cross-posted at Alumni Trending.  I have a challenge for anyone who works in an alumni or development office. Build a bank of questions that you can have in your toolkit the next time you are called upon to write an article, news item or feature that highlights one of your graduates. Once you get past [...]

I try to check in on the HARO (Help a Reporter Out) emails at least once a day, and last night there was a request for “professional” (sure) advice about managing emails and making the emails you send more effective. I sent my thoughts and share them below. Do include a descriptive, appropriate subject line. [...]

I will preface this by saying that Stevenson’s publications are ones that I truly look forward to reading each month. I don’t remember how I discovered them, but I am grateful that I did. Here is a screenshot from an article a few years ago where I was cited in a short piece from Stevenson, [...]

@FakeElsevier: a voice of reason in the debate over open access to scientific publications. Discovering your superpowers from @redcaperev via @IABC A tip from @your_say: A key to being good at SocialMedia is the ability to Be Social. Don’t just talk to yourself… Interact! If you’re serious about improving your writing, can you write three pages each day? Try 750words.com [...]

A few months ago, I started looking in the usual spaces for freelance writers. Despite a request for published examples of work, far too many talked about how they were “really good writers,” but “hadn’t had anything published yet.” That’s malarkey. Even bad writers can get articles published (though if your writing skills need improvement, [...]

An online service that calculates the readability of your text Remember to always write for your audience. A.P. Style Book’s Ask the Editor Write or Die Fake AP Style Book’s Twitter account Grammar Docs: based in Ariz.; produces a steady stream of useful writing advice.

A colleague recently made an offhand comment to me about how good writing has “steak and sizzle.” I couldn’t agree more. In the context of content creation, steak represents the heart of a piece of writing, which makes sizzle the metaphoric soul. The steak acts upon the writing, inculcating human senses within the words and [...]

32 ways to tweak your blog in an afternoon via MarianLibrarian. I love this list because it is so basic, requiring rudimentary skills to implement. Why choose Oberlin College? Because of their over-the-top unofficial web site.  The boldest marketing efforts are generally the most memorable. A new way of looking at higher education fund raising. Think [...]

I contributed another article to The Agency Post, “Many Stories, Many Audiences,” which was published today. Creating compelling content for an organization presents a challenge for even the most seasoned writers. Working in higher education, I’m lucky to have several audiences to supply stories. Student achievements, faculty accomplishments and notable alumni all go into the metaphoric hopper [...]

Bulldog Reporter shared a list of words to eliminate from one’s writing, specifically for public relations. To this list, I add my own. State of being verbs: is, are, has been – the entire conjugated set of verbs from “to be.” The utility of using these words does not make up for their utter lack [...]