A global pandemic is a great time to launch an email newsletter. Why? Because a crisis is not a time for Marketing to be clever or snarky. It’s a time to be helpful and sincere. It’s a time to build relationships, nurture customers, and create long-term loyalty. There’s no better way to do that […]

A version of this story appeared in Total Annarchy, my fortnightly newsletter that helps you be a better writer, storyteller, marketer. Get it in your inbox; you’ll love it. I’m in a meeting in a Dallas, Texas, hotel. The drinks station at the back of the room has a few fun retro bottles of Dr […]

  Author, YouTuber, VidCon-co-creator Hank Green distills the 8 things he wishes he knew when he was writing his first novel. There are lots of gems in his 4-minute video that apply beyond fiction-writing. Here are the 6 that apply best to any writer: You have to care about whatever you’re writing about. “I had […]

In 1955, Dorcas Reilly invented Thanksgiving Green Bean Casserole. Dorcas worked in the test kitchen at Campbell’s Soup, where she wrote the recipe in response to a question from the Associated Press: What’s a good Thanksgiving side dish that uses ingredients found in most American kitchens? The dish she invented went viral. Millions of Americans […]

This is the Handley Ridiculously Useful Holiday Gift Guide for marketers and writers, updated for 2019. Here are my picks for ridiculously useful gifts to help marketers become better, more confident communicators now and in the new year. Some are useful. Some are ridiculous. Some are both. Which are which? Well, that’s up to you. […]

A friend asked me to look at a few chapters of a book he’s writing. It’s a strong book with a strong premise. But he’s struggling with making the writing equally buff. So together let’s live-edit a single paragraph right here, right now. Because the writing takeaway is a solid one you can apply to […]

  Big Word Day is a day that encourages people to use king-sized words just to impress others. I love words. Sometimes I like big words. (And I cannot lie!) But using big words for the sake of using big words…? So. Dumb. The point of writing is to connect with other people. To be […]

The brand voice you use in your marketing is potentially a huge differentiator. It’s also vastly ignored by most companies—especially business-to-business companies. That spells plenty of opportunity for you and your company. “Back up,” you’re thinking. “What’s ‘tone of voice’? That thing I studied in Humanities?” Yes. And also no. Brand voice is how our […]

The other night, I stayed up way too late reading Jonathan Franzen’s The Discomfort Zone, a book I devoured and savored at once. Devoured: I wanted to stuff myself silly. Savored: I wanted to take small bites to make it last. I loved each small flavor and the way they worked together to create something […]

In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, Oracle + GirlGeekX asked me to share a story of a woman who’s inspired me as part of their #HerStoryContest. So I did in this video. If you’re thinking it *has* to be Tina Fey (because TINA!)… well, NOPE. I dug deeper to tell *this* story… […]

Warren Buffett published his much-celebrated annual Letter to Shareholders yesterday. I noticed it was out while I was on a flight home from LA, just as JetBlue and I were 30,000 feet over Nebraska. Nebraska. Buffett. Me. Coincidence? I. THINK. NOT. (To quote The Incredibles‘ Bernie Kropp.) By the time I landed in Boston, analysts […]

 Image source: Gratisography I talk a lot about thinking BIGGER in your marketing: sharing a bigger story to put your company in the larger context of what people care about. But today, I’m focusing not on big… but on small. I’m focusing on the need to tell the smallest story possible. Small stories are specific. […]