Don’t Jekyll-and-Hyde Your Customers: Why Customer Service Should Also Use Your Company’s Brand Voice

December 17, 2016

It’s not good for your company to use one tone of voice when it’s trying to make a sale and another when it’s trying to solve a customer’s a problem. Customer Service should write in the same brand voice Marketing uses, or one that’s pretty close. Here are three things you can do to enable your Customer Service team to use a brand voice that builds rapport with your company and gives customers a seamless experience.

Help me solve the mystery of how I wrote the World’s Worst Tweet and killed interest in a great free resource

June 13, 2012

I really need your help. A few days ago I tweeted about a new resource I’m offering for download at my site, a Guide to Writing for Social Media. I expected a good response, but what actually happened was … well … nothing. My conclusion: I have written the World’s Worst Tweet. So I need your help: What is it about how I wrote this tweet that enabled me to KILL interest in a great resource? Comment here to share your thoughts about why my tweet is so stultifying. Revise it for me, please.

Online Grammar and Spelling Quizzes: Are You Smarter Than an 11th Grader?

September 6, 2011

It’s back-to-school season, even for those of us who did not get a new lunchbox, science teacher, or dorm room this year. In honor of students everywhere, and in support of your ongoing efforts to refresh those writing skills, here are links to 20 online grammar and spelling quizzes. Try them all to see if you’ll make the grade.

Tips to Help You Write When You’d Rather Not

February 11, 2010

Chances are, if you are facing a writing deadline, you’ve got a clean refrigerator. That’s because given the choice between writing and cleaning the refrigerator, or writing and root canal, or writing and most anything else, you’ll opt for the non-writing alternative. And there are dozens of ways to avoid writing that don’t even require […]

Social Media Press Release: Tips and Examples

October 13, 2009

Does the traditional press release format work in the world of 24-hour news, blogs, Facebook and Twitter? Many media professionals think the 100-year-old press release format is ineffective and obsolete. They’re calling for a new approach. Read my companion post: The Social Media Press Release: A New Approach to the Old Problem of Getting Noticed. […]