The document discusses the importance of creating engaging content, offering strategies for generating ideas, improving writing, maintaining content flow, and avoiding common pitfalls. Key suggestions include understanding customer needs, simplifying writing, using planning tools like content calendars, and being mindful of language. Ultimately, it emphasizes the need for quality content combined with effective communication for successful engagement.

1. Content Matters More Than You Think
Happy Endings with
Great Content
by Barb Sawyers
Sticky Communication
Constant Contact seminar
September 23, 2014

2. The Tale of
Princess
Constance

4. Content is king

5. Content is king
“People must be
rewarded with deep and
extremely up-to-date
information.”

10. Time for a makeover.

11. Questions
1. How can I come up with better
content ideas?
2. How can I improve my writing?
3. How can I keep the content rolling
when I’m busy?
4. How can I avoid the common gaffes?

12. 1. How can I come up with better content ideas?
Respond to customers
Reflect your world
Repackage your expertise

13. 1. How can I come up with better content ideas?
How can content respond to customers?
Answer questions they ask you
Raise issues they need to be educated on
Build a common ground

14. 1. How can I come up with better content ideas?
How can content reflect
the world?
Seasonal markets, trends, illnesses,
styles…
Deadlines, prime time, special
occasions…
Politics, world events
Sports, movies, culture

15. 1. How can I come up with better content ideas?
How can you repackage your expertise?
“deep and extremely up-to-date”
information
Tips How-to Insight News

16. 1. How can I come up with better content ideas?
How can you repackage your expertise?
entertainment
Stories Drama Humour Games

17. 1. How can I come up with better content ideas?
How can you repackage your
expertise?
Link your expertise to your life
Personal stories, business anecdotes that make
your point, build common ground

18. 1. How can I come up with better content ideas?
Respond to customers
Reflect your world
Repackage your expertise

19. 2. How can I improve my writing?
Plan
Pretend you’re talking
Make it shorter and prettier

20. 2. How can I improve my writing?
Plan
Who you most want to reach
What you want to say
How you’re going to say it

21. 2. How can I improve my writing?
Pretend you’re talking
Your first and favorite way to
communicate
More social

22. 2. How can I improve my writing?
Make it shorter and prettier
Short attention spans
Good writing is rewriting

23. Everybody writes
“You need… a writing GPS that
gets you from discombobulated
thoughts to a coherent, cogent
piece of writing that others can
understand and appreciate.”

24. 2. How can I improve my writing?
Strengthen your skills

25. 3. How can I keep the content rolling when I’m
busy?
Make lists
Create a content calendar
Ignore your calendar
Keep it short and simple
Recycle

26. 3. How can I keep the content rolling when I’m
busy?
List your content ideas

27. 3. How can I keep the content rolling when I’m
busy?
Create a content calendar

28. 3. How can I keep the content rolling when I’m
busy?
Ignore your calendar

29. 3. How can I keep the content rolling when I’m
busy?
Keep it short and simple
KISS

30. 3. How can I keep the content rolling when I’m
busy?
Recycle content and experiences

31. 3. How can I keep the content rolling when I’m
busy?
Make lists
Create a content calendar
Ignore your calendar
Keep it short and simple
Recycle

32. 4. How can I avoid the common gaffes?
Boring
Wandering
Unprofessional

33. 4. How can I avoid the common gaffes?
Jargon monoxide
alignment
bandwidth
customer centricity
execution
human capital…
Boring

34. 4. How can I avoid the common gaffes?
Boring
Long, stuffy
More than a minute
to scan
Best regards

35. 4. How can I avoid the common gaffes?
Wandering
Get to the point
Talk about the weather
Too busy to tighten
Ya-da-ya-da-ya-da

36. 4. How can I avoid the common gaffes?
Unprofessional
Mistakes that spell check
can’t catch

37. Possessives vs contractions Which one is wrong?
A Your welcome.
B You’re a professional.
C How to plan your coronation

38. Possessives vs contractions Which one is correct?
A its product line
B it’s product line
C its’ product line

39. Possessives vs contractions Which one is wrong?
A Their newsletter is boring.
B They’re supposed to encourage donations.
C There contribution should have
come in last week.
D I put the cheque over there.

40. Sound alikes Which one is wrong?
A Your donation will go further.
B Your donation will go farther.

41. Sound alikes Which one is wrong?
A Alternatively, we can mail a receipt.
B Alternately, we can mail a receipt.

42. Sound alikes Which one is wrong?
A We should report our revenue from donations
and sponsorships discreetly.
B We should report our revenue from donations
and sponsorships discretely.

43. Consistent punctuation Which one is wrong?
A apples, oranges, and pears
B apples, oranges and pears

44. Consistent caps Which one is wrong?
A How to Help a Starving Child
B How To Help A Starving Child
C How to help a starving child

45. Consistent caps Which one is wrong?
A She was hired as Director, Red Carpets.
B The Directors attended the meeting.

46. Comma conundrums Which one is better?
A The meet-and-greet, for gold-class
donors only, will follow the reception.
B The meet-and-greet for gold-class
donors only will follow the reception.

47. Punctuation marks are like
road signs: not enough and
you get lost, but too many
and you get confused.

48. 4. How can I avoid the common gaffes?
Boring
Wandering
Unprofessional

49. Questions
1. How can I come up with better
content ideas?
2. How can I improve my writing?
3. How can I keep the content rolling
when I’m busy?
4. How can I avoid the common gaffes?

50. 1. How can I come up with better
content ideas?
Respond to your customers
Reflect your world
Repackage your expertise

51. 2. How can I improve my writing?
Strengthen your writing skills

52. Questions
3. How can I keep the content rolling
when I’m busy?
Make lists
Create a content calendar
Ignore your calendar
Keep it short and simple
Recycle

53. Questions
4. How can I avoid the common gaffes?
Don’t be boring or long-winded
Be on the alert for
inconsistencies and mistakes
spell check can’t catch

54. The Tale of
Princess
Constance
A happy ending
but not happily ever after

55. Princess Constance had
faced many challenges

56. She will face more

57. She can meet them with
kingly content—powered by
queenly writing.
Time for a makeover.

58. Content Matters More Than You Think
Happy Endings with
Great Content
by Barb Sawyers
Sticky Communication
Constant Contact seminar
September 23, 2014