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10 + 1 Reasons to Write Well, Not Perfect-ley OR Save the World with Realistic Expectations

Filed Under Branding, Content, Successful Blog, Writing, ZZZ-FUN | 10 Comments

You Thought Multitasking Was a Curse

power writing at work

Have you got an inner editor telling you what you write has to be perfect? Perfectionism is a problem that can hurt you. Here are a few light reasons why you should give up trying to create perfect work. — Sometimes fun talk can combat a serious problem.

I don’t write perfectly. You don’t either. No one does. Leonard Cohen hasn’t gotten there — much as I love him. Nope, he hasn’t. Neither has Toni Morrison, nor any other living writer. You can forget Mark Twain, Shakespeare, and the rest of the dead ones too.

There’s no such thing as perfect writing.

Tell the editor in your ear to take a hike on the whole idea. Trying to write perfectly could cause an alien invasion.

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4+6 Things to a Product Review Even James Bond Would Trust

Filed Under Branding, Content, Successful Blog, Writing | 9 Comments

What You Have Here James Is . . .

power writing at work

Product reviews. We all do them. We love to tell people what we like about stuff. Even more, we love to tell them what’s wrong with stuff. . . .

The President had started a discussion about a product we were prototyping. Our new product was meant to compete with one that had owned the market for 10 years.

“So, what do you think of the product that’s out there?” the President asked the editors.

Each editor was eager to respond and gave in detail the things that she saw in the existing product. The President made sure that every editor had a chance to talk.

“I wonder how it continues to sell 100,000+ units per book per year?” Then he glanced over my way and said, “That’s why no one listens to editors’ opinions. They only talk about the negatives.”

I was the only person in the company who reviewed product for the President.

Where do you get advice about products? Most people trust friends and family first. If friends and family don’t know, research says that 77 percent of online shoppers read consumer product reviews and ratings.

That means you’ve probably done that.

Product review are big business . . .

. . . if folks feel they can trust what the review says.

If you want credibility James Bond would trust, you have to know 4 things before you start and tell 6 things when you write..

. . . Read more

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No One Kills a Messenger who Writes for Readers — 8 Sales Rules for Writing

Filed Under Branding, Marketing, Successful Blog, Writing | 28 Comments

Poorly Written Messages

power writing at work

In the olden days when there were kings and queens, way before I was born, a business message was sending a runner with message in hand from a battlefield to the king. If the message was good news, the runner might enjoy a feast. If the message was not so good, the king might enjoy seeing the runner run until his life was over.

Even when I was short, that killing the messenger stuff never made much sense to me. It seems like the guys with the messages might figure out what was going on and run the other way, instead of running to the king.

Had I been forced to run messages back then, you can bet I would have found out what the darn message said. Then I’d have figured out a way to write that same message to the king, based on what the king cares about.

That’s what I do for a living — write messages for readers.

So where do sales rules fit in all this?

Mike Sigers Got Me Thinking about Sales Rules

I was at Simplenomics last night, reading Mike Sigers’ post, Mike’s 8 Simple Rules for Repeat Sales, when I realized that everyone is a sales rep. I know. I won’t tell if you don’t tell my husband either.

I’m not making some smoky analogy here. I was a sales rep for the Philips-Van Heusen Shirt Company with a two state territory.

I had a genuine revelation. It came to me that I use my sales training every day and that everyone else uses sales practices too. Granted some of us are a bit better than others at getting them right, but that includes sales reps with training too.

In an email this morning I told Mike I was going to rewrite his post. I explained my reason as everyone is a sales rep. He said:

Wait a minute ?!

Everyone a sales rep ?

Not a freakin’ chance - even you can’t do magic… or can you ?

Let’s turn the page and see how far off I am. Read more

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Great Find: 9 Things Every Blogger Should Understand

Filed Under Great Finds, Marketing, Successful Blog | 23 Comments

Good Advice Is Always Good

I came across this piece by Another Blogger in early July. I’ve been saving it. Today seemed like a good day to share it.

Great Find: 9 Things Every Blogger Should Understand by Another Blogger
Permalink: http://anotherblogger.com/2006/07/06/9-things-every-blogger-should-understand/

Audience/Topic: Every blogger

Content: Ever read a book and thought, “I knew that!”? This list of nine points is the blogging experience clarified. Read it. Print it. Put it on your wall. Then read it again. Click the title shot to get the post.

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Thanks, Another Blogger. I couldn’t have said it better.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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Great Find: Blog Snobbery

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10 +1 Sure-Fire Ways to Get My Best Work — and the Best Work from Everyone — Every Time

Filed Under Branding, Business Life, Marketing, Successful Blog, Writing | 8 Comments

How to Manage Me While I Manage You

power writing at work

I snuck into publishing through the back door. I freelanced first. People asked me to do things. As fast as they asked was how fast I would learn. I was sure that everyone else already knew them.

Then I got my first job as an Executive Editor, and a whole new world view came with it. I had been learning things few people knew. . . . It worked for me. I kind of liked it.

I also saw that most freelancers weren’t like me.

What I saw was that folks who had full-time jobs did more accurate work than freelancers — even when they were the same people. As soon as we hired a freelancer, that person’s work improved to the full-time work standard. That’s when I knew it was us, not them. There was something in what we were doing.

It wasn’t the work. It wasn’t the people.

It was how we put the two together.

I know how you can get my best work every time. Do 10 things, and I can’t help but do a great job for you. Really. Read more

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