Skip to content Brad Johnson is an author and blogger who helps writers discover their niche, build successful habits, and quit their 9-5. His books include Ignite Your Beacon, Writing Clout and Tomes Of A Healing Heart. For strategic content and practical tips on how to become a full-time writer, visit: BradleyJohnsonProductions.com.
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Editor note: At the start of the new year, I thought it would be a good idea to kick off with a tech article. because, like it or not, technology will play a larger and larger part in all our lives, whether we are writers, bloggers or freelancers. And QR code has been around a […]
The post QR Code: Why Every Book You Publish in 2020 Should Have One appeared first on WTD.
Although this week’s prompt may be a little somber, it offers some great inspiration to begin an action-packed story.
Write a scene or story that includes a character fulfilling someone’s dying wish.
Post your response (500 words or fewer) in the comments below.
The post One Last Wish by Cassandra Lipp appeared first on Writer's Digest.
https://www.rohitbhargava.com/2020/01/2020-will-be-the-year-of-bullsht-heres-how-to-survive.html
This past weekend the Sunday Review from the New York Times declared the past ten years as the “Decade of Mistrust” and suggested that “Americans learned that they shouldn’t believe anyone or anything.” This rise in mistrust seems connected to the rise of bullshit too – and so it felt like a fitting theme for my first post of the new year.
But this doesn’t have to be a negative thing. Non-Obvious thinkers aren’t afraid of bullshit. We see it all the time and have learned to be strategically skeptical. And in this new year, the world needs more of us to have this mindset.
It all starts with maintaining a healthy skepticism and this week there were several stories that might have inspired more need for this skepticism than usual. Here are a few …
Why All Those Neflix “Most Popular” Lists Might Be Bullsh*t
Are Netflix’s recommendations really based on unbiased algorithms and numbers, or are they rigged in favor of the platform’s own original productions? This exploration from Gizmodo takes a deeper look at some of the platforms picks for “best of the year” – and finds some suspicious choices. Read this exposé and decide for yourself.
New Pew Report On Media Trust In The Age of Trump
This latest report from Pew looks at the relationship between political beliefs and faith in journalism and finds some interesting parallels between those beliefs and how much people believe in the media itself. It is disturbing, though, just how eroded trust in the media has become – partially through shoddy work but perhaps even more because of authoritarian leaders and manipulative politicians who aim to benefit from the distrust.
11 Trends Changing the Way We Read
While the eleven points in this article aren’t what I would call “trends” – they are interesting observations of how the way that we read and what we read has been shifting. From movie adaptations of film to the rise of activist books for children, there are some interesting shifts happening in how we read and this article will give you more than one to get your mind racing.
For this week’s market spotlight, we look at The New Yorker, a weekly magazine of news, culture, and literature.
The New Yorker was established in 1925 by Harold Ross “as a lighthearted, Manhattan-centric magazine.” The weekly magazine has grown into a national (and even international) touchstone of culture and literature—both in print and online.
The editors say, “Today The New Yorker is considered by many to be the most influential magazine in the world, renowned for its in-depth reporting, political and cultural commentary, fiction, poetry, and humor.”
What They’re Looking For: According to their guidelines, The New Yorker currently considers unsolicited poetry and fiction, including submissions to their Shouts & Murmurs section. The editors caution writers, “Keep in mind that Shouts & Murmurs are humorous fiction; first-person essays will not be considered.”
For fiction submissions, the editors try to respond to acceptances within 90 days and say, “If you have not heard from us within ninety days, please assume that we will not be able to publish your manuscript.”
For Shouts & Murmurs, the editors also try to respond within 90 days. Unlike other fiction submissions, they advise, “We ask that you not send us more than one submission at a time, and that you wait to hear back about each pending submission before sending another.”
For poetry, the editors try to respond within 6 months of submission and ask that poets submit only twice per year. The editors say, “We do not consider work that has appeared elsewhere (this includes all Web sites and personal blogs). We are interested in translations of poems that have never been published in English.”
How to Submit: For fiction, writers can send complete manuscripts to fiction@newyorker.com as PDF attachments. They can also submit via post to Fiction Editor, The New Yorker, 1 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007.
For Shouts & Murmurs, writers can send submissions to TNY_Shouts@newyorker.com.
For Poetry, poets can send up to 6 poems in one document per submission via their Submittable page.
Click here to learn more and submit.
Have you always wanted to be a writer? Don’t let doubt or fear get the best of you—take a chance and learn how to start writing a book, novel, short story, memoir, or essay. When you take this online writing workshop, you’ll discover your voice, learn the basics of grammar and examine the different types of writing.
The post The New Yorker: Market Spotlight by Robert Lee Brewer appeared first on Writer's Digest.
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By Kerry Gorgone, (grow) Contributing Columnist
2020 is here, and it’s time to clean house! On the home front, you might dust off your copy of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
Here’s your to-do list for streamlining your marketing so you can succeed in the new year.
We all have our pet projects and private hopes for different marketing tactics. But now’s not the time to reminisce or get sentimental: be calculating and ruthless as you look at your marketing results. Be guided by the data, not by your good intentions. If a channel or platform isn’t serving you, cut it.
Once you know what worked and what didn’t, “Marie Kondo” the marketing investments that didn’t pull their weight. Jettisoning the dead weight enables you to soar to new heights of marketing success.
Reallocate funds from underperforming channels to those that are working. For help figuring that out, check out data sources like website analytics, social media analytics, survey data, promo code redemptions…anything that will help you to attribute revenue.
You might be tempted to pour all the money you save into what you can see worked for 2019, but resist the impulse. Set aside some marketing budget to experiment with new channels and tactics, because you know some will arise during the year.
Ideally, you’ll want to be able to invest more heavily in experimental approaches that work, so you might earmark 10% of your marketing budget for pilot programs: half to fund the pilots and the remaining half to double down on the pilot that works best.
Your experimental marketing projects should constitute calculated risks, not gambles. If you’re thinking about using account-based marketing, for example, look at case studies for companies that have found success and see if it’s something you can realistically implement. If you’re considering targeted advertising on LinkedIn, study up on what kind of creative assets work to drive clicks and conversations on that platform.
If you keep hearing about a new social network or channel, don’t dismiss it out of hand as the “shiny new object,” but do invest some time in sussing out whether it’s a fit for your audience and objectives.
As Robert Frost once observed, “I took the [the road] less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
If you should find yourself wavering between two possible experiments, choose that one that differentiates you. If you’re in B2B and no one in that space is doing what you’re thinking of trying, go for it!
In some industries, you could look through thousands of examples of marketing content and, except for the company and product names, you’d never be able to tell which brand was which. For marketing to succeed, you need to stand out. Take the road less traveled (at least in a pilot project basis) and see what happens.
Interruption marketing is done. People love to make dramatic predictions for the new year, but the truth is that interruption marketing has been dead for a while: it just won’t fall down. If you’re in doubt, check out Mark Schaefer’s book, Marketing Rebellion: The Most Human Company Wins
Don’t focus so much on new technology. Instead, ask yourself how any new technology would help you to enhance your buyer’s journey or your customer’s experience. Take the long view: your audience’s attention isn’t bought, it’s earned, and never with one interaction.
Customer loyalty is something you put on layaway, then pay towards over time, interaction after interaction, for weeks, months, or even years.
Don’t try to rush it. Invest in people: your employees, your audience, your customers.
Marketing success in 2020 will require innovation: you don’t want to follow the pack. But you do want to pay attention to what marketing leaders in different areas have to say about technology, leadership, innovation, content, and storytelling.
Here are some people who can help you to succeed in 2020, organized by area:
Marketing Writing and Content
Laura Belgray
Mike Kim
Andy Crestodina
Ann Handley
Marketing Leadership and Innovation
Chris Brogan
Sam Conniff
Katie Martell
Mark Schaefer
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Technology
Jeremiah Owyang
Christopher Penn
Katie Robbert
Brooke Sellas
Customer Experience
Jay Baer
Dan Gingiss
Marsha Collier
Jeannie Walters
To succeed in the new year, trim what’s not working, strengthen what is, actively experiment, and take a more human approach. When in doubt as to how to accomplish any of these, look to people like those mentioned above who can help.
Happy New Year, and happy marketing.
Kerry O’Shea Gorgone is a writer, lawyer, speaker and educator. She’s also a Learning Designer at MarketingProfs. Kerry hosts the weekly Marketing Smarts podcast and gets people to open up about their cool collections, weird hobbies, and inspiring side hustles on Punch Out With Katie and Kerry with co-host Katie Robbert. Find Kerry on Twitter.
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