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Content writing
Relevant content writing
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Think Like a Friend, Fan, Follower
Case studies
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Show what you can do
Tipsheets
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How to write how-to stories
Survey stories
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Announce the results of your research
Relevant content writing resources
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Websites, books & tools
Relevant content writing quotes
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What writers and others say
Creative content writing
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All you need is LOL
Structure for content
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Craft content marketing pieces that almost write themselves
Readability for content
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Cut Through the Clutter Online
Resources on blog post length
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Websites, books & tools
Quotes on blog post length
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What writers and others say
How users read on the web
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Put your message where their eyes are
Content writing resources
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Websites, books & tools
Content writing quotes
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What writers & others say
Email writing
Why email writing?
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Don’t neglect this powerful medium
Boost open rates
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Subject lines, ‘the envelope’
Subject lines
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Get readers to ‘open the envelope’
Resources on subject lines
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Tips, tools and techniques
Quotes on great email subject lines
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What writers & others say
Target your email
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Think Like a Recipient
Quotes on targeted emails
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What writers & others say
Short, readable emails
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Email length, readability
Quotes on readable emails
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What writers & others say
Scannable emails
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Help recipients skim & scan
Quotes on skimming vs reading email
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What writers & others say
Resources on email writing
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Websites, books & tools
Quotes on email writing
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What writers & others say
Microcontent
Bold face
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Highlighted key words
Bulleted lists
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How to craft a list
Quotes on bulleted lists
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What writers and others say
Callouts, pull quotes
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Your message’s movie trailer
Quotes on pull quotes and callouts
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What writers & others say
Captions, cutlines
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Get more readership than text
Quotes on captions and cutlines
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What writers & others say
Decks, summary blurbs
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Don’t drop 2nd layer of headline
Headlines
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Your message’s billboard
Benefits headlines
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What’s in it for me?
Feature headlines
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Try a little cleverness
Quotes on feature heads
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What writers & others say
Web headlines
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Write for humans & Google
Resources on best website headlines
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Websites, books & tools
Quotes on web headlines
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What writers & others say
Quotes on headlines
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What writers & others say
Links, buttons
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Boost your click through rate
Resources on link writing
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Websites, books and tools
Quotes on link writing
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What writers & others say
Subheads
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Show the parts
Quotes on how to do subheadings
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What writers & others say
Tables
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Compare information in columns and rows
Subject lines
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Get opened
Resources on display copy
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Tips, tricks and tools
Quotes on display copy
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What writers & others say
Persuasive writing
What’s in it for me?
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It’s not about ‘us & our stuff’
What’s in it for me quotes
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What writers & others say
Write about benefits
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Don’t lead with features
Quotes on features and benefits
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What writers & others say
Reader-centered writing
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Put the reader first
Quotes on reader-centric communication
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What writers & others say
Fear appeals
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We’d never buckle a seatbelt without them
Quotes on fear appeal theory
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What writers & others say
Persuasive writing resources
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Websites, books & tools
Ann’s favorite quotes on persuasive writing
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What writers & others say
PR writing
Target readers with PR writing
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Develop relevant story angles
Relevant releases quotes
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What writers & others say
Organize PR writing
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Think Outside the Pyramid
Leads for releases
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Go beyond the 5 W’s
Press release first paragraph: Try features
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Surprise and delight readers
Quotes on press release leads
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What writers & other say
Quotations
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Write snappy sound bites
Quotes about public relations quotes
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What writers & others say
Readability for PR
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Write short releases
Quotes on the ideal press release length
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What writers & others say
Headlines, display copy for PR
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Reach flippers and other nonreaders
Headlines for releases
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Grab reader attention
Resources on press releases
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Websites, books & techniques
Quotes on press releases
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What writers & others say
Readability
Why readability?
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Because easier is better
Information overload
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Cut through the competition
Resources on information overload in communication
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Websites, books and tools
Information overload quotes
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What writers and others say
Continuous partial attention syndrome quotes
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What writers and others say
Resources on the importance of readability
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Websites, books and tools
Message length
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Don’t leave readers wanting less
Why short content?
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Long form vs. short form
Quotes on short form and long form content
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What writers & others say
Measure A.R.T.
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How long does it take to read?
Quotes on ideal blog post length
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What writers & others say
Find your focus
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Tighten your story angle
Quotes on types of story angles
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What writers & others say
Story length resources
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Websites, books and tools
Quotes on writing concise copy
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What writers and others say
Story length quotes
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What writers and others say
Paragraph length
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Make copy look easier to read
Quotes on good paragraph length
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What writers & others say
Writing with statistics
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Take the Numb Out of Numbers
Creating charts and graphs
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How to communicate with data visualization
Resources on charts and graphs
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Websites, books & tools
Resources on writing with statistics
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Websites, books & tools
Quotes on writing with statistics
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What writers & others say
Sentence length
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Add a word, reduce comprehension
Sentence length resources
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Websites, books and tools
Sentence length quotes
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What writers & others say
Quotes on how to write a simple sentence
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What writers & others say
Passive voice
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Write subject verb object
Resources on the passive voice
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Websites, books and tools
Quotes on the passive voice
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What writers and others say
Word length
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Avoid a multisyllabic pileup
Resources on average word length
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Websites, books & other tools
Quotes on average word length
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What writers & others say
Jargon
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Translate it
Resources on how to avoid jargon
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Websites, books & other tools
Quotes on how to avoid business jargon
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What writers & others say
Adjectives & adverbs
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Replace weak modifiers
Resources on adjectives and adverbs
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Websites, books & other tools
Quotes on adjectives and adverbs
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What writers & others say
Readable text
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Everybody benefits from clarity
Measure readability
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Try these readability tools, apps
New York Times’ readability
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The Wall Street Journal, the BBC & more
Resources on how to measure readability
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Websites, books & tools
Quotes on how to measure readability
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What writers & others say
Conversational tone
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Write as you speak
Quotes on conversational business writing
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What writers & others say
Spelling, punctuation, grammar
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Write it right
Skimmable
Resources on skimming, scanning and reading
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Websites, books & tools
Quotes on skimming, scanning and reading
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What writers & others say
Storytelling
Concrete details
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Show, don’t just tell
Why concrete details?
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Specifics make copy more understandable, memorable
Types of concrete details
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Fun facts, statistics, examples and more
Quotes on concrete words and phrases
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What writers & others say
Description
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Paint a picture
Research description
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Go to the scene & observe
Sensory reporting
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See, hear, smell, feel and taste your story
Visual reporting
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Help them ‘see’ with your sense of sight
Sound effects
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Build tension, build character, set the scene
Smell
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Take readers back in time with scent
Touch
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Show physical sensation, don’t just tell about it
Write description
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Show, don’t tell
Quotes on writing description
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What writers & others say
Human interest
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Find a poster person
Resources on human-interest stories
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Websites, books & tools
Quotes on human-interest stories
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What writers and others say
Quotes on human-interest
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What writers and others say
Metaphor
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Clarify complex copy
Why use metaphor?
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Analogies are persuasive
Complex copy
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Science, technology & more
Simplify stats
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Turn numbers into things
Creative comparisons
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Make readers’ brains light up
Cut clichés
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Replace them with metaphors
Metaphor writing
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Craft a colorful analogy
Resources on metaphor
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Websites, books & tools
Quotes on metaphor
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What writers & others say
Storytelling
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Whoever tells the best story wins
Why storytelling?
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Communication power tool
Quotes on why storytelling
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What writers & others say
Find stories
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Identify good tales
Storytelling research
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Develop your narrative
Try these 6 elements of storytelling
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Anatomy of an anecdote
Storytelling structure
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Find the narrative arc
Storytelling structures to steal
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Formulas and templates for organizing your next narrative
Build suspense
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Mysteries leave readers wanting more
Quotes on storytelling structure
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What writers & others say
Short storytelling piece
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Serialize your story
Resources on storytelling
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Websites, books and tools
Quotes on storytelling
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What writers & others say
Wordplay
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Surprise and delight readers
Alliteration
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Tickle the intellect, please the ear
Resources on alliteration
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Websites, books & tools
Quotes on how to use alliteration
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What writers & others say
Balance
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Makes message memorable with parallelism
Quotes on parallelism
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What writers & others say
Coin a word
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Create a portmanteau, make a mnemonic, verbify a name
Resources on coin a word
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Websites, books & tools
Quotes on coin a word
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What writers & others say
Rhetorical devices
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Practice persuasion through language
Resources on rhetorical devices
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Websites, books and tools
Rhyme
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Plus, it stands out in a crowd
Resources on rhyme
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Websites, books & tools
Quotes on rhyme
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What writers & others say
Rhythm
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Make your message ring in their ears
Quotes on rhythm
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What writers & others say
Twist a phrase
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How to write a pun
Read like a writer
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Model the Masters
Resources on reading like a writer
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Websites, books and tools
Quotes on how to become a better writer
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What writers & others say
Resources on creative copy
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Websites, books & tools
Quotes on creative copy
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What writers & others say
Quotes on boring copy
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What writers & others say
Types of articles
Case studies
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Show what you can do
Resources on case studies
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Tips, tricks and tools
Listicles
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How to write list articles
Resources on listicles
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Tips, tools and techniques
Quotes on listicles
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What writers and others say
Survey stories
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Announce the results of your research
Quotes on survey stories
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What writers and others say
Tipsheets
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How to write how-to stories
Quotes on tipsheets
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What writers & others say
Web writing
Why writing for the web?
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Avoid screen reading obstacles
Quotes on why writing for the web
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What writers and others say
Above the fold
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Put the hot stuff up top
Quotes on above-the-fold content
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What writers & others say
Web content structure
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Increase reading by 520%
Tight web copy
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Index cards, not toilet paper
How long for web pages?
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More shorter? Or fewer longer?
Fluff-free web copy
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Increase fact; cut fluff
Resources on tight web copy
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Websites, books & tools
How users read on the web
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Put your message where their eyes are
Microcontent for websites
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Headings, links & more
Resources on skimming and scanning
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Websites, books & tools
Quotes on reading, scanning and skimming
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What writers & others say
Skimmability for content marketing
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Reach flippers, skimmers and other nonreaders
Web headlines
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Write for humans and google
Resources on web headlines
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Websites, books & tools
Quotes on web headlines
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What writers & others say
Decks, summary blurbs
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Don’t drop 2nd layer of headline
Links, buttons
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Boost your click through rate
Resources on link writing
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Websites, books and tools
Quotes on link writing
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What writers & others say
SEO for content writers
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Help Google find you
SEO for releases resources
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Websites, books and tools
SEO quotes
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What writers & others say
Resources on writing for the web
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Websites, books & tools
Quotes on writing for the web
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What writers & others say
Writing
Writing processes
Creative process
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5 steps to generating fresh ideas
Quotes on the creative process
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What writers & others say
Writing process
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Write better, easier and faster
Prewriting
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Get ready to write
Research your story
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Get good at getting the goods
Develop your story angle
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Find your focus
Organize your piece
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Edit before you write
Writing structure
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How to organize information
Quotes on the prewriting stage of writing
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What writers and others say
Rewriting
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Fine-tune your message
Quotes on why is it so hard to write
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What writers and others say
Writers’ block quotes
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What writers and others say
Quotes on freewriting
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What writers and others say
Writing templates
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Think inside the box
Quotes on writing templates
Resources on the writing process
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Websites, books and tools
Quotes about writing process
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What writers & others say
Writing structure
Feature story structure
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Increases reading, understanding
Why feature structure?
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Top writing structures
Why writing structure?
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Among the 4 components of readability
Quotes on the inverted pyramid story structure
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What writers & others say
Feature structure examples
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How to organize this writing structure
Resources on how to organize content
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Websites, books and tools
Feature leads
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How to write a good hook
Leads to try
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Start your story with a bang
Leads to avoid
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Don’t turn readers away
Nut graph
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Put your feature story in a nutshell
Background section
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Fill in the blanks in a feature story
Resources on the background section
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Websites, books and tools
Quotes on the background section
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What writers & others say
Body
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Build out your key points in a feature story
Conclusion
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Draw to a close with a wrap up and kicker
Resources on endings
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Websites, books and tools
Quotes on endings
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What writers & others say
Transitions
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Mind the gaps between sections and ideas
Quotes on good transitions
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What writers & others say
Inverted pyramid structure
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Bottom line, up front, first!
Other writing structures
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Beyond news & features
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