Why?

Last Friday, I published my 200th post to this blog.  When I hit 100 posts last December, I vowed to myself, and publicly to all of you, that I would get the second hundred posts written and published within a year.  I kept my promise.

I get asked from time to time, why I spend the time and effort writing this blog.  I mostly get asked that question by my Dad.  "What do YOU get out of it," he asks when the topic comes up.

There are many reasons, all simple AND complicated, that I write this blog.  One of those reasons is that it gives me a chance to write.  On topics of my choosing.  In a format of my choosing.  According to a schedule of my choosing.  Have you noticed a pattern?

I also write this blog because it gets me reading all of those books and magazines I keep meaning to read.  I need to read to get ideas, keep current on marketing and communications issues and find good stories to share with you.  I need to read so that all of my blog rantings aren't based just on lessons I learned in college way back in the 70s and 80s.

I write this blog because it is one of the ways that I exercise that creative muscle that I talked about on Friday (see here).  Trying to write interesting, somewhat original blogs three times a week takes some time and practice.  But I find that the more I do it, the easier it is and the better I am.  At least that's what I tell myself!

I blog in the hope of finding an audience.  Nothing thrills me more than getting a comment from someone who wants to explore a point I made in a blog.  Nothing surprises me quite so much as when someone out of the blue makes such a comment.  Every writer wonders if there is an audience for what they scribble.  I occassionally get an indication that there is.

I write this blog because it is fun.  I enjoy writing and being able to tell stories and share ideas.  I enjoy working on ways to enhance the look and appeal of this blog.  I enjoy trying strategies to find new audiences.

But to me, probably the most important reason I write this blog is it is a way that I can give back. Perhaps it is the latent teacher in me, but I feel a need to share all of these life lessons learned and stories I've heard or read.  I feel driven to try to stimulate some thinking about marketing and communication, business and social responsibilty with whomever wanders by.

I feel drawn to teaching, and this is my classroom.

Related articles

• My Blog is 100: Celebrating Milestones

10 Tips on Writing from David Ogilvy

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the importance of learning from our elders, even if they have never used Twitter.  With that in mind, today I bring you a 10 tips on writing by advertising great, and original "Mad Man," David Ogilvy.  As I read these tips, I find myself reaching for a skinny tie and a martini as much as a pen and paper.  The tips below can be found in the book, The Unpublished David Ogilvy.  Enjoy!

The better you write, the higher you go in Ogilvy & Mather.

People who think well, write well.

Woolly minded people write woolly memos, woolly letters and woolly speeches.

Good writing is not a natural gift. You have to learn to write well.

Here are 10 hints:

1. Read the Roman-Raphaelson book on writing.  Read it three times.
2. Write the way you talk.  Naturally.
3. Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.
4. Never use jargon words like reconceptualize, demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally.  They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass.
5. Never write more than two pages on any subject.
6. Check your quotations.
7. Never send a letter or a memo on the day you write it.  Read it aloud the next morning -- and then edit it.
8. If it is something important, get a colleague to improve it.
9. Before you send your letter or your memo, make sure it is crystal clear what you want the recipient to do.
10. If you want ACTION, don't write.  Go and tell the guy what you want.

                                                         David

Related articles

• The Hardest Working Man In Advertising
• Take your pick
• Ogilvy's Principles of Creative Management

Reading: Your Future

"The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read." Mark Twain  

"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." Groucho Marx

I have never met a good writer who isn't a voracious reader.
I have never known of a great leader who wasn't a student of other great leaders.
I have never heard of a great thinker who wasn't an even better listener.

It is my opinion that writers, leaders and thinkers are made.  They are self-made.

Writers, leaders and thinkers all share a curiosity about the world around them and an insatiable thirst for knowledge.  They read in search of answers, often without knowing the questions.

They also read literature.  A great mind is not developed solely by reading self-help books.  A great mind is developed by exposure to great thoughts, most often found in great literature of all sorts.  Fiction, and poetry can teach us about the human condition.  Philosophy and science can teach us how to think.  History and biography can teach us about leadership and failure.

Often times a writer or a leader will find success while not having been previously in the public eye.  She was an overnight success, the pundits say.  In fact that couldn't be farther from the truth.  She grew page by page.  In the library.  Between the covers of a great book!

Related articles

• Virginia Woolf on How to Read a Book

The Formula for Quality Communications: 6C=Q

I have written about the need to be more concise and more precise in the messages we use.  In an earlier blog post (see link below), I referred to this as creating carefully crafted, concise messages that clearly communicate one or two key messages.  Six C's that result in a quality message.  6C=Q.

It has been suggested that platitudes are fine but specifics are what are really helpful.  I agree.  In this blog I am going to start with several ideas about how to be clear and concise in your messages.  I challenge everyone who reads this to leave a comment with a tip or two that YOU use to make sure your messages are quality messages, especially in today's world of interactive and social media.  I will share all ideas I get in a future blog.

Tips for Creating Carefully Crafted, Concise Messages that Clearly Communicate

• Clear Concise Communications are rarely created by accident.  This takes work.  The more you work at it, the easier it will seem, but rarely is clear concise communication created by accident.  As Abraham Lincoln famously said prior to a speech, "This speech would have been shorter but I ran out of time."
• Clear Concise Communications requires that you have a key message and a key audience in mind.  You have to be clear about what message you want to get out and who you want to get it to.  Your decision on both these areas will dictate everything about your message.
• Be aware of the language that you use.  Many of us who work in a single industry have to be aware that many people we are trying to communicate with, including many people within that same industry, don't understand the jargon, acronyms and language shortcuts that are a part of every industry.  There ARE times when it is appropriate to use those things, but do it purposefully.
• Write to communicate.  What I mean by this is pay more attention to getting your message across in a clear and engaging way than to the formal rules of grammar (unless of course you are communicating to a group of English teachers!).  This is closely related to the next tip.
• Write how your intended audience talks.  You want to communicate with your intended audience, so you need to communicate how they communicate.  This means using the language they use.  It also means communicating using the media they use.
• If you can't say it in 30 seconds or 300 words, you haven't figured out your key message.
• Be concious of the rhythms of your writing.  The best writing has a rhythm or cadence to it.
• Edit by reading aloud.  Your ear is a great editor!
• When possible illustrate your ideas with pictures. While a picture may be worth a thousand words it is worth way more than that when it comes to its ability to generate attention and interest.
• If you are illustraing with pictures, consider moving pictures.  Video is easier, cheaper and more popular than ever before.  It should be part of your communications toolbox.
• Great video starts with a great script.  A great script delivers the message in less than a few minutes (see above).
• Great communications starts and ends with great listening.  If you are listening (to your audience, to your peers, to yourself) you will have a much better idea of how to communicate.  If you are listening you will also have a better idea of how your message is being recieved.  You have two ears and one mouth which is a good reminder of the ratio of listening to talking (or writing) that you should be doing.

There is more, but I want to hear from readers.  Add a bullet point or two to this list in a comment and I will publish them in a future blog!  Thanks!

Related articles

• Quality vs. Control
• 7 Tips to Improve Your Communication Skills

Expectations

“High expectations are the key to everything.”

~ Sam Walton

I recently got an iPad.  I had very high expectations for it.  EVERYTHING I had heard or read about iPads, led me to believe that I was now holding in my hands a true marvel of modern engineering.  My new work tool (I am trying really hard not to call it my new toy) has a lot of wonderful features.  I can access the Internet with lightning fast speed; I can read and respond to email and manage my calendar and To Do lists without fumbling with scraps of paper and pens that are out of ink.   My iPad is a wonderful thing...except.... 

Except I am a writer.  I spend a good part of my work day and even a fair amount of my personal time writing.  If you are writing anything more an a brief response to an email, iPads ARE NOT an ideal tool!  

I am writing this blog on my iPad and the amount of time that I have to spend checking spelling, formats, rechecking spelling, correcting auto correct, and the rest really has me distracted.  When I write, I prefer to let the words flow and then go back to edit what I have written.  I cannot do that on this device.

Part of it stems from the fact that iPads don't have real keypads.  Part of it stems from the fact that this tool isn't designed as a computer but as something between.  Between a smart phone and a laptop.  Between an Internet portal and a productivity tool.  Between.

Ultimately, this comes down to high expectations.  I expected my new iPad to be the next best thing since, well, the iPhone (which actually came out AFTER the iPad, but never mind...). I expected a solution to ALL my mobile computing needs.  What I got was a solution to some of my mobile computing needs.  And no keyboard.

5 reasons to write a (nearly) daily blog

I recently participated in an online discussion on how frequently a blogger should post to their blog.  There were a lot of very intelligent and insightful answers as to the optimal timing of posting blogs.  Some people in the discussion has theories as to which days of the week and what time of day a blogger should post in order to optimize readership, rankings, etc.

It got me thinking about whether I was right to try to post to my blog so often.  I realized that I had a whole different framework for why I post to my blog as frequently as I do.  Here are 5 reasons I try to post to my blog daily.

1. It focuses the mind.  Trying to come up with something to write that is relevant to the topic of your blog on a frequent basis focuses your thinking on that topic.  After a short while, you will be surprised where you get the inspiration for post ideas!  I have gotten inspiration for blog posts from conversations, newspaper articles, books, other blogs and a tea bag.
2. It is great writing practice.  Writing every day is a great way to improve your writing.  Writing every day with the knowledge that someone might actually be reading what you post is a great way to improve your editing.
3. It forces you to read on your blog topic.  I found that one of the greatest challenges in trying to write a somewhat intelligent blog about marketing is that I wanted, from time to time, to be able to cite some authoritative sources.  I also needed to come up with daily topics.  This has me becoming a more diligent reader of marketing articles, books and blogs.  It also has me reading non-marketing materials and finding the marketing perspective.  
4. You discover new ideas.  Partially because you are reading (or scanning) more, you are exposed to more opinions and thoughts.  Sometimes those new opinions and thoughts are your own. 
5. It gets easier the more you do it.  Really.  It doesn't get easy, but it does get easier.  Like any sort of exercise, after a while, you find your stride. You find your writing voice.

None of my reasons for doing this blog frequently have anything to do with search engine optimization or maximizing "likes."  I am writing this blog because I enjoy it.  I work hard at writing something that is enjoyable to read and occasionally insightful or inspiring.  

If you want to stretch your wings in an area of interest, I would recommend writing a daily blog.  Do it for reasons that are important to you.  If you do, you find many benefits.  And if you stick with it you will find your audience too.