What is the core purpose of a Subject Line? [please choose one] 1. To inform the recipient of your email’s content 2. To motivate them to read the email Your Subject Line is the ‘headline’ for your email. So in some ways, informing the reader seems to make sense. After all, it’s there to give Read More
Category: Top tips
How authentic do you want to be?
It’d be very easy to think that ‘image’ is all that matters today. How you present yourself on social media. The bold claims you make on behalf of your organisation. So, image is clearly important, and something you should try and control. Even more important is the perceived ‘gap’ between your image and Read More
What makes us different makes us better.
Online, everyone is now ‘competent’. The conventional approach: ‘We are really good at this’ is no longer enough. Competence is just the starting point. The playing fields are now level, and this is the latest challenge for business. Do you persevere and still struggle to sound ‘better’ ? Or will you grasp the opportunity to Read More
Murder your Darlings
Ever heard the expression “murder your darlings?” All writers have them. Those pesky phrases that creep in to every article or report. Make a note of what they are and be ruthless in culling them during the edit process. Read More
How important is spelling?
Well, perhaps you can you tell me… “Admiring the view has just taking on a whole new meaning.” This is the line taken today from the Nissan UK website, where they are extolling the virtues of their brand new X-Trail model. I already own an older version of this particular car, so was checking out Read More
Tip of the week: get somebody out there talking for you in a crisis, however bad at the Co-op Group
Never, never ever stop communicating when there is a crisis. Refusal to talk is bad Today the Co-operative Group refused to respond on radio to the critical report by Lord Myners that the Co-operative Group is “disfunctional”. The BBC’s Radio 4 “The World at One” announced that nobody from the Co-op wanted to talk. Shame Read More
Use lobbying as a social movement in an integrated campaign: see the success of Boost Bingo
Lobbying is a vital weapon in the arsenal of corporate communications. But it can’t be done in the old way: wining and dining the great and the good. It needs to have a social movement behind it to work. And that social movement needs social media. Slash bingo tax A great case study is the Read More
As we always knew, less IS more…
“Facebook posts with less than 250 characters get 60% more engagement.” So ran the headline on a recent LinkedIn post. I’m sure you’ve also seen similar claims. It seems that as the volume of content proliferates, our attention spans shrink and contract. As writers, we need to be very careful about how much stuff Read More
Topping story from @lexitopping on Glasgow pub deaths
Great introduction sentence and structure to The Guardian article on the Glasgow pub story today on the paper edition on page 1. Can’t find it online, which is a pity. It was on the front page, written by Lexi Topping. It is a narrative intro: “Saverio Petri, one of the owners of the Clutha Vaults Read More
Expert help with your writing, when you really need it
We all know what it’s like being trained. Especially if it’s a good course, with an inspiring tutor. You eagerly soak up the top tips and new ideas, and resolve to apply new lessons back at your desk. Then time passes, and while you are making every effort to control bad habits, and learn new, Read More