Quantitative easing for regular folks: 3 lessons from The New York Times
“Quantitative easing” pops up regularly in economic and market commentary. The term conveys a lot to financial professionals who know the fine points of QE3 vs. QE1. However, it’s likely to make the average American say, “Huh?” This is why I suggest that you learn from newspapers when you discuss quantitative easing—or other technical terms—in […]
Video overview of the Investment Writing blog
In case you haven’t seen it, here’s a video overview of the Investment Writing blog. I think the folks at AdvisorTV did a really nice job.
The State Farm approach to sales language
Self-congratulatory language doesn’t cut it in today’s marketing. Saying “I’m great” doesn’t make it so. In fact, as Michael Maslansky says in The Language of Trust, using superlatives to describe yourself or your company makes you less believable. Maslansky’s example of ads saying simply “State Farm is there” instead of “State Farm is the most […]
Dear husband, please stop
You can learn a writing lesson from my dear husband. It drives me crazy when he says to a restaurant’s hostess, “You don’t have a table for two, do you?” I nag him afterwards, saying “Ask a positive question, not a negative one! It’s easier for the listener to understand what you want.” The “go […]
5 tips for getting your experts’ cooperation when you need it
I heard high praise for the roundtable that investment marketer Anne Banks of gr8 communications moderated at the May 2013 PAICR RFP Symposium. Below you’ll find tips that will help you earn people’s cooperation whether you’re a financial advisor, marketer, or any person who relies on obtaining information from colleagues. I’m delighted to have had […]