CATEGORY: Writing

Effective Writing: Think Like the Fox

The fox turned and stared straight at the camera for several long seconds. Then, apparently judging that we were not a threat, she continued with her main business of hunting food. We kept rolling.

I’ve been filming – or attempting to film – red foxes in my neighborhood for one of my new independently-produced segments for Maryland Public Television’s weekly series, Outdoors Maryland. It occurred to me during my stalking endeavors that pursuing foxes is not unlike pursuing viewers of a media production, whether documentary or corporate, video or website.

Read the rest of this article »

I want to “just” say “only” this . . .

Susanne Stahley’s “Better Writing” posts http://davidryanmediasolutions.com/2008/03/08/no-one-will-watch/ got me thinking about how successful marketers are usually also good writers.

It’s important to pay attention to the details when it comes to your business writing.  It matters because just as people judge you by your dress and manners, they also judge you from  your writing — (and yes, I’m talking about the writing in your e-mails too)

Read the rest of this article »

“We’ll make them watch it.”

“No one will want to watch this.”
“We’ll make them watch it.”

I don’t even remember the topic of the script anymore, but this was an actual conversation I had with a client that still echoes in memory.  I do recall that the manager was determined to cram as much data into the video as he could, and either didn’t realize, or didn’t care, that his intended audience would tune it out, overloaded into apathy. Important messages would be lost in an unrelenting deluge of instruction, whether the audience – his company’s employees – was required to view the video or not.

Read the rest of this article »

Sharpen Your Sentences

Your writing makes an indelible first impression as surely as your appearance does, so take time to polish the sentences in all your writing, from annual reports to marketing scripts. An informal style prevails in emails and blogs these days, but that’s no excuse for rambling or boring writing.

Read the rest of this article »