Ann Handley

The first words of every sentence should make a friendly first

impression to encourage the reader to keep going

Here are some phrases to avoid at the start of a sentence:

♦ According to . . .

♦ There is a . . .

♦ It is [important, critical, advised, suggested, and so on] . . .

♦ In my opinion . . .

♦ The purpose of this [email, post, article] is . . .

♦ In 2014 [or any year] . . .

♦ I think [believe] that . . .

in writing, process is

necessary, because you need a road map to get you to where you

need to be.

Serving the reader and not the writer, for one.

Finding credible sources or data to support your point of view, for

another. And creating The Ugly First Draft (TUFD).

But having a big-picture view of the process, or an outline of it, is

useful.

good writing

takes planning and preparation; it doesn’t just emerge, fully formed, out

of the head of Zeus.

1. 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

The key here is that you care about what you’re writing

if you don’t care

about what you’re writing about, no one will

2. 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?