You don’t have to be a reluctant writer to get value from Ann Handley’s latest book, Everybody Writes. With content marketing gaining ground, more people are now on the hook for creating content through blog posts, articles and other written pieces. The book is useful for anyone who finds themselves writing for work, and particularly on behalf […]
Minimum Viable Messaging for Startups
Few things make a content developer (aka writer) happier than a complete product messaging roadmap. For details, see What the Writer Wants from a Product Messaging Document. We know that content development and review cycles will be smooth sailing if there’s a well-developed product messaging map at the start. But as with any rule, there’s an exception […]
What’s your True Story? (Book review)
David Meerman Scott’s New Rules of Marketing and PR came out in 2007, which seems like a lifetime ago. Now it’s a “marketing classic.” As the world continues to evolve, marketers need to be lifelong learners to stay current. In the interests of continuous learning, I’ve been reading a wide range of books and want […]
Empowerment marketing: The next big thing (I hope!)
Looking for the next big thing in marketing? I’d suggest reading Jonah Sach’s Winning the Story Wars. Marketers have been hearing for some time the importance of telling a story. This book considers the broader perspective of how you choose to use those stories. Sachs labels most traditional marketing techniques as inadequacy marketing: you highlight […]
Create a quick corporate style guide
If multiple people create content for your business, you need a corporate style guide. Otherwise, you risk having a corporate identity with personality disorder. Keep a consistent voice across your content If you don’t already have a style guide, don’t fear. It doesn’t have to be a huge project. Here’s a case where the perfect […]
Finding your corporate style
If you’re ramping up your content marketing, you need a distinct and consistent corporate style. You want to create a corporate personality that is consistent across all of your communications, starting with your website. My last post talked about identifying your corporate tone and style. But what if you’re just getting started or trying to […]