The blog
Thank goodness for Mrs Sweet, Mrs Hooper and the staffroom in general
21st May 2020 | Posted in Editing, Marketing communications, Website
I’ve been thinking of late how much I owe to the lessons at school that I didn’t really appreciate at the time. During lockdown I’ve reacquainted myself with my exceedingly dusty sewing machine. Quite honestly, if I hadn’t been taught by the terrifying Mrs Sweet about how to thread up the machine (and why are […]
Just one audience at a time keeps your messaging simple
11th May 2020 | Posted in Marketing communications, Small business, Website
You’ve got great ideas. They’re popping out of your head at the speed of knots. Offer these services to those people, these products to another set of people, add value and upsell with another great bunch of ideas …. Enthusiasm for your business – especially if you’ve got a new great idea you want to […]
Turn your blogs in to ebooks for marketing and profit
5th March 2020 | Posted in Blogging, Small business
Have you been blogging away sharing your expertise with the world? Do you have numerous pieces of advice and information published in your name on your site or social media that could be pulled together into something more substantial and authoritative? Either as a downloadable profit-making project or as a marketing tool? I’ve just been […]
Does being a number make it true?
17th January 2020 | Posted in Marketing communications
‘Smallpox cases double in three years’, screams a headline. I’ve made this one up, but we’ve seen plenty of similar stories over the years. Great pulling power, but what’s the real story? Suppose there was only one case three years ago, and this year there are two. Not the need for panic that the headline […]
Rules for writing – sensible or balm for the ego?
6th August 2019 | Posted in Editing, Marketing communications
Plenty has been written about Jacob Rees-Mogg’s rules for writing for his staff, and I am no doubt very late to the party. Like many before me, I have worked through his list and muttered along the lines of: Right Right Wrong Bizarre Where did he get that from? Hmm, maybe (Though not necessarily in […]
Tips for creating a consistent writing style
2nd July 2019 | Posted in Editing, Marketing communications
When you’ve got multiple contributors to a document, it can be tricky bringing together different writing styles into one coherent piece. If you want just one style, which of your authors wins? And how do you explain your edits to the others who have ‘lost’? It’s their hard work that you’re altering. And people who […]
Writing articles from conferences, seminars and panel discussions
15th May 2019 | Posted in Articles, Blogging, Content creation
Conferences are a rich source of content. You actually have in front of you experts from across a company and beyond, gathered in one place, to share their knowledge. It’s a wonderful opportunity to gather in-depth expertise into an article, and drop in a few industry-leading names at the same time. As they say, what’s […]
Checking facts for credible writing
16th April 2019 | Posted in Blogging, Content creation, Journalism, Marketing communications
Once upon a time I was berated in a journalism training class. I’m not often told off for anything, being almost a perfect rule abider and non-risk taker. There was that time in a Body Balance class when I stretched further than was wise, and I vaguely remember my mother not being that impressed […]
Timeless content
20th March 2019 | Posted in Blogging, Content creation, Web content
I wrote this Loneliness Guide for the When They Get Older blog five years ago, and it’s still one of the most popular pieces on the site. It’s collected some impressive backlinks along the way, which helps enormously with the profile of the site. Why has it lasted so well? Partly because the subject matter […]
When you ask me to edit or proofread, what exactly do you mean?
14th January 2019 | Posted in Blogging, book, Editing, Marketing communications
You know what you want. But do I? “Editing” and its sibling “proofreading” are words that mean everything and nothing. So it pays to make sure we agree. Let’s take the examples of Jack and Susu (who are not really called Jack and Susu but they are real customers). Jack is way out of […]