In George Orwell’s “1984,” the Party had several ways of ensuring conformity. The Party limited independent thinking and banished forbidden thoughts and actions. Deleted images and stories landed in the “memory hole.” And of course, Big Brother was watching you. But “Newspeak” was the central initiative through which these original
What’s a business-to-business (B2B) content marketing road map look like these days? Overall, it’s not much different than it was 10 or even five years ago. But if you look closer, you’ll see subtle changes. The focus is on quality more than ever before. Churn and burn doesn’t win customers.
Songwriters scribble bits of lyrics or notes on paper and file the scraps away in the hopes they’ll be able to craft a complete song some day. Novelists complete the first chapter of their newest books and run dry. Journalists experience writer’s block and can’t get past their first paragraphs.
B2B marketing content that’s weighed down with extra words is hard to read. Why use 20 words when five will do? It’s easy to trim the fat with a little practice. The more you do it, the easier it becomes to spot what you can cut. Cut the fat from
Who doesn’t relish a challenge, especially when it comes to dependent clauses, parallelism and collective nouns? OK, so that’s a stretch, but go with it. Find the errors in the sentences below and I’ll send you a fabulous prize. Not really, but what have you got to lose? Neither an
What blog post length is best for content-first marketing? Ever wonder if your blog post is too short or your article too long? A handful of our clients have wrestled with this issue recently, so I sought answers. As it turns out, the answers aren’t black and white. Even Google
To set the standard in content marketing at your business, it’s important to make sure writers are aligned. Their copy should follow agreed-upon rules. For example: Is it “don’t” or “do not”; “can’t” or “cannot”? Can a subhead be a question? Is the hyphen necessary in “non-essential”? What’s the plural
Why are customer case studies so important? Customer case studies prove your company delivers results. You can tell prospects that your company “meets and exceeds expectations. Doing that, however, isn’t as credible as real customers sharing real successes. Unfortunately, case studies often promote what businesses do. Instead, they should focus
As a marketer, I’m always on the hunt for relevant statistics that support my content and promote brand marketing trust. I’m also a former journalist. With that in mind, I make sure the statistics come from original and credible sources that I can cite. Not everyone is as careful. That’s bad
Solving Off-Duty Grammar Riddles One of my marketing friends called me the other night with another grammar conundrum. It wouldn’t be the first time. I think he’s got me on speed dial. Other friends call to share entertaining news and highlights from their lives, but this one relies on me
