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In Creating Content, Have What She’s Having

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As I was greeting former colleagues and friends at the summer meeting of our Financial Planning Association, I couldn’t help but notice the T-shirt one of the chapter officers had on under his sports coat — “You had me at EBTDA”,  the caption read.  

(Knowing that the topic of the day was going to be preparing one’s business or professional practice for sale, I recognized the acronym – Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization – a financial term measuring a company’s performance and ability to pay back debt).

From the vantage point of my present occupation in content marketing, I was fascinated by how easily that acronym called to mind the Rene Zellweger line from the movie “Jerry McGuire”.  Interestingly, there’s a study about that, done at Cornell University, suggesting that the memorability of quotes can be explained by science. Although lines in a movie might become popular because of an unusually effective delivery by an actor, the scientists identified six qualities that make quotes “stick in our minds:

  • distinctive words
  • simple syntax
  • shortness
  • generality (so many people can relate to the words)
  • present tense
  • labial sounds – M, P, B,V

(While “You had me at hello” is short, simple, and “general”, the quote is in past, not present, tense, and uses no labials. It does use alliteration – “had” and “hello” both begin with the H sound, and Tom Cruise’s delivery was tear-jerkingly romantic.)

Other quotes flagged in the Cornell study include:

  • “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.”
  • “Here’s looking at you, kid.”
  • “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
  • “I’ll have what she’s having.”

In terms of creating online content, Wix.com names six title structures that have proven highly effective:

  • Using numbers (“12 things that….)
  • Using superlatives (Greatest….. Ultimate guide to….)
  • Questions (Why does…..)
  • How-tos
  • The big reveal (Secrets I learned…..)
  • Bracketed descriptors (Tips for Planning Content [FreeTemplates])

The quote “I’ll have what she’s having” (from “When Harry Met Sally” is one we often cite when training business blog content writers: link the products and services offered by your client to prevalent trends. Consumers want to do what “everyone is doing” and to “have what she’s having”.

In creating marketing content, show ’em how to “have what she’s having”!

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Nice Try. Do it Again.

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(image by Mike Hindle)

I invited friend and writing colleague Myra Levine to contribute a guest blog post for the enjoyment of  our Say It For You readers (and my own, of course!)  …

 

 

We were reading A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, and Mrs. Painter pointed out that when the author wrote dialect, he wrote the way his characters spoke.

“When you write dialogue,” she said, “the reader
wants authenticity, not perfect grammar.”

Naturally, I wrote my next assignment (Discuss three ways in which Dickens develops the theme of self-sacrifice) as a conversation between two semi-literate high school students.  Mrs. Painter handed it back to me with these words in big red letters:

Nice try. Do it again.

I didn’t mind. The smile on her face was a drug. I had entertained her. And the freedom to ignore comma rules? Intoxicating. The smartest thing I did was tell everybody my new life goal—to write novels. It’s harder to give up on a goal you’ve made so public. Enthusiasm comes and goes; pride is eternal.

But writing a good novel turned out to be HARD. I spent ten summers taking writing classes at the University of Iowa to learn what I hadn’t been taught in high school and college creative writing classes.

Inspiration turned out to be everywhere. The germ of the idea that turned into my first novel came from a bunch of gossipy mom friends. The idea for my second novel came from a health scare. It turned out to be no big deal, but the thought How do you raise your kids after you’re dead stayed with me.

Whatever you do for a living might give you inspiration. Think John Grisham. Or you might be one of those “What if…” writers, like Stephen King. Going through a terrible breakup? Get your psychic revenge by writing a murder mystery. I slip people who annoy me into my novels. No lawsuits yet.

And you know more than you think you do. When I had my first hip replacement, I was surprised to learn that you don’t hold a cane on the side of your bad leg. (If you test this, have someone nearby to catch you when you tip over.) It occurred to me that someone could catch a suspect who’s faking a limp when he holds his cane on the wrong side.

What have you learned in your years as a ________ that would make a character feel real? What personal demons could you turn into inspiration? And what did you never learn in English Class that you can ignore… or hire someone else to fix? Think about it.

 

      Myra Levine is a novelist, memoirist, and writing coach. Her free online writing seminars on Eventbrite have attracted over 2,000 writers from all over the world. She publishes as M. E. Levine on Amazon.com & Audible.com.

Find her at www.MyraLevine.com

 

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Setting the Scene in Content Marketing

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“Sometimes, the setting creates the story,” is Moriah Richard’s observation in Writer’s Digest. To practice, she recommends, try writing a narrative paragraph about something happening:

  • in the middle of the night
  • in the evening
  • at noon, at dawn
  • at twilight time
  • mid-morning

 

To translate that concept of “scene-setting”  into marketing terms,  we realize at Say it for You, rather than merely listing features and benefits, the content writing challenge lies in telling a story, actually “painting scenes” in which a product or service is in use solving problems and improving  unpleasant situations. And, as Moriah Richard is stressing to novelists, the more specific the setting in our marketing story, the greater will be its effect on our readers.

“When it comes to stories, brands that tell more, sell more,” Sam Killlip of Attest explains. “Storytelling marketing is all about using a narrative to get your message across. The goal? Make your audience feel something. “The author cites Nike’s “Winning Isn’t Comfortable” campaign that zooms in on settings – lonely early mornings and slow climbs up stairs.

“Meal kit providers can drive growth by targeting young adults, health-conscious consumers, and lower-income households,” eatfreshtech explains. But, in addition to sharing recipes and creating educational content, scenario-based marketing would  involve stories with settings:: “It’s 6 PM, the kids are hungry, and you’re exhausted from work…”.”Paint a picture of how your product or service is the hero that solves the main character’s  challenges,” Agility PR advises.

In online content writing, the opening lines of a post or article establish that readers have come to the right place to find the information they were seeking, and also establish the general “setting”, which means clarifying the “slant” of the post – how will readers find “how to” information:? Will there be a list of sources for products? Cautions and “don’ts? General definitions and categories?

 

Success in content marketing  depends on pinpointing the “when” (in what time of day or night your story takes place), the “who” (the people who created and who are delivering the product or service), and even the “why” (the need in the marketplace), with all of these combining to “set the scene” for success.

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Don’t Be Like Flynn or Like a Sore Thumb

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No one likes being around someone who “drinks like a fish” and “sweats like a pig”, Richard Lederer observes in a humor piece reprinted in my Mensa Bulletin. “Avoid cliché’s like the plague,” is Lederer’s tongue-in-cheek advice to content writers. One of the ironies of language is that vivid comparisons become clichés precisely because they express an idea so well, the author admits.  Later, though, these “like” phrases become hackneyed and lifeless, turning your calls to action and reader engagement into big “yawns”. In another book I found, Powerful Writing Skills, author Richard Anderson agrees with Lederer that one sure-fire way to bore readers is using clichés, which he feels numb readers’ senses.

As content writers at Say It For You, we know we must be constantly on the prowl for words and expressions that help online readers feel a connection with our clients’ businesses and professional practices. And sometimes, a familiar comparison can help readers understand the latest development in the field, or better comprehend the benefit of a product or service being offered. “Snowclones”, a form of cliché mentioned in The Book of Random Oddities, can be used to reinforce the benefits of an activity (“Knitting is the new yoga.”).

“Like” clichés provide sardonic and funny answers to the question “compared to what?”, and that question is one it’s crucial for content writers to address. That’s particularly true in citing numbers. Real numbers dispel false impressions people have about an industry and can be used to demonstrate the extent of a problem before you set about showing how you help solve that problem. However, numbers, when used in content marketing, tend to be tricky business. For every statistic about the company or about one of its products or services, even with the addition of comparisons, content writers must be careful to address every reader’s unspoken question – So, is that good for me (compared to what I am doing or using now)?

Comparison represents just one of many tools we content writers can use to get the point across, making the word “like” just about unavoidable “Like is a preposition you can’t refuse in our language,” Lederer observes.  But,  the author warns, use that word with caution. After all, you wouldn’t want your content to go over “like a lead balloon”!

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The Power of After-the-Fact Forecasting

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This week , in our Say It For You blog, we’re sharing  content marketing insights  triggered by content in the Old Farmer’s 2025 Almanac …

“How accurate was our forecast last winter?”, managing editor Robert Thomas asks, revealing that, overall, they had predicted  “precipitation departure” (the occurrence of more or less rain/snow than had been anticipated) with a bit over an 83% accuracy rate. A chart on page 204 of the Almanac shows, for eighteen different cities, just how much the Almanac‘s prediction had differed from the actual amount of rain or snow each location experienced. Interestingly, the weather predictions for the coming winter begin on page 205. (It’s as if the editors are keeping readers’ expectations realistic by preceding their predictions with a -” hey-we’re-not-perfect” admission.)

 

Even when the numbers reveal a much worse than 83% “success”, honest “look-backs”, are a good thing in content marketing. In fact, including stories of past mistakes and failures in posts and newsletters, I teach content writers, can help evoke readers’ empathy and admiration for the business owners or professional practitioners who overcame not only adversity, but the effects of their own mistakes!

Just as the Almanac editors chose to take responsibility for the numbers they had generated last year, business owners can exercise control over the way the public might perceive any negative developments in the industry or even in their own operation.  In fact content writers can help owners directly confront whatever is happening, show that they are taking responsibility and implementing new measures to avoid mistakes in the future.

While past mistakes and failures can add value in content marketing, fear of making mistakes in the future cannot be allowed to cripple messaging power going forward. Besides including information, it’s crucial to incorporate opinion. Taking a stance on issues is how companies and practices can express their uniqueness and deliver “Subject Matter Expertise”. 

When blogging for business reveals your unique “slant” or philosophy within in your field, potential customers and clients feel they know who you are, not merely what you do, and they are far more likely to want to be associated with you.

“Hey-we’re-not-perfect. What we are is looking, listening, processing – and opining” is the message when you do “after-the-fact forecasting” content marketing. 

 

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