By Marcus Coates, @homeinriyadh, 10th December 2020
Blog number 10
Bernd Klut - Unsplash
A summary report is a written brief designed to provide details and analysis of a topic, then draw conclusions and offer recommendations.
A summary report should contain the following parts:
Title - clear and concise
Aim - direct and to the point
Overview - the main details in a series of paragraphs
Conclusions - a summary of the main findings
Recommendations - listing what action is required
Additional resources - a list of any research, links or related research
The following is an example summary report that I have written about my website build, design and progress over the 3-month period since I first created it. If you use the link at the bottom of the page, you can download a free and editable summary report template.
Summary Report
A readiness review of the website Mindful Content: for all your creative, academic & business writing needs
Prepared by: Marcus Coates, Writer, Content Creator & Developer
1 The aim of this report is:
1.1 To provide an overview of my website history,
1.2 To outline the purpose of the website www.mc-mindful-content.com,
1.3 To list the website components developed to date,
1.4 To conduct a SWOT analysis of the website,
1.5 To recommend developmental steps in the life of the website,
1.6 To provide a summary report template as a future resource for fellow writers.
2 Overview
2.1 When, how and why did the website come into being?
When?
I first developed the website www.mc-mindful-content.com on 2nd September 2020.
How?
I used wix.com as the platform to build it. I chose Wix.com for two reasons:
The Wix platform is very user-friendly for designing website pages and comes with design templates that helped me get started with the design and build process.
The Wix platform has a useful dashboard with access to marketing and analytics tools that help me market the site and see if people are responding favourably to it.
Why?
The website is the foundation to my two-year plan to learn how to write fiction, scripts, blogs and recipes; then edit, proof, publish and sell books or services. It also has other purposes as detailed below.
2.2 The purpose of my website is threefold:
2.2.1 Firstly, my website acts as a place to organize and store my developed writing work; as, although I’m passionate about writing, I’m not the most organized of people. I have piles of notepads lying around my apartment, scraps of ideas stuffed in most draws and a disparate bunch of files on my desktop, laptop and on hard drives and memory sticks – all with obscure naming conventions. Having a website is an attempt to organize all my disparate projects in one spot. And having that website in the public domain adds an element of oversight that means I have to put some organized structure to the various projects to look professional.
2.2.2 Secondly, I aim to become a published writer one day and write books and scripts that sell. My website showcases my written work. Additionally, I’m also interested in the book journey from idea, to being written, edited, sold, published and marketed. With those goals in mind, the website becomes not just a place to hawk my wares, but to advertise my skillset. After all, besides the written content - the novels, film scripts, sitcom episodes, poems, dissertations, blogs, recipes and free productivity templates – I’m also responsible for the copyediting and proofreading of my works, the copywriting on the page, the design and layout of the site itself and the efforts involved in marketing and growing an audience, then analyzing the statistical data generated from site visits. Having a functional website means I’m continually developing all of these skills.
2.2.3 Thirdly, I aim to engage with friends, family and writing communities. Until I’m published or decide to advertise my services in exchange for currency, I remain a hobbyist and view the website as a means of creating a community around a shared interest of writing and writing-related topics – whether that be creative, academic or business writing. As part of that, I’m keen to provide free productivity templates and keep people engaged and communicating through blogging and site visits. If I do become a published author in the future, the website will remain my primary tool of engagement.
Isaac Smith - Unsplash
3 Website components developed to date
3.1 My website contains the following pages and subsections:
3.1.1 Home page:
A lot is going on here! My home page lists my website content, provides links to my social media accounts, has my website logo at the top and a strapline (Marcus Coates: for all your creative, academic & business writing needs), my contact details, a membership subscription form and members area, as well as summarizing my novels, sitcom and film scripts in development. At the bottom of the site is my profile image, a quote, email and links to my latest blogs.
3.1.2 About me:
This page provides a brief overview of my writing journey to date. The idea is to be more transparent and visible to site visitors by reflecting on and sharing my writing process. Why should a visitor stay on my site if they know nothing about me as an author?
3.1.3 Blog:
As of 4th December 2020, I have nine blog posts written, averaging 1,000 to 1,500 words in length and eight recipe blogs in a shorter format – 200 to 500 words. I blog about the quirks of writing and language, reflections on the writing process or writing styles and structures (such as this summary report format).
3.1.4 Creative:
On the creative page, I showcase the first couple of paragraphs of the first novel in my Ryan Stoker quartet Turning Corners and also have an audio of me reading a poem from my poetry collection. I’ve included the writing sample to build reader interest with my fiction writing; whilst the audio of me reading a poem is to show a site visitor another facet of my personality.
3.1.5 Academic:
I have included samples of my two MA dissertation topics, Keeping the Vampire Alive: Image and Textual transformations and Applying usage-based teaching methods on short courses through the implementation of vocabulary notebooks. The first page with the titles and images link to subsections that have the first few paragraphs of each dissertation. The concept is to highlight my ability to write, edit and proofread academic texts, as opposed to just creative fiction.
3.1.6 Business:
The business page of my website contains six downloadable templates: a ‘to-do list template’, ‘blogging template’, ‘corporate jargon definitions’, ‘book submission to agent guidelines’ and a ‘summary report template’ (based on this summary report). The concept of this page is for readers to be able to access free downloadable resources related to writing. It also has two additional functions:
It showcases my ability to write in a variety of business styles.
It encourages me to research and develop writing in a variety of business styles.
3.1.7 Services:
The final page of my site lists the services I will eventually offer two years from now. Most of these are my bread and butter skills - curriculum design & development, instructional design, technical writing, content authoring, and blogging. The other ones listed are areas I’m planning to develop: newsletters, copyediting and proofreading. These are part of my future planned strategy and are a reminder for me to progress in these areas.
Lukas Blazek - Unsplash
4 SWOT analysis
4.1 What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the website?
4.1.1 Strengths:
I have set up the site with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) on each page and published with a .com domain, which makes it easy to locate with a general Google search,
The site pages are easy to navigate and contain the page layout that I want,
There are plenty of images and distinct branding to the overall design; the site has cohesion and variety,
I have thirty-six subscribers and twenty-two on the mobile Wix app,
I produce fresh content in the form of a weekly blog that attracts 500 to 1,600 reads across social media platforms, which in turn increases site visits.
4.1.2 Weaknesses:
I offer no services at present and have not monetized the platform in any way,
More content needs developing, such as blogs, recipes and templates to keep existing site visitors interested and attract new visitors,
The email list of subscribers is still low,
The membership component of the site and app are both under-utilized.
4.1.3 Opportunities:
Monetize the platform by either selling content or engage in associated marketing practices,
Grow the number of website subscribers and visitors through blog content,
Develop additional content, such as poems, templates and short stories.
Develop editorial, marketing, design and data analysis skills,
Develop a more sophisticated marketing funnel,
Develop the usefulness of the mobile app,
Utilize the social media marketing feature of the dashboard more comprehensively.
4.1.4 Threats:
Trying to monetize a website before it is matured or has excellent content will likely result in loss of visitors and site appeal,
Leaving the site to grow dormant, not adding fresh content or not improving the quality of content will lead to less interest and a loss of subscribers,
Not developing a marketing and analysis strategy will result in lost growth opportunities,
If the main content – the novels and scripts – are not developed, I won’t meet the two-year deadline.
5 Conclusions
5.1
This summary report shows that www.mc-mindful-content.com website has achieved a mature level of design-build, branding and useful content within three months of existence. The website has a solid base to build on. Additionally, the SWOT analysis shows that there are many potential areas of growth and opportunity within the projected two-year timeframe before the platform is due to be monetized. I have listed my primary areas of focus in the recommendations section below in order of perceived importance.
6 Recommendations
6.1 Research up on marketing funnels and apply to the website to increase visitor subscriptions and grow the email and mobile app lists.
6.2 Continue to add excellent content to the site, with blogs, recipes, poems and lots of free productivity templates. When reaching fifteen productivity templates, limit access to content by subscription only.
6.3 Add more samples of each novel and sitcom to the ‘creative page.’
6.4 Sign up for a Proofreading course with the Chartered Institute of Editors and Proofreaders (CIEP) or the Publishing Training Centre (PTC).
6.5 Build up testimonials from people I have designed websites, provided copywriting services, edited or proofread for and display on the site.
6.6 Have a book ready for publication by October 2022, then have it for sale on the website.
6.7 Create unique member experiences.
6.8 Utilize the mobile app more fully and think up ‘challenges’ to motivate members.
7 Resources
7.1
For free productivity templates, visit the business page.
For free productivity templates, visit the business page.
For free quick, easy and healthy recipes, visit the recipe blog page.
For engaging blog topics, visit the blog page.
For poems and book excerpts, visit the creative and academic pages.
If you subscribe to the website or the mobile app, you’ll receive the latest content straight to your inbox or mobile. Report summary template here.
