Not sure if you need a copywriter?...

Crocstar is introducing some copy packages, designed to make your life easier. Consider that badly-spelled communication risks your reputation and could damage your brand. The packages below have been put together after working with graphic and web designers over several years and identifying the common elements that need a professional writer. We’ll look over newsletters, write your Google ads, talk you through social media and more: Newsletter package Get your newsletters proofread by a professional Same-day service Just £25/letter and re-writes from £20*/letter...

Three things a new online journalist sho...

Conference News re:wired brought news professionals together to look at success stories in niche markets. We heard from some great voices in the online journalism field – people who really understand how to cater for their market. I’ve picked out three points to look at in detail, they’re of particular relevance to new journalists: targeting your content to a niche market using technology to help you why being ‘good enough’ isn’t good enough. 1. Target your content to a niche market “Trust is central to it working” – Simon Perry, Ventnor Blog ...

Health surveys – what do they tell us?...

Guest blog by Bob Mathers, management skills trainer, writer for Hospital Doctor online and also my Dad. In this post Bob explores what health surveys actually tell us. Health surveys have been around for a while, but what do they really tell us? We should ask a few simple questions: Who carried out the survey? Who did they carry out the survey for? Who is sponsoring this survey on garlic pills, sun cream or low fat diets? More often than not it’s a company with something to sell. In which case you can bet your bottom dollar that so-called facts or findings may not be...

How do you break a national news story?...

For a journalist, breaking a national news story is the ultimate coup. For some it comes early in their career and others after many years of work. On election night 2010, one student at the Department of Journalism at the University of Sheffield discovered a story. Through a combination of speed, contacts and Twitter we made her story go national – and this is how we did it. Let me set the scene The journalism postgraduates at Sheffield University work together for one week in the second semester to produce news output of the highest standard possible. I help the...

Web journalism vs. blogging...

Hi! I’m Adrienne, a work experience student from the University of Sheffield. Christine teaches us Web Journalism MA students about writing for the web, and she asked me to write a bit about what I’ve learned. The first thing I’ve learned is that although a huge and growing number of people get their news primarily online, most I’ve spoken to don’t have a clear idea of what “web journalism” actually is. When I tell people what course I’m doing, I generally get a reaction along the lines of, “So, is that, like,...

Why pictures work online – my gues...

I wrote the post below for the Chris Seddon Photography website. He’s a photographer with a specialist interest in music and especially taking pictures of bands at their gigs. They’re fantastic – and he also blogs about the techniques he tries with his camera. We love pictures. Photos. Images. They capture expressions lost in movement and help fix memories and feelings forever. If you’re a website owner, you’ll already know that your users love pictures. Using images on your website can do a number of jobs: • Show your products • Help make a...

The importance of responsible juxtaposit...

I want you to look at this screenshot as you would normally look at a webpage and tell me what you look at first: Screen shot of Sky News story on 10 March 2010 Do you, as I did, look at the image first then let your eye travel up to the headline? How many people don’t look at the headline? You could easily think this chap is Jon Venables – when the entire point of the article is to say he isn’t. Words are important but visually they’re not as strong as a photo or image on the page. It’s an obvious choice to put these two photos together but...

Make meetings meaningful...

I freelance, or as someone recently put it: ‘work as an ingredient brand’ (I understand food analogies) and I am increasingly aware of the importance of time. Time is money? Yep, because if I’m late – you’re late. If I’m not efficient then I’ll charge you more for doing the job. Doesn’t seem fair does it? I wasn’t aware of this when I was employed full time. I thought I was at work to do the job my boss told me to do and they took responsibility for the time management. All of it. Project delayed? Train late? Teabag in...

No bad thing...

I’d like to introduce you to Bob Mathers, management skills trainer, lover of languages and also my Dad! Bob writes regularly for Hospital Doctor online on communication and time management and by special request he’s writing a series of blogs for the Crocstar website on the English language. Take it away Bob… ...

Did I really say that?...

I’ve just come across a website for a restaurant I did the copy for a while ago. The site has only recently gone live so quite a bit of time has gone by since I wrote the words. The strangest thing happened – while I could recognise some of the turns of phrase as mine, some of them I really couldn’t. I wonder whether that’s always the case? Yesterday I was writing a blog about wedding dress trends – quite easy for me as I am recently married and so I write it as the target audience. I’m also writing the copy for a photographer’s...