Category Archives: Writing and Editing
The Power of Analogies in Communicating Complex Concepts
July 21, 2010
Reprinted with the author’s permission from White Paper Pundit.
For some reason, people respond well to analogies as a way to understand complex concepts.
For example, when I talk to prospective customers about the white paper development process, I like to make an analogy between the role of a blueprint when building a house and the creation/use [...]
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Make Your Web Copy Clear and Simple
June 1, 2010
Abridged with the author’s permission from Site Booster.
It’s amazing to me how many times I’ve read website copy and shook my head because I couldn’t understand what they were talking about. Writing website copy requires a clear and simple purpose.
There are many things that can cause copy to be unclear or just plain confusing. Here [...]
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Keeping Personality Alive in Your Web Writing
April 19, 2010
Abridged with the author’s permission from Writing on the Web.
Just the other day I was reviewing a website for a successful professional who does consulting with mid-level corporations. His site was extremely tasteful and attractive, conveying an aura of professionalism and seriousness. This is a good thing if you want to impress high-level executives [...]
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Own Your Web Copy With Personal Pronouns
April 7, 2010
Abridged with the author’s permission from Brain Traffic blog.
In my experience, many larger corporations have trouble breaking free from the formal business communications style they’ve been using for years. But guidelines that limit the use of personal pronouns should be reconsidered now that we’re in the digital age. These days, content needs to speak to [...]
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Seven Reasons to Start a Blog
December 9, 2009
Abridged and reprinted with permission from whatsnextblog.com.
1. Humanize your identity.
Blogs are an excellent touch point for human interaction with your constituents. Nobody really cares what you say on your organization’s site these days. People listen to what their friends – the ones they’ve met and the ones they’ve made online – say about your [...]
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Character, Conflict, Resolution…
November 30, 2009
According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the country’s 400 most successful fundraising organizations expect to raise a median of 9 percent less in 2009 than 2008. That means that half will do even worse, and the picture isn’t expected to improve in 2010.
Given this grim reality, nonprofit organizations need messages that stick in the heads [...]
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It Lives! Reviving the Press Release.
November 23, 2009
Abridged with the author’s permission from a post on my 2 cents.
A research brief from MediaPost this week brings up, yet again, the issue of the press release — is it a dying dinosaur? Nearly half — 49% — of the professional communicators polled said releases are “as useful as ever.”
I’ve [...]
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Copywriting and Lead Generation: An Interview with Miller McMillan
November 21, 2009
This interview has been abridged with the author’s permission from Mac McIntosh’s Sales Lead Insight™ blog.
Miller McMillan is a copywriter who worked on high-profile accounts at ad agencies in Atlanta and Boston before establishing his copywriting boutique agency in Los Angeles. Miller has worked with such clients as CNN, Hughes, Nestlé, Avery and Microsoft. His [...]
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Be Opinionated, Dammit!
November 13, 2009
Reprinted with the author’s permission from Post Advertising.
In September, The Huffington Post surpassed the Washington Post in terms of unique visitors. “The Huff Post was up 26% year-over-year to 9.4 million uniques, while uniques at the Washingtonpost.com dropped almost 30% to 9.2 million,” reports Jennifer Saba at Editor & Publisher. Look out, media giants. You [...]
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You Don’t Need to Tell Everything You Know