3 Business Tips that don't involve Marketing Content

As content marketing professionals go, I've been told I'm...different. (OK; the word "weird" has come up a time or two.) I'm perfectly happy to play to that crowd.

While I'm a BIG fan of (good) content, there are many other pieces of the puzzle to making your organization a whole and happy one. Here are three to consider:

Find out how working with other organizations can help yours (and theirs). In other words, talk to other people. It's painfully obvious and simple, and there's absolutely no guarantee of immediate payback. Try it anyway. A meeting about your business and someone else's can lead to wonderful opportunities for both of you. Be straightforward about wanting share ideas and learn from each other. Start by asking: "Any chance you're free to discuss areas of potential collaboration?"


Require your employees to use good manners with each other and with everyone who interacts with your business or organization. I wrote about HR and employment law for 12 years. Trust me, there are a lot of things you can't require of employees. Making it mandatory to say "thank you" and generally be helpful and courteous while they're representing your company is still TOTALLY legal. If you'd like, I'd be happy to help you write it into your employee manual.



When you buy promotional items, buy good ones. Cheap pens! Thin t-shirts! Ugly mugs! In a word, NO. If you're putting your logo on it, it should work - and look good.

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Looking for a writer who "gets" business? I'm that kind of different. 

DianeStresing.com

Better Headlines + Better Content = Better Reader Action

Headlines matter. Unless the point of your content is JUST to get clicks, the article that follows the headline needs to be good, too.

Here are 3 good articles on headlines from some content leaders: 

Dam good headline.

A recent post from Inbound.org reminds us why the big picture (whole content enchilada) matters.

Sort of on the flip side, however, is the classic approach - the essentials, in a nutshell, I learned in my Advertising 101 class. Important note - this addresses advertising headlines.

Betteridges' Law (and Columbia Journalism Review) reminds us that headlines - especially headlines in the form of questions - can be too clever. Especially when you need readers to get past the headline. Because it's CJR, the article also offers some exceptional advice, as applicable to writers as it is to readers: “You’ve always got to question what you read.” 

The bottom line: Good copywriting attracts and keeps readers.
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