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Word Wise Blog: Content Writing Made Easy
Award-winning writer Kathy Widenhouse has helped hundreds of nonprofits and writers produce successful content , with 750K+ views for her writing tutorials. She is the author of 9 books. See more of Kathy’s content here.
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Word Wise is for busy people who want to write more (or need to), but don't have a lot of time.
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Apr 28, 2026
5 places to find book ideas
Getting book ideas is not a struggle for me. I have a pages-long list of ideas that I’d like to develop into books — many more books than I’ll complete in a lifetime.
But early in my writing life? I was idea-less. Or so I believed.
I mistakenly thought that “getting book ideas” meant I needed to have a fully developed outline in my head or on paper. Or I had to find ...
Apr 27, 2026
Your 3-letter persuasive powerhouse
NOW!
When you see that little 3-letter word, what’s your gut reaction?
“There’s not a moment to lose.”“It’s happening as we speak.”“Do it immediately.”“I must respond right away.”
An itsy-bitsy, 3-letter word can do that to you.
The word "now" is simple. But its effect is ...
Apr 26, 2026
Keywords are mini-spotlights on your main point
Keywords are terms and phrases that define a piece of content.
They put a spotlight on the message of your article, blog post, or web page.
Well-chosen keywords give you a list of terms to use in web pages to improve search page rankings. And well-placed keywords help a reader get the gist of your message.
For instance, let’s say ...
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Apr 25, 2026
Giving credit to others builds YOUR credibility
A citation is a reference to a source of information.
For instance, you may quote an expert or give a statistic or offer research results in your content – each as an information source to support a point.
Your citation acknowledges the writer and the work that gave you that information.
Plus, a citation bolsters ...
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Apr 23, 2026
Top FAQs from new copywriters (with answers)
If you're new to copywriting, you may feel intimidated.
You study marketing gurus, ads, and campaigns, and it’s easy to be consumed by inferiority ... especially if you’re not familiar with what copywriting is.
And if you’re wearing multiple hats in your business or nonprofit – and writing is one of them – well, your inadequacy may escalate even further.
But when it comes to the writing world, here are a few insider’s secrets about getting started in copywriting and becoming a freelancer ...
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Apr 22, 2026
7 types of email writers must master (if you want to build your biz)
Over the years, I’ve written plenty of emails for my writing biz.
And clients have hired me to write dozens of different kinds of emails, like abandoned cart emails. Upsell emails. Nurture emails. Cross-sell emails. Review requests and surveys …
I noticed a trend. A few types of emails pop up again and again.
They’ve become what I call my “greatest hits” list for email. And after all that practice, I’ve ...
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Apr 21, 2026
One way to build writing skills at zero cost
Free webinars are an excellent way to acquire skills and information while connecting with other professionals.
Topics address all areas of interest to bloggers, freelance writers, nonprofits, ministries and small businesses. I've attended free webinars about effective copywriting, strategic planning, getting donors, website development, online stores, using social media, journaling, email, freelance writing ... you get the idea...
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Apr 20, 2026
Write better email subject lines: FREE checklist
Better email subject lines are easy to spot for one simple reason: they get the reader to open the email.
You can measure your email open rate with objective data, recorded by your email list manager. The open rate reveals in large part whether or not your email subject line works.
But what if you don’t know how to write subject lines in order to boost your rate?
Gone are the days when ...
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Apr 19, 2026
Meaningful writing requires ...
I studied the computer screen, gritting my teeth in frustration. Why couldn’t I find the list of course curriculum on this particular website?
One by one, I clicked each tab in the navigation and studied its drop-down list.
Nothing.
So I kept scrolling down until ...
Apr 18, 2026
This is the person who can help your book succeed
A good book editor is a behind-the-scenes coworker. Someone like Judith Jones (1924-2017).
Because of Judith, you’ve heard of Julia Child, the chef whose cookbooks made French cuisine accessible to the average person.
And you’ve heard of ...
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Apr 17, 2026
Got 20 minutes? You can build your blog
If you have 20 minutes, then you can build your blog.
A blog is a powerful way to reach more users and build your business.
But like many writers, once you’ve started a blog you may struggle to sustain it and consistently add posts. You get frustrated and discouraged because you know you’re missing out on this opportunity to reach more readers...
Apr 17, 2026
Need a resume? Here's how to build one yourself
Whether you’re building a resume for the first time or you’re updating yours after years in the marketplace, the best place to start is by gathering your information in one place.
But there's plenty of frustration and stress with gathering all those bits and pieces.
What information should you include? How can you organize it so ...
Continue reading "Need a resume? Here's how to build one yourself"
Apr 16, 2026
Slay superlatives to show - rather than tell
The radio interview caught my attention.
“It was phenomenal,” gushed the guest, a public school teacher who struggled to motivate her class during the COVID-19 pandemic. “As soon as I offered incentives, students turned in their work on time. It was awesome!”
The verbal excess gave me pause. Those arm-twisting results are not “phenomenal,” which means “extraordinary” or “astonishing” or “exceptional.” Children enjoy candy and gift cards and free time. What else should a teacher expect from bribes?
As my ears and eyes become more sensitive to overreaching words, I notice certain terms used too often. ...
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Apr 15, 2026
One storytelling trick most writers miss out on
“Let me illustrate …”
When you know how to write a story, you up your writing game.
I’m not talking about writing a novel, short story, or other form of fiction. I'm talking about using stories in content and copy.
Plenty of writers use a story as a hook, in a transition, or to drive home a point. Anecdotes and illustrations are central to good content and good copywriting.
But a story won't drive home your point if you simply ...
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Apr 14, 2026
Christian writing resources for content creators, bloggers, freelancers
I am always on the lookout for good Christian writing resources, particularly those recommended by people I trust. (And if the resource is free or low-cost … well, that’s even better.)
Writing for the Christian market is specialized. That’s why I created this resources page. I’ve included links to ...
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Apr 13, 2026
Grant writing terms you need to know
I need to learn a whole new language.”
That was my first thought when I dipped my toe into grant writing for nonprofits.
I soon learned that grant-speak extends beyond government grants to private foundation and corporation funding operations, too...
Apr 12, 2026
Your homepage should do THIS
When new neighbors moved into the house next door – one that had been vacant for months – my husband and I were thrilled. A few hours after the moving van pulled into the driveway, we knocked on our new neighbor’s door. “Welcome to your new home!” we chimed out handing a plate of chocolate chip cookies to the young parents and their preschooler.
They didn’t need to be “sold” on the neighborhood. They needed a welcoming face...
Apr 11, 2026
Paul worked remotely, too
Working from a mobile office is no longer the exception. Prior to 2020, just one in five employees used a remote office to work from home.
By the end of 2020, 71% of those workers used a mobile or home office all or most of the time – largely because of the coronavirus pandemic. And more than half (54%) say they’d like to keep their mobile office long term, according to Pew Research.
The hero that makes possible today’s remote office? Technology, such as...
Apr 10, 2026
Write your post in steps with this worksheet
You want to build your blog.
The problem, you’ve found, is two-fold: (1) organizing your ideas … and then (2) writing a post in segments when you have just spurts of time.
What makes a difference is a blog writing worksheet to follow as you write each post.
A “fill-in-the-blanks” worksheet allows you to organize your thoughts, automatically creating an outline ...
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Apr 09, 2026
30 kinds of letters you need to know how to write
Businesses need dozens of kinds of letters.
Even in today’s digital age, written communication is a part of daily life. A letter is a letter, whether you send it on a sheet of paper or through cyberspace.
For instance, you will have to write a ...
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Apr 08, 2026
How to start (or revive) a newsletter in just 3 steps
Chances are you’d like to know how to start a newsletter if you don’t already publish one.
Or maybe you used to produce a newsletter that’s now lapsed. You want to know what’s needed to get going again and be successful.
(FYI, I’m talking about an email newsletter rather than print. MUCH easier.)
In any case, you've already joined that camp that's convinced that email newsletters are effective because ...
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Apr 07, 2026
3 tips for writing easy-to-read content
By writing easy-to-read content, you’ll appeal to more readers.
If you’re like me, you desperately want your content to avoid the TLDR label. I want readers to read what I’ve written, rather than skip it.
TLDR (sometimes TL;DR or tldr) is a popular internet acronym that stands for “Too Long; Didn’t Read.”
It’s an expression that’s become an online fixture – so much so that ...
Apr 06, 2026
5 must-have tips for writing at home
These 5 valuable tips for writing at home are a practical way to cultivate a healthy mind and soul while your fingers are typing.
And they’re for you no matter what kind of writing you do.
Maybe you carve out snippets of time to put together articles … or moonlight after putting in a full 8-5 day at another gig … or work as ...
Apr 05, 2026
The easy way to find benefits (vs features) to write about
Copywriting guru Bob Bly uses a persuasive copywriting exercise to distinguish between features and benefits – an exercise that I like to call “The Yellow Pencil Chart.”
At the top of a piece of paper, he records ...
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Apr 04, 2026
The little word with big connections
A preposition is a simple word that can be easy to overlook – a word like at, for, in, off, on, out, over, under, until, and with.
To be grammatical about it, a preposition is “a word that is used before a noun, a noun phrase, or a pronoun, connecting it to another word.”
Connection: these feisty little words indicate relationship!
No wonder prepositions are ...
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