Quotes on list writing: What writers and others say. “List, list, O, list!” ― William Shakespeare, in Hamlet | Continue reading
Statistical indexes: Add a ‘Harper’s Index’-style piece. Learn an easy way to add graphic stories to your publication with a statistical list. | Continue reading
Three types of list stories: Choose from definitive, listicle and framework lists. Learn which type of list makes the most sense for your story | Continue reading
Top 10 reasons to write listicles: They’re the most shared type of content. They grab reader attention and make your message easier to understand. | Continue reading
When the boss is wrong: Slip the measures he needs in with the ones he wants. Provide the right performance metrics for your communication measurement. | Continue reading
7 tips for tipsheets: How to write how-to articles. Deliver news you can use. Learn seven ways to make the most of your next tipsheet. | Continue reading
Five reasons not to measure. Don’t try communication measurement – unless you want to prove your value to the organization. | Continue reading
One more thing that’ll kill you: Screen reading causes nausea, eyestrain, more. Yes, reading that blog post does make your butt look bigger. But mushy thighs are just one of the symptoms of screen reading. | Continue reading
Why tipsheets?: Service stories get read, shared, used and acted upon. Tipsheets move further and faster on social media. | Continue reading
From McCall’s to Buzzfeed: Social media listicles descend from 1890s women’s magazines. Learn the history of service journalism. | Continue reading
Count what counts: How to get your piece of the ROI on communications. Learn. 5 tools for linking your communication efforts & organization’s success. | Continue reading
Going up! How to tie communications to your organization’s business success. How can you get credit for your organization’s success? It takes measurement. | Continue reading
How to earn a Gold Quill: Angela Sinickas, the Diva of Diagnostics, shares her award-winning entry. Learn world-class measurement from her example. | Continue reading
Avoid creative incest. Not another boring talking head: Don’t write executive quotes that sound like executive quotes. Instead, write killer soundbites. | Continue reading
Write better release openers. Make sure your message gets heard with colorful, compelling PR leads. Conventional formulas to release leads are formulaic, old-fashioned and dull. Choose from these three more effective approaches. | Continue reading
Think like a reporter: Make your release relevant to the reader. Want to reach the reader? Focus your release on benefits to the reader. | Continue reading
Secrets for successful subheads. Keep readers reading, skimmers scanning. Subheads can communicate your key messages even to nonreaders. | Continue reading
Quotes on subheads: What writers & others say. “Subheads increased reading for skimmers and for those whose attention was beginning to wane.” | Continue reading
Format subheads for clarity: Think contrast, hierarchy. Don’t lose your head Lift ideas off the screen with subheads that stand out. | Continue reading
Why PR writing? Is the press release really dead? The press release isn’t dead. Place your story in a newspaper to reach bloggers and distribute the news. | Continue reading
Come out and play: Play with your words. Learn how you can use wordplay leads to surprise and delight your readers. | Continue reading
Profile your clients: ContourMed goes beyond product announcements. Let customers demonstrate the benefits of your organization’s offerings in user profiles | Continue reading
Quotes on press release leads: What writers & other say | Continue reading
Announcement leads delay the story: Got news? Announce it! Don’t announce that you’re announcing it. | Continue reading
Snowed under. Journalists — more overworked, still underpaid. Journalists have more to do, fewer folks to get it done. So how can your PR materials help? | Continue reading
Quotes on releases: What writers and others say - read interesting quotes on releases. | Continue reading
Try rhymin’, Simon. Verse works for Maytag and 3M. Why not for you? | Continue reading
Play with your words. Tickle your readers’ fancy with wordplay. Why not add alliteration, anaphora or rhythm to your next piece? | Continue reading
Startling stats make a great start. Compelling numbers reach readers via PR. One surprising statistic can set up your story beautifully | Continue reading
Newsweek picks up human-interest release. ‘I am just amazed!’ Want to make your release pop? Use human interest. | Continue reading
Description works for PR, too. Silver Anvil winners write descriptive leads. Paint a picture in your lead through description, | Continue reading
Combat fatigue. Are you using a 150-year-old story format? The inverted pyramid was invented in the late 19th century. | Continue reading
Extreme Makeover — News release edition. How to find the story within a stodgy bank report and turn it into a friendly, fascinating feature-style story | Continue reading
Pleading for shorter sentences: Reach the period sooner. When it comes to sentences, shorter is better. We’d all do well to use more periods. | Continue reading
It's all about you. Write about the reader, not about us and our stuff. Want to reach the reader? Write to and about the reader. | Continue reading
Numeracy counts, fewer than 12% of Earth’s adults are competent at math. How can you convey numerical information when many people barely understand simple math? | Continue reading
Clarity killers: Avoid these institutional mistakes. Which of these clarity killers is your organization guilty of? How can you revive clarity in your shop? | Continue reading
Less is more: The longer your piece, the less readers will read. Add words, and you reduce reading, according to 60 years of research. | Continue reading
CEO pay disclosures ‘like reading War and Peace’: Proxies long and mind-numbing. Does your copy make your readers’ hair hurt? Find out by using these tests. | Continue reading
Why clarity? 6 myths of complicated copy. Complex messages are not sophisticated, credible and authoritative, researchers find. | Continue reading
Make your copy easy to read: Best way to make an ‘Impact’. People spend more time reading, read more completely and more often easy to read messages. | Continue reading
Clarity decreases patient anxiety: Saint Luke’s makes consent forms readable. How can you make even your most complex information easier to understand? | Continue reading
SEC calls for clearer writing: Get the commission’s free 'Plain English Handbook'. The SEC wants you to help readers find your message with clear writing. | Continue reading
Polish your deck: Don’t drop the deck — from webpages, blog posts and other pieces. How can you make the most of the best-read elements in your message? | Continue reading
Show, don’t just tell, in the lead. Stop writing dreary abstract leads. Start with a bang, not a whimper, when you lead with concrete details | Continue reading
A world of hurt: Global literacy is falling. Around the world, just 12% of people read at “proficient” levels. What’s a communicator to do? | Continue reading
Move from event to impact: Focus news stories on MOI. Want to reach more readers? Position your message in the readers’ best interest. | Continue reading
A head for news: Seven ways to polish your traditional headlines. Tell the story, don’t tell about the story in your news head. | Continue reading