8 Web Writing Tips to Free Up Creativity

Below are my top web writing tips to get past mental blocks and find joyful creativity.

Common struggles include:

1. Perfectionism — trying to find the right words
2. Fear of being judged as “not good enough”
3. Finding good topics
4. Idea overload — need to focus (make it doable)

With the right advice, some structure, and effort, I’ve seen coaches WRITE their way to a full practice. Yes, just putting out words each week.

Mitzi, a life coach and participant in a web mastery group that ran years ago did exactly that — blogging weekly.

The written word is magical for marketing — it’s easy to create, it moves fast, and Google loves text.

Let’s get into my 8 best web writing tips for coaches — for websites, blog posts, articles, social posts, and anything you share online …

Web Writing Tip #1. Take The Time to Think About Your Best Client

You wouldn’t go into a full sprint when your morning alarm clock goes off. You need to wake up first, and then maybe an hour later, light stretches and some light jogs before upping the speed.

Similarly, give yourself time to warm up to writing. When it comes to marketing, a great place to begin is to think about your target/ideal client — because that’s the person you’re ultimately looking to attract as a client.

Let me repeat, TAKE TIME to think about a past client and a struggle.
Set a timer for 10 minutes, or write out 20 things you can remember about this client, or dig up your old coaching notes. Forget all else, and IMMERSE.

It will put you in the right mindset — a coaching, caring, helpful state where you’re thinking about someone else, and not wrapped up in your own image to look smart or sound intelligent. Your heart will be in it, and that’s powerful.

So, pick a client, a good one. What’s their name? Imagine you are right there with him or her. You’re having a good chat over coffee. You are engaged in conversation, having one of those magical sessions.

• What are they thinking?
• What keeps them up at night?
• What are their toughest struggles?
• What do they desperately want in life, work, health, and relationships?
• What’s a typical day like for her?
• What do they value?

I’m no masochist, but I LOVE PAIN — when it comes to writing topics. Immersing into a client’s world and hearing about their challenges will naturally spark ideas to talk about.

And pain-based topics do very well. People, especially if they are stuck and struggling, are on the lookout for ideas to help. When they see your content and learn from it, they’ll think of you as a helpful person. That’s good for your marketing.

Tip #2. Remember, “It’s Just a Draft.”

If you’re obsessing over your writing, and stuck, you’re probably facing perfectionism. No one (that I know) writes a polished piece in one go. Even the pros have their own process for ideas, drafting, editing, and publishing.

In my early days of writing blogs, I struggled and stressed for hours to get something out the door in one full creative swoop. It was ROUGH!!! I had no approach and just jumped in thinking, “I have to write something good!”

I remember being lost in a vortex of:

• Idea changing
• writing spurts of disjointed ideas
• self-critiquing
• hair-pulling that it wasn’t going anywhere
• perfectionistic ideas
• grammar fixing

Somehow I made it through. But looking back at some of my posts, I often wondered if English was truly my first language. Yipes!

I found this sage advice. Somewhere in my career, I uncovered the quote, “to write is human, to edit is divine” which bubbles up even today. I learned to separate out the editing step, and let myself enjoy non-judgemental drafting and getting ideas out on paper.

I knew one career coach who had a nice process. He told me how he’d draft his newsletter on one day, then put it down for a day. He kept it a simple 2-step process, drafting and editing.

Remember, it’s just a draft. So, if you’re finding writing tough, perhaps for now, you just need to draft and refrain from editing, critiquing, or formatting. Just get ideas down, and plan to come back.

Tip #3. Speak in YOUR Voice – People Love the Realness

You may be stuck with writing because you’re trying to act like a great writer or trying to sound intelligible. It’s effortful and hard.

Instead, let go of having to be a certain way and relax into your usual, conversational, happy-to-be-me self.

Write like you are emailing a friend, texting, or chatting on the phone. The casual, conversational tone will feel right to you. It’ll be real.

You can let out your wordy, bubbly, crazy, clever, quirky, stern, tough, caring, bold self, whichever that is, especially in the draft.

Later on, you can tighten it up.

Web Writing Tip #4. Write Long Enough to Cover Your Points, Then …

When thinking about length, first consider the purpose of the writing.

For example …

• If it’s going to be a big blog, a one-of-a-kind killer resource for boosting your credibility sky high, then it could be 2000 words or more.

• If you are trying to launch a website in a week, you could aim for short, 500-word pages to get the job done on time.

• If it’s a quarterly newsletter, consider a lengthy email or even a long web page to cover the last three months of activity.
  
• If the page is your free intro session offer, and it’s positioned after a 20-minute training video, then it doesn’t have to be long since you’ve engaged deeply with the viewer in the video — a screen or two would do with a form.

When drafting, go for a lot of content and enjoy getting ideas out. Save the editing and critical eye for later. Let the mind run wild.

When it’s time to edit, try cutting it in half. Then …

Shorten sentences, pull out weak material, and be concise.

And, if you’re braver than me, cut it in half again as wise usability guru Steve Krug wrote in his usability book, Don’t Make Me Think (link opens in a new tab).

Remember to keep your copy long enough to support the purpose and short enough to remove the clutter. This will maximize its impact.

Tip #5. Use Simple Formatting, and Do Not Bold Everything

Yes, when I see a full page of bolded content, I punch holes in the wall. If I see the same page in all caps too, I WILL COME TO YOUR HOUSE AND LIGHT A FLAMING BAG OF POOP, RING YOUR DOORBELL, AND RUN.

In all seriousness, when you stray far from normal reading fonts, sizes, styles, in an attempt to make your content more impactful, you just make it harder to read.

When it comes to formatting a page, keep it minimal, and use a few things:

• Use italics to emphasize words
• Bold, vital points that you want to stand out
• Save underlining for links only, or you’ll confuse people
• Use bullet points and numbered lists often — people love them
• Use shorter paragraphs than in books (single-sentence paragraphs work)
• Don’t over-format your page — it’s distracting

Yes, definitely add your personal touches to your style, just don’t get confusing. If you’re expressive with OMGs, LOLs, or ROFLMAOs, then go for it. If you like to all-cap some words to emphasize, it’s ok. Just be sure you aren’t risking confusing people.

CAVEAT/WARNING!!! I know wild-west, wacky marketers will tell you to underline, bold, highlight, circle, call out, and make an ADD-inducing page that looks more like a pinball game, slot machine, or superhero comic book. I’m all for trying different ideas, as long as you track to see if it actually works. In my experience, for coaches who want to build trust, look professional, and attract long-term clients, I wouldn’t zoo-ify my website.

Many newbie coaches who build their own websites hit the design buffet with reckless abandon and pile their websites high with the hundreds of fonts, colors, styles, and images available — and make a mess.

Web Writing Tip #6
The We/I Issue Solved

Here’s a good question, When you write about your business, should you use the word “we” and try to look like a big operation, OR should you be transparent and use the word “I”?

If you indeed are a group of coaches working together, then go ahead and refer to your team and use the word “we” in your client – like the About Us page.

If you’re a single-coach business, then I would NOT use “we” because people will quickly figure this out on your About page — and you lose trust.

But the we-or-I issue isn’t a problem if you’re content is filled with a lot of “you.”

If you’re writing good content on your website, then a lot of your copy will be about the visitor and their situation, struggles, and needs. And you’ll have a lot of “you” and very little “I.”

Just look at this page and my website. Not much me, my, or I at all.

For example, here’s some copy with a lot of “we,”

Our coaches are practitioners of the performance-based coaching approach called the G.R.O.W. methodology. We use this process to set goals with our clients. We’ve found this approach most helpful.

And here’s the same content with a lot more “you” in it,

We use performance-based coaching to keep your action steps clear and focused on the results most important for growing your business. Your fears and worries will fade away, while new feelings of confidence keep you motivated each week. 

Remember, your website is all about the client.  So, make sure the word “you” is found in plenty. When done well, your clients won’t be concerned if you’re a one-coach show.

Web Writing Tip #7
Add “Put It Down” to Your Writing Process

In the beginning days of creating online content, I’d hee and haw about my articles, emails, and website copy. I’d overthink, over-worry, over-write, over-judge, and go over time.

I didn’t know how bad my works were until months or years later when I’d go back and have a look. Many of my posts were god-awful messes riddled with grammar issues, unclear points, and irrelevant stuff — I started to doubt that English was my first language.

But, the articles did get better each time I went back. I eventually discovered this hidden power of putting it down and built that into my writing process.

I encourage clients and students, especially newbie writers, to put in a good effort and then put their work down for a day.

This break gives the subconscious the time to work its magic, and you come back with fresh genius.

Here’s a process I use now:

1. Come up with a good title and draft key points for the article — 60 minutes
   (Put it down for a day)
2. Organize it into this simple blog writing format and draft more
   (Put it down for a day)
3. Polish it up and ask friends for feedback
   (Put it down for a day)
4. Apply feedback, and you’re done

A few quotes over the years I find myself repeating …

• To write is human. To edit is divine.
• The art of writing is in re-writing.

KENN TIP! By the way, adding a step to get feedback in your process is another lifeline trick for millionaire writing. It’s that “wisdom of the masses” that brings your work up a level.

Tip #8. Don’t Try to Look Smart, to Know It All, or Be Right. Instead, Write to HELP People.

When writing, you don’t need to sound like you know everything. You don’t have to prove any elite intellect over your readers.

For most, being a know-it-all is a big turn-off.

Instead, aim to be supportive and helpful. Share what you DO know. People love receiving content from a real, caring, human.

You’ll know this feeling when you sit down to write, and you’re judging your work’s quality or seeking the perfect words to make things sound smart.

It’s good to go back to Tip #1, Shift Into the Minds of Your Clients to Find Fabulous Topics, which will take you out of your head and into your client’s situation with an understanding, caring, helpful heart.

More Writing Articles for Coaches

A Simple Blog Post Writing Format
https://coachingsitesthatwork.com/blog-post-writing-format/

6 Big Questions Every Coach’s Website Must Answer
https://coachingsitesthatwork.com/6-big-questions-every-coachs-website-must-answer/

How to Write Website Content for Coaches – 29 Topics Clients Love
https://coachingsitesthatwork.com/write-website-content/

My 1 Minute Challenge to You 😉

Think about one of your favorite authors, experts, or gurus. If you can pull up their blog or website, then do so and consider these questions:

• Are their pages easy to read?
• What formatting (bold, italics, lists) are they using?
• Are they choosing topics that are important to you?
• Can you feel the author behind the words?
• What’s fantastic about their content?

Post your discoveries below.