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Personas 101
I recently wrote this introduction to personas for a freshman-level Introduction to Business class. A buyer persona (sometimes called a customer persona) is a description of an imaginary person that represents a target customer or user. A well-written persona typically will include: B2B personas typically also include: Each persona should have a name. Be creative […]
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Using Humor Wisely in Business Writing
It pains me to write this post because I consider myself a funny guy.1 I inherited a great sense of humor from my dad, and I have never passed up an opportunity to make a pun. I love to make people laugh. And If quoting the Simpsons were an Olympic sport, I would have won […]
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B2B Readers Are Busy. Here’s How to Write for Them.
When it comes to B2B writing, your readers are busy people bombarded by information. Put yourself in their shoes. Do you think they have the time and energy to curl up with a long treatise or academic paper? Or would they prefer something concise and helpful? If you answered “long treatise or academic paper,” thanks […]
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Go Deeper to Reach the Invisible Audience
Like the body of an iceberg, your audience goes deeper than you can imagine. It’s very easy to see who’s at the tip of the iceberg — those people reading your social media posts, responding to emails, scheduling discussions, downloading white papers, and so on. But underneath them, there’s a huge collection of additional stakeholders […]
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No More Capital Confusion
At least once a day, a stranger approaches me in the street and says, “You look like an English major! Can you help me capitalize this title, headline, or section heading!” I’m exaggerating, of course, but this question comes up a lot. And the answer is rarely as difficult as you think. First, find out […]
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Don’t Get Bitten by Best Practices
I’m not a big fan of the term “best practices.” The basic concept behind a best practice is admirable: Learn what works well for others and adapt it for your organization. But when people start proposing all kinds of ideas and calling them best practices, my Spidey-Sense tingles. When you hear the term “best practice” […]
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Understand the Ampersand
Fire up your word processor. Open a blank document. Press Shift-7. Do you see a little squiggly symbol that looks like a squashed g-clef? That’s called the ampersand, and it means “and.” An ampersand is a lot like a tuxedo. It’s quite fancy. In some places, it’s a requirement. But you wouldn’t wear a tuxedo […]
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For Great Content, the End Is the Beginning
Mystery novelists often advise young writers to determine the ending of their books — the whodunnit part — and then develop the story backward from that point. That way, the reader has to keep guessing till the very last page, but the author knows exactly how the plot needs to progress. This advice also works for content […]
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My Thoughts on “The Obstacle Is the Way”
I recently finished Ryan Holiday’s “The Obstacle Is the Way,” a popular book in business circles. It’s a good book — I highlighted many passages that seemed written expressly for me — but the basic premise leaves me cold. The author seems to say that the path to success requires us to bypass emotions. In fact, […]
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Rethinking Ink as a Benefit
Benefits will always beat out features, but not all benefits are created equal. A benefit that can be confused for a feature isn’t a true benefit at all. And benefits that don’t set your product or service apart from what competitors are offering might leave your potential customers scratching their heads in confusion. The new […]