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How to find the etymology of a word

Express the spirit of your words by exploring their origins One of the most creative examples of wordplay I’ve ever...
Storytelling / Wordplay
<strong>Attention to detail</strong> Creative content grabs attention, increases reading — even makes people slow down and read more carefully. Abstract, literal material does not. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/young-lady-drawing-colorful-light-bulb-178460453" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Image by ra2 studio</em></a>

Why creative content marketing works

Make readers' brains light up After I presented a Make Your Copy More Creative workshop recently, an attendee pulled me...
Channels / Content marketing
<strong>Alphabet scoop</strong> Acronyms can help people codify and remember your key ideas. <a href="https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/pop-art-font-letter-w-gm907007918-249929516" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Image by gorica</em></a>

Help people remember with acronyms

Create a mnemonic First there was FUBAR: F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition. Now, thanks to the Urban Dictionary, we also...
Storytelling / Wordplay
<strong>That’s ROI</strong> Get your message read and shared by boosting your readability level.

What’s the value of readability [research!]?

Save money, make money and more with readable messages What are the benefits of making your message measurably easier to...
Readability
<strong>It was the best of times; it was the worst of times</strong> Repeat and reverse, add <em>and</em> or <em>so</em> and other ways to bring balance to your message. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/scales-stone-isolated-on-white-background-1350393596" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Image by Oleksandr Lytvynenko</em></a>

3 ways to find balance, or parallelism

Take a tip from Charles Dickens Charles Dickens famously used balance to introduce A Tale of Two Cities: [caption id="attachment_25901"...
Storytelling / Wordplay
<strong>Change the subject</strong> External transitions thrust readers forward beyond the ends of chapters or sections. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/chalk-drawing-orange-arrow-many-white-353531453" title="Image" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Image by patpitchaya</em></a>

How to write transitions: cliffhangers

External transitions move readers from section to section Talk about a transition. Here's how author Erik Larson ends one chapter...
Persuasive writing / Writing structure
<strong>But then the dream became a nightmare</strong> Something is wrong. Something is very, very wrong with these hackneyed transitions. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/three-down-yellow-vintage-bright-colorful-728481832" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Image by fewerton</em></a>

How to write a transition sentence

Avoid transitional clichés Transitions can be hard to write. Maybe that's why we keep turning back to these hackneyed transitions,...
Writing structure
<strong>Bridge the gaps</strong> Internal transitions move your copy from paragraph to paragraph, from sentence to sentence, from idea to idea. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hand-drawing-arrow-sign-opposite-direction-265447892" title="_blank" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Image by patpitchaya</em></a>

How do you write a good transition?

Internal transitions make your message flow smoothly Internal, or small, transitions move your copy from paragraph to paragraph, from sentence...
Writing structure
<strong>Sign up</strong> Transitions — aka 'signal words' — help readers remember more and organize their thoughts better. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/improve-yourself-dare-dream-no-limits-621725987" title="Image" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Image by Rawpixel.com</em></a>

Why it’s important to write good transitions

'Signal words' help readers follow along "Signal words" — aka transitions — are the narrative glue that helps readers see...
Writing structure
<strong>Avoid statistics soup</strong> Use only the numbers that are necessary for the reader’s understanding.

Don’t do a data dump when writing statistics

Don’t make your readers’ eyes glaze over “Great clots of numbers dropped into a story with a steam shovel create...
03 Statistics / Readability
<strong>Visual aids</strong> The way you present, or frame, statistics changes the way people — even experts — perceive them.[/caption]

What’s the effect of statistics in persuasive writing?

Reframe the data to improve decision-making People in one study rated a disease that kills 1,286 people out of every...
03 Statistics / Metaphor / Readability
<strong>Apples to apples</strong> Find the numerical comparisons you need to help readers understand your stats.

Find data for writing descriptive statistics

How to hunt down numerical comparisons When I wrote an annual report about charitable giving in Kansas City, I wanted...
Storytelling
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