Grave News

Unless you're part of the Addams Family, obituaries aren't typically funny. 

But Washington, DC humorist Gene Weingarten managed to pen a cute one last Sunday in The Washington Post, "Goodbye, cruel words: English. It's dead to me."

English, "which arose from humble Anglo-Saxon roots to become the lingua franca of 600 million people," passed away on August 21st, according to Weingarten.  "Signs of its failing health had been evident for some time on the pages of America's daily newspapers."

The chief causes of death are listed as greed and indifference.

"It was not immediately clear to what degree the English language will be mourned, or if it will be mourned at all," notes Weingarten. 

"In the United States, English has become increasingly irrelevant, particularly among young adults. Once the most popular major at the nation's leading colleges and universities, it now often trails more pragmatic disciplines, such as economics, politics, government, and, ironically, "communications," which increasingly involves learning to write mobile-device-friendly ads for products like Cheez Doodles."

Road to Rio

In her fetching blog, Musings on Marketing and Other Morsels, "Madman" Marjorie Clayman 
consoles social media marketing newbies who might be disappointed they're not yet famous that "there is a reason to keep on trying."

She describes the grisly feeling of being a digital Jonny-come-lately ("No matter how long I work on this, there will always be a crowd of people who have been working on it longer") and how the "pioneers" of social media marketing seem remote and awesome ("I am not in the crowd of people who are up in the highest room of the tallest tower").

Clayman then guesses the future road to fame for herself and others lies in some place other than the worlds of blogs and Twitter.  "I'm not sure folks coming up with me, now, can ever achieve the kind of pull and influence that the leaders in this space have now.  Or if we do, it will be through a very different pathway."

I understand well the feelings of futility social media marketers are prey to.  But I'm not sure the old road to fame is overcrowded, blocked or worn out.

In fact, I'm not sure there is an old road, except for the one to Rio. 

I like the advice of the Spanish poet Antonio Machado:

"Travelers, there is no path, paths are made by walking."

Three Rules for Building Trust

I've written a special report, Path of Persuasion: Winning Customers in the Age of Suspicion.  

It sets out three cardinal rules for
communicating effectively:

1. Harmonize your messages with your customers’ notions of “truth.”
2. Speak only in the manner of an authentic organization.
3. Achieve artless clarity in everything you publish.

By following these rules, you'll create a "comfort zone" in which customer engagement and conversation can occur.

Download your free copy now.

Why Proofreading Matters

Murphy's Law tyrannizes communicators.

That's why proofreading matters. 

Sadly, too many people in marketing communications don't care to proof their own, much less others', work.

But in my experience, the errors that most frequently escape detection are, in fact, consequential.  URLs.  Phone numbers.  Dates.  Locations.  Part numbers.  Prices.  People's names.

Careful proofing isn't "common sense."  It isn't even an art.  It's more like a science.  

If you're willing to pay a little for it, the best guidance I've ever found lies in The Chicago Manual of Style.  If you're not, UK marketing consultancy Clear Thought offers 10 tips for proofreading marketing content free on its blog.

As far as the Village of Crestwood goes, Webster's Dictionary defines the word xenophobia as "an irrational fear of foreigners or strangers."

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life."

A New New Rule of Marketing and PR

"Content is king" is one of the "new rules" of marketing and PR that's gone mainstream. 

Want proof?  Key the phrase into Google.  It will return no fewer than 327,000 results.

I'd like to propose a new new rule.

"Clarity is king."

If you want to differentiate your brand, you'll adopt this rule. 

Because, with apologies to the late adman David Ogilvy, any damn fool can dish up content; it takes a genius to serve content that's clear. 

If not a genius, then a thinker and stickler for style (in the Strunk and White sense).

How many millions of prospects are turned off (and marketing dollars wasted) as a result of bad writing?

It's ubiquitous.  It plagues even firms with deep expertise, because prospects can't see quality beneath the lousy "packaging."

And the root of the problem isn't poor grammar.  It’s lazy, muddled
thinking.

As the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein said, "Everything that can be thought at all can be thought clearly. Everything that can be said can be said clearly."

It just takes a little thoughtfulness.