When you say, “Don’t worry,” you’re telling me I should worry. I’m not talking about trying to comfort someone who is already worried (although when does simply saying “don’t worry” ever stop someone from worrying?), I’m talking about prefacing a statement with, “Don’t worry” and then saying something that might be worrisome. When you do [...]
Imagine a platform with more than 120 million readers and no ads where you can publish whatever you want and get paid for it. It's not a fantasy–it's Medium. I was first introduced to this platform in 2019 by someone who asked me to write an exposé about a sleazy seminar company and publish it [...]
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 [...]
