[Book Review] Ann Handley’s Not-To-Be-Missed Information to Higher Advertising and marketing Writing

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Supply:  John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Ann Handley’s new e-book, Everyone Writes:  Your New and Improved Go-To Information to Creating Ridiculously Good Content material (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2022), was launched final month, simply in time for astute entrepreneurs so as to add it to their want listing for the upcoming holidays.

Even higher, it is best to simply go forward and purchase Everyone Writes for your self and use the vacation season to learn and digest the various invaluable insights the e-book comprises. That approach, you can begin making use of Ann’s rules to enhance your writing originally of the brand new yr.

Ann Handley is well-known and extremely revered within the advertising and marketing neighborhood. She is the Chief Content material Officer at MarketingProfs, a advertising and marketing coaching and training firm, and a frequent speaker at advertising and marketing business occasions. In brief, Ann is aware of whereof she speaks (and writes).

Everyone Writes is a second version; the primary version was revealed in 2014. However the brand new Everyone Writes is, properly, new in some ways. Ann Handley says she went into making ready the up to date version considering that it could take “perhaps 10 minutes,” that she would, “Run the vacuum and puff the throw pillows and spritz some Febreze across the pages . . .”

As an alternative, the replace took six months, and Ann says she “additionally constructed an addition on the again. Changed the draftiest home windows. Put in a bouncy home within the yard . . .”

Early within the e-book, Ann makes two factors that present the rationale for Everyone Writes. First, she argues that efficient advertising and marketing requires good advertising and marketing content material, and good advertising and marketing content material requires good writing – whatever the format the advertising and marketing content material takes.

The proliferation of promoting channels and content material codecs, and the almost ubiquitous embrace of content material advertising and marketing have put excessive pressures on entrepreneurs to feed the content material beast. Sadly, this incessant demand for content material usually leads to the manufacturing of content material that is not excellent.

Ann describes this downside in unambiguous phrases:  “We’re a planet of publishers, but many people are polluting the pool with content material garbage. We’re all creators, but many people are squandering the chance we’ve to speak instantly with these we care most about reaching.”

Ann’s second level is that writing is a craft that may be discovered. Subsequently, any marketer can enhance his or her writing expertise by “working the best muscle mass.” She writes, “You may be taught to be a greater author – the identical approach you possibly can be taught algebra or Excel formulation or taking part in the ukulele. You want solely slightly data, plenty of constant effort, and good habits.”

What’s Within the E book

Everyone Writes comprises an introduction, 91 chapters and a piece dedicated to content material instruments. You learn that proper . . . 91 chapters. Ann selected to share her recommendation with readers in bite-sized parts. The shortest chapters do not fill even one full web page, and most are solely two to 4 pages lengthy.

This strategy makes Everyone Writes extraordinarily reader-friendly. You may learn the e-book in small increments with out dropping your approach.

Ann organized the 91 tapas-sized chapters in six thematic components.

  • Half I comprises Ann’s guidelines for write higher and “hate writing much less.”
  • Half II discusses some primary guidelines of grammar and utilization.
  • Half III focuses on the significance and use of brand name voice.
  • Half IV digs into the significance and worth of brand name tales.
  • Half V spells out Ann’s guidelines for efficient and moral publishing.
  • Half VI comprises Ann’s recommendations for create 20 widespread forms of advertising and marketing content material.

Half VII of the e-book comprises descriptions of a number of content material instruments that may assist advertising and marketing writers produce higher work extra effectively.

You should utilize Amazon’s “Look inside” perform to view the whole desk of contents of Everyone Writes.

My Favourite Elements

It needs to be evident by now that I am an enormous fan of Everyone Writes. With this e-book, Ann Handley has created a useful resource that may assist any marketer turn into a greater author. As well as, the e-book is straightforward to learn, and Ann’s effervescent character reveals in each web page.

Everyone Writes is full of invaluable insights and recommendations from cowl to cowl, however two particular components of the e-book stand out for me.

Chapter 7 describes the Writing GPS, a 17-step course of that Ann recommends entrepreneurs use when creating “longer” content material items. Because the title suggests, Ann says it is best to view your writing course of as a sort of world positioning system that may get you the place you have to go.

Ann explains that seven of the steps within the Writing GPS framework are the “required minimal” for writing content material. These are steps that almost all content material writers already use in some kind. The opposite ten steps “add magic and journey to a primary journey.” She writes, “We’d like a framework that goes past the fundamentals as a way to see the place slightly further effort or consideration could make the magic occur.”

My different favourite a part of Everyone Writes is the outline of “content material instruments” that Ann supplies on the finish of the e-book. These instruments embrace writing instruments, enhancing instruments and phrase finders amongst others. I used to be already acquainted with a few of these instruments, however a number of had been solely new to me. I’ve already experimented with a few of these new-to-me instruments, and I can inform they are going to be extraordinarily helpful.

A Ultimate Phrase

Once I’m creating the early drafts of any vital piece of content material, I desire to put in writing by hand in a snug chair with a dictionary, a thesaurus and a replica of The Parts of Fashion inside straightforward attain. Any longer, I am including Everyone Writes to my small library of arms-length writing aids.