Author Archive

When people consider who to do business with, they often give the first opportunity to the company that’s top of mind. One way to be top of mind is to become a thought leader. A thought leader is someone well-known within an industry for expertise in a certain area. A thought leader is recognized...
Read more »

Ask for action. Build trust by telling the truth. Clearly state your case. Deliver value to the reader. Educate, don’t pontificate. Focus on one main point. Give specifics. Honor the reader’s intelligence. Include power words like “you” and “money.” Just get to the dang point. Know your audience. Leave the cliches out. Make it...
Read more »

5 Steps to Marketing Success Roy H. Williams, The Wizard of Ads, has helped small companies grow into big ones for 20 years. Roy uses a simple five step marketing process. The steps are easy to understand but hard to do. Understand and complete them and your company can flourish. 1. Focus. What are...
Read more »

For the health and well-being of your business writing, deep six all clichés. It’s as plain as the nose on your face. As far as the eye can see, they multiply like rabbits. It’s hard to swallow the hare- brained idea that we cannot avoid these old as dirt phrases. Rely on clichés and...
Read more »

Creating a buzz about your company is a good thing but using buzz words in your marketing copy is not. Buzz words are those words everyone else is using: crispy to describe potato chips; state-of-the-art to describe technology; quality to describe any product. Yes, you can still use these words, but if you do,...
Read more »

There once was a writing project from hell, You can imagine, it didn’t go well, The client was upset, I, the writer, had regret, Do I hear music or is that my death knell? E-mail, e-letters and e-zines are great, Paper is saved and docs aren’t late, But I must warn you, One thing...
Read more »

Selling is hard enough, but we make it much harder by believing sales myths. Here are a few sales ideas I’ve heard expressed many times. I’d argue each is a dangerous myth that you should avoid. Myth #1: There’s Something Distasteful About Sales Business is all about selling. People who avoid sales and leave...
Read more »

Admit it. You lose contact with your ability to be creative sometimes. Or, maybe you think you’re not the creative type. Truth is – everyone’s creative. Truth is – everyone sometimes gets stuck regurgitating tired ideas that put even themselves to sleep. Here are some ways to return to the creativity to your business....
Read more »

Right up front I will admit that this article will not answer the question the title poses. But you will learn more about this business networking Web site if you keep reading. I’ve been on LinkedIn for about 15 months but had not been very active. For the next six months I’m conducting an...
Read more »