One of the most common questions prospective clients and aspiring authors ask me is, “How long should my book be?” It’s an important question with a simple answer: It depends. Your book needs to be long enough to accomplish its purpose. For some books, that could be as few as 5,000 words; for others, it [...]
Whether writing or speaking, your goal should be to communicate, not to impress. Many years ago, I was at a Mensa gathering. It was a games night and we were playing Password. I usually do well at word games, but not this time. My partner decided he wanted to show off his expansive vocabulary rather [...]
Have you ever been embarrassed by a mistake in an email you sent? Whether you’re creating marketing emails that go out to thousands of people, writing business emails that go individually or in small groups to colleagues and clients, or just emailing to your family and friends, accuracy and clarity are essential for effective communication. [...]
Do the people in your audience understand you? Whether you're in business dealing with customers and creating written content for your website, social media and content marketing campaigns or you're a writer creating your own books, be sure you’re communicating in a language your audience understands. As I write this, we are in the final [...]
In these days of email, social media and texting, we probably communicate more in writing than we did a few decades ago when we had to actually speak with each other because there was no immediate alternative. At the same time, our spelling and grammar skills seem to be on the decline. Whether it’s a [...]
If you have a contact form on your website, will you get the messages people submit through it? Recently I received an email from an online marketing expert sharing the story of how his contact form failed and he didn’t realize it for about six months. It’s likely that he missed messages from prospective customers [...]
Your customer mailing list is one of your most valuable assets. It’s the foundation of your ability to communicate with the people you’ve identified as customers or potential customers. Whether you market by email, direct (snail) mail or a combination, think about this: What would it mean to your marketing plan specifically and your company [...]
If you can send an email, you can easily learn how to set up a blog. Of course, if you have a web developer or designer who can do it for you, you’ll save a lot of time and may end up with a more attractive site. But either way, choose a platform that you understand and [...]
Headline: Beach wristbands help keep track of children If I was planning to take kids to the beach this summer and I saw that headline, I'd read the accompanying Associated Press article that has been published in a number of local newspapers. Here's the first paragraph: Officials in Daytona Beach will pass out yellow, waterproof [...]
There’s a lot of discussion about politically correct language these days. How about dropping “politically” and just using correct language? Something that’s been bugging me in particular of late is that reporters and commentators need to learn the difference between a protest and a demonstration when they are covering large groups of people who gather [...]
