As most of my readers know, I’m a HUGE fan of the swipe file. So why it took me so long to find and use Evernote, I’ll never know.
I’ve had it on my iPhone for weeks now and only started using it last night started. Wowza! This is the electronic swipe file application I dreamed up in my head in the late 80s. Seriously.
Now there’s no excuse not to start and keep a swipe file. And Evernote makes it far easier to sort and find that little piece of information you just know you put somewhere.
I refer to my swipe file several times a month but I recently purged my office and made the mistake of purging some things I hadn’t used in years—just to save file cabinet space. Had I scanned it and put it on Evernote, well, you see where this is going. I would’ve had what I needed.
That’s it. Just wanted to make you aware of Evernote if you weren’t already. I’m off to start filling up my own Evernote swipe file …
No CommentsRegardless of your job title, you probably have to write something every day (email, memo, documentation).
Improve your writing instantly with my three top tips:
1. Read it out loud to see how it will “sound” to the reader. Fix anything that trips you up. (I call these hiccups.)
2. Examine each individual word. Can you delete it? If not, can you substitute a short, simple word? (One of my favorites is swapping “use” for “utilize.”)
3. Vary sentence length. Some should be short. Some long. Still other sentences should be longer, since they create a rhythm that’s more interesting to the reader.
No CommentsSince hubby turned 50, we’ve become members of AARP; which means we receive (and enjoy) their excellent publications.
In the Jan/Feb 2010 issue of the AARP Bulletin, there’s a short article about a British survey commissioned by financial company AXA, and the subsequent renaming contest surrounding the word “pension.”
Turns out that nearly a fifth of 18- to 24-year-old Brits think the word pension is stodgy. (No duh.)
The winning replacement, submitted by 29-year-old Donna Wood of Hampshire, England is:
Save Now. Play Later.
Genius.
But what this really brings to mind is how we get stuck using words and phrases that have lost their relevancy. With business writing and marketing/communications, it’s far too easy to lapse into same-old, same-old boilerplate language.
No word or phrase should be sacred. Everything should be, at least periodically, rethought. Step back now and then and ask this question: “What does this word or phrase really mean to my reader?”
P.S. Hey, State Farm Insurance, are you listening? With the transient culture we live in, I’m pretty sure “Like a good neighbor” doesn’t resonate like it used to.
No CommentsI think my letter carrier takes the holidays off. I literally got no mail from Dec. 27 through Jan. 2 but, boy oh boy, did the flood hit yesterday. Amidst some bills and checks (thanks, clients), I got an astounding number of direct mail pieces.
Direct mail?
Yeah, those over the age of 40 remember it. It’s the information that comes in the mailbox from companies who do all kinds of clever things to entice you to open it.
Much of what I got was very nicely done: Solid offers. Pleasing visuals. Conversational content. Well branded.
So it didn’t surprise me when I read that the Direct Marketing Association is estimating direct mail marketing to increase by more than $1 billion this year. That’s a RISE of $1 billion, putting the annual total spent on direct mail campaigns at about $45.5 billion in 2010.
Even more impressive is this result from the DMA’s annual study: Non-catalog direct mail returned $15.22 for every dollar spent in 2009. Wowza.
Are you making direct mail part of your 2010 marketing plan? It’s certainly worth considering in light of those astounding numbers don’t you think?
No CommentsI’m so excited! It’s time for Lake Superior State’s Banished Words List. I personally vowed on LinkedIn to let go of this phrase: “Let’s take this offline.”
What will you banish this year?
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