Everybody Writes (PDF)

Finally a go-to guide to creating and publishing the kind of
content that will make your business thrive.

Everybody Writes is a go-to guide to attracting and
retaining customers through stellar online communication, because
in our content-driven world, every one of us is, in fact, a
writer.

If you have a web site, you are a publisher. If you are on
social media, you are in marketing. And that means that we are all
relying on our words to carry our marketing messages. We are all
writers.

Yeah, but who cares about writing anymore? In a time-challenged
world dominated by short and snappy, by click-bait headlines and
Twitter streams and Instagram feeds and gifs and video and Snapchat
and YOLO and LOL and #tbt. . . does the idea of focusing on writing
seem pedantic and ordinary?

Actually, writing matters more now, not less. Our online words
are our currency; they tell our customers who we are.

Our writing can make us look smart or it can make us look
stupid. It can make us seem fun, or warm, or competent, or
trustworthy. But it can also make us seem humdrum or
discombobulated or flat-out boring.

That means you've got to choose words well, and write with
economy and the style and honest empathy for your customers. And it
means you put a new value on an often-overlooked skill in content
marketing: How to write, and how to tell a true story really,
really well. That's true whether you're writing a listicle or the
words on a Slideshare deck or the words you're reading right here,
right now...

And so being able to communicate well in writing isn't just
nice; it's necessity. And it's also the oft-overlooked cornerstone
of nearly all our content marketing.

In Everybody Writes, top marketing veteran Ann Handley
gives expert guidance and insight into the process and strategy of
content creation, production and publishing, with actionable how-to
advice designed to get results.

These lessons and rules apply across all of your online assets
-- like web pages, home page, landing pages, blogs, email,
marketing offers, and on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other
social media. Ann deconstructs the strategy and delivers a
practical approach to create ridiculously compelling and competent
content. It's designed to be the go-to guide for anyone creating or
publishing any kind of online content -- whether you're a big
brand or you're small and solo.

Sections include:

* How to write better. (Or, for "adult-onset writers": How to
hate writing less.)

* Easy grammar and usage rules tailored for business in a fun,
memorable way. (Enough to keep you looking sharp, but not too much
to overwhelm you.)

* Giving your audience the gift of your true story, told well.
Empathy and humanity and inspiration are key here, so the book
covers that, too.

* Best practices for creating credible, trustworthy content
steeped in some time-honored rules of solid journalism. Because
publishing content and talking directly to your customers is, at
its heart, a privilege.

* "Things Marketers Write": The fundamentals of 17 specific kinds
of content that marketers are often tasked with crafting.

* Content Tools: The sharpest tools you need to get the job
done.

Traditional marketing techniques are no longer enough.
Everybody Writes is a field guide for the smartest
businesses who know that great content is the key to thriving in
this digital world.