Everybody Writes  ## Metadata - Author: [[Ann Handley]] | [[3. Resources/Authors/Ann Handley|Ann Handley]] - Full Title: Everybody Writes - Category: #books - Kindle: [Open in Kindle](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LMB5P0G) - Document Tags: [[Writing]], [[Marketing]] ## Document Notes ## Highlights - Utility means you clearly help your customers do something that matters to them—you help them shoulder their burdens, you ease their pain, or you help them make a decision. ([Location 584](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=584)) - Inspiration means your content is inspired by data (more on this later) or it's creatively inspired (or both). It's fresh, different, well-written, well-produced, nicely designed—and it feels like it could come only from you. ([Location 586](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=586)) - Empathy means you relentlessly focus on your customer. You view the entire world through his or her eyes—because, remember, everything the light touches is content. ([Location 588](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=588)) - Utility × Inspiration × Empathy = Quality Content ([Location 593](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=593)) - five-paragraph essay, similar in format to the soon-to-be-former SAT test. It goes something like this: Introduction. The introduction is a thesis statement or a kind of mini-outline of what the essay will cover. Body Paragraph One. Body paragraph one should include the strongest argument, most compelling example, or cleverest point that dramatizes your thesis. The first sentence of this paragraph should include the so-called reverse hook, which ties in with the transitional hook at the end of the introductory paragraph. The topic for this paragraph should be covered in its first or second sentence. That topic should relate to the thesis statement in the introductory paragraph. The last sentence in this paragraph should include a transitional hook to tie into the second paragraph of the body. Body Paragraph Two. Body paragraph two should include the second-strongest argument, compelling example, or cleverest point. Body Paragraph Three. Body paragraph three should include the third (or weakest) argument, example, or point. Conclusion. Your conclusion should be a restatement of the thesis statement that uses some of the original words to echo—but not duplicate—the opening paragraph, as well as a summary of the three main points. ([Location 821](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=821)) - value your relationship with your audience, and that you put their needs first. ([Location 856](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=856)) - “Start with empathy. Continue with utility. Improve with analysis. Optimize with love.” ([Location 870](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=870)) - The first words of every sentence should make a friendly first impression to encourage the reader to keep going— ([Location 877](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=877)) - Goal. What's your business goal? What are you trying to achieve? Anything you write should always be aligned with a larger (business or marketing) goal—even an individual blog post. ([Location 935](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=935)) - Reframe: put your reader into it. Reframe the idea to relate it to your readers. Why does it matter to them? What's in it for them? Why should they care? What's the clear lesson or message you want them to take away? What value do you offer them? What questions might they have? What advice or help can you provide? ([Location 941](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=941)) - Seek out the data and examples. What credible source supports your main idea? Are there examples, data, real-world stories, relevant anecdotes, timely developments, or new stories you can cite? ([Location 961](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=961)) - Organize. What structure helps communicate your point? Some options are a list, a how-to guide, and a client narrative. Organize the outline or general architecture that suits that type of story best. ([Location 973](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=973)) - Write to one person. Imagine the one person you're helping with this piece of writing. And then write directly to that person (using you, as opposed to using people or they). ([Location 975](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=975)) - Produce The Ugly First Draft. Producing The Ugly First Draft is basically where you show up and throw up. Write badly. Write as if no one will ever read it. ([Location 981](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=981)) - Walk away. Walking away is self-explanatory. You don't need to actually go for a walk, of course. Just put some distance between your first draft and the second. ([Location 986](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=986)) - Rewrite. Shape that mess into something that a reader wants to read. In your head, swap places with your reader as you do so. ([Location 992](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=992)) - Give it a great headline or title. ([Location 994](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=994)) - Have someone edit. Ideally, the person who edits your piece will have a tight grip on grammar, usage, style, and punctuation. Like a bona fide editor. ([Location 995](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=995)) - One final look for readability. Does your piece look inviting, alluring, easy to scan? With short paragraphs and bold subheads? Are your lists numbered or bulleted? For the most part, chunky chunks of text feel impenetrable and don't convey energy and movement. In other words, bulky text doesn't look like much fun to read. ([Location 997](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=997)) - Publish, but not without answering one more reader question: what now? Don't leave your readers just standing awkwardly in the middle of the dance floor after the music stops. What do you want them to do next? Check out other resources? Sign up to hear more? Register for an event or a free trial? Buy something? ([Location 1000](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1000)) - So, before you begin the writing, be sure you know the purpose or mission or objective of every piece of content that you write. What are you trying to achieve? What information, exactly, are you trying to communicate? And why should your audience care? ([Location 1033](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1033)) - Barf up TUFD. ([Location 1175](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1175)) - Jot down your key ideas as they come to you in whatever order they come. Don't worry about forming full (or even coherent!) sentences. Don't worry about finding the right words. Lowercased words, misspelling, poor grammar, awkward phrasing, subject-verb disagreements so violent they are practically fistfights…Let it all happen. You can fix all that stuff later. You're unleashing ideas here as opposed to really writing. If you get stuck, think about what's sticking. Do you need more research? More examples? Another point? ([Location 1176](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1176)) - Inserting “need a better example here” or “could use a research stat” or “something-something that supports that point” or “funnier anecdote” is more than legit during this phase. Reread what you've written only to remind yourself of what else you wanted to say, or to add some flesh to the bones of your terrible writing. (Even if it's rotting, smelly, walking-dead flesh.) Ban self-slandering remarks. Don't beat yourself up by saying things like I'm a crappy writer or this is awful. TUFD isn't for anyone to see but you. It's the content equivalent of staying home alone in your jammies all day and eating peanut butter straight from the jar. Revel in it. There's no one around to judge. ([Location 1182](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1182)) - Walk away. ([Location 1188](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1188)) - Rewrite. ([Location 1194](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1194)) - Good writing serves the reader, not the writer. It isn't self-indulgent. Good writing anticipates the questions that readers might have as they're reading a piece, and it answers them. ([Location 1206](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1206)) - Swap places with your reader. Be a skeptic of your own work. Get out of your own head, and into your reader's or your customer's. Relentlessly, unremittingly, obstinately think of things from your readers' point of view, with empathy for the experience you are giving them. ([Location 1209](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1209)) - Spend time with your customers or prospects. ([Location 1275](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1275)) - Understand their habitat. ([Location 1278](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1278)) - Be a natural skeptic. ([Location 1282](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1282)) - Ask why they do it. ([Location 1284](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1284)) - Share story, not just stats. ([Location 1288](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1288)) - Use a customer-centric POV. ([Location 1295](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1295)) - Company-centric: We offer accelerated application development. Customer-centric: Deploy an app to the cloud at lunch hour. And still have time to eat. (From the home page of Kinvey.com.) ([Location 1298](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1298)) - There are two approaches to self-editing: Developmental editing, which I call editing by chainsaw. Here's where you look at the big picture. Line editing, which I call editing by surgical tools. Here's where you look at paragraph and sentence flow, word choice, usage, and so on. ([Location 1335](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1335)) - State your key idea as clearly as you can near the start. ([Location 1342](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1342)) - Slash anything that feels extraneous— ([Location 1345](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1345)) - Make every paragraph earn its keep. ([Location 1347](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1347)) - Make every sentence earn its keep. ([Location 1350](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1350)) - Move things around. ([Location 1352](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1352)) - Think of the sentences in a paragraph as a conversation between an elderly, companionable couple. ([Location 1353](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1353)) - Trim the bloat and fat. ([Location 1357](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1357)) - Shed the obvious. ([Location 1359](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1359)) - Lose Frankenwords, word additives, clichés, and words pretending to be something they're not. (See Rules 29 and 30.) ([Location 1362](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1362)) - Trim word bloat. ([Location 1363](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1363)) - Ditch adverbs unless they are necessary to adjust the meaning. ([Location 1368](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1368)) - Ditch weakling verbs in favor of stronger, ripped ones. ([Location 1369](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1369)) - Create transitions between paragraphs. ([Location 1370](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1370)) - Draw natural connections between paragraphs. ([Location 1373](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1373)) - A good lead, then, sets the tone for your writing and hooks the reader into wanting to know more. ([Location 1502](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1502)) - Good content—and good writing—doesn't preach or hard-sell. Instead, it shows how your product or service lives in the world, explaining in human terms how it adds value to people's lives, eases troubles, shoulders burdens, and meets needs. ([Location 1625](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1625)) - strive to explain your point of view to your reader with supporting evidence and context. ([Location 1738](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1738)) - Don't just tell your readers that you feel something; tell them why you feel it. Don't just say what works; tell them why it works and what led you to this moment. ([Location 1739](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1739)) - No one will ever complain that you've made things too simple to understand. ([Location 1757](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1757)) - Assume the reader knows nothing. But don't assume the reader is stupid. ([Location 1759](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1759)) - Simplicity comes primarily from approaching any writing with empathy and a reader-centric point of view to begin with—that is, it's the result of writing with clarity and brevity, and in human language, as we've been talking about here. ([Location 1769](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1769)) - Copyeditors/proofreaders, who check facts and wield a push broom to clean up messy style issues, punctuation, typos, misspelling, and so on. ([Location 1836](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1836)) - Substantive editors, who give a piece of writing a higher level read and offer suggestions on how parts of it might be improved or which parts need to be expanded or condensed. Their review includes broad feedback on things like the overall development of a piece. ([Location 1837](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1837)) - Line editors, who comb through a piece to correct grammar, word choice, and paragraph and sentence flow—while doing a good deal of rewriting as well, all without overwhelming a writer's voice. ([Location 1839](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=1839)) - passive means that something is being done to something, instead of that something doing the action on its own. ([Location 2066](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=2066)) - “Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because there'll always be better writers than you and there'll always be smarter writers than you. There will always be people who are much better at doing this or doing that—but you are the only you,” author Neil Gaiman said in a 2011 podcast. ([Location 2720](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=2720)) - Your unique voice comes from knowing who you are, and who you are not, says Ahava Leibtag, a Web content strategist in Washington, DC, and author of The Digital Crown. ([Location 2747](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=2747)) - Be an advocate for your audience. What are you trying to get out of the interview for the benefit of your audience—the people who will consume this piece of content you're creating as a result of an interview? ([Location 3104](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=3104)) - Don't worry about being an ignoramus. I said as much earlier: ask for clarification about what you don't know. ([Location 3109](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=3109)) - Go for one-on-one conversation. Phone, video, or in-person interviews feel more natural and loose when it's just you and the expert—with no PR reps or assistants or note-takers listening in. ([Location 3113](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=3113)) - Get the spiel out of the way first. Experts who have had corporate PR training sometimes rely too much on Frankenspeak or canned, prepared responses. ([Location 3119](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=3119)) - Converse, don't interview. The best podcast hosts converse with their guests instead of interviewing them. ([Location 3122](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=3122)) - Superlatives can make for great interview fodder. Questions like, “What's the more interesting/best/baddest/most controversial/greatest/worst” can give you some great material to work with. ([Location 3132](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=3132)) - Shut up already. Your job is to draw the interviewee out, so try to speak less and let the other person speak more. ([Location 3136](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=3136)) - What's commonplace to you that might be interesting to others? What events outside our industry or in the larger world might serve as inspiration? Get out of the office: trade shows, clients, and partners all offer content opportunities. Draw offbeat analogies from your own life or interests. ([Location 3192](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=3192)) - But the truth is that the best kind of content curation has a decidedly human element to it. It might be found, collected, and organized via technology, but its real value materializes when actual people add something new to it: when it's shared with enthusiasm, or it becomes a basis for an expanded opinion or a different take. ([Location 3290](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=3290)) - Copyright is actually a bundle of rights held by the owner of a creative work. For example, if I write a book, I alone hold the right to reproduce it and distribute copies, publish the book, perform or display it publicly, or create derivative works based on it. ([Location 3416](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=3416)) - Fair use is a legal defense against a claim of copyright infringement. The most important thing to realize about fair use is that it won't prevent you from being sued: you only raise the defense once you're already involved in litigation. ([Location 3418](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=3418)) - The court in a copyright infringement case uses four factors to decide whether your use of the copyrighted work is fair: The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes. The nature of the copyrighted work. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole. The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work. ([Location 3421](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00LMB5P0G&location=3421)) ## Related by Author - [[3. Resources/Readwise/Books/Content Rules|Content Rules]]