Everybody Writes, 2nd Edition

Everybody Writes, 2nd Edition

by Ann Handley
Released October 2022
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781119854166

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

A hands-on field guide to consistently creating page-turning content that your audience loves. (And that delivers real results.)

In the newly revised and updated edition of Everybody Writes, marketer and author Ann Handley improves on her Wall Street Journal bestselling book that’s helped hundreds of thousands become better, more confident writers.

In this brand-new edition, she delivers all the practical, how-to advice and insight you need for the process and strategy of content creation, production, and publishing.

This new edition also includes:

  • All-new examples, tools, resources
  • Updated step-by-step writing framework
  • Added and expanded chapters that reflect the evolution of content marketing (and evolution of Ann’s thinking about what works today)
  • The same witty and practical how-to approach
  • How to attract and retain customers with stellar online communication
  • How to choose your words well, sparingly, and with honest empathy for your customers
  • Best practices and ideas for crafting credible, trustworthy content
  • “Things Marketers Write”: The fundamentals of 19 specific kinds of content that marketers like you write
  • Inspiration. Confidence. Fun.

In this book, you’ll discover:

Content marketing has evolved. Yet writing matters more than ever.

In this new edition of Everybody Writes, you’ll find the strategies, techniques, tips, and tools you’ll need to refine, upgrade, and (most of all) inspire your own best content marketing.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Acknowledgments
  6. Start Here
    1. Choose Your Own Adventure
    2. Yes, You Are a Writer
    3. How Is Content Changing?
    4. How Has Writing Changed?
    5. What's New in This Book
    6. How Many Push-Ups?
    7. Notes
  7. Part I: Writing Rules: How to Write Better (and How to Hate Writing Less)
    1. 1 Everybody Writes
      1. Note
    2. 2 Writing Is a Habit, Not an Art
      1. Notes
    3. 3 How to Keep a Daily Writing Ritual When You Aren't Feeling It
      1. Notes
    4. 4 Shake Off School Rules
      1. Notes
    5. 5 Publishing Is a Privilege
    6. 6 Why We Need a Writing Process
    7. 7 Introducing the Writing GPS Framework
      1. Note
    8. 8 Embrace The Ugly First Draft
    9. 9 Draft 2: Cross Out the Wrong Words
    10. 10 Draft 3: Swap Places with Your Reader
      1. Your Customer Signs Your Paycheck
    11. 11 Draft 4: Humor Comes on the Rewrite
    12. 12 Develop Pathological Empathy
      1. Pathological Empathy in Action
    13. 13 Think Before Ink
      1. Notes
    14. 14 Fifteen Ways to Organize
    15. 15 Start with Dear Mom …
      1. Notes
    16. 16 If You Take a Running Start, Cover Your Tracks
    17. 17 Place the Most Important Words at the Beginning of Each Sentence
      1. Notes
    18. 18 Notice Where Words Appear in Relation to Others Around Them
    19. 19 Leads and Kickers
      1. Notes
    20. 20 Show, Don't Tell
      1. In Home Page Copy
      2. In Blog Headlines
      3. Product Copy
      4. In Email Copy
      5. In an Article
      6. In About Us
      7. In a Letter to Investors
    21. 21 How to Write Funny
    22. 22 Use Surprising Analogies, Meaty Metaphors
      1. A Meatier Metaphor
      2. Note
    23. 23 Add Another Sense
      1. Notes
    24. 24 Add Obvious Structure to a List
    25. 25 Approach Writing Like Teaching
      1. Note
    26. 26 Keep It Simple—But Not Simplistic
      1. Notes
    27. 27 Find a Writing Partner
    28. 28 Avoid Hot Dog Writing
    29. 29 Hire a Human Editor
    30. 30 Set a Goal Based on Word Count (Not Time)
    31. 31 End on an I-Can't-Wait-to-Get-Back-to-It Note
    32. 32 Deadlines Are the WD-40 of Writing
  8. Part II: Writing Rules: Grammar and Usage
    1. 33 Use Real Words
      1. Notes
    2. 34 Avoid Frankenwords and Words Pretending to Be Something They're Not
    3. 35 Don't Use Weblish (Words You Wouldn't Whisper to Your Sweetheart in the Dark)
    4. 36 Default to the Present Tense
    5. 37 Choose Active Voice Over Passive Voice
    6. 38 Ditch Weakling Verbs
    7. 39 Adverbs Aren't Necessary (Usually)
    8. 40 Use Clichés Only Once in a Blue Moon
      1. Notes
    9. 41 “Mistakes Were Made.” Avoiding These Simple Mistakes Will Make You Look and Feel Smarter Instantly
    10. 42 Words We Always Get Wrong
      1. Similar or Seemingly Interchangeable Words
      2. Usage Confusion
      3. Notes
    11. 43 Grammar Rules Made to Be Broken
      1. Notes
    12. 44 Limit Moralizing
    13. 45 Eggcorns and Mondegreens
      1. Note
  9. Part III: Voice Rules
    1. 46 Sweat the Smallest Stuff
    2. 47 What's Brand Voice?
    3. 48 How to Develop Your Brand Voice
      1. 1. Define Your Youness
      2. 2. Translate Those Words into a Style
      3. 3. Document It
      4. 4. Look for Nonobvious Opportunities
      5. Notes
    4. 49 Four Powerful Places to Apply Brand Voice
    5. 50 Voice Doesn't Change, Tone Does
  10. Part IV: Story Rules
    1. 51 The Six Elements of a Marketing Story
    2. 52 Your Brand Story: Tell the Story Only You Can Tell
      1. Avoid Messaging Karaoke
      2. How to Avoid Messaging Karaoke
    3. 53 Product Story: Make Your Customer the Hero
      1. Notes
    4. 54 The Rudolph Framework in Action
    5. 55 Hermit Crab Content
      1. Notes
    6. 56 Innovation Is About Brains, Not Budget
      1. Note
  11. Part V: Publishing Rules
    1. 57 Share News That's Really News
      1. Notes
    2. 58 Biased and Balanced
    3. 59 Brands as Media Companies
    4. 60 Should You Ungate Your Content?
      1. Should You Ungate Your Content?
      2. Note
    5. 61 Memes, Trends, Newsjacking
      1. Should you speak out on social issues or causes?
      2. Notes
    6. 62 Better Interviews with These Nonobvious Tips
      1. Note
    7. 63 Check Your Facts
    8. 64 A Mind-Like-Water Mindset
      1. Notes
    9. 65 Seek Out the Best Sources
    10. 66 Beware of Hidden Agendas
    11. 67 Credible Data
    12. 68 Cite as You Write
      1. Notes
    13. 69 Curate Ethically
      1. Notes
    14. 70 Seek Permission, Not Forgiveness
    15. 71 The Basics of Copyright, Fair Use, and For Attribution
      1. Can I Just Link?
      2. What About Images?
      3. How About Logos and Screenshots?
      4. One Final Point
  12. Part VI: 20 Things Marketers Write
    1. 72 The New Ideal Length for Every Piece of Content
    2. 73 Writing Direct Response Email
      1. Notes
    3. 74 Why You Need an Email Newsletter
    4. 75 Writing an Email Newsletter
      1. Should You Publish a LinkedIn Newsletter or a Traditional Newsletter?
    5. 76 Writing a Home Page
      1. We Get You
    6. 77 Writing the About Us Page
      1. When About Us Is Not Really About Us
    7. 78 Writing Landing Pages
      1. Less Is More
    8. 79 Writing Headlines
      1. Notes
    9. 80 Writing Infographics
      1. Note
    10. 81 Writing for Video
    11. 82 Writing for Social Media
      1. Notes
    12. 83 Writing Image Captions
      1. Notes
    13. 84 Writing with Hashtags
      1. Notes
    14. 85 Writing Your LinkedIn Profile
      1. Buzzwords Are Buzzkills
      2. Notes
    15. 86 Writing for LinkedIn
      1. What's Truly Important to Do on LinkedIn?
    16. 87 Writing About Hard Stuff
      1. Note
    17. 88 Writing a Bolder Boilerplate
      1. Notes
    18. 89 Writing Speech Descriptions
    19. 90 Writing a Sales Letter
      1. Take Two
    20. 91 Ghostwriting
  13. Part VII: Content Tools
  14. Acknowledgments for Tools
  15. Epilogue
  16. Index
  17. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: Everybody Writes, 2nd Edition
  • Author(s): Ann Handley
  • Release date: October 2022
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781119854166