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John Lemke

Getting Access To Your Own Data Sounds Like A Good Idea, But So Far It Hasn't Been Easy... - 0 views

www.techdirt.com/...o-far-it-hasnt-been-easy.shtml

2013 LL-Pub data access idea consumer

shared by John Lemke on 18 Dec 13 - No Cached
  • John Lemke on 18 Dec 13
     
    While this sounds like a great idea which could empower the consumer to make more informed choices (health care and energy use were specifically mentioned in the article), there seem to be many issues with getting the consumer data in a usable form.
John Lemke

20 Rules for Writing So Crystal Clear Even Your Dumbest Relative Will Understand - 0 views

boostblogtraffic.com/crystal-clear-writing

2014 writing freelance copywriting tips list writer WriteLink

shared by John Lemke on 15 May 14 - No Cached
  • Spreading an idea means getting it from your brain into someone else’s. It means putting together the essential facts, the logical arguments and your insightful conclusions together in exactly the right way to recreate your brilliant idea in the mind of your reader.
  • Try to describe your audience with this simple formula: X who Y. For example: “Bloggers who want to get more traffic”.
  • If you can’t explain what your post is about in one simple, short sentence, it’s probably too complex or unfocused.
  • ...16 more annotations...
  • Make sure a clear connection exists between the opening of your post and the headline.
  • If a sentence, phrase or word is particularly important or significant, use bold or italics to add stress. But don’t overdo it.
  • Always be consistent with your terminology.
  • If a point is worth making, it’s worth making twice. Or even three times.
  • Only tell them what they need to know to follow your argument. Share the minimum you need to convey the desired message.
  • Clear examples help readers understand difficult concepts.
  • Concrete language describes something detectable by the senses. Something you can see, feel, hear, smell or taste. Abstract concepts are much harder to imagine.
  • When you provide specific detail in your writing, there’s less room for ambiguity. Your reader is far more likely to end up with the same idea in their head as you have in yours.
  • Clarity does not tolerate “might,” “may” or “possibly.” If you can’t say something with certainty, perhaps you shouldn’t be writing about it at all.
  • if you’re in the business of spreading ideas, you must make friends with bullets.
  • Bullets are a valuable tool, but you should never drop your reader into a list without first setting the scene.
  • make sure each point is recognizably related to the others.
  • If you were giving your reader a list of steps, you’d present them in the order they needed doing, right? Obviously. But if the items in your list aren’t steps, they often still have a natural order – even if you didn’t have one in mind when you wrote them.
  • always supply everything the reader needs to fully understand your points within the post itself.
  • You think you’re being generous but truthfully you’re being greedy. Greedy with your reader’s time, their attention, and their patience.
  • include a clear call-to-action. Tell your reader what you want them to do.
  • John Lemke on 15 May 14
     
    20 tips on writing with clarity.
John Lemke

Why (and How) You Should Change Up Your Routine, Even if it's Working - 0 views

lifehacker.com/your-routine-even-i-1520593445

tips tricks howto lifehacker routine change article

shared by John Lemke on 11 Feb 14 - No Cached
  • John Lemke on 11 Feb 14
     
    Some people have a hard time changing routines. Others seem to do it naturally. This Lifehacker post covers why it is a good idea to mix things up a little and how to do it.
John Lemke

A Strategy for Pumping Your Writing Full of Creativity - The Write Life - 0 views

thewritelife.com/our-writing-full-of-creativity

writing 2014 freelance WriteLink writer list tips

shared by John Lemke on 05 Mar 14 - No Cached
  • John Lemke on 05 Mar 14
     
    I like the idea of an "artist date". All in all, a good list of tips.
John Lemke

Five scientifically proven productivity hacks | Freelance Advisor - 0 views

www.freelanceadvisor.co.uk/...ally-proven-productivity-hacks

2014 productivity hacks freelance LL-Pub tips list GTD

shared by John Lemke on 19 Jun 14 - No Cached
  • John Lemke on 19 Jun 14
     
    A list of some good lifestyle ideas for productivity.
John Lemke

3 Strategies to Stand Out From the Content Creation Crowd - 0 views

contentmarketinginstitute.com/...ut-strategies-content-creation

2014 strategies WriteLink writing freelance copywriting tips blogging content creation

shared by John Lemke on 24 Jun 14 - No Cached
  • It’s no longer enough to simply write content. Everybody’s doing that.
  • standing out from the crowd by finding a place that seems a bit less dangerous (finding your “content” niche). This would be a good call.
  • John Lemke on 24 Jun 14
     
    If you don't get at least one idea from this article, you have some type of reading disorder.
John Lemke

5 Tips for Turning Drab Information Into a Tantalizing Tutorial - Copyblogger - 0 views

www.copyblogger.com/tantalizing-tutorials

2014 writing tips list writer WriteLink writing tutorials

shared by John Lemke on 06 May 14 - No Cached
  • To get people interested, you need to start with the Why — even when the Why seems obvious.
  • A great destination postcard is inspirational, taps into emotion, and paints a clear picture.
  • Good tutorials mix straightforward how-to’s with stories and examples to both educate and entertain.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • Which are the most common mistakes you’d like to warn your readers for? And help them avoid? Sprinkle these mistakes — with advice on how to avoid them — over your tutorial, to keep readers captivated.
  • Your word choice has to be sharper and harder-hitting than the words you use when you talk because in writing you can’t scream, sing, or use wild gestures. Your words have to capture attention, express emotion, and get your message across.
  • To make your writing voice stronger and more dynamic: Choose sensory words like creepy, bland, or dazzling Pick emotional words like mesmerizing, mind-numbing, and captivating Religiously tighten your text; and tighten it more
  • There’s one more thing you shouldn’t forget: A good teacher or mentor inspires her students to implement her ideas. Consider what might stop your reader from following your advice … and take away that final obstacle. When you encourage your readers to overcome their doubts and take action, they’ll hang on to your lips to hear each word.
  • Metaphors help readers visualize an abstract concept by relating it to something concrete. They help people understand a new idea by relating it to something they know already.
  • Problems are like speed bumps — they slow your reader down. They start paying attention again, because everyone is keen to avoid glitches, hassle, and mistakes.
  • John Lemke on 06 May 14
     
    While they seem like common sense, think about how often you see tutorials written that ignore these tips... especially number 1.
John Lemke

How to Use Quora to Grow Your Blog - 0 views

thewritelife.com/use-quora-grow-your-blog

WriteLink 2014 writing

shared by John Lemke on 12 May 14 - No Cached
  • John Lemke on 12 May 14
     
    I just signed up for this service today. It looks like a good source to find ideas to write/report on.
John Lemke

Read Memoirs to Understand Character Motivation - 0 views

thewritepractice.com/read-memoirs

2014 writing WriteLink tips memoirs character motivation writer

shared by John Lemke on 08 Sep 14 - No Cached
  • John Lemke on 08 Sep 14
     
    I think this is an excellent idea.   A great way to make characters more believable. 
John Lemke

How I Make a Living as a Writer (and You Can, Too) - 0 views

lifehacker.com/ter-and-you-can-too-1525380428

2014 writing WriteLink copywriting freelance tips writer author Altucher advice living guide

shared by John Lemke on 19 Feb 14 - No Cached
  • If you sit down at a blank screen every day and simply do nothing then you are a writer. If you write one word, even better. Some people will disagree. Maybe you will disagree. That's fine. We also can all disagree. Meanwhile, our DNA is telling us we are pretty much exactly the same.
  • I try to read pieces or chapters in 3-4 books a day or more. I read at least from one non-fiction, one or two quality fiction, and one inspirational. I try to read at the level I want to write. I do this in the morning before I start writing.
  • Destroy every gatekeeper.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • Do what you want. Self-publishing simply means you write a book and you figure out how to get it into the hands of other people. It might just be you sell it on your email list. Congrats! You're then a published author. In my post "How to Self Publish a Bestseller" I write about the details and the numbers.
  • This seems opposite of what I said above. But blogging is not such a bad idea. How come? Because it makes you write every day. And it also is fun to build friends and community around your blog. But if you want to blog, don't just register a domain name and start blogging. You won't get any traffic.
  • There's a thousand ways to build community and practice writing on the Internet. Blog is one of them but there are many others. My #1 suggestion: first practice on Quora (cc Marc Bodnick) If you go there, follow me and say "Hi!".
  • If you don't write every day, you won't know what your potential skill level is. You will be producing sub-par work. And in a world where 15 million books will be published this year, your book will have little chance to shine.
  • Do the math: if you just write 1,000 words a day that are publishable then you have a book every two months. 1,000 words a day is not easy. But it's not hard either.
  • No. You used to be able to make a living writing articles. Just a few years ago. In 2005 I made a good living writing about 3-4 articles a day for different publications while I was running my fund and before I started and sold Stockpickr. But those days are over. People just don't pay for content. And there are too many writers. It's a supply and demand thing.
  • ou have to write more than one book. And for most people, you have to write dozens of books.
  • John Lemke on 19 Feb 14
     
    A great article of advice from a published author.
John Lemke

Why so many digital publishers are flocking back to print | Digiday - 0 views

digiday.com/...blishers-reviving-print-corpse

2014 writing LL-Pub magazines media Newmediaorder circulation

shared by John Lemke on 10 Mar 14 - No Cached
  • Publishers are leaning heavily on the idea that these are “premium” magazines, with deep reporting and full-page photos. Music reviews site Pitchfork even hopes that printing its quarterly magazine’s long-form features and illustrations on high-quality paper stock will encourage readers to collect them just as they collect vinyl records.
  • ather than eye the big general-interest numbers of Time and Rolling Stone, digital publishers are creating their magazines with lower circulations and content aimed at more niche audiences.
  • Most media companies have historically treated magazines as loss leaders, selling them for cheap in the hopes of building the sort of big circulation numbers
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • That’s not the model that these digital publishers are following. Rather than sell the magazines for cheap, Pitchfork is asking for $50 a year (or $20 an issue).
  • John Lemke on 10 Mar 14
     
    A few interesting differences about today's print and yesterday's.  Seems there is still a market for premium content and consumers will actually pay much more than in yesteryear.
John Lemke

USB Implementers Forum Says No to Open Source - 0 views

hackaday.com/...s-forum-says-no-to-open-source

2013 indienationnews usb open source innovation tech law legal

shared by John Lemke on 22 Oct 13 - No Cached
  • Please immediately cease and desist raising funds to purchase a unique USB VID for the purpose of transferring, reselling or sublicensing PIDs and delete all references to the USB-IF, VIDs and PIDs for transfer, resale or sublicense from your website and other marketing materials.
  • Arachnid Labs had an interesting idea to solve this problem. Since other USB device vendors such as Microchip and FTDI give away USB PIDs for free, a not for profit foundation could buy a VID, give PIDs away to foundation members making open source hardware, and we would all live in a magical world of homebrew devices that are certified as USB compliant.
John Lemke

Writer Unboxed » A 'Logic Model' for Author Success - 0 views

writerunboxed.com/...logic-model-for-author-success

2014 writer model author WriteLink copywriting freelance tips marketing management GTD

shared by John Lemke on 14 Apr 14 - No Cached
  • in this age of the “writer as an entrepreneur” responsible for a growing share of the work required to not only create but also sell a book, adding management skills to our repertoire of abilities is not at all a bad idea.
  • as launch time approaches, authors get overwhelmed by thinking that they have to do “everything:” Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, ad campaigns, bookstore talks, conference panels, media articles, email newsletters, book clubs…you name it.
  • what our goals are beyond sales
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Based on our mission and our definition of success, we can then work out a manageable set of steps to take in line with our specific interests and goals. We feel more in control and less anxious about having to “do it all.”
  • A more viable definition of success does have a quantitative element, but it doesn’t necessarily mean “number of copies sold or dollars earned.” It can mean other measurable outcomes such as landing a teaching job or a column in a respected publication.
John Lemke

The Complete Flake's Guide To Getting Things Done - Copyblogger - 0 views

www.copyblogger.com/flake-productivity

2014 LL-Pub guide GTD

shared by John Lemke on 23 Apr 14 - No Cached
  • What we lack is focus. Everything looks good to us.
  • You’re not going to get a damned thing done until you actually know what you want to get out of it.
  • Just know what you want to get out of the thing you’re thinking about doing.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • “Pivotal Technique,”
  • Step 1. Get nice and clear about what you want. Step 2. Get completely, impeccably, bullshit-free clear about where you are now, with respect to that.
  • Flakes are flaky because the map seems impossible. Productive people are productive because the map seems real. The flakes are actually right, but a fat lot of good that does us. The productivity people follow their imaginary map, and because they’re doing something, they get somewhere. (Curse you, productivity people!)
  • Allen is very smart about this. It has to be the single next thing to take action on.
  • If you can’t do it in 20 minutes, it’s probably not the next action. Find the next action.
  • The plan in 7 reasonably painless steps When you’ve got something to do, figure out what you really want to get out of it. Do the Pivotal Technique. Think about what you want, then get clear about where you are right this minute. Notice the difference. Figure out the next action. Do what you feel like. Rinse, lather, repeat. Start a compost pile for ideas, notes, plans, and insights. Stick to a few primary areas of focus — three or four is a good number for a lot of people.
  • John Lemke on 23 Apr 14
     
    A good article on why "flakes" actually rule.
John Lemke

The Smart Way to Use Other People's Audiences to Build Your Own - Copyblogger - 0 views

www.copyblogger.com/other-peoples-audiences

2014 WriteLink freelance copywriting tips writing writer

shared by John Lemke on 08 May 14 - No Cached
  • That’s the basic idea: Get in front of OPA, and then publish fantastic content so you can earn that audience’s respect and trust.
  • Interacting with others, sharing the content of others, and participating in communities are all great ways to generate attention and build an audience.
  • build an audience that is relevant to what you do
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • If you get attribution links as a result of the guest post, then the site and page giving you the link will be closely matched to your site and the specific page receiving the link.
  • You are not a fit for every audience. Don’t worry about it. Pass on opportunities where you can’t bring the good stuff, and focus your energies in the places where you can.
  • John Lemke on 08 May 14
     
    As people often say regarding writing, "it is just as much about networking as it is working".  If you blog or write, these are some great ways to build your audience.
John Lemke

3 Steps for Creating Meaningful Goals That Will Help You Make Progress as a Writer - 0 views

thewritelife.com/-for-creating-meaningful-goals

2013 writing copywriting goals writer writelink

shared by John Lemke on 23 Dec 13 - No Cached
  • This goes beyond setting goals for individual projects and instead spans all parts of your writing life, from pitching to craft to the business side.
  • Brainstorm all the things you’d love to see yourself accomplishing as a writer. Once you’ve got your ideas down on paper, streamline those thoughts by writing in one sentence that encompasses your overall objective for writing.
  • Each big picture requires a different set of tasks. And each short-term goal will flow naturally from your big picture goal.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • Create specific dates by which you want to reach each short-term goal. It may initially feel strange and groundless to set deadlines when you’re unsure of how long things should take. Do it anyway. You can always go back and edit. In fact, you should regularly edit and tweak your goals as you gain expertise and knowledge
  • John Lemke on 23 Dec 13
     
    I am big on goal oriented planning.  This is good article, complete with personal examples from the author, on how to specifically apply the process to copy and freelance writing.
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