INSIGHTS
Listen up! We have all kinds of opinions about how to do this stuff right. No ranting — we promise.
How to do great thought leadership when you’re short on great ideas
Admit it, marketers: sometimes your authors — your subject-matter experts — come up empty. If your thought leadership is flat-lining, it’s time to call in the story doctors.
The Art of Story Telling
Ever sit in on a presentation as you strain to read the small font delivered in a Tolstoyan-length PowerPoint, where each chart is packed with information? And then somewhere in the middle … you start thinking about lunch. You’re done!
Three reasons why AI is not the only writing help you need
Try to remember the last time you read a truly compelling piece of strategic content—something that spoke to the world as it is now while recognizing possibilities spinning into existence. That particular piece—a white paper, perhaps, or a research report, or a point-of-view article—began with an...
Thought leadership content: why hire a writer when you need a story doctor?
Is there a (story) doctor in the house? If not, there should be. In our trade – the thought-leadership trade – those who want to publish their big ideas typically call on the services of a “writer.”
How PowerPoint is wrecking your thought leadership
You’ve seen them: papers that start out with a tantalizing headline and opening text that really grabs you in anticipation of learning something great. And then you get to the first chart [sound of screeching tires].
Deciding Who Makes Thought Leadership Happen
Take a lesson from Abbott & Costello: When you’re creating thought leadership content, it does matter who’s on first, second, and third.
“Can I have the meat, please?” (not if you want well-done thought leadership content)
Imagine going to an upscale steakhouse known for the finest cuts of prime beef and telling the waiter “I’ll have the meat, please.” In the world of thought leadership content, that’s a lot like saying “I want to write a 10-page white paper — and I want to start writing next week.”
What should customers do with your thought leadership, anyway?
So you and your subject-matter authors have labored long and hard to produce a brilliant thought leadership paper. It’s got a bold, well-differentiated argument. There’s a clear “why now.” It’s jam-packed with lively examples and proprietary data.
What Ought to Happen Before Thought Leadership Happens
The Scouts have had it right all along. That whole “Be Prepared” thing? It applies just as much to thought leadership.