Kate Taylor Mighty says, “One of the most important, but least considered parts of designing an infographic is typography. After all, picking the right fonts is exceptionally hard. Besides the fact that there are thousands of options, finding the “right” font is actually really subjective. Different designers have different fonts tastes, and any designer could any number of fonts in their designs. Getting good at choosing the fonts for your designs is difficult, but here are a few guidelines to get you started. The Do’s and Don’ts of Infographic Typography DO: Stick to the... [...]

Sonia Simone says, “OK, confession time — when I was a kid, I was a complete Nancy Drew junkie. “Sleuth” sounded like just about the best way ever to spend one’s time. (Of course, that’s before I knew what a Chief Content Officer was …) This week, rather than figuring out Irene Adler’s cell phone password or who stole the missing emeralds, we’re working on “Why isn’t this content working? and “How can I get a whole lot better at what I do?” On Monday, Brian gave us three rhetorical tools that can help build trust with your audience — then asks if you should consider... [...]

Dan Brotzel says, “In a recent piece about content marketing trends for 2017, Joe Pulizzi – the self-styled poster-boy of the content marketing movement – makes the point that ‘writing still counts, perhaps more than ever.’ ‘More than not, marketers are abuzz about social media and video without comprehending that most of our communication is still text- and story-based. And frankly, most marketers are really bad at writing.’ Good writing is about vigilance, among other things. And as marketers, one easy way to improve our writing is to try and weed out some of those... [...]

Robert Bruce says, “Sherlock Holmes was the greatest Consulting Detective in the world. Though merely a fiction — written over a century ago by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle — his methods of logical deduction are without equal. Holmes’s mastery of his craft brought him to the fog-cloaked London doorsteps of the most powerful people of his time. Correction: he was so good, those clients came to him. They ran, desperate, to his Baker Street rooms, begging for his help, willing to pay any amount of money for his services”. Sherlock Holmes and Mastery of the Craft of Writing Copyblogger  [...]

Olivia Dello Buono says, “It’s easy to become obsessed with the latest and greatest “tricks” in email marketing: the formula for creating an effective subject line; the perfect call-to-action copy that will influence more of your subscribers; the ideal way to design an email that will bypass the spam filter. While it’s certainly a good thing to stay on top of the latest email marketing best practices, there is one key to boosting subscriber engagement that is often overlooked. And that’s sending valuable content your subscribers expect and want to receive from you. But how do... [...]

Sonia Simone says, “Oh the drama! No, I’m not talking about the latest political fight you got into on Facebook — I mean this week on Copyblogger has been all about creating dramatic, meaningful content that pulls your audience toward you. On Monday, Brian shared five proven techniques that stir emotions and inspire people to act on your content. And on the Copyblogger FM podcast, I talked about how some of the Super Bowl ads sparked more drama than they intended — with thoughts on what to do when your once-neutral message takes on a political charge. On Tuesday, our friend Sean D’Souza... [...]

Jason Puckett says, “Studying psychology as it relates to marketing is no new concept. Using emotions to drive decision-making is a theory that marketers have been taking advantage of since the dawn of advertising. In the realm of search marketing, this is no different. However, instead of a 30-second television or radio spot, advertisers have a maximum of 170 characters to get the point across. Google’s expanded text ad makes this a bit easier, but not by much. Typically, the main focus of search marketing has been to increase visibility, but, as certain markets become more competitive,... [...]

Sean D’Souza says, “Stop for a moment to think about a super-athlete. A person who won 122 consecutive races and broke the world record four times. That super-athlete is Edwin C. Moses, a man who completely dominated the 400-meter hurdle event and won every race in sight between 1977 and 1987. And then it happened. On June 4, 1987, in Madrid, Spain, Danny Harris beat Moses. Objections in articles are like Danny Harris. They bring in an unexpected element to one-sided content. Instead of the article pushing a single idea forward, there’s a sudden disturbance. Let’s find out exactly... [...]

Brian Clark says, “We all want a positive response to the content we work so hard to create. Not all positive responses, however, are created equal. I’m reminded of this David Ogilvy quote from Ogilvy on Advertising: “When I write an advertisement, I don’t want you to tell me that you find it ‘creative.’ I want you to find it so interesting that you buy the product. When Aeschines spoke, they said, ‘How well he speaks.’ But when Demosthenes spoke, they said, ‘Let us march against Philip.’” In other words, if you’re looking for something more than “Great post!”... [...]

Han-Gwon Lung says, “When I was a little kid, I remember, I was fascinated by the text copy on potato chip bags. Even at that age, I could already tell which brands phrased their messages better than their competitors did, and that difference just made me want those chips more. Today, I write words for a living (which still amazes me, sometimes). And in the course of working with numerous consultants, business owners, startups and even Fortune 500s, I’ve come to realize something startling: Most of us know what good copy looks like, and what it reads like, but when we put something... [...]