Marketing lesson from clashing clocks

I’m a regular at my gym. I go there to use the elliptical machine, work out with free weights, and take spinning classes. But sometimes I learn lessons that have nothing to do with exercise—like the lesson of the clashing clocks. For years, my gym has had two wall clocks facing each other. One was […]

4 reasons learning to blog helps CFA charterholders

CFA candidates and charterholders have great quantitative and analytical skills, so why should they care about learning to blog? The ability to write a great blog post matters because good writing skills will carry you far in your career—and life in general. There are four reasons that learning to blog helps CFA charterholders at all […]

Personalized subject line can backfire in emails

Personalized subject lines can backfire in emails

A good personalized subject line can boost your results. But mess up the personalization, and you’ll lose. Characteristics of good personalized subject lines It’s great to tweak your email subject line to appeal to a specific recipient. For example, if you know the recipient’s hot button, include it in the subject line. Another approach is […]

5 ways blog posts are like tulips

I love tulips. But for years I didn’t grow any because my backyard squirrels dug them up and ate them. I finally figured out that my front yard was a safe place for tulips, so I planted some. As a result, when a writing exercise suggested thinking about red tulips, I was interested. The red […]

fighting for proper usage

When do you push proper usage on your writing clients?

Some battles over proper usage in writing are worth fighting. Others are not. When should you push your clients on proper usage? If you write or edit for investment, wealth management, or other financial services firms, you’re likely to grapple with this question. By the way, when I say “usage,” I refer to a host […]