Skip to main content
Skip to secondary menu
Skip to primary sidebar
Rev Up Readership
Write better, easier and faster
Menu
Display copy, micro content
Skimming, scanning, reading
–
Reach flippers, skimmers, nonreaders
Resources on skimming, scanning and reading
–
Websites, books & tools
Quotes on skimming, scanning and reading
–
What writers & others say
Bulleted lists
–
How to write a listicle
Resources on list writing
–
Tips, tools and techniques
Quotes on lists
–
What writers & others say
Bold face
–
Highlighted key words
Callouts, pull quotes
–
Your message’s movie trailer
Quotes on callouts
–
What writers & others say
Captions, cutlines
–
Get more readership than text
Quotes on captions
–
What writers & others say
Content promotion
–
Advertise your contents
Decks, summary blurbs
–
Don’t drop 2nd layer of headline
Headlines
–
Your message’s billboard
Benefits headlines
–
What’s in it for me?
Resources on benefits headlines
–
Websites, books & tools
News headlines
–
Announce what happened
Feature headlines
–
Try a little cleverness
Resources on feature headlines
–
Websites, books & tools
Quotes on feature heads
–
What writers & others say
Web headlines
–
Optimize for humans, not just Google
Resources on digital headlines
–
Websites, books & tools
Quotes on web headlines
–
What writers & others say
Resources on headline writing
–
Websites, books and tools
Quotes on headline writing
–
What writers & others say
Index pages
–
Craft your website’s table of contents
Links, buttons
–
Boost your click through rate
Resources on link writing
–
Websites, books and tools
Quotes on link writing
–
What writers & others say
Subheads
–
Show the parts
Quotes on subheads
–
What writers & others say
Subject lines
–
Get opened
Resources on display copy
–
Tips, tricks and tools
Quotes on display copy
–
What writers & others say
Online writing
Screen reading
–
Obstacles of reading online
Computer screens
–
Is yours a site for sore eyes?
Print
–
When to choose print instead of digital
Quotes on online reading
–
What writers and others say
Blog, social-media writing
–
Reach your audience
Relevant blog writing
–
Think Like a Friend, Fan, Follower
Creative content marketing
–
All you need is LOL
Structure blog posts
–
Craft content marketing pieces that almost write themselves
Types of blog articles
–
From tip sheets to survey stories
Case studies
–
Show what you can do
Resources on case studies
–
Tips, tricks and tools
Quotes about case studies
–
What writers & others say
Listicles
–
Show the parts, show the whole, lead with the verb
Survey stories
–
Announce the results of your research
Testimonials
–
Find & craft tributes
Tipsheets
–
How to write how-to stories
Blog post length
–
Cut Through the Clutter Online
Resources on blog post length
–
Websites, books & tools
Quotes on blog post length
–
What writers and others say
Blog writing resources
–
Websites, books & tools
Blog writing quotes
–
What writers & others say
Email writing
–
Before you push Send …
Why email marketing?
–
Don’t neglect this powerful medium
Get email opened
–
Address the envelope
Subject lines, preheader & more
–
Sell your story
Resources on subject line
–
Tips, tools and techniques
Quotes on subject lines
–
What writers & others say
Relevant emails
–
Personalize, deliver real value in email blasts
Quotes on writing good email content
–
What writers & others say
Readable emails
–
Make email newsletters and blasts easy to read
Quotes on readable emails
–
What writers & others say
Scannable emails
–
Help readers skim email newsletters, e-blasts
Quotes on scannable email
–
What writers & others say
Resources on email writing
–
Websites, books & tools
Quotes on email writing
–
What writers & others say
Web writing
–
Craft copy that clicks
Quick web writing
–
Put the hot stuff up top
Web page structure
–
New approach increases reading by 520%
Tight web copy
–
Visitors process only 20% of the words on a webpage
Chunk web copy up
–
Think Post-It notes, not toilet paper
Quotes on chunking web pages
–
What writers and others say
Fluff-free web copy
–
Increase fact; cut fluff
Personable web copy
–
Use your business casual voice
Resources on tight web copy
–
Websites, books & tools
Quotes on tight web copy
–
What writers & others say
Scannable web copy
–
Put your message where their eyes are
Eye tracking
–
The F-shape to layer-cake
Resources on web writing
–
Websites, books & tools
Resources on writing for mobile
–
Websites, books & tools
Quotes on web writing
–
What writers & others say
Quotes on writing for mobile
–
What writers & others say
SEO for content writers
–
Help Google find you
Page titles
–
Help visitors find your page
SEO for releases resources
–
Websites, books and tools
SEO quotes
–
What writers & others say
SEO for releases quotes
–
What writers & others say
Persuasive writing
Think Like a Reader
–
Focus on the readers’ needs
What’s in it for me?
–
It’s not about ‘us & our stuff’
Quotes on WIIFMs
–
What writers & others say
Write about benefits
–
Don’t lead with features
Write in verbs
–
Write about people doing things
Quotes on benefits
–
What writers & others say
Write to, about
You
–
Put the reader first
Quotes on ‘you’ writing
–
What writers & others say
Cialdini’s 6 principles of persuasion
–
6 principles of persuasion
Resources on Cialdini’s secrets
–
Websites, books & tools
Quotes on Cialdini’s secrets
–
What writers & others say
Fear appeals work
–
We’d never buckle a seatbelt without them
Quotes on fear appeals
–
What writers & others say
Types of persuasive writing
–
How to write ads, case studies, sales letters
Models for persuasion
–
Make ’em sick, make ’em well & more
Check out these persuasive writing resources
–
Websites, books & tools
Persuasion Quotes
–
What writers & others say
PR writing
Pitch writing
–
Overcome these obstacles
Relevant PR writing
–
Develop stories media want to run
Relevant releases quotes
–
What writers & others say
News release structure
–
Tap current best practices
Leads for releases
–
Go beyond the 5 W’s
PR leads: Try features
–
Surprise and delight readers
Quotes on PR leads
–
What writers & other say
Body for releases
–
Avoid ‘the muddle in the middle’
Good quotations
–
Turn lame-ass quotes into snappy sound bites
Sound bites
–
Put the bite in the sound bite
Paraphrasing
–
Choose only the best quotes
Paraphrasing quotes
–
What writers and others say
Write human quotes
–
Add passion, personality
Memorable sound bites quotes
–
What writers and others say
Memorable sound bites
–
Add color to your quotes
Quotation guidelines
–
Attribution & other tips
Testimonial writing
–
Find & craft tributes
Quotes on writing a quotation
–
What writers & others say
Boilerplate for releases
–
Boil the company down to one short paragraph
Short news releases
–
Measurably boost readability
Tight PR pieces quotes
–
What writers & others say
Headlines, display copy for PR
–
Reach flippers and other nonreaders
Headlines for releases
–
Grab reader attention
Links for releases
–
Format them for news portals
Visuals for releases
–
Looks do matter
Types of PR pieces
–
From bios to testimonials
Bios and profiles
–
Make the person the story
Bylined articles
–
Write great columns
Moves and milestones
–
Bring the listings to life
How to write a survey story
–
Announce the results of your research
Resources on press releases
–
Websites, books & techniques
Quotes on press releases
–
What writers & others say
Readability
Why readability?
–
Because easier is better
Information overload
–
Cut through the competition
Resources on info overload
–
Websites, books and tools
Information overload quotes
–
What writers and others say
Continuous partial attention syndrome quotes
–
What writers and others say
Literacy rates
–
How low can they go?
Time spent reading
–
16.5 minutes a day for fun
Quotes on time spent reading
–
What writers & others say
Story length
–
Don’t leave readers wanting less
Readers want less
–
Give it to them
Quotes on short form and long form content
–
What writers & others say
Measure A.R.T.
–
How long does it take to read?
Set word count limits
–
Write to length
Resources on writing to length
–
Websites, books and tools
Quotes on writing to length
–
What writers & others say
Tighten your story angle
–
Find your focus
Quotes on finding your focus
–
What writers & others say
Break copy up
–
Think pages, not pieces
Quotes on redirection
–
What writers & others say
Polish your piece
–
Compress your copy
Quotes on compression
–
What writers & others say
Story length resources
–
Websites, books and tools
Story length quotes
–
What writers and others say
Paragraph length
–
Make copy look easier to read
Quotes on paragraph length
–
What writers & others say
Writing with statistics
–
Take the Numb Out of Numbers
Resources on writing with statistics
–
Websites, books & tools
Quotes on writing with statistics
–
What writers & others say
Sentence length
–
Add a word, reduce comprehension
How to avoid passive voice
–
Write subject verb object
Resources on the passive voice
–
Websites, books and tools
Quotes on the passive voice
–
What writers and others say
Short sentences resources
–
Websites, books and tools
Short sentences quotes
–
What writers & others say
Quotes on simple sentence structure
–
What writers & others say
Word length
–
Avoid a multisyllabic pileup
Jargon
–
Translate it
Adjectives & adverbs
–
Replace weak modifiers
Resources on average word length
–
Websites, books & other tools
Quotes on average word length
–
What writers & others say
Readable text
–
Everybody benefits from clarity
Measure readability
–
Determine reading level
Readability indexes
–
What do the numbers mean?
Readability score
–
Boost readability scores
Benchmark readability
–
How do you stack up?
Readability rockstars
–
Model these masters
Resources on readability
–
Websites, books & tools
Quotes on readability
–
What writers & others say
Conversational copy
–
Write as you speak
Spelling, punctuation, grammar
–
Write it right
Storytelling & creative writing
Concrete details
–
Show, don’t just tell
Why concrete details?
–
Specifics make copy more understandable, memorable
Types of concrete details
–
Fun facts, statistics, examples and more
Quotes on concrete words and phrases
–
What writers & others say
Description
–
Paint a picture
Research description
–
Go to the scene & observe
Sensory reporting
–
See, hear, smell, feel and taste your story
Visual reporting
–
Help them ‘see’ with your sense of sight
Sound effects
–
Build tension, build character, set the scene
Smell
–
Take readers back in time with scent
Touch
–
Show physical sensation, don’t just tell about it
Human interest
–
Find a poster person
Why human interest?
–
There’s power in people
Humor
–
You must be kidding
Metaphor
–
Clarify complex copy
Why use metaphor?
–
Analogies are persuasive
Complex copy
–
Science, technology & more
Simplify stats
–
Turn numbers into things
Creative comparisons
–
Make readers’ brains light up
Cut clichés
–
Replace them with metaphors
Resources on clichés
–
Websites, books & tools
Quotes on writing with clichés
–
What writers & others say
Metaphor writing
–
Craft a colorful analogy
Resources on metaphor writing
–
Websites, books & tools
Resources on metaphor
–
Websites, books & tools
Quotes on metaphor
–
What writers & others say
Storytelling
–
Whoever tells the best story wins
Why is storytelling important?
–
It’s a communication power tool
Find stories
–
Identify good tales
Use existing stories
–
Don’t reinvent the wheel
Tell your brand story
–
Showcase what makes you different
Get personal stories
–
Share your subject matter expert’s own experiences
Ask people to share their stories
–
Solicit narratives from your audience
Create a scenario
–
Simplify your message to increase comprehension
Storytelling research
–
Develop your narrative
Elements of storytelling
–
Anatomy of an anecdote
Storytelling structure
–
Find the narrative arc
Storytelling structures to steal
–
Formulas and templates for organizing your next narrative
Model the masters
–
Let the best stories shape your storyline
Build suspense
–
Mysteries leave readers wanting more
Quotes on storytelling structure
–
What writers & others say
Present stories
–
How to tell a tale
Storytelling resources
–
Websites, books and tools
Storytelling quotes
–
What writers & others say about stories
Story quotes
–
What writers & others say about storytelling
Wordplay
–
Surprise and delight readers
Alliteration makes you ‘instantly eloquent’
–
Tickle the intellect, please the ear
Balance taps the power of twos
–
Makes message memorable with parallelism
Coin a word
–
Create a portmanteau, make a mnemonic, verbify a name
Etymology adds layers of meaning
–
Explore word origins
Rhetorical devices ring in their ear
–
Practice persuasion through language
Rhyme is more believable
–
Plus, it stands out in a crowd
Rhythm: You’ve got the beat
–
Make your message ring in their ears
Twist of phrase tickles the brain
–
Mark my words
Wordplay workout
–
Practice playing with your words
Resources on creative copy
–
Websites, books & tools
Quotes on creative copy
–
What writers & others say
Quotes on boring copy
–
What writers & others say
Writing
Writing processes
Approval process
–
Chances are, your current one is broken
Approval Process Disorder
–
Avoid ‘death by tweakage’
Approval process horror stories
–
Missives from review hell
Re-engineer the approval process
–
Develop a new system
Approval process policies & guidelines
–
Put it on paper
Assertive approvals
–
Confidence makes a difference
Approvers from hell
–
How do deal with lawyers & more
Quick approval tricks
–
Easy ways to improve the process
Sell your ideas
–
Build influence and authority
Resources on approvals
–
Websites, books and tools
Quotes on the approval process
–
What writers and others say
Communication planning process
–
Turn your communication idea into reality
Situation analysis
–
Where are you?
Business goals
–
Look to the bottom line
Goal setting
–
Where are you going?
Quotes on goal setting
–
What writers & others say
Resources on goal setting
–
Websites, books & tools
Program planning
–
How will you reach your destination?
Mission statement
–
Write your job description
Resources on mission statements
–
Websites, books & tools
Quotes on mission statements
–
What writers & others say
Messages
–
Decide what to say
Quotes on messaging
–
What writers & other say
Media choice
–
Determine the best vehicle to use
Electronic media properties
–
Don’t let online communications act like print
Have trouble reading computer screens?
–
Overcome the obstacles
Resources on online communications
–
Websites, books & tools
Quotes on online communications
–
What writers & others say
Quotes on print
–
What writers & others say
Quotes on media channels
–
What writers & others say
Editorial
–
Find, position and craft stories
Different types of feature articles
–
Feature articles
Editor’s notes
–
Make it personal
Executive messages
–
Put words in the CEO’s mouth
Story templates
–
Create fill-in-the-blanks story forms
Bios and profiles
–
Make the person the story
Bylined articles
–
Write great columns
Man-on-the-street stories
–
Make the most of employee roundups
Moves and milestones
–
Bring the listings to life
Find stories
–
Identify good tales
Position your stories
–
Meet the needs of readers and the organization
Issue flow
–
Create an editorial ‘menu’
Photo essays and other creative story ideas
–
Go from lackluster to electrifying
Grab attention with graphic stories
–
Make your piece a picture
Why graphic stories?
–
Images are clearer, more memorable
Plan a graphics story
–
How to turn your idea into a picture
Graphic story types
–
From comics to cocktail napkin stories
Resources on graphic stories
–
Websites, books & tools
Quotes on graphic stories
–
What writers & others say
Design
–
Create a look that’s readable & attractive
Charts, graphs
–
Communicate by the numbers
Images
–
Help readers “see” your idea
Layout
–
Don’t mutilate design
Photos
–
Every picture tells a story
Typography
–
Not just a pretty face
Resources on design
–
Websites, books & tools
Quotes on design
–
What writers & other say
Quotes on program planning
–
What writers & others say
Implement your plan
–
What resources will you need?
Budget
–
How much will your communication cost?
Quotes on budgeting
–
What writers & others say
Schedule
–
Make the most of your time
Create an approval process that works
–
Chances are, your current one is broken
Approval Process Disorder
–
Avoid ‘death by tweakage’
Approval process horror stories
–
Missives from review hell
Re-engineer the approval process
–
Develop a new system
Approval process policies & guidelines
–
Put it on paper
Assertive approvals
–
Confidence makes a difference
Approvers from hell
–
How do deal with lawyers & more
Quick approval tricks
–
Easy ways to improve the process
Sell your ideas
–
Build influence and authority
Resources on approvals
–
Websites, books and tools
Quotes on the approval process
–
What writers and others say
Quotes on scheduling
–
What writers & others say
People
–
Manage your staff and contributors
Measurement
–
Did you arrive?
Quotes on communication measurement
–
What writers & others say
Resources on communication measurement
–
Websites, books & tools
Quotes on communication planning
–
What writers & others say
Creative process
–
How to have a great idea
What is the creative process?
–
5 steps to generating fresh ideas
Creative thinking
–
Kick-start imagination
Model the masters
–
Find mentors among your favorite writers
Creative story ideas
–
Go from lackluster to electrifying
Writing process
–
Write better, easier and faster
Prewriting
–
Get ready to write
Research
–
Get good at getting the goods
Tighten your story angle
–
Find your focus
Writing process structure
–
Save time — and words
Writing structure
–
How to organize information
Quotes on prewriting
–
What writers and others say
Freewriting
–
Get it down
Quotes on freewriting
–
What writers and others say
Rewriting
–
Get it right
Writing process resources
–
Websites, books and tools
Writing process quotes
–
What writers and others say
Writing difficulty quotes
–
What writers and others say
Writing structure
Why writing structure?
–
Among the 4 components of readability
Feature story structure
–
Increases reading, understanding
Why feature structure?
–
Top writing structures
Feature structure examples
–
How to organize this writing structure
Feature leads
–
How to write a good hook
Leads to try
–
Start your story with a bang
Leads to avoid
–
Don’t turn readers away
Nut graph
–
Put your feature story in a nutshell
Background section
–
Fill in the blanks in a feature story
Body
–
Build out your key points in a feature story
Conclusion
–
Draw to a close with a wrap up and kicker
Resources on endings
–
Websites, books and tools
Quotes on endings
–
What writers & others say
Transitions
–
Mind the gaps between sections and ideas
Inverted pyramid structure
–
Bottom line, up front, first!
Other writing structures
–
Beyond news & features
Login to your Account
Username/Email
Password
Stay signed in
Forgot password?
Lost password?
Username/Email
Log In
Not registered yet?
Signup here
Built on
aMember Pro™ membership software