You have access to tens of thousands of fonts. But you probably shouldn’t use more than a couple of them. Why? Once, businesspeople communicated primarily using devices called typewriters. Most typewriters offered just one font, and the most popular model in offices, the IBM Selectric, used a font we know as Courier. Somehow, everyone managed … Read more
Creating white paper titles may well be the most important task when developing a white paper, because it determines how likely your target audience will take the time to read it. In these ever-more-busy days, we have little patience for the items competing for our time. When glancing at a social media feed or a … Read more
You’re well aware of the internal structure of your company, and the politics and complex challenges that spring from that structure. When a customer needs something, you mentally consider which departments will be involved and what it will take to make it happen. Your customers view you differently. They see you as a single entity. … Read more
It seems many marketing decision-makers received part of their education from the old “Dragnet” TV show. If you’re too young to remember the program (or the comedic movie remake), “Dragnet” featured Sgt. Joe Friday, a Los Angeles detective who said very little and spoke in a near-monotone. Unlike today’s “Law & Order” or “NCIS” detectives, … Read more
The first of my many exposures to the brilliance of Hoosier author Kurt Vonnegut was his 1952 short story “EPICAC,” in which the narrator prevails upon the world’s most powerful computer to draft a poetic marriage proposal for his lovely colleague. EPICAC’s series of poems fulfill the romantic objective, but there’s a hitch. The computer … Read more
If you’re shooting a video and want comments from company officials, customers, and other stakeholders to sound completely natural, make sure you script them before they say a word. Think it’s counterintuitive that the best way to make the people in your videos sound unrehearsed is to put words in their mouths and have them … Read more
If your company has opted to create a white paper, well done! If you’ve also chosen to enlist the services of a white paper writer rather than tackling it yourself, that’s a wise decision. Employing a white paper writer not only allows you to concentrate on your regular job responsibilities but also brings in someone … Read more
When confronted with a portfolio of samples from a writer, designer, or web wizard, intelligent businesspeople typically become less than savvy. Losing sight of the fact that they’re about to make a critical business decision, they scan the contents, nod their approval, then point to an example or two and say, “I really like this … Read more
Famous television doctor Mehmet Oz invested millions into an unsuccessful effort to capture one of Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate seats, and I’m pretty confident a single word had plenty to do with his defeat. While trying to prove he was just a regular guy by stopping in a supermarket to grab items for dinner, the celebrity … Read more
I’m not sure that a welcome mat in front of a business ever made anyone feel truly welcome, or a notation on a receipt saying that it has been someone’s pleasure to serve you made up for the indifferent treatment delivered by the server who dropped it on the table. Businesses put a lot of … Read more