- MARKETING STORYWRITING ARCHIVE
- MARKETING STORYWRITING PROFESSIONAL
If a headshot is the most appropriate choice for a specific piece, it must be well-lit, well-framed, and professional (appropriate attire, no pets or food or other “accessories”). An “action shot” from an event (e.g., the speaker talking with students or faculty instead of a podium shot). A professor talking with a student, rather than a headshot of the professor. Students working in a lab, or a class discussion on the green, rather than a posed group shot of the whole class looking at the camera. Whenever possible, candid photos are preferable to staged shots. Be aware of surroundings – look for anything that would be a distraction in the background, including bright lights or windows, dark locations without enough light, logo t-shirts (e.g., students wearing clothing from another college or university), room clutter or a messy location, flags or banners,. For the web we generally try to shoot photos at wide angle and crop the photos using Photoshop. Get a range of shots: close ups, medium shots, and wide-angle shots. Don’t be afraid to ask people to move to a better location, or direct them in small ways. Check for good lighting, and frame your photos well. Don’t just take posed, group shots, and “grip and grin” photos. Whenever possible, select someone ahead of time who will be responsible for taking and submitting photos from the event/trip/activity. Here are some tips for getting good, useable images: This is best practice for Web news content, and it also adds a visual component to your piece. Ideally, you want every news item to have at least one accompanying image. For ordinal numbers, using “first,” “third,” etc. For currency, using “K” for thousand, and “M” for million. Abbreviating words like Professor (Prof.) or Department (Dept.). Removing the word “Davidson.” (since the piece is on our website, it’s assumed that “students” would be Davidson students, or a professor would be a Davidson professor, etc.). Focus on action words and the most interesting details. Try to avoid cumbersome, academic headlines. Headlines should be about 45 characters and should entice the reader to click and read more. News stories should be compelling and interesting. MARKETING STORYWRITING ARCHIVE
Use the news section as an archive for all department activity. 
Find ways to make that sort of content more interesting introduce the award, give background about the award and why it is awarded, and consider including professional headshots and blurbs about each recipient or a group shot with a caption
Instead, when writing about a new faculty member or guest speaker, include highlights and consider a link to their CV or personal/professional web page
Summarize all of a person’s credentials. The web is a visual space and images grab attention and help tell a story. it will be clear where visitors will go if they click the link Note: do not add words like “click here.” Instead, assign the link to existing words in your sentence that are descriptive, i.e. Use hyperlinks when useful – think user-friendly, navigation. Use bulleted lists when possible for emphasis and ‘scanability’. Break up different thoughts into new paragraphs. Use subheads to break up long blocks of text. Piece should be scanable/easy to pick out information. In addition to high-quality writing, your piece should incorporate some “best practices” for writing for the Web specifically. The college primarily follows the Associated Press style, with a few differences that are unique to Davidson. Refer to the college’s online style guide if you have questions about college style or need clarification. Include quotes when you can, and insert them on their own lines. 
Avoid unnecessary words (such as “very unique” or “afternoons from 3-5 p.m.”).Once you have your lead, the following paragraphs should provide more details. Never begin a piece with a quote, though you may include a quote as early as your second paragraph. Question, in which you draw the reader in by asking a question that relates to the content (and that you answer early on in the piece – do not leave them hanging).Anecdotal, in which you tell a quick story or describe a scenario that is directly related to the story.Summary, in which you summarize many of the facts listed above in a concise manner.(To give you an idea of the length, the above paragraph ^^ is 45 words.) Types of Leads Your lead should be short – no more than 1-2 sentences, and no more than about 40 words. Most – if not all – of the above facts should be addressed in your lead, though some of the lesser details could follow in subsequent paragraphs. NOTE: The primary target audience for the Davidson College website is current and prospective students and their families.
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