Hey there, desktop mobile reader! OK, so I may be wrong, but I THINK you're reading this on mobile (like most of my readers). And if you are, you probably want to get right to the good stuff, so you can be on your way, right? And hey, desktop readers feel this way too. But I've learned to write a little differently to keep Read More
How Good Stories Grab You by the Brain
There's a bit of science behind our reactions to certain stories or words. No surprise there, but how and why we react is pretty interesting. And the thing is... we can use these reactions to connect with our readers. Psychologist Ellen Hendriksen broke this down on the Grammar Girl podcast. (Good podcast, by the way.) Read More
Where’s Your Hook?
Admit it... You're a master at skimming blog posts (like this one?) and scrolling past those subheads and paragraphs we work over. A photo or a graphic might stop you in your tracks. The scrolling pauses and the eyes rest as you take in that visual hook. Yes, photos grab eyeballs. That's why social networks are built around Read More
WordCamp Miami & Why No One Cares About Your Content (Yet)
Any speaker who begins by warning the audience his presentation "will employ satire" is off to a good start. He definitely had my attention. The speaker was Cliff Seal, a user experience designer who's session on content was my favorite at WordCamp Miami. His comments on why content is important and how your audience Read More
Are You Tapping in to the Content Marketing Explosion?
As Mashable and others say, we're in the midst of a "content marketing explosion." If you haven't heard of the phrase "content marketing," know that it's the new buzz term used by marketers and writers (me included). It's been around long enough to be in Wikipedia, but it hasn't made it to the dictionary yet. And it Read More