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. * * * Pop quiz time: You run Marketing at a B2B company that sells industrial floor-cleaning equipment. You want to amp up awareness and demand with […]
Writing
A Writer’s Hierarchy of Needs: How to Do Our Best Work
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. Where to Do Your Best Work Yesterday, I disturbed the spider ecosystem thriving on Tiny Porch (TP), the official name of the screened porch of my […]
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 […]
The Ridiculously Useful Holiday Gift Guide for Marketers and Writers [Updated for 2019]
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. […]
How to Write Better: This Technique Takes Your Writing from So-So to Stellar [Live-Edit]
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 […]
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 […]
On Writing, Art, and Carving Your Own Bear
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 […]
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. […]