There are many voices calling for the death of the press release. What is needed is not execution but reform. I wrote a moby-post on my blog listing 62 Ways to Improve Your Press Release. Here are ten suggestions that relate to the process of writing (other tips deal with managing the process and alternatives to press releases):  Continue reading...

The benefits of working from home are obvious. If you're a regular employee: you skip the commute and there are no office distractions for the day. If you're an entrepreneur: reduced overheads, no commuting and a congenial working environment.  Continue reading...

I used to be a freelance journalist. I gave up and went over to the dark (corporate) side where I am now a copywriter for big tech companies. This is a summary of a longer post on my blog that tries to sum up whatever lessons I can remember about being a freelance hack. Your mileage may vary.  Continue reading...

For the last year or so, I've been learning Dutch and trying to study for my commercial pilot's license. When I was at school, I had the time but not the enthusiasm. Now I have enthusiasm but no time. Surely, there are some neat tricks, technology and tactics I can use. This is what I've tried so far. If you have any other suggestions, PLEASE let me know!  Continue reading...

Interviews matter. Interviews are the foundation of good reporting. They are the best way of understanding a complicated situation and seeing it from someone else's perspective. A wise, old editor of mine used to say "report it out." She meant "go talk to people, don't rely on your own opinions and judgment." It's a good maxim. One of my rules of thumb is to do one interview for each 250-500 words of final copy. So here are my top tips for a good interview.  Continue reading...

There's a great post on Creating Passionate Users about user delight and the guy from the train phenomenon. My old French teacher, who was also a poet, used to come out with things like: "and now Matthew will give us his translation of this paragraph with acrobats and high kicking." I don't know where he got it from but the fireworks of his everyday speech in the classroom are still with me 20 years later. Anyhow, here are my top tips for writers to create the same kind of surprise and delight:

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One of my readers sent me a thought-provoking email asking "why do good writers (occasionally) produce bad copy?" I thought about it for a while and here are a few suggestions.

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