If you have a website, you will know how important the writing is to attract the right readers. I recently attended the Words Matter Workshop held at Wix. As the name of the writing workshop states, words matter! From choice of words, combination of words, to quantity of words – every word is important.
Attending a workshop, especially related to a skill or your profession is a wonderful way to meet like-minded people. It’s a way to gain further skills, network and make connections that can further your opportunities to secure jobs or clients.
Overview of the Workshop
The day was packed with great speakers, excellent content and a well balanced program. Refreshments were available from the time we arrived, throughout the workshop. The setting was fascinating and the weather was glorious so all in all the stage was set for a superb event.
The topic of the event related to three important needs for effective writing on a website. We were also fortunate to gain valuable tips from Leigh of a FaceBook group specifically for Freelance Writers in Israel.
The format for the day included:
1. A presentation on a topic of value for website copy
2. Each presentation was followed by the opportunity to put these ideas into practice. The practical section enabled us to interact with those at our specific table while immediately applying our new knowledge.
Content for an Effective Home Page
The best place to start with a website is the home page. Our first session was presented by Roxanne Cohen who gave us the opportunity to gain insight into the most up-to-date structure for an effective home page.
I do apologize that I did not take my reflex camera with me. This is visible in the image above. The camera phone is a bit limited when it comes to zooming in, but it gives an impression nevertheless.
We were given some mock data, without being told the name of the brand or company. Using this information, we were asked to apply what we had learned in order to come up with our own Homepage.
Mastering SEO
Rachel Olstein Kaplan treated us to a fabulous breakdown on important facts to keep in mind in order to improve our SEO. Every writer or company wants their website to be found! In order to do so we need to understand SEO and how to improve the ranking of an article or website.
This presentation ended with a great checklist to ensure that we have covered all the key elements for good SEO.
Continuing with the same product, we now had to discuss how we could apply specific concepts to tweak a post so as to ensure good SEO.
How to Turn Your Writing into a Business
After a break for lunch and the opportunity to socialize and enjoy the sun, our next session began. Leigh Hartzmann joined in with the Wix workshop to offer some valuable tips on how to develop a freelance writing business. Her presentation began with her own story and how she came to start a FB group that can be seen on the screen in the image above.
Leigh then went on to share a few tips of how to make sure you get paid as a freelancer. These tips are most effective when discussed upfront and worked into the writing contract.
A lively discussion ensued with lots of questions put forward from freelance writers in the audience.
After a short break, we were on to our last session.
Developing an Effective Landing Page
Our last image looks like we were about to be entertained. To a certain extent we were. Netanya Bushewsky gave an excellent break down as to what goes into an awesome landing page.
Once again, using the product outlined at the beginning of the day, it was time to apply our skills to writing a stunning landing page. By now we had begun to know some of the fellow writers around our tables and it was a lot of fun to produce the last piece of content.
All too soon the event came to an end. The event was all about words and how important they are to give over an effective message. I learned so much more than writing. Prior to attending this workshop, I really did not know much about Wix. I had seen two different adverts come up on YouTube when I would look for a video. I knew Wix is all about Websites, but I discovered it is so much more than just designing a website.
It was wonderful to learn that Wix has a writing guild too and a whole section dedicated to writing copy / content. More than this, it was wonderful to meet some of the writing team and gain insight into a wonderful company operating right here in Israel.