Content Writer's Heaven: 24 Hours Off the Grid

"In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks."

- John Muir

I suffer from occasional brain fog.

You know, where your best content ideas seem so long ago and far away.

Where you can't think of a concept to save your worthy soul.

Where you seek out mindless, distracting activities (read: tons of time scrolling my FB feed) so you don't have to deal with the unending pain of getting your grey matter to fire on any cylinder.

And my bet is that I'm not alone here.

So I want to share a recent cure I found thanks to a birthday gift from my girlfriend.

Last month, she took me to a 14-acre parcel of countryside beauty not far from where I live. And the only sounds I heard for 24 hours came from a babbling brook, a few moos sent out by dairy cows off in the distance, and dozens of sweet-singing birds without a crow among them.

Even better, there was no cell phone service.

Now I'm not part of the survivalist movement but this living off the grid thing was quite fulfilling.

First of all, I got reconnected to nature. That primal yearning that calls to us urban dwellers from time-to-time whether we admit it or not.

But that wasn't the only by-product of my nature boy weekend.

I was able to "still" my mind.

I was able to think clearly.

And I was able to think creatively (sparking several new ideas for upcoming blog posts including this one).

Now such a trip may not be feasible for you the next time you're coming up empty for ideas. But you're more than likely near a park of some kind. (For example here in Portland, Oregon, we have 144 parks on over 10,000 acres.)

So here's an idea: seek out a patch of park the next time your right brain is giving you hell.

It may just be the heaven the content writer in you is seeking.

To get our book, "25 Building Blocks To Create a Conscientious Organization" FREE,  go to HCollaborative.com for an instant download.

How To Improve Your Content Thanks To a Few IPAs

"Good writing is not a natural gift. You have to learn to write well."

- David Ogilvy

"Piney...

...citrusy...

...floral...

...juniper-like...

...lemony."

If you've ever tried to describe the taste of an India Pale Ale (IPA), you know the descriptors vary.

Fact is, I've heard the majority of these adjectives as I'm lucky enough to live in a city where you see bumper-stickers on Priuses, Subarus and Volvos that read "Keep Portland Beered."

Which is to say locals get to choose from a ton of refreshing and ever-growing list of IPAs.

So what's this all have to do with upping your content?

Plain and simple, you want your words and ideas pared to the bone. You want your audience to come away with one singular but memorable thought.

For example, describing an IPA as "juniper-like."

Simplifying your message is how you connect with your receiver. That is, after you've developed empathy for your audience as I mentioned in my last post.

Unfortunately, this business of simplifying seems to be anything but easy. Too often we see our nonprofit and for-profit clients complicate their messaging.

Sentences that go on and on and on.

Labyrinth-like paragraphs that scare away a reader.

And jargon that puts the audience at "tilt" mode before they finish reading the title.

If you believe in conscientious communiciation, clarity is always your standard.  

So to that end, I offer three simple tips I've followed throughout my career courtesy of my favorite guru David Ogilvy. Here they are in his own words:

1.       Write the way you talk, naturally.

2.       Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.

3.       Never use jargon or pretentious words like reconceptualize, demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass.

(From "Confessions of an Ad Man" by David Ogilvy)

If you follow these three simple rules, your message will be clear. And you will be communicating effectively to your audience.

In other words, giving them something to quench their thirst.

To get our book, "25 Building Blocks To Create a Conscientious Organization" FREE, go to HCollaborative.com for an instant download.

Why Be Kind in a Cruel World

If you've lived in the business world for any period of time, you have seen it.

Rudeness.

Bitterness.

Downright meanness.

In fact in the ad agency world I once lived in, it was thought of as being part and parcel of the job. Whether the venom came from clients, superiors or peers, I used to hear the old phrase "you need thicker skin, son. Now let me buy you a drink."

Well in case you haven't heard, there's a new world out there in this age of technology. Cruelty in any form has been shown the door.

And it's not just the old self-help gurus touting a kinder, gentler way for the work world.

In the recently published book "Simply Brilliant" by William C. Taylor, the author devotes half his book to detailing the merits of kindness and great organizations. Here's what he writes:

"It's just as important to be kind as to be clever. Organizations that perform at a high level for a long time don't just think differently from everyone else, they care more than everyone else. In an era of big ideas and disruptive technology, simple acts of connection and compassion take on outsized importance."

His proof points come in the form of several organizations including a nonprofit healthcare foundation in Alaska known as Southcentral Foundation. There's an anecdotal story about Panera Bread! Another one about Russian airline Aeroflot. And even a bit of narrative about Jeff Bezos of Amazon who recently addressed Princeton's graduating class ending up his sermon with the simple call to those graduates asking, "Will you be clever at the expense of others, or will you be kind?"

Besides reading the book, here are 4 other ideas to bring kindness into your organization:

1.       Lead by Example: Lead with your heart. You will inspire those around you. Nothing builds co-worker and customer loyalty quicker than a person who reflects kindness and compassion in all they do.

2.       Be Authentic: Make sure you stay true to yourself. Let your co-workers see that even leaders have ebbs and flow of emotions in their day-to-day activities. Vulnerability is not a sign of weakness.

3.       Know Your Team: Take the time to learn about your co-workers and what they care about. Greet them personally and tell them how much you value their collaboration in your organization.

4.       Practice Conscientious Communication: Encourage co-workers to speak openly. Teach them how to communicate with empathy yet still deliver their message. And lead by example demonstrating the powerful skill of listening.

Let's not forget that we are all human. As Taylor reminds us, "In a world being reshaped by technology, what so many of us crave are small gestures of kindness that remind us of what it means to be human."

To get our book, "25 Building Blocks To Create a Conscientious Organization" FREE, go to HCollaborative.com for an instant download.

2 Words about Creating Killer Content

Get emotional.

Or throw your content out the window.

You can’t move people to action if they have not bought in emotionally.

The corporate world knows this (think Nike, Apple and John Hancock). And so do forward-thinking nonprofits (think “One”, Charity: Water and Make-A-Wish campaigns).

“People ‘buy in’ with emotion.

They justify their decision to buy with logic.”

Let’s face it. We humans are emotional creatures. We feel fear, anger, sadness and joy. And that emotion is the most critical part of connecting with any person let alone your base.

The plain and simple fact is that if you don’t connect emotionally, you don’t connect at all. Your efforts are completely wasted.

No matter how brilliant your strategy is.

No matter how clever your headline is.

No matter how attention-getting your design is.

All of which means emotion needs to be the heartbeat of every piece of communication your organization produces — from emails to web content, flyers to videos.

The first step in building that deep connection with your audience is to put yourself in their shoes. Get a deep understanding of them. Survey them. Talk with them. Eavesdrop on their online conversations. What are their concerns? What gets their blood boiling? How do they define joy?

When you understand their heart, you become a better communicator.

Every piece of content needs to start with that empathy. It needs to be part of the title or headline of your posts or mailers. And it needs to be in your opening sentence and paragraph.

Every. Single. Time.

Without that emotion, you’ll not engage. And they will hit the ‘delete’ button or move to another site in a blink of an eye. Remember: the average consumer is exposed to 362 ad exposures and over 5,000 brand exposures daily, according to respected research giant Yankelovich in a 2014 study.

Needless to say, it’s crowded in the content cosmos. You greatly enhance the odds of your organization's message resonating with your audience by getting emotional with them.

To get our book, “25 Building Blocks To Create a Conscientious Organization” FREE, go to HCollaborative.com for an instant download.