Scott's Blog - Page 51 of 68 - Scott Flood Writing

PET PEEVE #462

May 9, 2012 by Scott Flood

Put a brochure or a magazine in front of you. Now take your index finger, and tap it repeatedly. Does anything happen? Aside from the object developing a slight dimple and you receiving some kind of repetitive stress injury, that is?

Microsoft Word is a dandy piece of software that has many helpful tricks. One of those tricks is automatically turning website and email addresses into hyperlinks and giving them a pretty blue color. When you’re exchanging documents online, that can be handy, because you can use your mouse (or finger on a tablet) to connect with that link.

CUSTOMERS HAVE THE ANSWERS

May 2, 2012 by Scott Flood

Businesses and organizations often struggle to understand why they’re not performing as well as they’d like. In many cases, the answer is a lot closer than they realize. If they took time to talk with … and genuinely listen to … their customers, they would develop a much stronger understanding of what they’re doing right, and what needs to be improved.

In his landmark book The Customer-Driven Company, Richard Whiteley cites many successful companies that aggressively pursue input from customers, and then build what they’ve learned back into their products and processes.

CONNECT THE UNFAMILIAR TO SOMETHING FAMILIAR

April 25, 2012 by Scott Flood

At a time when new technologies seem to appear every day, most folks are becoming overwhelmed. While they’re impressed by all the new features and opportunities, and while many can see at least some of how these new advances will benefit them, the sheer volume of information is pushing a growing number of people into overload.

How can you help people understanding something new and unfamiliar without overwhelming them? A tried-and-true tactic is to connect that unfamiliar object or process with something that’s very familiar and quite simple. It’s a tactic effective copywriters have used for decades, and it’s even more applicable today, because it can help to overcome resistance to new ideas.

SUCCESS STORY: BLENDING THE OLD WITH THE NEW

April 18, 2012 by Scott Flood

Being an established business or organization can easily cut both ways. On the one hand, longevity can inspire confidence and respect. But on the other, it can easily saddle you with an image that’s old-fashioned and stodgy.

That’s a particular problem for community-based banks. While they may be the bedrock of their communities, many have been slow to modernize and embrace technologies that their aggressive big-city counterparts have promoted.

START WRITING IN THE MIDDLE

April 11, 2012 by Scott Flood

One of the most common questions I hear from non-writers is “How do you get started?” They have something that they want to put down on paper, or something they have to write for a job, and they sit and stare at that unfriendly cursor, unable to type the first word. They assume that someone who writes for a living would know some sort of magic trigger to get that first sentence underway.

I don’t, but I’ll let you in on a secret: I don’t usually start at the beginning. No matter what I’m writing — whether it’s an article, a website, an ad, or a blog post — I usually start somewhere in the middle.

IF YOU INNOVATE, YOU MUST EDUCATE

April 4, 2012 by Scott Flood

Three cheers for the companies that are dedicated to developing the new and the exciting! The companies that aren’t satisfied with what’s already available, or who have recognized an entirely new way to accomplish something. The companies that are constantly focused staying at the forefront of their industries. If you run (or work for) one of those companies, I’d take my hat off to you (if I wore a hat).

But when you take on the mantle of “innovator,” you also assume the responsibility of an educator. That’s because when you stake out new territory, it’s new to everyone else, too. The advantages and superiority of your new approach may be obvious to you, but they may not be quite as clear to the rest of the world.

TODAY’S READER IS A SCANNER

March 28, 2012 by Scott Flood

Busy, busy, busy. We’re going this way and that way, and it seems that we have less time for everything. That effort to cram more into every day has had a pronounced effect on the way people read. A generation ago, people tended to read at a more leisurely pace. They’d start at the beginning, finish at the end, and savor everything in between.

The shortage of time and the speed of finding information on the internet has fundamentally changed the way people read nearly everything. Instead of savoring, readers are skimming; breezing through articles, books, and documents at a pace that would have been considered speed-reading in the past. They look for what matters in a document, and zero in only on those points that seem to be most important.

A THREE-STEP PROCESS FOR SHARPER COPY

March 21, 2012 by Scott Flood

Worried that what you’ve written sounds a little too light and fluffy? Concerned that your words seem to be traveling all over the place instead of delivering a clear message? Thanks to a handy tool within Microsoft Word and most other word processors, and with a little bit of self-discipline, you can easily make your writing tighter and more powerful.

That handy tool is the Word Count indicator. In my current version of Word, it’s located at the lower left-hand side of the screen, right next to the page number. And here’s how you can use it to improve your writing: highlight whatever it is that you’re writing, whether that’s a page or a paragraph. The word count indicator gives you the total number of words.

STOP! YOU’RE BOTH RIGHT!

March 14, 2012 by Scott Flood

Within the world of advertising and marketing, there are several subgroups of professionals. One of those groups is the so-called “creatives” — the writers, graphic designers, and art directors who come up with ideas for communications tools and then execute those ideas.

Within the community of creatives is an unending debate about whether design or content is more important. It shouldn’t surprise you that writers tend to advocate for content, while designers and art directors focus on the importance of design. I’ve listened to more of those arguments than any person should be expected to bear.

SUCCESS STORY: WRITING FOR THOSE WITH DISABILITIES

February 29, 2012 by Scott Flood

Designing a garden to accommodate the special needs of people with disabilities is a wonderful idea, but only if the intended users understand how the design works with them. When the Plainfield Plus community group secured a grant to establish such a garden in the town’s Friendship Gardens park, that’s why they included funds to create a guide to the garden and asked Scott Flood to develop it.

The book provides details of the garden and shows how its various elements address different disabilities, such as raised beds that reduce the need for stooping, and plants with scent and touch characteristics that can be appreciated by people with visual impairments. Just as important, the book detailed how people could duplicate those features in their own gardens.