Sarah Daniels

Fast isn't the answer people think it is, when it comes to onboarding. Quality implementations take time. Reminds me of this commercial when I was a kid. DAM implementations, good things come to those who take their time and understand their goals. Read more about why quick, one-size-fits-all deployments don't work well in organization-wide DAM deployments, here: https://lnkd.in/gPzYEWjJ

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"Marco, here are some of our competitors." There they are, and how nice it is to see them again. I wrote those words years ago, and in some cases, the entire domain has my footprint. Or hand, you pick! 😂 Invitations were common at the time to work on new domains, expand existing ones, or even get a couple off the bin. The Google bin, if you know what I mean! One of the funny things about being around and busy all the time is that you get to find yourself out there. You then witness how your contributions impact a business and how you can improve from there. Competing with yourself, with the aid of a different team and strategy, you name it: it's a renewed challenge every day in an ever-changing algorithm land and expectations level. Someone once asked me: "What do you do once a site is done with?" "What do you mean, DONE with? It's never done. It's ever-evolving, otherwise, it gets dragged to the bottom." Keep at it - it's only Monday, coffeeholics! 😎 _________________________ I write about #iGaming and #contenmanagement in a #remotework universe. Follow me for a crying shoulder - you're not alone!

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What to Know Before You Implement Public-Facing APIs A public-facing API is a good way for others to connect to your systems. But don’t start building one until you answer these questions. https://lnkd.in/gD6zUEu5

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Take a big step forward in embracing accessibility and inclusion best practices by making your PDFs accessible using this actionable 8-step guide!

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There's a copy trend taking hold, and it matters (hint, hint). This phrase seems like it's everywhere lately. Maybe you've seen/heard it. Experience matters. Efficiency matters. Expertise matters. Craft matters. Sure, these things matter, but why should we care? Taking that idea further, ask yourself, "Why does X matter to my particular audience?" Example: "Efficiency matters when it comes to workflow integration." Try: "Gain up to 60 minutes back in your workday with X feature and Y feature. What will you do with that extra hour?" Now you have an effective message and stand out from the it-matters crowd. Most of all, you show you understand your audience's pain points and have the solution. Because it's time to retire, "it matters," and start defining why. #messaging #copywriting #positioning #marketing

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A great test to see if your copy is too formal is the "comma Mary” test. The test comes from Bruce DeSilva, a thriller author and former journalist. The test: put ", Mary" at the end of a statement. Then read it aloud. If it doesn't sound right—namely, too formal—turn the word-choice dial toward less specialized, more conversational until it feels right. Example: “Undergoing regular cancer screenings is the expert-recommended approach to discovering cancer early enough to optimize treatment options and improve health outcomes, Mary." or "Regular cancer screenings help find cancer early, which is why experts recommend them. Treatment works best then and can help patients live longer, Mary." Which one are you most likely to say to a person? Now, it's no silver bullet; you'll want to go deeper and look at your writing decisions—sentence length along with word choice and order. But the "comma Mary" test is a great tool to judge your copy's readability. And to make changes toward making it more human—if that's what it needs, Mary. Alexandra Howson and I talked shop about voice last year. #writing #storytelling #medicalwriting

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I've been thinking a lot recently about why it's so important to "go deep" on information. Whether in an article, a video, an interview, or a podcast, any short-form content method is inherently reductive. There is no way to understand the Millennial generation in 800 words, just the same way as there is no way to understand a housing crisis, a war-torn region, or a political philosophy in a twelve-minute video. This wouldn’t be that much of a problem except that most of us think it can. Coming along with the “shortification” (yes, I like to make up words) of content on the internet is a growing belief that possessing information is the same as understanding. Spoiler alert, it's not. Because simple stories and short videos give us more information than we had before, it’s easy to assume that we now know everything we need to know to understand the subject. It’s like snorkeling safely at the surface and then coming home and telling our friends that we’re not sure what everyone is so worried about — the reef looked just fine to us. Want more? Read my latest article on substack now. https://buff.ly/3UqF4Vf

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When you sit down to write, one of the most important things you can do is answer these 5 questions: 1 / Who are you writing to? 2 / Where are they at (physically, digitally, customer journey, etc.)? 3 / Why are you writing to them? 4 / What do you want them to do? 5 / Why should they do it? I always say if you can’t answer all of those questions, then you should go back to the drawing board. But there’s a 6th question worth asking… 👉 What do you want them to feel? Most of us allow ourselves to be driven by our emotions without a second thought. Part of it is due to a lack of self-awareness, part of it is that it’s easier to go with our gut reaction (i.e. feelings). Our brains will do anything to preserve energy. If you can help your customer’s brain shortcut the decision-making process, why not? That’s why emotion is so powerful in marketing – no matter the medium. It gets results. The problem is a lot of marketing copywriters suck at writing emotionally-charged copy. Here’s an exercise that’ll help you start putting words to your feelings, which in turn, will help you put words to what you want your readers to feel. 1️⃣ Find a picture, that at first glance, moves you. You don’t have to know why. But you’ll immediately know it resonates with something deep inside of you. 2️⃣ Grab a piece of paper and write down what you feel. Use actual pen and paper. But here’s the catch, don’t just write down the literal name of the feeling. ~Describe~ the feeling. 3️⃣ Review your reflections. What stands out to you? Why does that particular descriptor resonate with your feelings? Answer the question. Try performing this writing exercise a few times a week. Over time, you’ll find it gets easier to describe what your target audiences are feeling given their particular circumstances too. Empathy, yo. It's a powerful copywriting tool. P.S. This is a pic of my boys. They adore each other and it’s 100% the pic I’m using to do the above exercise with. #copywriting #copywritingtips — 👋 My name is Matt, Director of Copy at Homestead Studio. Follow me for copy strategies, tips and tricks, and industry insights to help you write better words.

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AI is here! While I am no expert, I have been exploring the impact that generative AI services like ChatGPT are having on students. What does it look like to prepare kids for an AI-infused world? Let's explore that together, shall we? My organization, Growing Leaders is hosting a free webinar on June 27th at 1 pm ET: "The AI Dilemma: How Schools Best Prepare Students for the Age of ChatGPT" Register here: https://buff.ly/3VvfMGe Also, I'll let you in on a little secret: this event is actually the launch of a new eBook I just finished (which we will tell you how to get for free at the event). The eBook is called: "The AI Dilemma: How Schools Can Build Digital Citizens in the Age of Intelligence." Along with this new eBook, we will launch two new highly-requested keynote topics I have designed -- one for parents and one for educators on the same subject. Shoot me a DM if you want to hear more about these events! Make sure to be there for the webinar so you can get all this good stuff! #AI #Education #Educators #Parents #Parenting #Leadership #GenZ #GenerationZ #ArtificialIntelligence

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AI will soon replace human writers. I hear this a lot lately. But is it true? I had a client who generated AI blogs every week and then sent them to me to "humanize them." I spent plenty of time reworking and rewriting these blog articles so that they were in the client's voice, worked in branding, and actually made sense for the target audience. It's abundantly clear when content is written by AI vs. by a human writer. At least it is to me, and I venture to guess to many of you as well. AI as a tool is a complement, not a replacement, for an experienced and seasoned writer who understands voice, industry, branding, marketing, and plain old conversational language. But if you can prove me wrong, I'm all ears. #AI #content #writer #human

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If you're a comms professional looking to improve your teams' pitching and planning practices, would recommend taking a look at our scoping document template below. It's a really useful resource if you want to house all of your ideas in one neat place and helps make sure your content is hitting a mix of strategic pillars! ⬇ ⬇

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I keep seeing this narrative: "Everyone needs a podcast." I'm not sure I agree. For one thing, the podcast space is incredibly crowded as it is. If *everyone* has one, then we're drowning out even more people in this cacophony of noise. And for what? For all of us to hear ourselves talk? Don't get me wrong. I love podcasts. But they have to have a purpose. A voice. Something that makes them unique. The worst thing someone can ask about your podcast is, "Why is this a thing?" If I'm going to invest my (admittedly limited) time and resources in creating and hosting a podcast, I need to be sure of my "why." To say nothing of the fact that I'll need to stand out somehow. Having one just to have one serves no one. Not me, and certainly not my potential, theoretical audience. When creatives talk about being strategic, this is the sort of thing we mean.

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Hey, freelance writers! It’s *last call* for “pay what you can” group coaching. I have a few slots left for my May 7 group coaching call at 8:00 a.m. (Central European Time). Who should sign up? Any freelance writer who… ✅ Has questions about running a freelance writing business. ✅ Wants 1 hour of group coaching…but doesn’t want to pay hundreds for it. (Pay whatever you can contribute. Honestly.) ✅ Is free tomorrow (May 7) at 8:00 a.m. (Central European Time). Why are these sessions “pay what you can”? I’m looking to get feedback and testimonials on the service, so you’ll be asked to fill out a brief survey after the call. Good for you. Good for me. 🙌 ➡️ If you’re interested, let me know in the comments or DMs, and I’ll get you all the info!

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Do you listen to Acquired? According to the hosts of the popular podcast, 40% of its listeners are C-suite or VP-level executives. (Also, a nice hat tip to the editing process, which most never see: "Next comes the real workout: the editing. With their editor, the only other person involved with the show, the hosts review the episode four times before it appears in your podcast feed. For the Microsoft episode that ran last month, they recorded for nine hours, and the finished product was about four hours." That is a lot of listening--to the same material over and over and over--and cutting and staring at a monitor without going cuckoo. Remember to thank your editors!) https://lnkd.in/g2xArbw6

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Have you considered making the shift from freelance editing to becoming an employee? Here are the most important questions to ask yourself, and the most important ones to ignore; https://zurl.co/ayCs #Editing #Freelancing #Business #Employment #Worklife #RightTouchEditing

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