IN THIS ISSUE:

 

Taking a Close Look at Editing
Mind Mapping
Book Review

Newsletter Archive

the B2B Marcom Mind
May 2009

Hey! It's May!

I'm pleased that just as I'm running low on books to review, one of our readers, Greg Salerno, steps up and gives a thumbs up on "Made to Stick." Read Greg's thoughts on the book to see if it's something you might enjoy.

I've recently been asked to do some copy editing, which got me to thinking about editing in general. I have a great editor/friend who I call on for larger things, but I self edit everything else. Read my editing tips for better writing and editing. Also wondering if you're as intrigued by mind-mapping tools as I am. I came across MindMeister and had fun playing with it so thought I'd share.

As always, I enjoy hearing from you. I'm just an e-mail away, so drop a line and say hello. Love to know what inspires you!

See you next month,

Terri Rylander
LinkedIn B2B Marcom Group Manager
Freelance B2B Marcom Writer

"You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can not get them across, your ideas will not get you anywhere."
~Lee Iacocca

Taking a Real Close Look at Editing

Do you edit your own work or use an editor? Access to a good editor is certainly a luxury these days! Most writers are expected to turn in quality work that hits the mark on round one. Even if you don’t think you need an editor, you’d be surprised at what a second set of trained eyes can find. But even if you don't have an editor, there are things you can do. Just read on.

There are different types of editing, from the big picture down to the tiniest detail. While these categories take on a slightly different nuance if you’re writing a book versus creating marketing content, they can basically be applied in much the same way. These categories are:

• Developmental – Usually done before writing to establish a coherent outline. Then done again to ensure content meets the original objective and audience needs.
• Substantive – At the paragraph level, assessing flow and readability, checking transitions, and sometimes reordering sentences.
• Copy Editing – Spelling, grammar, punctuation, syntax, adherence to style guide, cross checking references
• Proofreading – Final review, checking words not content, layout, typesetting, and anything else not previously caught

Whether you edit your own work or have someone do it for you, following this guideline will help you make sure you’re work has been reviewed from all angles.

1. Start with a high-level look. Who is your ideal reader? What is the single, main point you want to make? What one thing do you want your reader to come away with? Does your content stray from that or have you made your case? Reduce your content to an outline (easy to do if you use subheads). Are there any gaps?
2. Check every paragraph for its transition to the next paragraph. Does one logically lead to the next? Can you reorder paragraphs or even sentences for a stronger impact? Is every sentence in the paragraph related and supportive to the opening sentence?
3. So what about grammar? Spelling? Have you eliminated the passive voice where possible? Is your voice consistent – whether it’s in the 1st person or 3rd person? Are your abbreviations and capitalizations correct? Have you followed a consistent style guide, making sure your heading and sub-heading font faces, styles, and sizes match?
4. One last review. Now that you’ve done the editing, it’s time for one last look. Try reading it out loud. Work your way backward through your content by looking at each word starting from the end. Have someone else give it a read—someone other than you or your editor.

As much as you probably edit yourself as you write, it’s worth the extra time it takes to do a thorough review. It will give you the reputation as being a solid professional and create a stronger message for your company.

Who knew mind mapping could be so easy and fun?

I’m very intrigued by the idea of mind mapping but wish I had a longer attention span to really make full use of its power. Even so, I came across this free online mind mapping application that is super easy to use and really fun. When you’re looking to organize your thoughts or even your to-do list like I have, MindMeister is a great way to do it. This image is a simple example using my list in preparation for moving back to our summer house.

MindMeister starts off with an initial node which you can easily rename to be your center topic. From here you can branch off in a number of different directions or topics. Just click on the node to highlight and then click ‘add’. MM automatically creates a new node linked to the node you came from. You can then highlight the new node and click ‘add’ to add a node or topic to that node. If you make a mistake, just click on the mistake and click ‘delete’. You can also use the undo button.

MM gives you the option to customize the look with different font colors and sizes, including bold and italics. You can also add icons and images. Hitting the ‘share’ button gives you access to general properties such as title, description, tags, and create date. In addition, you can share with invited users or the general public, and if others are working on the same mind map, you can receive update notifications via email or Twitter. You can even add your mind map to your website or blog or export as a PDF, image, or various mind mapping files. If you become serious about MM, you can upgrade to the paid version and will not have to deal with the ads (which aren’t really a bother) and other benefits. Have fun!

Book Review by Greg Salerno

Reviewed by Greg Salerno

Anyone who seeks to persuade others to take action should read “Made to Stick” by Chip and Dan Heath. These communicative brothers (a professor and a corporate consultant) have dissected the essential components for imparting “stickiness” to any idea or message which seeks to influence behavior. Their result of their research and collaboration turns out to be deceptively simple. We all remember the “KISS” principle – the admonition to “Keep it simple, stupid.” The guiding principles behind “Made to Stick” place high value on simplicity, too. The Heath brothers use a somewhat longer acronym “SUCCES” (discarding the final “S”) to explain their findings about creating “sticky” messages. Their mnemonic device stands for Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotive Stories.

Good stories are memorable. (Without the oral history of story-tellers, nothing would ever have been written down, right?) The Heaths explain how each letter in SUCCES builds upon the others to breathe everlasting life into an idea. The book is a quick read, and each chapter ends with an exercise that illustrates how each specific SUCCES principle can add value to writing (or speaking) simply by altering how we choose to express information. Adhering to their approach promises to improve results from marketing communications of all types – and this book should be a “must read” for marcom pros.