Category Archives: how to write

“We are all writers now.”

Published March 6, 2012
Branded content is a powerful way to promote your biz.

Branded content is a powerful way to promote your biz.

I was in Austin, Texas last weekend, exploring the city with a friend. Turns out, we were there the week before S x SW, a massive and uber-hip music and film festival.

Couple moments of note:

Instead of staying in a hotel, we used airbnb.com, a free online service that hooks you up with folks renting out their back shacks, vacation properties, and apartments around the world. For $90 a night, we stayed in an adorable residential neighborhood within walking distance of everything (including the Alamo Draft House, with a yard and full kitchen. Awesome!

We got to …

Posted in brand + message, content, copywriting, how to be, how to write
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“I don’t like writing.”

Published February 28, 2012
Don’t let the gremlins sabotage getting the work out into the world.

Don’t let the gremlins sabotage getting the work out into the world.

Gremlins are the voices in our heads that pop up when we need to write.

They are sniveling and nasty, yet strangely believable creatures who say things like:

I don’t know what to write about.

I’m too tired/busy/grumpy/not in the mood to do this.

I’ll do it later.

 

If you see that the gremlins have got ahold of you, see my tip for handling this with whimsy and power (“Why your desk needs a spittoon.”)

Perhaps the biggest gremlin of them all says:

I don’t like to write.

Granted, maybe you really don’t like writing. But the …

Posted in brand + message, content, copywriting, how to be, how to write
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Are you yelling at them?

Published February 21, 2012
Simulate a conversation in your writing

Simulate a conversation in your writing

For some reason, business owners think they have to shout in their marketing. I don’t know why, but I suspect it’s from watching too many local mattress and car commercials on television, where the owner is super excited for no reason.

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You know that relative or acquaintance who TALKS SO LOUD ALL THE TIME IT’S REALLY GRATING TO BE AROUND HER… AND YOU JUST END UP TUNING OUT AS SHE …

Posted in brand + message, copywriting, how to write
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What friends don’t say about your website.

Published February 14, 2012
Your homepage is the “face” of your business online

Your homepage is the “face” of your business online

There are 4 things I want to see on your homepage:

  1. Enthusiasm
  2. Competence
  3. Results
  4. A “call to action”

There are 3 things I don’t want to see on your homepage:

  1. “Do you struggle with —-?”
  2. A headline that you would never say out loud to a client.
  3. A lot of words that don’t make me feel hopeful, excited, or agitated (or feel much of anything.)

Here’s the thing: your homepage is the “face” of your business online.

And it needs to be as clean, clear, and friendly as your real face is, when you are with people in real life.…

Posted in brand + message, copywriting, how to write
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The kitchen sink test.

Published February 7, 2012
Everything but the kitchen sink?

Everything but the kitchen sink?

When it comes to writing your Services page on your website, think of the kitchen sink.

You know the expression: everything but the kitchen sink?

This is the test you must put your Services page on your website through.

Because the truth is, your Services page is a curated collection of offerings.

It’s not a full-on catalogued inventory of every way you’ve every worked with a client.

The thing about curation is that it involves choices. Like hanging a painting, you choose what’s going to go in the spotlight. And what pieces you are going to group together, to tell …

Posted in brand + message, copywriting, how to write
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