Archive for September, 2008

I normally agree with Seth Godin’s brilliant observations on marketing and what makes people do the things they do.

But I think he missed the mark with his latest musing on the importance of being precise. Seth argues against “senseless precision” and says he “wants precision where it matters…but only there.”

the most obvious question is this: who decides where precision matters?” Is it the reader or the writer?

I guess it’s my reporter upbringing but I’ve always been taught to be as precise as possible. Saying the getaway car was “dark” was never good enough for most copy editors I worked with. Was it dark green or blue or black? they wanted to know. And if you said it was dark blue, they would ask if it was royal blue or midnight blue.

Why say “about 100″ if you know it was 105 or 98? Why say it was “about 3 o’clock” if you know it was 3:05 or 2:56? Everything has a proper name - Sputnik is not the same as Sputnik I. If you know it, use it.

To me, being precise adds a layer of reality and credibility to writing. Using a generality when you have a specific at your disposal is lazy and, well, imprecise.

Seth is right one one point — as my copy editors pointed out — dark is not a color.

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My stumbling took me to a variety of interesting places this week:

1. At SlyVisions.com, writer Sly Blanco offers 30 Tips for Exploding Your Site Traffic. Nothing revolutionary here, but plenty of good reminders of simple things you can do to attract more visitors to your website.
2. Sometime we get so caught up in crafting the message that we ignore the mechanics of good writing. The folks at Precise Writing list 10 Overused Words in Writing. While not grammatically incorrect, they are commonly used. With just a little attention, omitting the words and finding a better way to say the same thing can make a powerful difference.
3. I’m often called on to make comments in public places. While technically not a speech, I do like to have an outline in my mind for what I’m about to say. Speakweek offers s simple formula with The Three Parts of a Great Five-Minute Speech.
4. Viral marketing is a great, inexpensive way to get your product or service noticed. But how to go about generatng that buzz? Dan Zarella, who bills himself as a “social and viral marketing scientist” offers his Viral Marketing Campaign Checklist.
5. Here’s one whose only purpose is to bring a smile to your face. Enjoy!

Happy Stumbling.

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Keeping your reader engaged — whether in an email, sales letter or blog post — is a delicate proposition. Piquing curiosity with a headline is key, as is a strong opening paragraph. But what about the rest of the piece? How do you keep readers moving along so they get to the end?

Back when I was a fulltime journalist, a writing coach once said you should use “golden coins” as strategically placed nuggets – an anecdote, a statistic, a vivid image – to keep readers walking along the story path. Rather than putting all your good stuff in the beginning, a strategy many writers use, he suggested spacing the golden coins throughout the narrative to maintain interest.

While the golden coins theory is useful, it’s also helpful to remember the things that cause readers’ eyes to gloss over to the point of boredom. Here are eight guaranteed ways to lose your reader’s attention in a hurry:

Take Forever to Get to the Point. Don’t hem and haw in your writing. Say what you have to say and get out of the way. Too may propositions are killers: “In an effort to provide employees with more time for their families, I would like to suggest that we try a four-day work week.” ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Telling Readers What They Already Know. Here’s an annoying way to begin a business letter, for example: “You wrote to us on June 4 asking for…”

Length. Closely related to the first point. No one wants to read more than they have to. Taking five paragraphs when three would do is a great way to lose interest.

Using technical terms. Imagine your reader having to stop every other sentence to figure out what your important-sounding acronym means or trying to decipher industry jargon.

Be Mysterious. Piquing interest is one thing. Being deliberately obscure is another. Make it clear from the start what you are writing about.

Using “I” A Lot. When you use the first person, it shows a sense of self-importance. Writing should be about the reader, not the writer.

Using “ing” Words. In addition to being generally wordy, using terms that end in “ing” frequently convey a feeling of uncertainty. “According to our phone conversation the other day, we are thinking about beginning…”

Saving the Best for Last. I’m all for concluding on a high note, but burying the lead is inexcusable.

Avoid these eight writing blunders, and your readers will make the journey from beginning to end with no interruptions.

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I’ve been stumbling a lot lately and, no, it’s not because I’ve been hitting the bottle a little too much.

Stumble Upon is cool service that helps you explore the Internet in a surprising, entertaining and efficient way. Essentially, you indicate your areas of interest – personal, professional, social – and, with a click of the Stumble button on your browser, you are directed to a random web page that matches your interests. There’s a lot more to it, but that’s all you need to know for now. Here’s a good explanation about Stumble and how to get it set up on your computer.

Anyway, I’ve decided that every Friday, I will bring you my Five Favorite Stumbles of the Week. Most will be related to public relations and marketing, but occasionally I may share a quirky, off-beat site that will make you laugh or cringe. Who knows?

Here are this week’s offerings:
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I started reading Joe Vitale’s “Hypnotic Writing: How to Seduce and Persuade With Only your Words” the other day. Sure enough, I’ve been in a trance ever since!

Joe offers all sorts of great tips on how to keeping your writing interesting, informative and, most of all, motivational. I was particularly impresed with his “Five Secret Laws of Hypnotic Persuasion” as described here:

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