reacting to as they watched his films.

Valentino's skills as an actor, I believe, can be traced back to Castellaneta, the little town in southern Italy where he was born. Upon visiting, I found the people there to be cordial, generous of spirit and 'molto simpatico.' Simply put, I felt very welcomed. I was also able to get a sense of how that environment might have affected Valentino in his formative years. The old town center, built high on a hill in the middle of a plain, provides its residents with a spectacular view of the surrounding area. As a result, the second floor windows of the apartment he lived in as a child would have enabled him to see for miles.

I contend that from an early age Valentino liked to keep his eyes on the horizon. In fact, he always tried to keep the bigger picture in mind. Even in death this is so, his crypt immediately adjacent to a beautiful stained glass window depicting mountains, trees, water, and the beginning of a stairway to the clouds.

Any viewing of a Valentino film reveals the luminosity he infused into all his roles. What was his gift? He sparked our imaginations, encouraging us to believe in our own magic. Such was the strength of his powerful yet unassuming charisma.

Rudolph Valentino broke through the existing stereotypes of American masculinity by re-defining how a man could choose to look and act in relation to the world around him.

Among other things, Valentino reminded the Roaring Twenties generation:

1. That love and sex always have primal components as well as spiritual, emotional and esoteric ones.
2. That we may live love as something that's beyond the skin, transcending time.
3. That feeling comfortable with one's own sexuality is a must.
4. That love is what both fills and fulfills us.

None of these ideas are new. However, it fell to Valentino to shine a spotlight on them, something it seems that he was destined to do.

Valentino's personal magnetism created a polymorphous image upon which audiences projected their own romantic and erotic desires. He was the canvas. They were artists. Together, they conspired to conceive one of the greatest lovers the world has ever known.

Writing and Speaking - Improvisation and Impersonation, Why Not Throw in a Little Innovation?

Hey, you know what? Good speakers and writers are hard to come by. Oh sure, there are 10s of millions of writers in the world it seems and with the Internet there are more and more every day. With YouTube there are more and more speakers throwing their hat into a video as well, but it seems that there are very few "really good" writers and speakers.

If you are sitting in an audience and a speaker is making you laugh, and their timing is perfect, and you can tell they are throwing a little improvisational in from time to time, it makes you listen, and wonder what they're going to say next, and you don't want to miss anything.

You might think this is hard to do, but it really isn't, and, you may even speak this way when talking with your own friends, and not even realize it. Now you might occasionally strike a sarcastic tone, and do a little Impersonation of someone that you're making fun of behind their back, and if you do this, and you don't even realize it, you have all the skills to be a great speaker and to throw in a little improvisation, and a little Impersonation.

It's really not that difficult, and perhaps the reason that few people are able to do this, is they are too worried about what the crowd might think, or they don't feel the self-confidence they need to pull it off. Now then, I'm not suggesting that you strike a sarcastic tone, that sort of comedy isn't always good when speaking to professional groups, and yes folks who read articles, essays, other writing probably get enough of that style reading blogs and stuff on the Internet.

However, a little Impersonation can go a long way, and you shouldn't be afraid to try new things, or a little innovation here and there. Sometimes it just feels right, and you should go with it. The best way you can try new things is to try it out on an audience, and then work on and practice the timing. Over the years I've developed about 15 minutes of comedy, all original jokes, which make almost anyone laugh wherever I go, and they go over really good with large audiences.

Is it hard to impersonate people? Generally not, especially celebrities, because they have idiosyncrasies, certain phrases, and a certain voice inflection. It's not hard to impersonate them at all, but it does take practice. I would suggest to you that you should practice these things, and borrow various phrases that people use, and use them in your own writing, of course always attributing them to the person who you are impersonating; try it, it works, and the audiences love it, the readers too. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.