“If you have a website, you are a publisher. If you are on social media, you are in marketing. And that means we are all writers.” One of the early paragraphs of Everybody Writes, which sums up exactly why this book should be on your bookshelf. You could be forgiven for thinking that in today’s world writing doesn’t matter, that text-speak, tweets and endless one-liners across social media mean that no-one notices writing. However, more than ever, to stand out from the masses of content available, it is important to ensure that your content is good content. This book will help you.
It is easy to read, humorous, and engaging. The book is laid out in sections so that you can easily return to it, and dip in and out of the area that you require. The first part gives you 28 chapters to help you actually get on with writing. This is brilliant for anyone who struggles with getting started. Ann is a huge believer that anyone can write, that writing is simply a muscle, and the more you work it, the better you will become. If you are struggling with writing, this will help you to believe in yourself.
The next section is an excellent collection of writing rules for grammar. I found this a really helpful section, as it highlighted lots of mistakes that I regularly make. Having them laid out in an easy to use format means, hopefully, I will stop doing them! Ann Handley uses plenty of examples, which helped me clarify some points that I was confused over.
She follows on with story and publishing rules. If you are faced with the challenge of having to convey the tone of a brand or company in your writing, read the story section first. This will help you to tell your story in a believable manner, keeping the tone and voice relevant and consistent. While the publishing section gives you a handy reference guide to copyright, citation advice and the problem with content and the internet.
Skip over to section five for great tips for everything from writing your LinkedIn profile to writing for infographics. The relevant information for the different areas that you will need in business, will give you support in creating content for a specific purpose. The final section has tools to help you with your writing from grammar help to time management, there is tool for everyone.
Read this book, it will make you write better. The more you can improve your writing, and make your words create the emotions that you want your clients to feel, the better their reaction will be. Words sell, get writing!
Happy marketing!
Lizzie