Everybody Writes

DISCOVER HOW TO WRITE RIDICULOUSLY WELL Packed with proven strategies, fresh frameworks, and fun examples, Everybody Writes will teach you how to create your best work. It's your essential guide to becoming a masterful marketer, writer, and storyteller. "Funny, insightful, and profoundly transformational. You can't say that about any other book about the craft of becoming a better writer and a more brilliant marketer." -Andrew Davis, author and keynote speaker "Writing is a skill, not a talent. That's great news, because it means it can be learned. And who better to teach you the craft of commercial and professional writing than Ann Handley. This book will go a long way to helping you share your ideas and make an impact." -Seth Godin, author, This Is Marketing "I never thought Everybody Writes 2 could top the original, but it does. With apologies to Top Gun: Maverick, this is the best sequel. Absolutely indispensable! Buy a copy for all people who use words for any reason." -Jay Baer, author, Hug Your Haters "There is no better way to become an exceptional writer than to spend a few hours inside of Ann Handley's head. Everybody Writes v.2 (it's 43.5% funnier) allows you to do just that and more. I LOVED every minute of it. It's a must for anybody...because everybody writes! side." -Ahava Leibtag, President, Aha Media Group "This clear-sighted framework will teach you to be a better writer. It makes this daunting topic so approachable, that I got excited just to write this blurb. No joke. side." -Andy Crestodina, Co-Founder and CMO, Orbit Media Studios "Here it is-the modern writer's handbook, finely tuned to meet the needs of today's extremely weird world. This book is the coach, cheerleader, and no-nonsense friend every writer should have by their side." -Beth Dunn, Marketing Fellow at HubSpot

ANN HANDLEY is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author focused on helping businesses worldwide escape marketing mediocrity to ignite tangible results. Her work has appeared in Entrepreneur, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, Chicago Public Radio, and the Financial Times. IBM named her one of seven people shaping modern marketing. More than 50K people subscribe to her popular email newsletter. She is the world's first Chief Content Officer, a principal at training and education company MarketingProfs, and a regular speaker at events globally. Ann is also a mom, dog person, and writer. Her favorite food is kale salad. But don't hold that against her.

Acknowledgments xvii Start Here 1 Part I Writing Rules: How to Write Better (and How to Hate Writing Less) 15 1 Everybody Writes 19 2 Writing Is a Habit, Not an Art 21 3 How to Keep a Daily Writing Ritual When You Aren't Feeling It 25 4 Shake Off School Rules 28 5 Publishing Is a Privilege 31 6 Why We Need a Writing Process 33 7 Introducing the Writing GPS Framework 35 8 Embrace the Ugly First Draft 44 9 Draft 2: Cross Out the Wrong Words 48 10 Draft 3: Swap Places with Your Reader 52 11 Draft 4: Humor Comes on the Rewrite 55 12 Develop Pathological Empathy 56 13 Think Before Ink 61 14 Fifteen Ways to Organize 65 15 Start with Dear Mom 68 16 If You Take a Running Start, Cover Your Tracks 70 17 Place the Most Important Words at the Beginning of Each Sentence 74 18 Notice Where Words Appear in Relation to Others Around Them 77 19 Leads and Kickers 79 20 Show, Don't Tell 85 21 How to Write Funny 92 22 Use Surprising Analogies, Meaty Metaphors 97 23 Add Another Sense 103 24 Add Obvious Structure to a List 105 25 Approach Writing Like Teaching 108 26 Keep It Simple- But Not Simplistic 110 27 Find a Writing Partner 113 28 Avoid Hot Dog Writing 116 29 Hire a Human Editor 120 30 Set a Goal Based on Word Count (Not Time) 123 31 End on an I- Can't- Wait- to- Get- Back- to- It Note 125 32 Deadlines Are the WD- 40 of Writing 126 Part II Writing Rules: Grammar and Usage 129 33 Use Real Words 131 34 Avoid Frankenwords and Words Pretending to Be Something They're Not 133 35 Don't Use Weblish (Words You Wouldn't Whisper to Your Sweetheart in the Dark) 135 36 Default to the Present Tense 136 37 Choose Active Voice Over Passive Voice 139 38 Ditch Weakling Verbs 141 39 Adverbs Aren't Necessary (Usually) 143 40 Use Clichés Only Once in a Blue Moon 146 41 "Mistakes Were Made." Avoiding These Simple Mistakes Will Make You Look and Feel Smarter Instantly 149 42 Words We Always Get Wrong 154 43 Grammar Rules Made to Be Broken 164 44 Limit Moralizing 168 45 Eggcorns and Mondegreens 170 Part III Voice Rules 173 46 Sweat the Smallest Stuff 177 47 What's Brand Voice? 180 48 How to Develop Your Brand Voice 182 49 Four Powerful Places to Apply Brand Voice 190 50 Voice Doesn't Change, Tone Does 192 Part IV Story Rules 195 51 The Six Elements of a Marketing Story 197 52 Your Brand Story: Tell The Story Only You Can Tell 201 53 Product Story: Make Your Customer the Hero 206 54 The Rudolph Framework in Action 214 55 Hermit Crab Content 219 56 Innovation Is About Brains, Not Budget 221 Part V Publishing Rules 223 57 Share News That's Really News 227 58 Biased and Balanced 229 59 Brands as Media Companies 231 60 Should You Ungate Your Content? 235 61 Memes, Trends, Newsjacking 239 62 Better Interviews with These Nonobvious Tips 247 63 Check Your Facts 252 64 A Mind- Like- Water Mindset 254 65 Seek Out the Best Sources 256 66 Beware of Hidden Agendas 257 67 Credible Data 258 68 Cite as You Write 260 69 Curate Ethically 265 70 Seek Permission, Not Forgiveness 270 71 The Basics of Copyright, Fair Use, and For Attribution 273 Part VI 20 Things Marketers Write 277 72 The New Ideal Length for Every Piece of Content 279 73 Writing Direct Response Email 282 74 Why You Need an Email Newsletter 289 75 Writing an Email Newsletter 292 76 Writing a Home Page 304 77 Writing the About Us Page 310 78 Writing Landing Pages 312 79 Writing Headlines 317 80 Writing Infographics 323 81 Writing for Video 327 82 Writing for Social Media 330 83 Writing Image Captions 338 84 Writing with Hashtags 343 85 Writing Your LinkedIn Profile 347 86 Writing for LinkedIn 351 87 Writing About Hard Stuff 357 88 Writing a Bolder Boilerplate 362 89 Writing Speech Descriptions 365 90 Writing a Sales Letter 369 91 Ghostwriting 373 Part VII Content Tools 377 Acknowledgments for Tools 393 Epilogue 395 Notes 397 Index 407