My friend Maurilio Amorim is owner of the Brentwood, TN commmunciations, marketing and branding firm, The A Group. He is a top-notch communicator and looks way, way better than me (granted, not terribly difficult to do on either count). What IS challenging to do is effectively communicate in 140 words/spaces or less. It CAN be [...]

I was riding down Peachtree Street last week and saw the makings of a GREAT (and by GREAT, I mean CREATIVE and EFFECTIVE) billboard.

About half the billboard was taken up by the word FUN, followed by an asterisk.

The next line, not quite as large, again displayed the asterisk, followed by the words, “ACTUAL SIZE.”

The bottom [...]

Picnics, parades and fireworks are done. Before the spirit of 1776 fades from view, take one more glance at America’s historic pre-word-document parchment.

The foundation of freedom was written down on that parchment … yes, let me repeat that … WRITTEN DOWN in the Declaration of Independence. Take a look at that last word closely. At [...]

Thousands of messages each day competing for attention.
Whether you’re tweeting, e-mailing, Facebooking or any business activity that involves writing, take a minute to self-edit. One extra moment of judicious thought can help your feelings and ideas cut through a mass of mindless clutter.
Never, ever be content with your content …

It’s a short read about supposedly important people who write, but don’t really say anything. Wish I had written it, but that’s OK. I’m more than glad he did.

When it comes to church, I’m used to a lot of “bells and whistles:” Multi-talented band and vocalists whose chops rival the rich and famous of the music industry; cool staging effects and multimedia that are on a par with – and often surpass – what any TV network could manage; my pastor in Nashville [...]

My friend Ian Black recently forwarded this familiar story, one worth repeating:

A woman approached Picasso and asked him to draw a portrait of her. Picasso quickly sketches her. She is pleased and asks, “How much?” Picasso replies: “$5,000.” The woman screamed, “But it only took you five minutes!” Replied Picasso: “No, madam, it took me [...]

Excellent, well-written radio ad from ServPro, a cleanup and restoration company based in Middle Tennessee. Many ads try (and mostly fail) to capture the humanity of a crisis (i.e., Nashville floods). Few successfully articulate a positive, hopeful message. ServPro’s tagline: “This is not just what we do, this is where we live.”

Connecting the heart and [...]

You’ve seen/heard these ads a million times that say: “For all your ________ needs.”

Trouble is, we never remember who says it, because EVERYBODY says it. And the reason everybody says it? Fear. Fear that if I don’t offer you everything, you won’t come in for the ONE thing you need.

When writing to attract business, focus [...]

Way too many websites are guilty of information overload. If you answer all my questions on your site, there’s no need for me to talk to you. At the end of the day, YOU are your best salesman.

What do you want your website to be: An information clearinghouse … or a conversation starter with your [...]