The columnist, author of "Writing Copy for Dummies," recently joined forces with Jon Warshawsky, coauthor of the newly published "Why Business People Speak Like Idiots." Together, the "dummy" and the "idiot" attacked their archenemy, Corporate Bull. What follows are five practical suggestions for shoveling your way out of the doublespeak ... more

Don't choose marketing messages based on whim or personal preference. Educate the product team about the three approaches to formulating messages. Work to identify and hone the messages. You'll find that consistently communicating these messages will help brand your product—and, if your product actually delivers its promised benefits, will increase sales ... more

Examine your press initiative. Do you know your marketplace, and know how to reach each member of it? Are you continually building trust? Are you delivering only what people need, and only in the way they want it delivered? Or are you shooting words like rock salt from a shotgun—hoping ... more

Correctly executed, the written word can be a powerful means of establishing your business in the hearts and minds of your potential customers. Many of us are inhibited, however, by popularly held—yet largely mistaken—ideas of what good business-to-business copywriting should be. Here are five of the most common and destructive ... more

This week, add your two pesos to the SWOT Team dilemma: When inventing brands, what works and what doesn't? Also this week, read your answers to last week's query: What approaches work best for holiday campaigns? more

This week, add your two cents to the following dilemma: What can a business do to determine which marketing tools are best for a particular project? Also this week, read your answers to the previous problem: How do you market without an advertising budget? more

If you have clients (or bosses) who want you to write about who they are, you probably witness them thrusting a list of attributes in your face. On the list, you'll find the usual suspects: quality, commitment to service, out-of-the-box this and proactive that. But such vague attributes have little ... more

With our focus on bold, blunt, "write-as-people-speak" prose in business, we no longer have any fancy phrases to lurk behind. We're on our own. Why has business writing become so much more direct in the comparatively short period of two generations or so? more

In today's competitive enterprise technology marketplace, the customer success story can be the tipping point for turning a prospect into a customer. Of course, the success story begins with a happy customer. But are you focusing on the right customers? Are you writing the best stories? Can your sales ... more

Custom publishing is a proven branding and messaging strategy that can be an important part of an integrated marketing campaign. But this communications approach—whether "sponsored" supplements, newsletters or magazines—can also play a role in a strategic PR initiative. more

more

more

When you use jargon words and phrases in a presentation, you risk losing credibility. Here’s a list of words that can get you into trouble. more

Do you control your PowerPoint, or does PowerPoint control you? more

Sean will guide you precisely through the process of creating sales copy that really rocks. more

ost collateral and sales messaging produced by marketing today goes unused in the actual sales cycle. more

How do you write sizzle successfully when you’re selling something intangible to people who aren’t customers—but are almost as important? more

In addition to spotlighting particular areas of expertise, though, testimonials can also provide an excellent venue for expressing brand emotions. more

n effective headline is the most important aspect of any successful print ad. more

It makes sense that a company’s marketing messages, content and other output work to meet the needs of its sales reps and the requirements of the selling process, right? Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen. more

Typical marketing communications are full of buzzwords that use “powerful” language in an effort to communicate a message. They succeed only in blurring their message so that it becomes meaningless. more

When you need to write ads or promotional text, here are some tips that will help you develop a concept and message that work. more

hael doesn't think it’s fair to criticize advertising campaigns—picking apart someone else’s hard work is for non-achievers. But today, he's compelled to make an exception. more

o you really want your business associated with shallow, self-centered, rude and crass envy? Surely there is a better way. more

Is tricking people to open a direct mail piece or email is a good way to start a relationship with a prospective customer? more