Last June, in “It’s So Easy to Be a Marketing Rock Star,” I described a “foolproof method for getting incredible value from the Content Bureau on virtually any project.” In this post, I’ll share best practices for web copywriting projects, in particular. Web projects are unique in that our clients often use different resources for [...]
Posts Tagged ‘The Content Bureau’
Check Your Jargon—Please.
Your Highness: I’m clued in enough to laugh at those parodies of over-the-top business jargon that periodically make the rounds… but I’m also quite aware of the need to keep my job fit in by embracing the specialized language of my professional peers. What’s an English major turned midlevel marketing manager to do? My dear [...]
Brand Authenticity in the Digital Age
Every brand makes a promise to customers. For Apple, the promise is elegantly designed, easy-to-use products. For Starbucks, it’s that customers will receive the same high-quality products and service every time they interact with the brand, around the world. For FedEx, it’s that packages will reach their destination absolutely, positively overnight. Authentic brands are those [...]
Content Bureau Credits: to Share, or Not to Share?
Surprise! You’ve just received an email saying that you have a credit with the Content Bureau. It’s a nice problem to have, n’est-ce pas? Except that you are now wracked by guilt. When you opened the PO for that project that went under budget, and for which you now have a credit, you were in [...]
When TMI Is Absolutely, Perfectly, the Right Amount of Information
On October 27-28, it was my great honor and pleasure to walk 39.3 miles in the Charlotte, N.C., Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. One might argue that I was a little too excited (nervous) about this activity in the weeks that led up to it, and told too many people that I would be walking. [...]
Sorry, No, That’s Not What You Mean At All
Your Highness: I’m not much of a writer but, like so many of your loyal subjects, I have a job that often requires me to write. I want to be professional—and avoid embarrassing mistakes. I need an on-call editor. Or at least a cheat sheet. Please help! My dear Subject, Ah, English! Constantly changing, constantly [...]
How to Run a Great Corporate Blog
Blogging is fun! Running a high-quality corporate blog, however, is a huge pain in the a$$ (and expensive, too). It should be. Your corporate blog may be your single most important marketing asset, after your search-engine-optimized website. Chances are, your posts land in front of your best customers more frequently than your best salespeople. Your [...]
A Fabulous New Word Can Make My Whole Day
I dare you to say this really fast: “Kardashianization, Kardashianization, Kardashianization.” Ha! Aren’t you now in the greatest mood ever? Being a “wordie” can be an affliction. Just yesterday, I had to admit on a PTA conference call (yes, those do exist) that misplaced apostrophes and missing hyphens in one of our fundraising communications were, [...]
Maira Kalman: A Love Letter
Dear Maira, Is it OK if I call you Maira? Because I love you so. I love Benjamin Franklin’s fur hat, and your paintings of the hole punches and rubber bands and cherry trees, the one with the sea of flags and the one with Herman Melville eating a fried egg. I love all the [...]
