You’re not alone if you’re in a job that requires you to take on posting online content and writing a lot of copy—especially if you don’t consider yourself a writer. I’ve grown pretty fascinated with “reluctant writers” who perform extraordinary well in jobs that don’t require much more written communication than occasional e-mail. However, in our hyper-connected online world, where more of our jobs require
Writing doesn’t have to wreck your schedule. Many of the participants in my workshops express a frustration about having to wedge writing into a day that’s already over-full with meetings, reviews, and managing customer relationships. Instead of getting flustered about “one more task” in the pipeline, we focus on workflows and tools that help managers gather ideas throughout the week. A post you write with the help of a page of notes goes much more quickly than a column you’re trying to compose from a totally blank screen.
Writing for the web doesn’t mean you’re locked into an idea forever. Some of my favorite workshop participants have broken into smiles when we discussed the concept of editing and iteration. Even for someone who might not want anything more than “being done” with a blog post for their corporate intranet, it’s reassuring to know that every content management system I know of has either an “update” or a “delete” button. When you know you can start over or start fresh, writing becomes much less intimidating.
Writing doesn’t have to be something that only “authors” do. Culture’s caught up with my clients who never attended more than a basic high school writing course. You don’t need years of training, you don’t need to memorize quotes by Hemingway, and you don’t need a whole lot of fancy tools or software. If you can tell a story—and nearly all of us know how—you can write something that works to help move your business objectives forward.
All three of those concepts show up in the course I’m opening soon. It’s named “Writing WTF?” after the reaction that many of my corporate clients had when they found out that blogs, press releases, or marketing copy was suddenly part of their job description. I think it’s an irreverent look at the specific routines and tips I’ve shared with clients over the past ten years, and I’d love for you to join us. Visit our preview page for a video introduction from me, and for full details about the course.