Stop me if this has ever happened to you. You tell someone you’re a writer, and they immediately ask you to write their book, term paper, resume, best-man toast — whatever — for them. They assume that just because you’re a writer, you’re the best writer. It’s flattering, albeit annoying. (No, I will not write [...]
Remember: Before you blast out your messages, find out what your audience needs. Then, figure out how you can provide it to them. I can’t tell you how many times my son has come into my office and asked, “What are you doing?” and I answer, “Writing.” Then we both look at [...]
OK, 2020 ... hasn't been the best. But you powered through, and your 2021 content plan is locked and loaded. You have buy-in from key stakeholders. You’ve completed or nearly completed any redesigns. You’ve booked interviews for your January podcasts and videos. And you’ve assigned — maybe even started editing? — copy for your January [...]
Whether we’ll admit it or not, we creatives like our work to be appreciated. And while recognition from third-party organizations is great for the resume, sometimes it’s the kudos we get internally that means the most. (It’s also much cheaper.) To make creating your own content awards easier for you, we’ve put together a kit [...]
Company culture is a relatively new concept. Don’t think so? Try bringing it up at Thanksgiving dinner and see what Grandpa has to say about it. My guess? “Company culture? In my day, the company culture was to work! End of story!” (And I’d love to know what actual responses you get, by the way, [...]
Want your employees to embody your company values? Make sure you have the following pieces in place to start: Develop a distinct brand that is reflected internally and externally. Passion and purpose won’t shine through to your customers unless it’s first absorbed by your employees. When we say employees should be living the purpose, we [...]
OK, let’s say you are indeed a thought leader in the truest sense. What should you keep in mind? Lead with information and ideas. Let the ideas and your content take center stage rather than focusing on your own bio. Be specific and go deep. When you have a tight niche, you can afford the [...]
More and more, as I work with clients on content planning, I get requests for “thought leadership” content. But that’s where the direction ends. Oftentimes, when I ask what those thoughts might be, there are no answers. And sometimes we have a difficult time even coming up with who in the organization could lend [...]
Want to maximize your content and resources? Planning is key. These two resources will help. Let’s Get Started Guide. If you’re at the beginning of the content planning process, our quick-start guide will help you think through the basics. Assignment Letter Template. Our assignment letter template is simple and gives you everything you need to [...]
Too many marketers think repurposing content is simply a way to make up for poor planning or last-minute requests. Need a blog post by tomorrow but no one to write it? Just slap a new lede on one from last month. Can’t track down approvals on the guide that’s being promoted in next week’s pay-per-click [...]
