The email subject line you should never use
“…emails with no subject line were opened 8% more than those with a subject line,” according to “The one sales email subject line you’ve never thought to try.” That’s a provocative statistic offered by Anum Hussain of HubSpot, a respected provider of content marketing software. Reading that statistic might make you wonder if you should […]
Financial writer’s clinic: fact vs. interpretation
Fact or interpretation, which should you place first in your article, commentary, or blog post? You’ll find a useful model in Justin Wolfers’ “A Better Gauge Shows Steady, Dull Growth,” which appeared in The New York Times. Which is more intriguing? Let’s compare your reactions to two sentences from Wolfers’ article. The Bureau of Economic […]
Email lesson from a PayPal co-founder
I found an interesting email productivity suggestion in “The Way I Work,” an Inc. article by Max Levchin of HVF, a co-founder of what became PayPal. Email tip from Levchin: Keep it short and focused If you want your email to win a response from Levchin, keep it short and focused, especially if you want […]
Are financial predictions too risky for investment commentary writers?
Is it a bad idea to make predictions in your investment commentary because clients will slam you when you’re wrong? Whenever you make predictions, you run the risk of being wrong. But being wrong isn’t a problem, in my mind, if your prediction reflects good thinking. Lesson from my winning prediction Accurate predictions alone don’t […]
Our LinkedIn connection isn’t an invitation to spam
I don’t like it when anybody adds me to an ongoing e-newsletter distribution list without asking my permission—or at least warning me that my signing up for their freebie will add me to that list. If you’re doing that, please reconsider. The newest variation on this may be people who add their new LinkedIn connections […]