How to Write Content That Doesn't Sound Like Content Marketing

> Oh Twitter. What happened to you. You used to be so fun and interesting, and now all that’s left is fucking content marketing. — John O'Nolan (@JohnONolan) September 26, 2016 [https://twitter.com/JohnONolan/status/780477203956002816] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You work in content marketing, but you don't ever want your stuff to…

Work in Slow Motion

Years ago, a mentor told me a story about NFL quarterback Joe Montana. He wasn’t the fastest guy on the field and didn’t have the strongest arm, but he saw the field in slow motion. It was his unfair advantage. This mentor explained this as I was struggling…

Physical Requirements

I saw this the other day in a job description and it really depressed me. I won’t call out the company—I’m sure there’s some legalese that requires them to include this. Still, this is more aptly named “health risks” than “physical requirements.” > yep this pretty much…

Why I Write a Newsletter

I've been sending a weekly email newsletter [https://www.jimmydaly.com/subscribe/] for nearly two years. I pay Mailchimp $67.50 out of my own pocket every month to do that and sometimes wonder if it's worth it when my credit card gets dinged. A two year anniversary seems like…

Blogs Are Libraries, Not Publications

I've written before that content marketers should not make the mistake [https://www.jimmydaly.com/hub-and-spoke/] of treating their blog like a true editorial publication. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Content marketing teams usually don't have the people or the resources to operate like the New York Times, nor should they attempt it. Publications…

The Content Promotion Lie

"Promotion" and "distribution" are the two most distracting words in content marketing for two important reasons: 1. They put the focus on the business, not the reader. (The truth is that content is useful to far fewer people than your CMO thinks it should be, and that's okay.) 2. They…

Good Work Habits Are the Key to Less Stress

Technology is stressing you out. But don't worry, it's not just you. The tools we use at work are engineered to keep us engaged. Our phones keep work just a few feet away 24 hours a day. All of us are susceptible to the tractor beam that is the modern…

Graduate from Analogies

Analogies are a powerful way to communicate ideas, but they are also a crutch. We need to be able to explain ideas to readers without analogies and cliches. Relying on someone else's words means we don't fully understand the concept we're trying to explain or that we didn't spend nearly…