37 Tweet Size Writing Tips

If you only have time to read one of the 37 tweets, read #22:  Empower writers. Because the writer runs the show. Quality content gets you where you want to go.

Where did this tweet collection come from? Ragan’s Corporate Writers and Editors Conference here in Chicago last week. Missed it? The conference makes two more stops: October 28 at Kindred Healthcare in Louisville, KY and November 9 at ConEdison in New York City, NY.

It’s definitely worth attending. But, if you can’t make it, these 37 sweet tweets will get you started. What’s your best writing tip?  [Disclosure: Thanks to Ragan Communications for the conference ticket. My experience with Ragan includes presenting at live events and webinars. On November 15, I’m presenting a Ragan webinar about LinkedIn and recruiting.]

37 Sweet Writing Tip Tweets from 7 Spectacular Speakers

Tweets via @wiredprworks with apologies for any inaccuracies.

Need more writing tips? Check out Ragan’s Corporate Writers and Editors Facebook page and the latest tweets via #ragancwe on twitter.

Mignon Fogarty, Grammar Girl, the alter ego behind Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing, talked about grammar rules and word-choice guidelines.

1. It’s ok to end a sentence with a preposition, but leave it off if you can

2. to capitalize or not – 7 easy rules via prdaily.com http://ow.ly/6Vzrj

3. Yo Comments Are Whack – video recommended by @grammargirl http://ow.ly/6Vzma

4. What is a word? That’s a philosophical question. For example, “Impactful” may be a sketchy choice.  #notusingitagain

5. Affect is usually a verb/action. Effect is usually a noun. The arrows affected Aardvark. The effect was eye popping.

6. Be careful about asking opinions in headlines as in “Is Bad Grammar Acceptable in Music?” @grammargirl http://ow.ly/6VysT

7. @grammargirl up next with quick & dirty tips for better writing her podcast gets 1M downloads a month

Michael Sebastian, editor of PR Daily and the blog PR Junkie, covered an editor’s guide to writing: how to blast through the clutter and make your content irresistible to readers.

8. #writing tip: use art to illustrate // best copyright free photo libraries http://ow.ly/6VwrE

9. 5 places for surveys: surveymonkey.com, twitter, facebook, linkedin, pollstream.com

10. communitainment = communications + entertainment via @markraganceo #ragancwe #PR source for this = prdaily.com

Becky Graebe and Karen Lee of SAS, a company with 11,000 employees and 400 offices around the world took us to the SAS intranet to show us how to design content and communities to engage your most powerful internal communicators: employees. Why is there only one tweet from this segment? I was too busy typing notes. 🙂

11. Intranet employee photo contest, generated 3000 entries, 700 employees blogs how do you encourage contributions?

Daphne Gray-Grant, principal of the Publication Coach, an online company helping other communicators write better, faster taught us how to write twice as fast and have three times as much fun.

12. you need to figure out the direction you want the story to go to narrow it down before the mindmap

13. writing tool “prod” your productivity with WriteOrDie.com to meet a deadline via

14. Writing tips: Can’t get started? Go for a walk. Turn off monitor while you write. Use a noisy timer.

15. Ideal writing time mix: 40% preparation 20% writing 40% editing how does yours compare?

16. Biggest mistake is asking questions about facts – ask about feelings, use the word when to go back to a moment

17. managing tweets @markraganceo posts and searches with dynamictweets.com

18. Outlining? You’re using the left side of your brain. Writing? You’re using the right side so Mind Map instead

Sonia Simone, CMO of Copyblogger Media, presented the seven harsh realities of online content marketing.

19. twitter tip – write your headline and think “would I retweet that or not”

20. It’s not “our” brand anymore. It’s THEIR brand now. Make sure someone is monitoring, engaging, solving onscreen issues.

21. Headline ideas: go to magazines.com look at cosmo, mens fitness @soniasimone #ragancwe “50 things your customer wish you knew”

22. Empower writers. Because the writer runs the show. Quality content gets you where you want to go.

23. all marketing is is persuading another human being to take action

24. content marketing is when you create something that is inherently useful; social media makes it shareable

Mark Ragan, CEO of Ragan Communications in Chicago, an award-winning political and investigative reporter, talked about the role of the editor and writer in the age of instant information, shrinking attention spans and exploding social media.

25. Most popular post on ragan.com? Number of spaces after a period

26. writer/editor now a multi-channel publisher; interactive sites are your best friend, you can’t get away with boring

27. example of great press release http://woot.com/blog/viewentry

28. We do not have an information overload problem, we have a filter problem.

29. good brand journalism sites to look at exportwise.ca @openforum @bestbuy intel reviews intel free press #ragancwe

30. Get into your customer or your employee’s workflow so they are bookmarking your site

31. brand journalism positions companies as media outlets

32. “refrigerator journalism” is personal, within reach, compartmentalized, helpful, scannable, easy to read, brief, knows what you want

33. social media, if done correctly, is what will engage your readers; content is at the center of brand strategy

35. social media & the trends in communication today = exactly what writers do never before has good content mattered more

36. “No passion in the world is equal to the passion to alter someone else’s draft.” H G Wells

37. “Write drunk; edit sober” Hemingway

Many, many Social Media Club Chicago members raved about Mark Ragan’s participation in our January social media and communications panel.

Here’s a replay.

Where the carrot image comes from, inspired by tip number 8: United States Agriculture Research Service. ARS researchers have selectively bred carrots with pigments that reflect almost all colors of the rainbow. More importantly, though, they’re very good for your health.  Photo by Stephen Ausmus.

When do you do your best writing?