Bad Advice (But I know better)

Ick. I just read a blog post by a "marketing expert" that convinced me she's not. The article took a contrarian viewpoint that content isn't king. Such headlines are gimmicky, sure, but they often work - and well-written contrarian pieces typically offer a different perspective. I like that.

That said, the blog in question (and you'll notice I won't link to it) used as its hook research from 2004.

Folks, that was nearly a decade ago.

Calling yourself an expert based on data collected when Pluto was still a planet is rather old-hat. 

The writer's premise was that design matters, more - or at least as much as - content, because if viewers "don't trust" a site based on looks, or it loads too slowly, they'll click away and never read your content. Unfortunately, the writer did a great job showing how NOT to illustrate that point.

The formatting of the blog was clunky; the graphics didn't enhance, but distracted from, the message, and the grammar was sloppy.

Don't be that guy. 

I had to giggle at another writer's Tweet last week about a blog from a professional writers' group - that had a typo in the first 'graph. (Whoops.) The writer's kind comment lamented the fact that whenever she posts about someone else's bad grammar, guess what? She's sure to include a typo. Hey, it happens. Fortunately, a single typo or clunky transition doesn't mark you as a wanna-be writer.

The blog I read last week was thoroughly sub-par.

It's been my experience that those things happen, too, but they're less likely to happen if you write, wait, and then read it again with fresh eyes. It's not rocket science, folks, it just takes a little patience and self-discipline. Which brings me to my last piece of advice:

Do your homework, write once and edit twice. 

In other words, try to be that guy. 

~Diane Stresing

Don't Be Blah, Blog Well

Sure, anyone can blog. And if you're in business, you should. But you don't want to just do it. (Sorry, Nike.) You want to do it well.

A good blog is like a good friend. It calls from time to time, with news, a joke, a timely reminder. Occasionally sends a picture of someone you knew in high school or asks, "what did you think of that Glee episode with all the Whitney Houston songs?" A really good friend (or blog) will sometimes even pop by with a job tip for you.

The thing is, if your friend doesn't call, doesn't answer your emails, or just sort of forgets about you, you'll probably move on.

So will your customers, if your company blog becomes a piece of internet history, or just plain irrelevant. Don't let that happen to your blog.

What should your blog say? Who should say it? and What's the point? 

You should ask these questions before you start blogging. There's more than one right answer to each question, but you have to make sure you have answers, and that your answers make sense for you and your strategic business plan.


What should your blog say?
Well, honestly, only you can answer that. Make sure it's relevant TO YOUR READERS. That's the best advice I can give you. Bonus tip: pay attention to how I formatted that. I very, very rarely type using all caps, and even rarer still are they bold, italicized, and underlined. Hint, hint.

More good advice falls under the heading, "Don't write BS."

Who should say it?
Anyone can blog. But if your company president/CEO wants to put his/her face on the blog, you gotta ask: how often will it be updated? Maybe you should consider a ghost blogger to help keep things fresh. 

What's the point? 
The point of blogging is baiting, at least in the commercial world. Take Marcia Yudkin's advice so your bait doesn't swim away and land on somebody else's hook. Make sure your strategy includes an easy way for your prospect to get something helpful from you (for free - infographics are nice, for example) as long as that something is clearly copyrighted (by you!) and then, follow-up. Check regularly to make sure your bait (white papers, tips and trends articles, whatever you're offering for the price of an email address/contact name) isn't trolling for customers behind someone else's ship.

Last summer, the Social Media Examiner published a fairly detailed look at how to bring more eyeballs to your blog.  More to it than you thought? That's one of the primary reasons why savvy companies hire professionals to manage their blogs. 

Blogs are so easy to create, it's ridiculous. I wonder how many poor, unwanted blogs are out there, abandoned in the ether? Too many. And worse - at least, I think it's worse - are that many great blogs are horribly neglected. You know, you get all excited reading a few good entries and then...the dust starts to build up. Pretty soon it's just another moldy blog. Please, don't be that guy.

~Diane Stresing

If You Write it, it's Right Enough

I have some very unprofessional advice for you. (My friend Sherry's gonna love it.)

Write something to someone for Christmas. Don't wait for inspiration to strike, and don't sit on it until it's perfect. Just write it. 

This year has been too full of reminders that we’re all going to die someday. I have a strong suspicion that most people leave things unsaid. Undone. Unwritten.

Don’t be that guy.

I don’t mean to suggest that you hide behind your keyboard for the next three years typing the next great American novel. This "assignment" is different. If you’ve ever thought about writing something nice to a child, spouse, parent, teacher, dear friend, or cousin, but stopped because you weren’t exactly sure what to say or how to say it, just say (or write) it. Now. 

Perfect - even if it isn't perfect. 

I know it sounds really simple, but you can’t do it until you get out of your way. Here’s how: Give yourself permission to do it less than perfectly.

When you’re gone, and – let’s not be morose! – long before that, the recipient of your words will appreciate your thoughts and that you cared enough to write them down. And while I can’t offer a money-back guarantee on this, I’m pretty sure they won’t even think about correcting your grammar or punctuation.

See, sometimes it really is the thought that counts. Sherry Richert Belul, my aforementioned friend and the author of Simply Celebrate, encourages her clients to create Love Lists for all occasions. Sure, Christmastime seems like a good one; but in fact Tuesday is good enough, too. Any occasion is a good time to make a Love List, or just write a few nice words to someone you love. 

Photos courtesy of www.simplycelebrate.net

For several years, I let nearly a ton of pictures gather dust in the “craft room,” all the while promising myself I was going to make Beautiful Keepsake Scrapbooks for my daughter. I’m not crafty, though, and I’m reallllly good at procrastinating, so a few more years went by before I finally gave myself permission to make Just OK scrapbooks. Being a writer, I added a few notes along the way. Being a writer, I should've done a better job on those notes. I could've crafted them into a story format, or at least made them neater, nicer, and more organized. 

But when I gave the books to my daughter, she didn’t say, “Wow mom, you could use some practice on scrapbooking, huh?” 

Instead she cried and hugged me. She said she loved the scrapbooks - and I’m not even dead yet. They might mean more then. But I digress. The point is, it’s easy to use “I’m not sure what… or how…” as an excuse.

Look, this time, you’re not preparing a manuscript for publication. You’re not sending a report to the boss. You’re writing a few loving words to another person. Your words don’t have to be perfect, but they do have to be written (or at least spoken) to be given away.

If you die with the words inside you, don’t blame me. 

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some very mediocre scrapbooks to finish for my son.

~Diane Stresing

Coffee at 9. Fries at 5. Write that down.

Usually I eschew fast-food, so I’ll admit I’m a bit out of my element at a drive-thru window. Last week, however, the stars aligned and I visited two different McDonald’s restaurants. On Monday at 5:30pm, I ordered a children’s meal. On Wednesday at 9am, I ordered a coffee. In both cases, I was asked to pull into the lot and wait for my order.

“We’re just waiting for the fries,” was Monday’s explanation.

“The coffee will be up in a minute,” I was told on Wednesday.

Sometimes I try to quiet the customer service/operations manager voices in my head. Sometimes I chalk up experiences like these to bizarre coincidence. But other times, I have to say, they blew it.

Like, both of these times. In what world is it hard to imagine McDonald’s customers wanting coffee in the morning and fries at dinnertime?

Business Writing Must Serve Readers

There's writing lesson here, folks, and I can sum it up in one word: Anticipation.

Sometimes it’s good. (Cue Carly Simon.)  It’s good when the WRITER ANTICIPATES WHAT THE READER needs to know.

Other times it's bad. It’s bad when your readers are thinking, “why doesn’t it say…?” Because if your audience doesn't find what they want to know, on rare occasion they will call you. But much more often, the audience will move on and get what they need from someone else. 

Whether you’re writing a return policy, employee handbook, or a stop sign, the most fundamental part of your preparation is to anticipate what your reader needs to know - and provide it.

And just in case you’re wondering: no, thanks. I don’t want fries with that. 

~Diane Stresing

When an Apology Isn't an Apology

Today's post was inspired by Rush Limbaugh, this week's poster child for what every mother doesn't want her kid to grow up to be. Not the first time he's had the distinction, but this time, the radio talk show host illustrates an important point, or two: words can hurt, and sometimes an apology really isn't one at all.

If you haven't had enough yet of the ridiculous hoopla Limbaugh started by publicly berating a Georgetown law student advocating that birth control pills be included in employer health care coverage, here's what ABC news posted Saturday afternoon: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/rush-limbaugh-apologizes-calling-sandra-fluke-slut/story?id=15841687#.T1OwxMyeOGJ

The labels Limbaugh trumpeted so loudly and illogically* last week weren't impromptu or thoughtless. They were scripted. Just like the apology he issued on Sunday, which read in part, "My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir. I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices." 

Sincerely? I doubt it. For a man who makes his living in words, this was a poor excuse for sincerity and if the apology was an attempt at wry humor, it failed in that regard, too. 

It's just like the clerk who says "yeh" or "there ya go" when the expression that's called for is "thank you." Sadly, Limbaugh makes boatloads of money for his caustic expressions. To further insult our intelligence or further his brand (redundant, come to think about it - insulting people an excellent way to characterize his brand) he went on to dismiss President Obama's call to Sandra Fluke as a way of checking "to make sure she's OK."

Yeh. There ya' go, Rush. Way to clear that up for the nation.

 *sometimes "zig-zag" is the best way to describe the radio host's thought process

Proffreading? Who needs it?

Sometimes the headline just says it all, but when has that ever stopped me?

I recently pointed out a few typos and grammatical errors in a chiropractor's website. A half dozen or so, just on one page. The doctor said, oh, thanks. I'll add that to the list. Seems the professional firm that created and maintains the site had yet to fix a phone number the doctor had pointed out (months earlier) that was also wrong. Phone numbers, you know, are kind of a big deal, even when they're wrong "just" because a couple of digits are transposed.

Look, it's easy to make mistakes. Everybody does it. Good news: it's pretty easy to fix 'em too.

Here's the bad news: while just about everyone makes typing errors and grammar mistakes, most people don't correct them.

That's why proofreading is not going out of style, folks. If you don't catch or correct your own mistakes, you can still fix 'em by inviting a proofreader or copy editor to make you look good.

Look, I proofread and edit stuff for other people all the time. I even get paid to do it :D but guess what? I make mistakes, too. Catching and correcting them is what sets me apart.


The last word -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I can fix you up! Don't send embarrassing errors along with your employee newsletters, contract renewal notices, or other business correspondence. I bet I work faster (and cheaper) than you think. Try me.