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. * * * If the outrage and events of the past weeks have taught us anything, it’s the importance of sharpening your voice. Not just sharing […]
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Is It Better to Write When You’re In a Good Mood? Or When You’re Not?
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. Recently, I gave a mini writing workshop for a MarketingProfs client. The workshop (“How to Write Your Face Off”) was online, which meant the 30 or so […]
A Writing Prompt for an Anxious World
There are two truths I’ve realized about the Coronavirus pandemic: Everyone feels they are dramatically, uniquely affected. Everyone is right. Every one of us is affected. No one knows exactly how much. There is a relentless, invisible virus among us, and there is also a weird anxiety in the air. Like one minute I’m in […]
17 Non-Negotiable Things Your Email Newsletter Needs Right Now
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 […]
6 Things Hank Green Wants You to Know About Writing
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 […]
Vivid Writing: How Do You Paint a Picture in the Mind of Your Reader? Add These 5 Things.
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 […]
How to Find Your Unique Brand Voice [with Examples]
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 […]
Why We Need Smaller Stories in Content Marketing
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. […]
Making Boring Writing Fun Again: What We Can Learn from Stink Bugs. (Yes, Seriously.)
Here’s the best writing I read all week. It’s 170 words tucked into a belly of a 7,000-word article. And yes… it’s about stink bugs. Stay with me. Because those of us writers who write about B2B “solutions” or other boring or complex things can learn a lot from the vivid description of these […]