Stephen R Covey’s book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People first published in 1989, is one of the most influential business books ever written. The Seven habits present a “principle-centred approach to personal and business problems.” What can the seven habits tell us about keeping a successful business blog? and just how do you write a business blog? Habit 1: Be Proactive Identify what’s affecting your … Read More
There’s one thing all good content marketing campaigns have in common and that’s goals. Whether you need more sign-ups to your newsletter, opinions on a survey or cash sales, your content marketing campaign must include goals. How else can you measure the success of your writers and SEO specialists? Goal setting (image source: vfsdigitaldesign) The problem is many people lose sight of the importance of each part … Read More
There is a lot of confusion between the correct usage of lose and loose and this could be because of the way the words are pronounced, both sounding as though they should contain the ‘oo’ spelling. So let’s start with a look at the way both words should be verbalised. Pronunciation of Loose vs Lose Loose Loose rhymes with goose, moose and noose. If you are familiar … Read More
When writing copy, especially for the attention-deficit ‘netizens’ of cyberspace, a catchy headline is essential. But sometimes they are noticeable for all the wrong reasons. Headlines draw attention (image source: zimpenfish) Sometimes it’s mangled syntax that leads to the unintentional humour: Military Tightens Controls on Gay Discharges (Reuters News Agency) Court to Try Shooting Defendant (Deseret News, Salt Lake City) Woman Knocks Down Pope at Mass; Christmas … Read More
In 2008, Google exceeded 1 trillion indexed web pages. Today, it processes around 24 petabytes of data per day – that’s 24 million gigabytes. Advertising comes directly to us through all our media: smart phones, tablet computers, Internet and TV. Imagine being plagued by cold callers with the latest unmissable offer, not occasionally, but 24/7. Not a dystopian Hollywood nightmare, it’s how people increasingly feel: bombarded and … Read More
As the applause from the BAFTA Ceremony dies down and we look forward to the Oscars, we reflect on what the silver screen can teach us about writing for the web. 1. Know Your Audience Mamma Mia is a popular movie. The Saw franchise is also popular. But I’m willing to bet a Venn diagram of the two audiences would have quite a small area of overlap. … Read More