Like cars and movie stars, different types of marcomm assets fall into and out of fashion. Really long white papers? They’re so Hummer. Customer case studies? A perennial favorite, like Harrison Ford. Sales playbooks? Very hot at the moment. Why? In a tough economy, it’s only natural that smart marketers are placing more emphasis on [...]
"How to Write a Great…" Archive
Content Bureau teammates share their secrets for writing top-quality marcomm and other practical missives.
How To Write a Great (Sexy) White Paper
White papers get a bad rap. Dull. Long. Overly-complicated. Anything but sexy. But they’re still one of the highest-impact marcomm assets you can create. Give your customers what they yearn for—variety, visual interest, and bold content—and they’ll fall in love with white papers (and your company) all over again.
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 Conduct a Great Interview
Terry is the consummate interviewer. As marcomm professionals, I think we can all take a page from Terry’s book to help us conduct great interviews.
How to Write a Great Screenplay (or Script an Innovative Product Launch)
Lessons from Screenplays: A Good Idea Needs a Great Story
Just like a movie, every product launch needs a great story to surround and propel forward “the great idea”.
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 [...]
How to Write a Great Letter to Santa
Crafting a compelling direct appeal letter is all about timing, tone, and attention to detail. Take your basic Letter to Santa. Sure, you could crank it out on mom’s PC to show St. Nick how clever you are (and, therefore, worthy of his attention) by: Ramping your wish list up visually with your fave font, [...]
How to Write a Great Customer Quote
At their best, customer case studies provide compelling proof points that support your message. And at their worst, they read like messaging documents sprinkled with stilted quotes. Yawn. So how can you make sure your customer case studies compel—not repel—readers? With persuasive quotes from actual customers. I’ve been writing case studies with Content Bureau for [...]
