Even after you’ve hired the writer, writing projects don’t just happen. Somebody needs to move them along, and it’s usually your writer (if you’ve picked a good one).
Nothing works because you want it to. You have to make the damned thing work.
-Thomas Edison (I think)
I saw that several years ago in a quotation-of-the-day calendar, and [...]
White papers – or any long pieces – need structure, and you need to agree on the structure before you write the paper. Be sure your writer includes these elements in an outline.
How often do you get started down a path in your work, only to realize you have to backtrack and go down [...]
You and your marketing communications writer should agree on an outline for larger projects. It’s helpful for business purposes, but sometimes it’s a creative pothole.
Have you ever watched somebody hang a picture or organize a workbench in a way that worked, but was alien to you? “It would never have occurred to me to [...]
When you hire a marketing communications writer, you should expect a description of her method. Ask for it, and be sure it makes sense to you.
You’re evaluating a marketing communications writer to do a white paper or a case study for you. “So, how do you do this?” you ask her. “What’s your writing process? [...]
When you hire a marketing communications writer, you’ll need to put some paperwork in place. Professional writers have these items ready and are prepared to send them promptly.
“Send me a contract,” you tell the marketing communications writer, once you’ve decided you like the cut of his jib.
It should be a bit more granular than that. [...]
When you hire a marketing communications writer, her responsibilities should include a final, pre-publication look at the piece, just before the train leaves the station. Your responsibilities should should include giving her that opportunity.
Marketing writers don’t write; they suggest. You don’t need to apologize for changes you make to drafts, but you owe it to [...]
“We want to position ourselves as a thought leader,” your boss decides. “We need a white paper that will help set us apart from our competitors so that prospects and existing customers will really want to work with us.”
It starts with The Event. Maybe you’ve undergone an internal transformation, and you now have a secret [...]
What kind of criticism do you give your editor-writer? What does he do with it?
This paper starts out awful and goes downhill from there.
I’ve never said that to a marketing writer, but it has a funny, ironical ring to it. I would chuckle as I clicked on “Send” to deliver news like that, fancying myself [...]
It’s not easy to keep your content machine fed, is it?
You’re finding out that providing valuable content to your readers really does take some work, doesn’t it?
When you were a kid, responsible for the family dog, your mom would holler up the staircase, “Timmy! It’s time to feed the dog again!” You remember that, don’t [...]
Have you ever had too much content? It’s a good problem, isn’t it? Like having too much champagne in the wine cellar, or an infinitely empty stomach at an all-you-can-eat buffet.
What does a Content Buffet look like?
Let’s say you have a recent, huge win:
a landmark new customer
a long-held strategic goal reached on time and under [...]
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