Blech. It’s already late-mid-January and you still haven’t made a New Year’s resolution. I think I know why: if you’re older than, say, 25, it’s probably impossible to think of a single personal flaw you haven’t already overcome by way of a previous New Year’s resolution. But if you work in marcomm, you can always [...]
Author Archive: Keven
Five Ways to Triple Holiday Stress
Ah, the holidays. Family. Friends. High spirits. Wassailing. I could spend hours waxing nostalgic about snowy driveways and the clip-clop of hooves, but then I’d only be ignoring the jittery, strung-out elephant in the room: stress. Hard as it may be to believe, some folks actually find the holidays stressful. Now, it would be all [...]
Spammers Don’t Even Try – So Why Should Marcomm Pros?
If you’re reading this blog, you probably work in marketing communications. Have you ever stopped and wondered what separates you from the spammers? When I say “spammers,” I’m not talking about well-meaning folks who may have once violated some technicality in the CAN-SPAM Act, purely by accident. I’m talking about the shady, deceptive, get-something-for-nothing crowd. [...]
How to Maximize Self-Marketing Opportunities at Family Weddings
Spring: when a young man’s fancy turns to…. Well, shoot. I just glanced at my calendar, and today is actually the first day of summer. I guess I was thrown off by all the unseasonably cool weather this year. But I think I can still salvage this blog post. If spring is the season of [...]
When Life Hands You Lemons, Make Bullet Points
On Wednesday, March 9, my beautiful 21-month-old son was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. We woke up that morning with a cranky, thirsty boy (again), visited our pediatrician, visited a pediatric endocrinologist, and came home late in the evening with syringes, vials, and a new way of life. There was no way to prevent it. No [...]
The Anti-Valentine: Seven Things Not to Say or Write on February 14
You’ve made it through 364 days without killing your relationship. Good for you! Now it’s Valentine’s Day – the day your Significant Other will scrutinize everything about you. Even your grammar. If you can just get through February 14 without committing a major gaffe, you should be OK for another year. Here are seven costly [...]
Can’t Turn It Off
Being a writer is not something one can just turn off at 5 p.m. It’s an all-encompassing desire to analyze and edit all the verbiage one encounters in daily life.
How to Write a More Readable Marcomm Asset
When we’re aiming for highly readable text, we should use words with fewer syllables and write sentences that don’t ramble. Here’s how to follow the stats to top readability.
How to Write a Review of a Classical Concert You Didn’t Attend
Staying late at the office one Friday night, you take a casual look at the list of quarterly deliverables your boss is expecting from you. Produce a new 500-page microsite. Check. (Thanks, Content Bureau!) Update all marketing collateral with screen shots of a yet-to-be-built middleware platform. Check. (Thanks, summer intern!) Write a 400-word review of [...]
