line down white

Concrete details

<strong>Not so cool</strong> Adjectives and adverbs add bulk without content. Use specific nouns and verbs instead. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hype-time-concept-word-on-black-1770780299" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Image by valiantsin suprunovich</em></a>

Modifiers are ‘the great deceivers’

'The illusion of meaning without its substance' Modifiers are "the great deceivers," according to The Associated Press Guide to Good...
08 Adjectives and adverbs / Channels / PR / Readability
<strong>Talk about TMI</strong> Your readers receive the data equivalent of 174 newspapers — ads included — every single da<a name="_ftnref1"></a>y, according to USC’s Annenberg School for Communication. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/orange-alarm-clock-isolated-on-white-362330600" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Photo credit: SUN-FLOWER</em></a>

Let’s get real

How much time will readers spend with your message? Talk about TMI: Your readers receive the data equivalent of 174...
01 Message length / Readability
ChatGPT-prompts-for-writing

Try these 5 ChatGPT prompts for writing clearly

ChatGPT wrote this article. (Well, sort of …) I had Mexican Monday with one of my favorite tech friends the...
AI writing / AI/Writing process
<strong>What's that you say?</strong> An Applewood-smoked-bacon burger by any other name would not taste as good.

When to use adverbs and adjectives

'Applewood-smoked bacon' just tastes better Turns out a Southwestern Tex-Mex salad by any other name would not taste as good....
08 Adjectives and adverbs / Readability
<strong>Cut the fluff online</strong> Everybody loves a fluffy chick. Nobody loves a fluffy web page. Cut the hyperbole online. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/five-vintage-tin-signs-on-white-1889480902" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Image by zerbor</em></a>

Why cut the marketing fluff from your web page?

Hype reduces reading, sharing — even sales When "king of usability" Jakob Neilsen cut the fluff from a web page...
08 Adjectives and adverbs / Channels / Readability / Web
<strong>What’s in it for me?</strong> Don’t tell me about your event. Tell me what I’ll be able to do at your event. Or focus on the outcome of past events. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/me-white-text-quotes-blackboard-background-2136094221" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Image by Yawar Hassan</em></a>

Use WIIFM communication for news release leads

Move from event to impact to engage readers Screenwriter Nora Ephron long remembered the first day of her high school...
Channels / Persuasive writing / PR / Reader-centric writing
<strong>The ultimate selfie</strong> The reader is the reader’s favorite topic. So give the reader what she wants. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/studio-shot-attractive-african-woman-afro-206178829" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Image by Daxiao Productions</em></a>

How to craft reader-focused writing

Write to and about you The product isn’t the topic. The service isn’t the topic. The organization definitely isn’t the...
Persuasive writing / Reader-centric writing
<strong>Let us entertain you</strong> How can you write good content that readers want to read and share? Steal from the FBI, WADOT and Norwich Union UK. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/black-girl-hiding-face-behind-happy-1802608693" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Image by Prostock-studio</em></a>

How to write entertaining content marketing pieces

It’s the No. 1 type of social media people share Want to write content marketing pieces that get shared? [caption...
Channels / Content marketing
<strong>Shift imagery</strong> Because sports, war and car images are so — yawn! — overdone. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/close-wheel-chain-mountain-biking-landscape-1203946696" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Image by WiPhotoHunter</em></a>

How to avoid cliché in writing

Shift imagery to refresh your metaphor I was delighted when personal finance writer Tom Saler submitted this analogy in a...
Metaphor / Storytelling
<strong>Don’t let readers burn out on your message</strong> Search and destroy lifeless cliches. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/close-one-used-matchstick-row-new-385192516" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Image by Joey Chung</em></a>

How to avoid clichés in your message

Turn hackneyed phrases into fresh, exciting metaphors Academics call clichés dead language. Don’t let readers burn out...
Metaphor / Storytelling
<strong>What’s the buzz?</strong> Take a buzz saw to corporate buzzwords. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/blank-black-signboard-shape-fuzzy-bubble-585898265" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Image by nito</em></a>

What’s in a buzzword? Nothing.

If you’re writing about vertically integrated digital-media companies, stop typing Oh, how I miss the late, great Jargonator, the Gable...
06 Word length / Readability
<strong>4 ways to research metaphor</strong> 1) Ask your subject-matter expert; 2) Use Google as your dictionary; 3) Research online; 4) Get a quick online education. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/man-carries-large-gift-box-art-2221141597" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Image by svetazi</em></a>

How to handle metaphor research

Go beyond the interview My writing team had one of those tough assignments recently that only a geek like me...
Metaphor / Storytelling
Load More loader

Reach more
readers with
our writing tips

Never miss a tip!

Newsletter

Are you
ready to
make your
readers

love you?

We can’t wait to work with you!

Contact