When you have an important idea, how do you communicate it in a way that has impact, a way that “sticks?” Guy Kawasaki recently interviewed Chip and Dan Heath, authors of Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. The book reveals the six principles that characterize sticky ideas. They’re almost always some […]
Category Archives: writing
Business books attract clients: example #2
Yesterday I wrote about the many benefits of writing a business book: credibility, visibility, even a tiny taste of celebrity. A recent article in Manage Smarter agrees. It mentions, among others, a mortgage broker whose self-published book has attracted a steady stream of customers — and millions of dollars in revenues. Also mentioned is presentation […]
Win clients with your own business book
It’s the ultimate in information marketing: Write a business book that displays your expertise. Sure, only a relative handful of authors like Jim Collins, Tom Peters and the Freakonomics guys write best-sellers that bring in megabucks. But that’s no reason for you to abandon the idea. Book sales, after all, are only one way your […]
When in doubt, cut it out.
Fat is disgusting — especially in your memos, sales letters, or any other kind of business writing. Here’s how you can tone up your business writing instantly: Just trim the fat. Prune any words that are unnecessary. They weaken your writing and dilute your message. Good writing is lean and strong. It gets right to […]
Three reasons why your e-mails are misunderstood
E-mail is a great, even essential, way to attract customers and communicate with employees, vendors and partners. But as I said in yesterday’s post e-mail can be dangerous when you’re angry, upset or even just trying to be funny. Why? E-mail is simply not very good at conveying the emotions behind your message — so […]
Angry e-mails? Put them in your notebook instead.
Don’t write e-mails when you’re angry, suggests AOL Consumer Adviser Regina Lewis (link). Count to ten and clear your head before firing off an angry response. This is especially true when dealing with customers, but it can be just as risky with coworkers and bosses. That’s a great policy, but it doesn’t really help you […]