If you share any type of files with anyone for any reason, you need an efficient file naming protocol. Okay, I confess I just re-read that, and it made me yawn. But even though this sounds like a boring, geeky topic, stay with me. It’s important. A file naming protocol is the system you use [...]
Does correct punctuation and capitalization matter in marketing copy? Years ago, I worked with a large company that had a team of creative people–several designers and writers who all contributed their particular expertise. I wrote information content for this client (books, blogs, articles). The lead marketing writer often said the difference between what he [...]
Children take the adults in their world for granted. Often, it’s not until we are well into our own adulthood that we recognize the impact that the grown-ups who seemed to be “just there” had on who we became. My Aunt Gene (yes, her name was spelled the “boy’s” way) was one of those people [...]
We all know the fastest way to find a mistake is to hit "send" or "publish" (or whatever means "too late now!"). If you're sending out messages using an email marketing service (I like and recommend MailerLite), send yourself and at least one other person on your team a test email so you can check [...]
When I volunteered to be a victim at a mass casualty emergency exercise, I didn’t know I would end up with my neck cut and would “die” at the hospital. But I had a lot of fun, and maybe the emergency responders learned something that will help them save someone else’s life. Before things [...]
When I get new Twitter followers, I usually take a look at their profiles before I decide whether to follow them back. Recently I was followed by a company whose profile included this statement: We focus on customer satisfaction. Really? How many companies deliberately focus on customer dissatisfaction? Here’s another one: We live by the [...]
There are some good reasons why you should not “like” a Facebook page just because a friend asks you to. I have more friends on my personal Facebook page than I have people who have “liked” my business pages, and that’s okay. I’m also “friends” on Facebook with a lot of people I’ve never met [...]
During one of my presentations on blog content strategies, the question of whether to date-stamp blog content was raised. One person said that she did not include the date on her articles so that readers wouldn’t realize how infrequently she posted. Now, that raises the question of how many readers you’re likely to have (or [...]
I remember the first time I called a professional service supplier and her voice mail announcement promised she would call me back "at my earliest convenience." My reaction was: Excuse me -- her earliest convenience? I was the customer and she just told me she'd return my call when she was ready without any concern [...]
Do you need an editor or a writer? It’s not uncommon for me to get inquiries from prospective clients who tell me they’ve already written their book (or blog, article or whatever) and they just need someone to edit it. If that’s the case, they don’t need a writer (or ghostwriter) – they need [...]
