Writing, marketing and technology
3.2 million people in the UK fall for mass marketed scams ever year – around one person in every fifteen. Swindles cost the public £3.5 billion every year. The OFT conducted a report to investigate those who had been conned and concluded that: 20 per cent of the UK population could be particularly vulnerable to [...]
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The last week has seen the beginning of a coalition government in the UK. For me personally, it has seen the start of two new client relationships and the renewal of an older one. It seems like a good time to think about what makes relationships work and how to ensure that each marriage is [...]
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I’m watching a big box set of DVDs at the moment. I paid for them. I’m an honest, legitimate, fee-paying customer and yet I have to waste about five minutes per viewing session watching a compulsory ‘piracy is theft’ video. It’s the same at the cinema. Even, computer games now come with elaborate copy protection [...]
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Online applications give me a competitive edge. I want to be a ‘big little company’ with the same (or better) IT capabilities as the biggest of my clients. I try to make the maximum use of online applications because they let me deploy new capabilities quickly without adding to my IT or admin burdens. This [...]
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Every freelance writer has a story about the project from hell. Mine involves writing a 7,000-word in-house magazine in a month. By the third issue, thanks to unreasonableness from the client, it was 14,000 words in ten days. For the same money. There wasn’t a fourth issue. So how do you avoid situations where the [...]
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Does this ever happen to you? Your client calls and says ‘we need this done immediately – right now – like, yesterday!’ And you’re up to your eyeballs in other work. You don’t want to let your client down because the relationship is important and you don’t want to say yes because you’re really manic. [...]
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A good picture of yourself is essential if you want to build your brand online. It really is worth a thousand words. A few years ago, I hired a professional photographer to take my picture. It didn’t cost much (£200, I think) but I think it was the best marketing investment I have made. It [...]
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In the New Yorker recently, James Surowiecki wrote: “Numerous studies have shown that companies that keep spending on acquisition, advertising, and R&D during recessions do significantly better than those which make big cuts.” I want to know if managers in big companies have any other response to a downturn apart from budget cuts and layoffs. [...]
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Seven simple ways to dramatically improve everything you write on Write to Done. A nice summary of Strunk and White for anyone who hasn’t read it or needs a reminder. (See also my book review of The Elements of Style on this blog.) The words you wear. The author of Managing Humans compiles an index [...]
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Matthew Stibbe is CEO of Articulate Marketing and Turbine, the easy, online way to deal with office paperwork. He edits Golf Hotel Whiskey and writes the Forbes Aviator column.
Check out my new, free eBook, 30 Days to Better Business Writing, 71 pages of expert tips and advice to make you a better writer. Available on Kindle, paper and free online.