Creating a visual image through words while connecting with your audience on a real and personal level is what storytelling is all about.

And storytelling is not only possible in business … it’s desirable.

Using interesting and honest details to provide the who, what, when, where, why and how of your company, product or service will make your story worth listening to.

Stuck telling your story? Start by telling it to a friend, colleague or coworker. Pretend you’re trying to entertain someone at a party. Say what you really want to say rather than what you think you should say (or what your legal department or boss would like you to say).

Record your story and then transcribe it to use as your first draft.

Remember, it doesn’t matter how you get to the story – only THAT you get to it.

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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 …

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Since 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.

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I’m doing a site audit for a client of mine and naturally it includes a few thoughts on web copy.

While looking for some small business sites within her industry as good examples to share, I was shocked at the number of poorly done web sites from Boston to Seattle.

There were plenty of hideously designed and whiz-bang-whistle, super-flashy sites that took too long to load, but the biggest thing I noticed was how rotten much of the copy is out there. Seriously. Stinky. Rotten.

A good share of it started with something like this:

As a ______ specializing in _______, I know _______. Our well-trained, highly competent staff will _______.  We take every measure to ensure that ___________. As a leading ________, we’re proud to offer ___________.

Aargh.

Investing time and money into a new web site is a challenge, especially for small businesses. I know, it’s something that challenges me, too, as I work to do great work for my clients and have work-life balance. (Finding the right WordPress partner has been a nightmare, but I digress.)

At the very least, though, schedule a semi-annual review of your content. Do an honest assessment of it. Better yet, have someone else do a more objective evaluation. What content should stay? What should go? What should be refreshed? How can you make it happen with your internal teams or an outside partner, such as a freelance web copywriter.

Remember that the web is a significant channel for reaching, communicating and transacting with your customers and potential customers. Strategic, optimized, consistent, on-brand copy will help you leverage the web’s inherent power to influence and persuade. And that, dear readers, is priceless.

P.S. I’m planning my own web site makeover in 2010. Are you?

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