Mission statements are a waste of time. I’ve been handed statements on credit card style cards, but they never stuck with me. The words were just jibber jabber. I covered this in a detailed post on visions, missions, positioning… And dug up this article on elevator pitches I wrote that appeared in a defunct newsletter. … Read more
Mission statements, vision statements, and goals: Where is it written they have to use fancy words and be a mile long? If they aren’t memorable, how can you expect your employees to implement them and your prospects to understand your objectives? Most of us struggled to determine which message each company’s CEO pitched. Many of … Read more
In talking about speed reading, Scott H. Young mentions a word I hadn’t come across: Subvocalization. He defines it: “Subvocalization is saying the words inside your head as you read them.” I’ve done this almost my entire life and didn’t know there was a word for it. Hearing words in my head is a natural … Read more
Matthew Jordan, a freelance designer, explores the benefits of being a lone freelancer. Though I’m a freelance writer rather than a designer, both share many things in common. I started writing on the side as a part-time gig while holding a corporate job for the benefits and security. I made the move to full-time freelancing … Read more
Authors can’t rely solely on their publishers to do the marketing for their book especially self-publishers. They need to take it in their own hands and the Internet simplifies the task. However, are authors making full use of the Internet? Plug Your Book! is a checklist complete with instructions so authors ensure they explore every … Read more
Since I work and breathe email newsletters for much of my work week, The Seven Deadly Sins of Email Marketing Management from Digital Web Magazine caught my attention. Many B2B articles and magazines have repeatedly shown that companies easily get a return on investment (ROI) with their newsletters (when done right). The article discusses seven … Read more
I’m by no means an event planner and I admire those who are. Having recently completed planning a party, I can imagine the work that goes into planning an event. As an attendee, however, I picked up a few things that I thought worked well and others that didn’t work so well. Events can be … Read more
Designing Web sites for events requires a different thought process and approach than a regular Web site. Of course, every design project should be unique, but events have features in common that the design project should discuss in every project. Such common features include: Home page: Event name, date, location and quick explanation of what … Read more
Pick the Brain nicely abstracts George Orwell’s 5 Rules for Effective Writing and provides the link to the original essay. I just came across this tool that helps you eliminate cliches from your writing. This helps with Orwell’s first rule of avoiding the use of metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech that you’ve seen … Read more
Publicity experts have been implying that press releases are dying, but they’re not (I’d like to link to the article that prompted this entry, but it won’t be accessible in a week without a login — this is a lost opportunity for the site as it could’ve gained new users if they keep the link … Read more