Thanks In Advance

In recent years, there has been a tendency to communicate via email in a lazy and unprofessional way. Informal communication between two friends is one thing, but addressing the CEO of your company with ‘Hey Mr. Jones’ will leave Mr. Jones with the impression that you’re sloppy. When promotion time comes around and your name is brought up, do you want Mr. Jones to immediately think ‘sloppy’?

‘Thanks in advance!’ is another common email etiquette faux pas. You might believe that it has become so common that it is accepted, but I’m here to tell you that it definitely is not.Continue reading

Why You Should Use VAK Learning Styles To Repurpose Your Content

You spent hours, maybe even days, crafting your blog post.

You did your research, wrote your shitty first draft, edited it, and then edited it again to perfection.

You uploaded it to your blog and then shared it on all your social media platforms. Finally, you basked in the afterglow of your hard work for a bit before moving on to the next project, never to think about the post again.

Does this sound familiar to you?Continue reading

The Editor’s Creed

Have you worked with a bad editor before?

One of the first conversations we have with too many clients is that they are apprehensive to hand their writing over to another absolutist who will strip their words. In the past, their editors would rigorously hack their work to pieces, barely leaving a semblance of the original author.

This works well in university writing labs and academic journal offices, but not so well for the conversational and personal nature of online publishing and content marketing.Continue reading

You May Know What You Are Trying To Say, But Your Readers Likely Don’t

“Well,” the writer says, the equivalent of a shoulder shrug in their tone, “I know what this means and I like it, so we’re keeping it.”

Externally, the editor gives an understanding smile. Internally, the editor puts her head in her hands and screams.

Sessions like these happen all the time between writers and editors when it comes to getting those crucial rough drafts ready for publishing—though perhaps not quite as dramatically. Still, there are always hurdles to overcome, particularly when it comes to ensuring a writer’s thoughts are understandable to his or her readers.Continue reading