A few tweaks and checks can often boost a piece of written content about one “grade level.” In other words, if it starts out “good,” this will take it to “very good.” Here’s the process I use.
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Sonia Simone
Sonia SimoneConfessions of a Pink-Haired Marketer
Sonia Simone delivers advice, encouragement, and the occasional rant from outside the drone of the marketing mainstream. Join her for a regular mix of monologues, interviews, and answers to your content marketing questions.
7 Commandments of Professionalism for Content Marketers
Content Marketing can be a powerful way to increase your influence and authority. And, as always, along with power comes responsibility.
Staying Grounded on the Road to Success: A Conversation with JB Glossinger
Success certainly doesn’t have to make you crazy, unhappy, or selfish. But sometimes it does play out that way.
Minimalism, Success, and How to Be a Big Shot
Today’s podcast might seem like a “soft” topic, but it also ties tightly to serious pragmatism about how to reach your goals — and more to the point, what reaching your goals is going to do for you.
Finding the Balance Between Pragmatism and Your Ideals
If you feel like you need to choose between idealism and getting your bills paid, look again.
What Happens at the Crossroads of Content and Social Media
Marketing today, especially online marketing, is all about intersections. So don’t think about doing content or email or multimedia or social — they’re all woven together into one cohesive experience for your customer.
But Facebook Doesn’t Work For … (waily waily)
There’s a new article every day claiming that this or that tool “doesn’t work” to market your product. Sometimes it’s a fair statement … and sometimes it isn’t.
Marketing for Writers and Other Creative Souls
Creativity is a wonderful thing. You get to make something out of nothing, have a fascinating life, bring brand-new ideas and expressions into the world. But a creative soul can sometimes make one thing tough: marketing yourself and your work.
How to Turn Bad News into Happy Customers
Anyone can share shiny, happy news in their content — but when it’s time to deliver something less positive, you want to think carefully about how you present the message.
How to Avoid Getting Sucker-Punched by Internet ‘Facts’
Don’t you love those Internet facts? You know, the ones that aren’t facts at all, they’re fodder for our own confirmation bias, and weapons in the Outrage Wars.
Bringing More Emotion into Your Writing — From the Inside Out
Great content and copywriting builds emotional resonance. But how does that happen? And do you need to be a “genius” writer to create it?
A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Rainmaker.FM Digital Business Podcast Network
Jerod Morris, our VP of Rainmaker.FM, shares some lessons from what may be our most ambitious content initiative ever.
My Favorite Tools of the Trade for Writing, Content Planning, and Creative Collaboration
Tanya, from our Authority community, asks about tools for writing and organizing content.
How Long Will It Take for My Business to Start Making Money? And Other Impossible Questions
I get this question all the time (natural, I guess, since I teach people how to start or grow businesses): How long will it take before my business starts to take off and make money?
5 Things I Learned from Minecraft about Community, Ecosystems, and Business
I went to Minecon — the official Minecraft conference — for the first time this year. Picture 10,000 delighted gamers (some kids but even more adults) convening for two days of geeky fun.
Call to Action: The Awesome Power of Asking for What You Want
In business and in life, there’s a magical way to get more of what you want, more of what you need, and more of what you desire.
A Question of (Writing) Voice: How to Strengthen It, How to Shape It
I got a fascinating question on Twitter: How do I handle a mismatch between my writing voice and my company’s writing voice? Is there any way to reconcile?
Deviance, Obsession, and Sharing Your Gifts with the World: A Conversation with Bill O’Hanlon
Therapist, writer, coach, businessman, iconoclast: Bill O’Hanlon has a complicated resume.
The 2 Points of Clarity that Will Make You So Much More Productive
Are you struggling to make progress on a project, a business, or something in your personal life? Find these two points of clarity for a map out of “the land of Stuck.”
Launching Your First (or Next) Digital Product
Ready to launch a digital product? Here’s are the first steps to get you moving …
A Quick, Enjoyable Way to Sharpen your Vision, Goals, and Values
How do we know we’re successful? How do we set up the rules of our own game so that they serve us, and give us a more meaningful life?
Q&A from Twitter, Independence Day Version!
The keys to good sponsored content or native advertising, content for B2B organizations, and how to make connections with the big-audience content publishers …
The Difference Between Mindset and Wishful Thinking
Is an “abundance mindset” the same thing as wishing really hard and making something magically appear? I don’t think it is. Here’s why …
Things I Love / Things I Hate #4: Trade Secrets, Transparency, and Lemonade Stands
When is it smart to keep your business’s “trade secrets” — and when should you blow them up? How much sharing is too much?
Should You Swear on Your Blog?
Language is complicated, and in the context of shifting cultural norms, it gets even more complicated. So the question comes up: Is it OK to swear in our content marketing?
Up All Night to Get Lucky: Sonia’s in a New Documentary!
No, it’s not a simplistic “Secret,” but there are some very pragmatic benefits to adopting a mindset of abundance.
The Context of a Successful Content Strategy: The Harpoon and the Net
Content marketing has been a hot buzzword for awhile now, but it’s tricky to pull off unti you understand this context.
My #1 Time Management Tip: Don’t Multitask; Compartmentalize
What’s one of the biggest constraints that keeps us from doing the things we want to do? We don’t have the time. Here are some thoughts on how to manage that.
The 7 ‘Escape Pod’ Principles (Help Me Write My Book!)
This week I want to talk about the values, practices, and principles that help us build “escape pods” from whatever is not serving us. And I’d love to hear your take!
Things I Love / Things I Hate #3: Nerdy Nummies and Crummy Content
Great content creators are made, not born. It takes a mix of a well-chosen topic, smart content strategy, attention to craft, and lots of personality. Then, as Rosanna Pansino would say, just Put it all together!
Leadership, Categories of One, and Purple Rain
Real leadership starts when you step up with the courage to be a category of one.
Make Better Mondays! 6 Minutes to a Happier, More Productive Week
Creative productivity is all about habits. Here’s a super quick weekly ritual (you could even do it daily) to have a brilliant week … every week
5 Idea-Generating Techniques We Use on the Copyblogger Team
“Help! I have no idea what to write about!” We’ve all been there — and when you produce as much content as the Copyblogger team, keeping the idea stream flowing is a top priority.
Blog or Podcast? 5 Questions to Help You Decide
Blogging isn’t the only game in town any more for content marketers. Podcasts are super popular as the new “do-it-yourself” content format. So which works better, and why?
Two EQ Hacks: A Nifty Trick for Making Big Changes, and How to Handle Hurt Feelings
Today, two techniques that can boost your “EQ” (emotional intelligence) and help you be a happier, more productive person.
New Mini-Series: Things I Love / Things I Hate
All-caps, all-me Twitter accounts! A fabulous police department Facebook page! It’s time for Things I Love / Things I Hate.
Vision and Goal-Setting for Your Digital Business
Vision and goal-setting are useful practices for business owners and professionals — but they can also be a recipe for beating yourself up and feeling like crap. Here are my suggestions for productive goals.
5 Work Habit Hacks from 12 Creative Geniuses
Today I’m going to dive into the work rituals of 12 widely influential creatives — writers, musicians, artists, and others.
What You Need to Know about Guest Posting
Thought about guest posting? It’s an excellent way to grow your audience and build your authority in your topic. But you want to approach it in the right way.
Call to Action: The Awesome Power of Asking for What You Want
In business and in life, there’s a magical way to get more of what you want, more of what you need, and more of what you desire.
How Not to Be a Dirty, Rotten Spammer
Email is an incredibly effective way to nurture prospects and leads, and pave the path for those folks to make a purchase. But so much marketing email goes horribly, horribly wrong. Here’s how to get a whole lot better at it …
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