Ten Common Writing Mistakes
This is a pretty good discussion with Valerie Khoo about writing tips. She makes a really good point about writing meaningful headings. In addition to writing engaging headings, she warns about showing off your comedic skills by inserting puns and clever references.
I know it’s tempting to flex those muscles. The trouble is that not every reader gets the joke and is compelled to keep reading. Personally, I would have loved to title this “The Write Stuff.” But it’s a cliche that doesn’t help readers understand why they need to keep reading.
via BNET.
3 Keys To Ditching The Marketing Speak and Developing Relevant B2B Content
The post advocates a long-term approach to producing content:
And there’s the irony of the publishing marketing model. Its purpose is to drive new sales and build repeat business, but the right execution requires a subtle approach. When you focus squarely on the needs of your audience first, ROI is inevitable.
via B2Bbloggers.com.
How to Hire a Chief Content Officer: 11 Key Traits
Maybe you’re not the best person to craft compelling content for your business. Who are you going to turn to? Ann Handley lists 11 skills or traits that you should seek in a person creating content for your business. My favorite is the second one, “Nose for a Story:”
The best content creators are the ones who can smell a good story. They also recognize the bones of a story easily, and they instinctively know how to develop the content to make it human and interesting. Is your candidate bursting at the seams with ideas for content that your business might create? Does she think in terms of content? Do you hear her utter phrases like “that would make a great blog post!”?
This is a rare skill. People have blind spots to what makes compelling content within their midst.
How to Cultivate a Love of Words
This is for the writers. The post has some nice ideas for making words part of your life – not just part of your business plan. I like the suggestion to choose decorations based upon words. Look for some vintage-style decorations for some fun word-based decorations.
via wikiHow.
