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Are You Writing for You or Writing for Them?

Image by Vanessa Pike-Russell via Flickr A Tip on How to Balance Good Writing with Good Customer Service I had spiders in my garage. Lots of them. Probably hundreds, to be honest. But they were just in my garage – they hadn’t infiltrated my home. Yet. In fact, I hadn’t seen a single spider in [...]

Starbucks’ New Instant Coffee Ad: Love it or Hate it?

In an earlier blog post, I cautioned against ad campaigns that were too trendy or topical, but Starbucks’ new “Via” TV ad is an edgy, hilarious example of why it’s sometimes okay to buck convention. In addition to promoting their new instant coffee, Starbucks takes on a touchy (and waaaay timely) subject: town hall meetings. [...]

Astroturfing: The Icky Side of Social Media Marketing

Photo by Mario Sixtus It’s disingenuous. It’s dishonest. And, it’s everywhere. It’s called “astroturfing”. Chances are, you’ve been exposed to it. And, if the folks behind it have done their jobs right, the chances are pretty good that you didn’t even know it. Social media is powerful stuff. In its most basic form, it’s the [...]

Yay, Cheating! (Well, Not Exactly)

Let’s be honest: As writers, we’re all big sponges – we’re copycats and thieves, and we’re constantly looking at (and borrowing from) other writers’ work to make our own stuff fresh and interesting. There’s nothing wrong with scouring the Internet for inspiration, but if you’re on a tight deadline, you don’t always have the time [...]

Wanted: Paladin. Telepathist. Saint. …Writing Skills a Plus.

Do you know the #1 reason that good writers fail at writing as a profession? Bad customer service. Well, no, that’s not exactly accurate. A lot of writers are capable of decent customer service. But, in the end, they’re only human. And the truth is, when it comes to writing for a client, some supernormal [...]

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