Scott's Blog - Page 67 of 83 - Scott Flood Writing

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.

HOW TO WRITE A BETTER RADIO COMMERCIAL

February 22, 2012 by Scott Flood

The vast majority of people listen to radio to be entertained, informed, or a combination of the two. If you have to write promotional or public-service copy that will be broadcast, it’s important to keep those points in mind.

It’s also important to remember that radio doesn’t have a rewind button. In fact, that’s more important than most people who create radio announcements realize. With a print ad, a website, or a brochure, it’s easy for the reader to scroll back, glance back, or turn to a previous page if he or she misses a key piece of information. That can’t happen with a radio commercial.

SUCCESS STORY: EASY EXPLANATIONS

February 8, 2012 by Scott Flood

Email marketing is an evolving, powerful tool that is widely misunderstood by many in the marketing community. Those with prejudices against the channel fail to see the opportunities it offers for highly personalized, always trackable marketing efforts.

That means providers of email marketing services must devote much of their effort to educating potential customers, so they understand the value that their services offer. Indianapolis-based email marketing pioneer Delivra takes a very aggressive approach to developing understanding on both a macro level and in how their sophisticated, user-friendly platform puts those opportunities within reach.

SUCCESS STORY: SLINKY SIMPLICITY

February 1, 2012 by Scott Flood

Often, the best way to cut through the clutter and communicate a complicated concept is by using a very simple analogy. Over the years, I’ve explained cellular phones by using relay runners and demonstrated what makes molded rubber automotive gaskets effective by suggesting an easy experiment with a rubber band.

That technique works with ordinary consumers, and it’s just as effective with sophisticated professionals. In fact, because the professionals tend to be very busy, simple concepts can be even more effective.

HOW TO DO PRINT TODAY

January 25, 2012 by Scott Flood

Print can still be very communicative, if you pay attention to how people read these days. Someone who clearly understands that is the publishers of Inc. Magazine, who recently unveiled the prototype for a new title called Build aimed at mid-size companies.

The sample page reproduced here shows how savvy print designers can connect with readers in this era of smartphones, tablets, and Web 2.0. Even though there’s a lot of text on the page, it’s broken into bite-size chunks, most of which use a bold lead-in to allow skimming readers to determine whether they need to read the entire paragraph. In fact, you can pick up the gist of the article just by reading those lead-ins.