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PODCAST: Write your business story with Amelia Veale
On Amelia Veale’s podcast, Be The Drop, Kylee shares her formula for writing human-centred content and how to write with impact.
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Who are you talking to?
Everywhere I look, companies and government agencies are making big statements about being ‘customer focused’, ‘customer first’ and ‘putting the customer at the centre of all we do’. Which sounds great – until you look at the content they write and realise they don’t have a clue who their customers are or what they want. At
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How content writing has changed – and why!
Things have changed. We might not like it or agree with it, but that doesn’t matter. As content writers, we need to understand how writing rules have changed so we can create content that meets our readers’ needs. But what exactly has changed – and why? Before I started Year 11, I had to choose
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Common mistakes of nonfiction writers
Nonfiction books and ebooks sell very well these days. Now, more than ever, people want information in the quickest and easiest way they can absorb it. So if you have something to teach, writing a nonfiction book or ebook is a great way to get it out there. But it’s not as easy as it
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The secret to succinct content
Do you have trouble writing succinctly? You’re not alone. When people register for my training events, I send them a survey to uncover what they’d most like to learn from the day. Over the years, one issue has turned up time and again: How do I write succinctly? Mark Twain once said ‘I didn’t have
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5 questions to ask about a web page
Different content types require different approaches. What works on one medium won’t necessarily work on another. A web page is a good example. No matter what business content you write or medium you use to deliver it, some things don’t change: Credibility and professionalism are essential. Branding must be consistent. The message must be clear.
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Self-centred readers and fixing government websites
After all these years of editing government websites and training government writers, there’s something I still don’t understand about government web writers—the disconnect between their web life at home and at work. And I think resolving this disconnect might just be the key to improving government web content. Web writers at home and work When
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Are you doing or just learning?
When it comes to business and marketing education, there’s so much to learn and it’s all so interesting. It’s easy to fall down the rabbit hole of professional development and forget that the goal of all the learning is to implement. I’m a big fan of a guy called Gary Vaynerchuk. If you’re kick-starting a
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Communications and crystal balls
My son is in Year 10 and he’s just been asked to choose his subjects for the next two years. We’ve read brochures, attended school information meetings and checked out tertiary open days to make sure he’s on the right track. (He’s one of the lucky ones; he actually knows what he wants to do
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A tale of two style guides
This year something odd happened: not one but two government departments asked me to write a style guide for them. At the same time. One department wanted a hard copy document and the other a wiki of sorts for their intranet. Very different media. And, while it ended up being a lot of work, the
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Tips for the busy web writer
Lately I’ve been researching speakers for writing conferences and I’ve seen a lot of web content that really needs work. Often it’s not the writer’s fault—they don’t know what they don’t know. But, if they did know, it wouldn’t be that hard to fix. So today I thought I’d write an article about web writing. But
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What I learned when my business doubled
I’ve run a business writing conference in Brisbane since 2012 and it’s always been a small affair, usually because I’ve given only half my time to it. It’s never been a priority – just something I like to do. But, this year, things were different. I wasn’t in any employment and I had a lot more time
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Knowing the rules before you break them
When you write business content, your reader is more important than you. Otherwise, you’re just journalling. Being authentic or being self focused? This morning, I read an article by a business owner who doesn’t use capital letters at all on her website. She says it’s not really her and she wants to feel authentic when she writes. And
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Finding your writing voice
Are you asking the right questions? Whenever I host a conference or workshop, I distribute a survey asking attendees about their biggest writing challenges. And many of them ask the same questions. How do I: write for different target groups adapt my content for different audiences write interesting content while staying true to the facts
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Your top 3 writing questions answered
This week I decided to write a post that would give you answers to the top 3 questions I get asked by writers about writing great content: How do I start/stop writing? How do I create interesting content every single day? How do I turn technical writing into plain language? I love all these questions!
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Getting inside an editor’s head
Most business writers don’t have an editor on hand. Whether you’re a business owner who writes or an employed writer, the buck usually stops with you when it comes to editing. So, without an editor, how do you ensure the writing is the best it can be for your reader and your reputation? Easy—you need
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Start writing, stop writing and avoid the mental maze
Today I’m going to solve two problems that are huge in business writing—overwriting (or rambling or just not knowing where to stop) and underwriting (or running out of puff too early). Interestingly, both problems are actually caused by the same issue—a lack of structure and planning from the outset. Structure is a godsend for readers