A new kind of news website…

Have you got a story to tell?

UPDATE 15/12/09: Nyouse is all over. It was a nice idea, but rather too ambitious for a busy copywriter and a young father who has approximately 0 hours to spend on something like Nyouse.

I’m helping to create a new kind of news website. It’s called Nyouse.com and it aims to put you back in the centre of the news. There won’t be journalists or editors. There’s just you and me and everyone else. We are the people and we are the news.

If you’ve got something you’d like to share with the world, tell us, and together we’ll tell everyone.

From the massive to the minute

Your story could be a local issue, or your opinions on a global issue. It could be a sports report, a theatre review or an expose of an outrageous scandal. It could be business, technology or science news. It could be a discussion of our recent past, or an eye-witness account of something happening now. Anything that’s of interest to someone else is newsworthy.

Kudos and publicity

Nyouse.com is a free website that wants to help people share their news. Nyouse.com will not pay for any articles. All content remains the property of the author. All authors will be clearly credited for their work.

Making the news

You can get involved in a number of ways. You can submit an article, or help edit others’ articles, or help spread the news about Nyouse. Please contact us to find out more.

(Picture courtesy of Jurek Durczak)

Tags: citizen journalism, contribute, digital news, newspaper, online
Posted in websites, writing | No Comments »

Linger longer over my words

I’m pleased to see that visitors to my site and blog spend (on average) 5 minutes here!

Thanks to you for stopping by and reading my words. I’ve recently been compiling my blog posts into permanent content which you might want to check out. Of course, this may take the length of your visit beyond the 5 minute mark!

Tags: website
Posted in blogging, websites | No Comments »

Copywriting on the farm

I really like this idea, taken from Writing for the Web by Susannah Ross:

“Many people talk about setting up a website or having one. They don’t talk often enough about running or managing one. Having a website is not like having a book or a film to show people. It is more like having a farm.”

Anyone starting a website should not be put off by this statement. Websites require regular maintenance and care but they are, rather like animal husbandry, very rewarding. Though unlike farming there is no poo.

An untended website will soon deteriorate into a derelict dump of broken links and irrelevant information. So embrace the farm analogy and tend your herd like your life depends on it!

(Picture courtesy of Edgar Thissen via Flickr)

Tags: copywriting, website
Posted in copywriting, websites | 1 Comment »

Page Rank Joy

I experienced a rush of pure geek joy this week when I found my website had been blessed by Google with Page Rank !

My Page Rank of 4 has come after several months of online marketing efforts.

As a copywriter who specialises in writing for the web, it is has been hugely useful to monitor my own site’s progress in the SERPs . I have read the theory on web marketing but it’s great to experience it for myself and learn what actually works.

Tags: copywriting, page rank
Posted in copywriting, SEO, websites | No Comments »

Is bad copy to blame for your website’s high bounce rate?

If your copy is a load of balls your bounce rate* will be sky-high. Bad copy can affect your bounce rate in a number of ways:

Your visitors may have been expecting something different to what you are offering. Unclear copy can attract the wrong kind of visitor.
Poor grammar or spelling tells people that you’re lazy and stupid. Correct your copy and people might stick around.
Copy that doesn’t offer clear benefits will not persuade customers to buy or read on. Make your selling proposition obvious and stress your offering’s benefits.
Verbose copy bores visitors. If your visitors get bored they may bounce off to a competitor who doesn’t waffle.

Copywriters understand the reasons why web users bounce off websites. If your website is suffering from a high bounce rate ask a copywriter to assess your site for flaws.

Identify weak spots and change them. Changing a website is simple so this process is quick and cheap.

Don’t let your copy let you down!

*Bounce rate = the rate at which people “bounce” away from your website. A bounce occurs when a visitor leaves your website without visiting any other pages. It’s a clear sign that they didn’t want to be there in the first place or don’t like something about your site.

(Picture courtesy of Tom Barnett)

Tags: bounce rate, copy, website
Posted in copywriting, websites | No Comments »

Calling all Brighton Geeks – Project Brighton Needs Your News!

Have you got a Brighton technology or new media story? Has your organisation got something going on?

Project Brighton wants your news.

Project Brighton is a series of projects and initiatives promoting and supporting the digital community in Brighton.

Project Brighton wants to tell the world about Brighton’s thriving geek community.

I’m going to be blogging for Project Brighton so if you have a story to tell or an interesting project you’d like to shout about, get in touch.

Tags: blogging, new media, Project Brighton, technology, website
Posted in blogging, brighton, websites | 2 Comments »

Gaining Trust on the Web

Don’t hide behind your website. Too many businesses barricade themselves behind a chunky website, giving visitors no easy way to get in touch.

What are they afraid of?

Whenever I struggle to find a telephone number, postal address or email address on a website, I immediately begin to think the owners have something to hide.

If your business has great products and efficient customer services, you should have no reason to deny your users the opportunity to contact you.

When writing copy for the web, I always advise clients to be bold in displaying contact details. It’s a great way to gain the trust of your visitors.

Tags: contact details, copy, honesty, trust, website
Posted in copywriting, websites | 1 Comment »

Brighton’s Best New Media Content Collected

James Wragg’s Planet BNM website collects blog posts from Brighton’s new media bloggers.

Anyone interested in what’s happening in Brighton’s digital scene should take a look. And if you’re blogging new media in Brighton, join the list!

Tags: blogger, blogging, brighton, digital, new media
Posted in brighton, websites | No Comments »

Blogging for Business – White Paper Finds Audience

Our white paper – Blogging for Business – is already gaining an audience.

Raj Anand of Kwiqq put it up on edocr.com – a very useful site that offers free documents – and we’ve already had 955 hits!

If you’re in business of any kind I highly recommend edocr.com; there are tonnes of useful documents available and they’re all free to download.

Tags: blog, blog for business, white paper
Posted in blogging, copywriting, websites, white paper | No Comments »

Cool Site – Band Namr

If you’re in a band with no name and want some suggestions, check out Band Namr, a nifty new site by Brighton websmith Paul Burgess.

I should warn you that if you find spoonerisms that, when undone, reveal rudeness, you may not want to follow that link.

Many of the band names are hilarious, but given the success of the Arctic Monkeys, it’s fair to say a few of the names are viable!

Band Namr got me thinking… what about Product Namr? A site for businesses who struggle to find a great name for a new product. People could post a summary of their new product and users can submit suggestions. Or businesses post a selection of possible names, and users vote for their favourite…

Tags: band name
Posted in ideas, websites | No Comments »