Been experiencing the worst blogging burnout in the past month or so. It could simply be because I’m busier than usual. I typically blog the first thing to get it out of the way and proceed with my day. But sometimes it takes too much time and I want to jump into client work. How … Read more
How content and design play together… In the game of chess (kind of hard to shake this analogy when you’re trying to avoid “Content is queen/king.”), the strategies and the moves equate to content. They fascinate chess players and chess fans. The board with its squares keep the content on track. Apple’s product designs for … Read more
Despite a way too long subtitle and “salesy” claims, Sell Your Book on Amazon surprises. Its format simplifies finding the sections of interest – couple that with the ratings from five stars indicating “a must do” item to one star meaning “Don’t waste your time.” Authors who publish their books using a print-on-demand (POD) service … Read more
In reading articles and books — over time, I’ve learned to try to avoid beginning a sentence with “There” and using “is” or “are.” Doing this enriches your writing and encourages you to find more interesting verbs. Write and Drop or Substitute When I catch myself writing, “There are…” or “There is…” I complete the … Read more
Bulleted lists on Web pages help readers scan and find what they want. Two situations that do well with bulleted lists are series and instructions. Also, beware of indenting, spacing, formatting, and whitespace. Series For situations where three or more items appear separated by commas, they might work better as a list. Instead of, “Bring … Read more
The wizard in The Wizard of Oz and the guy behind the curtain pretending to be him have different personalities. Which one would you rather listen to? The wizard who comes across as larger than life and unreachable, or the guy hiding behind the giant green face, a person like us? Companies that publish newsletters … Read more
When you read a book or article, do you “hear yourself” reading the words in your head or move your lips without making a sound (sub-vocalizating)? Doing this helps you have conversations while you write — without making a sound. I don’t know if it’s because I’m deaf or not, but I’ve always “heard” people’s … Read more
The previous post looks at companies that help those that already have stuff on the Internet they want to go away, be deleted, be erased from the memories of man and machine. Being proactive is always better than being reactive, so keep your name free of mud with these tips in mind whenever posting anything … Read more
The following books that I read this year are my favorites — they didn’t necessarily come out this year. Fiction: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Cliche’, but it was a great book and I was happy with the way Rowling finished the series. It was nervewracking because we didn’t want her to be too … Read more
Smart marketers and bloggers watch for articles and blog entries that use their keywords so they can read the content and leave comments. It’s a great way to connect and network in the blogosphere/Internetsphere. But they also make a mistake. No question — participating the blogosphere helps people and their businesses… when done right. If … Read more