Catch e-newsletter non-openers with this technique
Do you feel disappointed when some of your e-newsletter subscribers fail to open your newsletters? It happens to everybody. The average “open” rate for financial e-newsletters is about 18%, according to Constant Contact. I’ve learned a technique that has boosted my open rates significantly in two tests. First, I increased the open rate on one […]
Quit underlining headings in your documents!
Underlining headings in your written documents used to be common. That’s no longer true, especially because underlined text now leads people to expect hyperlinks. Underlining headings dates back to the days of typewriters. As Practical Typography says, Underlining is another dreary typewriter habit. Typewriters had no bold or italic styling. So the only way to […]
AP StyleGuard: the answer to your proofreading prayers?
How can I create a document that’s free of errors and consistent in its usage? When I accepted a job editing a magazine that said it uses AP style, I figured that AP StyleGuard software might be the answer to my prayers. Does AP StyleGuard deliver? Yes and no. It has pros and cons. The […]
Mix up your style with this writing exercise
Could tweaking your style make your articles, blog posts, and white papers more effective? Try the writing exercise I describe below. The results may surprise you. In Stylish Academic Writing, author Helen Sword proposes a writing exercise in which you first evaluate something you’ve written in terms of the chart below. In other words: […]
Be specific about your advantages, or lose prospects
It’s hard to stand out among financial firms offering similar services and products. That’s why I agree that you should be specific about your advantages, as suggested by Marie Perruchet in One Perfect Pitch: How to Sell Your Idea, Your Product, Your Business—or Yourself. Learn and share your differentiators. Perruchet says: A key differentiator should be […]