“I hate writing!” Perhaps that should be music to my ears because it ensures a steady stream of work, but it saddens me. Many people dislike (or even fear) writing and are intimidated by knitting words into sentences and sentences into paragraphs. Nearly everyone needs to write now and again. Being able to assemble words … Read more
The landscaping contractor had a nice-looking pickup truck and well-kept trailer. He had invested some money in an attractive door sign. But a little detail probably cost him more business than he ever realized. Squarely in the middle of his front bumper was a license plate displaying the Confederate flag. (Before Civil War buffs jump … Read more
You messed up. You handled something the wrong way. Could be you just failed to handle it when you should have. So what are you going to do about it? Are you a big company? Then you’re probably going to mess up even more. Sure, you’ll spit out some kind of public apology, but it … Read more
What many call “fight or flight” is a quick way to describe the brain’s innate responses to stimuli. It might come as a surprise that it also offers some valuable advice related to websites and other marketing communications materials. Humans like to think we’re rational animals who don’t give in to automatic judgments about people … Read more
You’ve spent six months getting your company’s new website put together, and now you’re ready to tell the world about it. What a waste of your time. I understand you and your team have worked hard, and you’ve invested more money into the process than you wanted. Your new site is truly a humdinger, and … Read more
Companies that make the extra effort to survey customers of their products and services usually gain my admiration — except when their approach to that survey makes me never want to do business with them again. There’s a lot of sense behind taking the time to follow up with the people who use your products … Read more
Companies that hire white paper writers have made a smart business decision. Hiring a white paper writer instead of writing a white paper yourself not only means you can stay focused on your job’s normal responsibilities, but gives you someone who will approach the project with more objectivity, an outside viewpoint, and stronger skills. How … Read more
I’m certain your company offers outstanding products or services. I’m just as certain that the best way to promote those products or services is to stop talking about them. I’m not suggesting that marketing efforts are useless or the products or services should sell themselves. What I am saying is that too many companies become … Read more
If you’ve ever read a magazine article or lengthy blog post from a corporate leader and wondered how a top exec found the time to write it, you’ve discovered a little secret. Many corporate leaders (and professionals) who have plenty they want to say, but far too little time to capture those thoughts in words … Read more
Choosing your internal team to write white papers may seem like an obvious choice, given their familiarity with the information in those white papers, but there are many reasons to look elsewhere for help. Non-writers shouldn’t write white papers Your team members may be skilled writers, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be effective at articulating … Read more