Companies and organizations devote an amazing amount of time to agonizing over what their websites should look like. They review a host of different design approaches and spend hours trying to determine exactly how each page should function. Then they slap some content in place. What kind of content? “Take that stuff from our last … Read more
Did you know that public speaking is a bigger source of fear for most people than the idea of dying? Fortunately, most people die only once, but you may face multiple occasions in your career or civic life in which you’re forced to share important information in front of a crowd. There’s a lot of … Read more
We’d have a tough time surviving without quotation marks. A famous writer once observed, “Quotation marks allow us to identify what someone actually says, as opposed to simple statements being made by the writer.” Okay, I’m that writer, but the quote illustrates one of the primary roles of quotation marks. The other is to denote … Read more
Many people regard having to write as sheer torture. Unfortunately, nearly every job or business endeavor demands a certain amount of that torture. The good news is that there’s a simple trick that can make your writing easier and more effective. That trick is starting somewhere in the middle. If that sounds odd, consider that … Read more
Want to know how effective your copy is likely to be? To find out, highlight it in two different colors. Whether you’re developing a blog post, a brochure, a web page, or any other channel, take a few moments to highlight all of the sentences that are really about your customer and his or her … Read more
Business owners and managers who find themselves in the media spotlight often complain they’re being harassed, persecuted, or treated unfairly. However, many of them suffer that treatment because of their own actions in dealing with reporters and editors. To keep from becoming your own worst enemy, follow a few common-sense strategies. Take control. Reporting the … Read more
One of the biggest misconceptions about writing involves those handy word combinations we call contractions. You’re familiar: cannot becomes can’t, will not shortens to won’t, and so forth. When professional writers insert those contractions into their work, clients are often confused. Some doubt the competence of the writer they’ve hired or assume that the writer … Read more
You may be a good writer and wonder why you should get help from a professional white paper writer. Even if you’re an excellent writer, if you don’t write regularly, it’s probably going to take you more time than you realize to develop your white paper. And what’s going to happen to the rest of … Read more
Before you can write or design it, you need to think about how to structure white papers. While a typical brochure might contain a couple hundred words, white papers are generally between 1500 and 5000 words, which typically works out to 6 to 20 printed pages. Don’t choose an arbitrary length. Instead, let the information … Read more
To design white papers, you need to consider their role. Often, companies and graphic designers try to make them fancy and colorful, but that can be counterproductive, as it makes them appear to be advertising materials. Design white papers to be serious A white paper is a serious, non-promotional document, and the most effective white … Read more