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	<title>wordswell // creative consulting agency in baltimore, maryland &#124; brand development &#124; strategic communication &#124; social media &#187; communique</title>
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		<title>Communiqué: &#8220;White Space (Part 3)&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/communique-white-space-part-3/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/communique-white-space-part-3/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:40:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>brody</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ideas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thought provoking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[40 Days of Water]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[authority]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blood:water mission]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[community]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[infromation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[internet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[leverage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[metaphor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[opt-in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[simplicity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sophistication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[time]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[time-shifting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[twitter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[white space]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wordswell]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wordswell.com/?p=1772</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
White space is typically a term used in graphic design that means the space between elements in a composition. It&#8217;s often the mark of simple, clean, and clear design.
The past month we&#8217;ve looked at white space in new ways.
In &#8220;White Space (Part 1)&#8221; we note, as did Da Vinci, that &#8220;simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.&#8221; [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1774" title="White Space (Part 3)" src="http://www.wordswell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/white_space_part31.jpg" alt="White Space (Part 3) header image" width="600" height="200" /></p>
<h5>White space is typically a <a href="http://www.alistapart.com/articles/whitespace/" target="_blank">term used in graphic design</a> that means the space between elements in a composition. It&#8217;s often the mark of simple, clean, and clear design.</h5>
<h5>The past month we&#8217;ve looked at white space in new ways.</h5>
<h5>In <a href="http://www.wordswell.com/blog/communique-white-space-part-1/">&#8220;White Space (Part 1)&#8221;</a> we note, as did Da Vinci, that &#8220;simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.&#8221; Often complex ideas can be best explained by using metaphors or examples. By utilizing these techniques, we can all bring a greater understanding to what we do.</h5>
<h5><a href="http://www.wordswell.com/blog/communique-white-space-part-2/">&#8220;White Space (Part 2)&#8221;</a> looks at how the internet is creating another sort of white space. By having multitudes of information always available when we search for it, we can relax, clear our brains, and be ok with decentralized knowledge.</h5>
<p>All of these approaches to white space lead to a hopeful reality for our emerging world:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em><strong>Great ideas will win.</strong></em></p>
<p>This is largely due to the technological changes happening right now, in real time. The internet is redefining &#8220;authority&#8221;.</p>
<p>Culturally, the playing field is leveling. It&#8217;s less about how much influence you can buy and more about how much influence you can earn. It&#8217;s about how good your ideas are and, of course, how well you communicate them.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s why:</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>We&#8217;re in an opt-in world. </strong>Increasingly, we only consume the information and media that we want to. We self-select the influences we want to have and so we care more about what those people and brands say. Time-shifiting products like TiVo, DVRs, podcasts, other on-demand services, and even Google itself, mean that we get what we want when we want it. The role of interruption-based messages (like traditional advertising) is changing drastically.</li>
<li><strong>Communities are evolving, and they&#8217;re going online. </strong>Instead of turning to big media outlets to tell us what&#8217;s happening and what&#8217;s cool, we are looking more and more to our hand-picked communities (or, as <a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/" target="_blank">Seth Godin</a> calls them, &#8220;tribes&#8221;). These tribes are developing online where we can create and digest tons of content, stay in touch with more people than ever, and essentially leverage our time, our expertise, and the value bring to the table.</li>
<li><strong>All media is becoming &#8220;social media&#8221;.</strong> This means that we can engage with and/or contribute to the messages we consume like never before. Walls are down. Gatekeepers are dead. Ideas can spread with the click of a mouse or cell phone button. For example, if one of your Twitter messages is &#8220;retweeted&#8221; by a few folks and again retweeted by some of their friends, you&#8217;ve reached an audience of thousands within seconds. We have more potential for influence and power than ever before.</li>
</ol>
<p>The real question is, what are we going to do with it?<br />
Brody</p>
<p>P.S. A great example of this whole concept is that in a matter of days, over 1,000 people signed to participate <a href="http://40Days.bloodwatermission.com/" target="_blank">40 Days of Water</a>, a Blood:Water Mission campaign to bring clean water to our neighbors in Africa. In the 2 days after launch, about 10,000 people had visited the special website dedicated to the campaign. All of this happened almost exclusively through social media and word of mouth. It&#8217;s incredible.</p>
<p>Wordswell had the privilege of building the website and software application that is supporting this campaign. <a href="http://40Days.bloodwatermission.com/" target="_blank">You can sign up to participate</a> by making water your only beverage for 40 days. Otherwise, if you&#8217;d like to donate to the cause, visit my profile page at <a href="http://40Days.bloodwatermission.com/brodybond" target="_blank">http://40Days.bloodwatermission.com/brodybond</a>.</p>
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		<item>
		<title>Communiqué: &#8220;White Space (Part 2)&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/communique-white-space-part-2/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/communique-white-space-part-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:50:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>brody</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thought provoking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[comment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[content]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[engagement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[influence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[internet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[link]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[search]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[share]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tag]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[technolgy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[title]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[web]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[web technoloty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[white space]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wordswell.com/blog/communique-white-space-part-2/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Information overload is crushing to the soul.
It&#8217;s why we should all be excited about emerging web technologies. Here&#8217;s why:
We will no longer have to wade through the mire of content packed into tight, unsearchable places.
The old way
Jam lots of content into a printed newsletter. Force people to have to read though everything to find the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1747" title="White Space (Part 2)" src="http://www.wordswell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/white_space_part23.jpg" alt="White Space (Part 2)" width="600" height="200" /></p>
<p>Information overload is crushing to the soul.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s why we should all be excited about emerging web technologies. Here&#8217;s why:</p>
<p>We will no longer have to wade through the mire of content packed into tight, unsearchable places.</p>
<h3>The old way</h3>
<p>Jam lots of content into a printed newsletter. Force people to have to read though everything to find the pieces of content they actually want. Make sure none of this content is ever accessible again. Do not leverage this content outside the scope of your current audience. Oh, and spend lots of money to print and mail it.</p>
<h3>The newer way</h3>
<p>Put all of your content online &#8211; text, pictures, audio, and video. Allow users to see titles, summaries, categories, and tags to find what is useful to them. Make all this content searchable, both so that it can be found in the future and so outsiders might find something valuable to read. Store all this content for free (regardless of how many people see it). Allow folks to comment, share, link to, and otherwise engage your content.</p>
<p><strong>The web lets us spread out information. It allows us to find information on demand. It&#8217;s like a proxemic white space.</strong></p>
<p>It allows us to find those needles in the haystacks.</p>
<p>It allows us to breath.</p>
<p>It also levels the playing field of influence… but more on that in Part 3 next week.</p>
<p>Create white space. Revive your soul,</p>
<p>brody</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Communiqué: &#8220;White Space (Part 1)&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/communique-white-space-part-1/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/communique-white-space-part-1/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:56:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>brody</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ideas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[audience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[complexity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[examples]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[graphic design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iTunes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[metaphor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[simplicity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sophistication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[web design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[white space]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[whitespace]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wordswell.com/?p=1728</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
&#8220;Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication&#8221; according to Leonardo da Vinci.
He&#8217;s right.
The best teachers, consultants, pastors, artists, and leaders all do the same thing: they make the complex simple. Does what you do fall into any of those categories?
What should you do when you have to explain something complex? How do you make it simple? Find [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1730" title="white_space" src="http://www.wordswell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/white_space.jpg" alt="white space" width="600" height="200" /></p>
<p><strong>&#8220;Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication&#8221;</strong> according to Leonardo da Vinci.</p>
<p>He&#8217;s right.</p>
<p>The best teachers, consultants, pastors, artists, and leaders all do the same thing: they make the complex simple. Does what you do fall into any of those categories?</p>
<p>What should you do when you have to explain something complex? How do you make it simple? Find a metaphor.</p>
<p>If someone doesn&#8217;t understand something, figure out a way to say, <strong>&#8220;Well, it&#8217;s just like&#8230;&#8221;</strong>.</p>
<p>Is he still not getting it? Use careful examples. Starting a phrase with <strong>&#8220;For example…&#8221;</strong> is one of the most powerful ways to bring meaning to what you are saying.</p>
<p>In graphic design and web design, simplicity is achieved through the use of white space.</p>
<p>What&#8217;s white space? <strong>Well, it&#8217;s just like</strong> what you would have when you clear away all the hay to find the needle.</p>
<p><strong>For example</strong>, look at how simple it was to donate to Haiti relief efforts through the way this iTunes store page was designed and written:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wordswell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/iTunes-Haiti.jpg" title="iTunes Haiti" rel="lightbox[1728]"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1742" title="iTunes Haiti" src="http://www.wordswell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/iTunes-Haiti.jpg" alt="iTunes Haiti" width="500" height="360" /></a></p>
<p>Adding by subtracting,</p>
<p>brody</p>
<p>P.S. You know that needle that your audience found so easily because there wasn&#8217;t any hay? <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowdsourcing" target="_blank">They&#8217;re now using it to stitch with</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Communiqué: &#8220;Consulting and Music&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/communique-consulting-and-music/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/communique-consulting-and-music/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:22:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>brody</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[creativity/imagination]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ideas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[story]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[consulting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[meaning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[message]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[music]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[organization]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[process]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rhythm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[time]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wordswell.com/?p=1715</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
When you look at something while listening to music, the thing you&#8217;re looking at takes on stunning new meaning. Music creates mood. That&#8217;s why great music is key in film and key in the communication of a message.
Music also implies story. Both music and story require the passing of time for them to even exist. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1716" title="Consulting and Music" src="http://www.wordswell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/consulting_music1.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="200" /></p>
<p>When you look at something while listening to music, the thing you&#8217;re looking at takes on stunning new meaning. Music creates mood. That&#8217;s why great music is key in film and key in the communication of a message.</p>
<p>Music also implies story. Both music and story require the passing of time for them to even exist. Music is completely incoherent if all of the notes of a piece are played at once. <strong>Music only has meaning when notes are spread out over time and played in rhythm.</strong></p>
<p>May I make an odd suggestion? Make sure that you have a strategic adviser that&#8217;s either a musician or someone who &#8220;gets&#8221; music deeply. Here&#8217;s why:</p>
<p>Music is art that is directly tied to time and process. What&#8217;s happening at any given moment only makes sense in the context of what has already happened and what will happen.</p>
<p>There&#8217;s movement. There&#8217;s change. There&#8217;s direction. There&#8217;s preparation. There&#8217;s fluidity. There&#8217;s purposeful tension and dissonance… that resolves. There&#8217;s story. And there&#8217;s meaning in it all.</p>
<p>Sound like something your organization needs? Music people get it. Have them write your song.</p>
<p>Then you can get others to sing along.</p>
<p>Clap your hands,</p>
<p>brody</p>
<p>P.S. Need proof? Watch this.</p>
<p><object width="560" height="308"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5732745&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=1&amp;color=00ADEF&amp;fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5732745&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=1&amp;color=00ADEF&amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="560" height="308"></embed></object></p>
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		<title>Wordswell Communiqué: Ordering Your Loves</title>
		<link>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/must-read/wordswell-communique-ordering-your-loves/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/must-read/wordswell-communique-ordering-your-loves/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:31:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>brody</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ideas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[must read]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thought provoking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Clapham Institute]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[decision making]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[love]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wordswell.com/?p=1690</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Mike Metzger of The Clapham Institute writes a weekly must-read piece called the Clapham Commentary.
Mike will often talk about the concept of &#8220;ordering your loves.&#8221; Let me explain how I understand the idea:
Imagine you have these 3 ideas, goals, or let&#8217;s call them &#8220;loves&#8221;: vacation, money, and time at home. Let&#8217;s first note that none [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1692" title="ordering_your_loves" src="http://www.wordswell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/ordering_your_loves.jpg" alt="ordering_your_loves" width="600" height="200" /></p>
<p>Mike Metzger of <a href="http://claphaminstitute.org/" target="_blank">The Clapham Institute</a> writes a weekly must-read piece called the <a href="http://www.doggieheadtilt.com/" target="_blank">Clapham Commentary</a>.</p>
<p>Mike will often talk about the concept of &#8220;ordering your loves.&#8221; Let me explain how I understand the idea:</p>
<p>Imagine you have these 3 ideas, goals, or let&#8217;s call them &#8220;loves&#8221;: vacation, money, and time at home. Let&#8217;s first note that none of those things are intrinsically bad (or good).</p>
<p>If you love vacation more than than you love time at home, that will directly affect how you plan your year. Just because you love vacation more than time at home doesn&#8217;t mean you&#8217;ll never be home. Rather, one priority informs the other, and in this case, you&#8217;ll be heading to the beach!</p>
<p>Now, let&#8217;s say you love money more than vacation. All of a sudden, there is a different and higher priority that informs your decision making. Now, though you love vacation more than time at home, you may actually be more inclined to stay at home so that you can save money. It&#8217;s a worthy sacrifice because you&#8217;re responding to a greater love.</p>
<p><em>Here&#8217;s the twist: </em>let&#8217;s say you love your family more than you love money. Now what do you do? Which is more critical to the success of that even-greater love: vacation or staying at home (or saving money)? Moreover, what is a greater love than even your family? Your career? God? The environment?</p>
<p>There isn&#8217;t an answer. But there is a guiding principle: <strong>How you order your loves will directly affect the decisions you make.</strong></p>
<p>What does your organization love? What are the order of those loves? What hills do you die on &#8211; and in what order?</p>
<p>Do your customers care about knowing those things? Absolutely.</p>
<p>Go tell them,</p>
<p>brody</p>
<p>P.S. <a href="http://www.wordswell.com/research-internship/" target="_blank">Wordswell is looking for a research intern.</a></p>
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		<title>Wordswell Communiqué 1/12/10 &#8211; &#8220;Dignity&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/wordswell-communique-01-12-10-dignity/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/wordswell-communique-01-12-10-dignity/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:38:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>brody</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dignity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[humility]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[professions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sacred]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[stereotypes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[value]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wordswell]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wordswell.com/?p=1673</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Lawyers cheat.
Marketers lie.
Used car salesmen do both.
Teachers are the ones that can&#8217;t &#8220;do&#8221;.
Government workers have it easy.
Housewives have it easy.
Celebrities have it easy.
Doctors charge too much.
Financial guys are greedy.
Consultants b.s.
Politicians only care about getting reelected.
Pastors don&#8217;t do real work.
Mechanics rip you off.
Trash men are… trash men.
IT guys are dorks.
Realtors just unlock doors for you.
Construction workers [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Lawyers</strong> cheat.</p>
<p><strong>Marketers</strong> lie.</p>
<p><strong>Used car salesmen </strong>do both.</p>
<p><strong>Teachers</strong> are the ones that can&#8217;t &#8220;do&#8221;.</p>
<p><strong>Government workers</strong> have it easy.</p>
<p><strong>Housewives</strong> have it easy.</p>
<p><strong>Celebrities</strong> have it easy.</p>
<p><strong>Doctors</strong> charge too much.</p>
<p><strong>Financial guys</strong> are greedy.</p>
<p><strong>Consultants</strong> b.s.</p>
<p><strong>Politicians</strong> only care about getting reelected.</p>
<p><strong>Pastors</strong> don&#8217;t do real work.</p>
<p><strong>Mechanics</strong> rip you off.</p>
<p><strong>Trash men</strong> are… trash men.</p>
<p><strong>IT guys</strong> are dorks.</p>
<p><strong>Realtors</strong> just unlock doors for you.</p>
<p><strong>Construction workers</strong> are dirty.</p>
<p><strong>Nurses</strong> aren&#8217;t doctors.</p>
<p>Do you ever feel like a victim to your own stereotypes about what you do? Smash them.</p>
<p>This year at the <a href="http://tedxmidatlantic.com/" target="_blank">TEDx  Mid-Atlantic</a> conference, <a href="http://www.polyfacefarms.com/" target="_blank">Joel Salatin</a> said, &#8220;If we devote ourselves to sacredness in our vocations, the world will rise to meet us.&#8221; Do you see the sacredness and the dignity in what you do? What about in other people?</p>
<p>The humility that lets you see the value in everyone around you is the humility that will let you see the value in yourself.</p>
<p>Take the phrase &#8220;I&#8217;m just a&#8230;&#8221; out of your vocabulary,<br />
Brody</p>
<p>P.S. If you watch the <a href="http://www.wordswell.com/blog/wordswell-less-than-90-second-update-01-12-10-why-are-most-car-dealership-ads-so-bad/" target="_blank">&#8220;Wordswell &lt; :90 Update&#8221;</a> video today, you&#8217;ll see we&#8217;re asking you &#8220;Why are most car dealership ads so bad?&#8221; and &#8220;What would it take for you to care about where you bought a car?&#8221; To access that survey, click on <a href="http://wordswell.com/cars" target="_blank">wordswell.com/cars</a>.</p>
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		<title>Communiqué: &#8220;Preparing the Ground&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/communique-preparing-the-ground/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/communique-preparing-the-ground/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:15:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>brody</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ideas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[analysis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[promises]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wordswell]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wordswell.com/?p=1662</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You know how to get snow to stick to the ground really well?
Make it really, really cold. And keep it really cold for a long time.
Your sales and marketing tactics are like a snowstorm. No matter how ferocious your blizzard is, your strategy will not stick unless you&#8217;ve prepared the ground. You gotta keep it [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>You know how to get snow to stick to the ground really well?</p>
<p>Make it really, really cold. And keep it really cold for a long time.</p>
<p>Your sales and marketing tactics are like a snowstorm. No matter how ferocious your blizzard is, your strategy will not stick unless you&#8217;ve prepared the ground. You gotta keep it cold enough long enough so that your customer is willing enough to let your storm turn to beauty.</p>
<p><strong>If you don&#8217;t prepare the ground, you&#8217;re wasting money with every flake that melts.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Here&#8217;s how to make it cold:</strong> Say the right things in the right ways. The &#8220;right things&#8221; are the things your customers care about. The &#8220;right ways&#8221; are ways that are a) surprising enough to get attention, and b) beautiful enough to earn credibility.</p>
<p>(Can you feel the B.S. meter going up these days?… it&#8217;s not just how you say it, it&#8217;s what you say.)</p>
<p><strong>Here&#8217;s how to keep it cold:</strong> Say the right things in the right ways over and over and over again.</p>
<p>How do you know the right things to say? Ask. Ask your customers. Ask your sales people. Ask Wordswell to help you.</p>
<p>How do you know the right ways to say them? Ask. Ask your customers. Ask your sales people. Ask Wordswell to help you.</p>
<p>How do you say them over and over and over again? Strategize. Ask Wordswell to help you.</p>
<p>We define brand development as &#8220;telling the truth about who you are, faster.&#8221; But we should also add &#8220;…for the long haul.&#8221;</p>
<p>As soon as you change your set of promises, you start the freezing process over again. It&#8217;s ok to do that. Just be patient, like the last time.</p>
<p>brrrrrr.</p>
<p>brody</p>
<p>P.S. Wordswell loves to do brand assessments where we research your &#8220;stuff&#8221;. How good is your message and your media tools? What are your competitors doing? But really, all that only helps to assess the main questions:</p>
<ul>
<li>Do your customers know the promises your making?</li>
<li>Do those promises matter to your customer?</li>
<li>Do your customers believe that you can deliver on those promises?</li>
</ul>
<p>Ultimately, do your customers/members/donors/stakeholders know you? Trust you? Advocate for you?</p>
<p>If so, great! Let&#8217;s run with that. If not, great! Let&#8217;s fix that.</p>
<p>Prices start at various four-figure amounts. Start 2010 with a Wordswell Brand Assessment.</p>
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		<title>Communiqué: &#8220;Do Not Live Like It&#8217;s Your Last Day&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/must-read/communique-do-not-live-like-its-your-last-day-2/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/must-read/communique-do-not-live-like-its-your-last-day-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:28:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>brody</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ideas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[must read]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christmas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[commodity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hanukkah]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[longevity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[promise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[quote]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trust]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wordswell.com/?p=1652</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[So, we&#8217;re in the season of stale platitudes, cliché religious advice, crassly commercialized quips, and bad photography. How are your holiday cards and public service announcements looking?
There&#8217;s an oft-quoted piece of advice that sometimes rubs me the wrong way: &#8220;Live everyday as though it were your last.&#8221;
To me, that can be short-sighted, selfish, hedonistic, uncharitable, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>So, we&#8217;re in the season of stale platitudes, cliché religious advice, crassly commercialized quips, and bad photography. How are your holiday cards and public service announcements looking?</p>
<p>There&#8217;s an oft-quoted piece of advice that sometimes rubs me the wrong way: &#8220;Live everyday as though it were your last.&#8221;</p>
<p>To me, that can be short-sighted, selfish, hedonistic, uncharitable, rude, or opportunistic. There are certainly times when we shouldn&#8217;t throw it to the wind. We should often take care to live today like there is a tomorrow &#8211; so that tomorrow is all it can be.</p>
<p>The implications for your organization and it&#8217;s brand development are strong. Simply, a business cannot think only of the present if they are interested in building a brand. A brand says, &#8220;we&#8217;re here, today, tomorrow, or whenever you need us, ready to serve you and meet your needs.&#8221; A brand&#8217;s marketing and advertising needs to communicate that.</p>
<p><strong>The opposite of a brand is a commodity</strong> that screams, &#8220;Sale! Today only! Call us now! We are awesome! Your opportunity (and our success) lives or dies right now!&#8221; Those businesses take advantage of their customers.</p>
<p>And they don&#8217;t build trust. Hurried messages can&#8217;t make the type of promises that you can deliver on over and over again. A brand is a promise. And, without a concerted effort to build a brand, it becomes difficult for people to become advocates and fans of who you are.</p>
<p>All of this is directly tied to the religious significance of this season:</p>
<p><strong>Hanukkah </strong>is a holiday that celebrates longevity. Consecrated oil that was thought to only be able to burn for one day miraculously burned for eight days.</p>
<p><strong>Christmas</strong> celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, whose very coming was predicated on God&#8217;s desire to redeem the world so that people could live forever with Him.</p>
<p>Right on the cusp of every new year we are reminded of what endures. Does your organization &#8211; does your brand &#8211; follow the theme of that song?</p>
<p>Joy to the world,</p>
<p>brody</p>
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		<title>Communiqué: &#8220;Arrogance&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/communique-arrogance/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/communique-arrogance/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:33:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>brody</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ideas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[advertising]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[arrogance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[customer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[humility]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[research]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wordswell.com/?p=1606</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;All you and Lisa ever do is come home, turn on the tv, and then do your own thing on your computers as you sit on the sofa all night long.&#8221;
So says my wife&#8217;s brother who lives with us.
Certainly, my wife and I are not going to have deep conversation nor get cuddly while he&#8217;s [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>&#8220;All you and Lisa ever do is come home, turn on the tv, and then do your own thing on your computers as you sit on the sofa all night long.&#8221;</p>
<p>So says my wife&#8217;s brother who lives with us.</p>
<p>Certainly, my wife and I are not going to have deep conversation nor get cuddly while he&#8217;s around, right? He has a limited perspective of how we spend our time.</p>
<p>The problem is that his limited perspective creates his entire framework for how he sees our marriage. It&#8217;s arrogant.</p>
<p>And we all do it.</p>
<p><strong>We so often use our limited perspective to give us our entire framework of looking at something. </strong>Like my brother-in-law, we let our perceptions of something project realities that aren&#8217;t always true. We are all arrogant.</p>
<p>This happens in business all the time. The limited (and jargon-laden) perspective of a business owner will often provide the entire framework for how that organization communicates with their prospects and customers. The message will be about the company, in the language of the company, and about things that the company cares about.</p>
<p>But remember: marketing and advertising are not about you. Each ought to be used to serve your audience. <strong>Messages should be about your customer, in the language of your customer, and about the things your customer cares about.</strong></p>
<p>At Wordswell, we define brand development as &#8220;telling the truth about who you are &#8211; quicker.&#8221; It&#8217;s a process that requires humility. Only when we are humble can we speak someone else&#8217;s language. Any only then can we convey real meaning.</p>
<p>How do we meaningfully communicate the truth about something (e.g. our organizations)? 1) Realize our perspectives are limited. 2) Listen.</p>
<p>Ya hear?</p>
<p>brody</p>
<p>P.S. <strong>The best advertising merely echoes that which people are already saying about you.</strong> Research is a key element of brand development. That&#8217;s why Wordswell helps our clients research what they should say before they say it. When we interview your clients to see why they love you, you get invaluable information about your brand. (And, along the way, you get some huge customer service points with your audience.)</p>
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		<title>Communiqué: Walking Up Your Staircase (or, The Most Creative Thing I&#8217;ve Seen In a While)</title>
		<link>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/communique-walking-up-your-staircase-or-the-most-creative-thing-ive-seen-in-a-while/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/communique-walking-up-your-staircase-or-the-most-creative-thing-ive-seen-in-a-while/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:56:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>brody</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[creativity/imagination]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ideas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thought provoking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[control]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[engagement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[in-bound marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[inspiration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[inspire]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[listening]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[music]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[persuasion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[risk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[staircase]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wordswell.com/?p=1548</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Listen to all those &#8220;bad&#8221; notes.
They are exactly the reason this experiment was a success.
And they are exactly how to get people to walk up your staircase.
Because if people are hitting bad notes it means that they are allowed to hit bad notes. And if they&#8217;re allowed to hit bad notes, then they have freedom. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="560" height="340" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2lXh2n0aPyw&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="340" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2lXh2n0aPyw&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></p>
<p>Listen to all those &#8220;bad&#8221; notes.</p>
<p>They are exactly the reason this experiment was a success.</p>
<p>And they are exactly how to get people to walk up your staircase.</p>
<p>Because if people are hitting bad notes it means that they are <em>allowed</em> to hit bad notes. And if they&#8217;re allowed to hit bad notes, then they have freedom. And if they have freedom, then they can choose to contribute. And once they contribute to something, then they are vested in it.</p>
<p>And if someone is vested in you, your history is changed.</p>
<p>None of this happens if you stay in control. How do you give up control? Enable your customers to be creators, sharers, collaborators, lovers, fools, fans, advocates. To put it another way, <strong>let them be themselve</strong>s. Just make sure you&#8217;re a valuable part of the conversation along the way.</p>
<p>Practically speaking, what can you do? Make your content accessible. Allow comments on your blog. Respond. Give away secrets. Tweet. Ask for advice from your clients. Post that ridiculous photo. Put down your defenses. Talk about what you&#8217;re doing and how you&#8217;re doing it. Don&#8217;t just give the polished impression of yourself. Give the transparent one.</p>
<p>And follow it up with engagement. <strong>Prove you&#8217;re listening</strong>. This is a fundamental shift in the way most &#8220;marketing&#8221; has happened in the past.</p>
<p>The days of control are over.</p>
<p>The days of inspiration are here. Better start getting more creative&#8230; and more humble. Why? Because people have more options than ever. We are all more likely to be commodities. Most of us are staircases. Some of us are cool, flashy escalators. Few of us have the courage to let people walk all over us by turning ourselves into instruments.</p>
<p>But if you believe in what you&#8217;re doing in the world, if you believe your product or service makes a difference, isn&#8217;t that exactly what you want people to be doing? It&#8217;s the only way you can earn the right to be heard and gain influence. Why? So you can be the staircase that guides your clients to the light of day.</p>
<p>Inspire,</p>
<p>brody</p>
<p>P.S. If people are going to use your staircase for all its worth (and give you their time or their money along the way), they must be delighted to do so. There is no delight without surprise. It is incumbent upon us, not the pedestrians, to make our staircases surprising. That&#8217;s why Wordswell asks our clients to take risks. We help you create surprise. Wanna start 2010 well? Jump. We can push you if you need it.</p>
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		<title>&#8220;The Trouble With Websites&#8221; &#124; Wordswell Communiqué</title>
		<link>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/the-trouble-with-websites-wordswell-communiqu/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/the-trouble-with-websites-wordswell-communiqu/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:00:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>brody</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[audience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[content]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[effectiveness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[free advice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[influence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[information architecture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[navigation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[non-profit website design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[user experience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[value]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[voice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[web design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[web traffic]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wordswell.com/?p=1084</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You&#8217;re meeting a new prospect. Here&#8217;s how it might go:
You: Hi, I&#8217;m so-and-so from company X. We do this-and-that.
Some Guy: Wow, that sounds really interesting! What&#8217;s your website?
Sound familiar?
Notice the question that used to be &#8220;Do you have a website?&#8221; is becoming &#8220;What&#8217;s your website?&#8221;
Having a website is expected.
What really matters is how good your [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>You&#8217;re meeting a new prospect. Here&#8217;s how it might go:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>You: Hi, I&#8217;m so-and-so from company X. We do this-and-that.</em></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>Some Guy: Wow, that sounds really interesting! What&#8217;s your website?</em></p>
<p>Sound familiar?</p>
<p>Notice the question that used to be &#8220;Do you have a website?&#8221; is becoming &#8220;What&#8217;s your website?&#8221;</p>
<p>Having a website is expected.</p>
<p>What really matters is how good your website is. This isn&#8217;t just a matter of &#8220;good design&#8221;.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s a matter of user experience, information architecture, content, navigation, and effectiveness. It&#8217;s getting people to return to your site. Most importantly, it&#8217;s adding value to your user. (Remember, you need to add value to your audience in order to earn a voice that can influence them.)</p>
<p>So now you have a website. What next? How do you drive traffic? How do you get your money&#8217;s worth out of your communication hub?</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Big Offer</span><br />
We&#8217;ll let you know what we think of your website for free, and offer some advice on improving it. Do you want some honest feedback? Give us a ring.</p>
<p>Stand out, but in a strategic way,<br />
brody</p>
<p>P.S. A key to driving traffic to your website is search engine optimization (SEO). SEO means that your site will come up when someone searches for what you do. You can call us for some free pointers.</p>
<p>P.P.S. In case you missed it, that&#8217;s two free offers we&#8217;re starting this week and will continue as long as we can: 1) brief honest assessment of your current website plus ideas for improvement, and 2) basic SEO tips. My cell phone number is 443-804-0108.</p>
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		<title>&#8220;6 Ways to Build a Brand Like a Community&#8221; &#124; Wordswell Communiqué</title>
		<link>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/must-read/6-ways-to-build-a-brand-like-a-community-wordswell-communique/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/must-read/6-ways-to-build-a-brand-like-a-community-wordswell-communique/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2009 23:32:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>brody</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ideas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[must read]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thought provoking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand building]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[community]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fear]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hope]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[language]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Starbucks]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wordswell.com/?p=1057</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Do you read The Art of Non-Conformity Blog by Chris Guillebeau? It&#8217;s great. More importantly, he&#8217;s great.
Chris wrote a post today called &#8220;What Makes a Community?&#8221; and it echoed thoughts of my own. Recommended reading.
One thing I took away from his article is that the necessary conditions for building community are also true for building [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Do you read <a href="http://chrisguillebeau.com/3x5/">The Art of Non-Conformity</a> Blog by Chris Guillebeau? It&#8217;s great. More importantly, <em>he&#8217;s</em> great.</p>
<p>Chris wrote a post today called <a href="http://chrisguillebeau.com/3x5/what-makes-a-community/">&#8220;What Makes a Community?&#8221;</a> and it echoed thoughts of my own. Recommended reading.</p>
<p>One thing I took away from his article is that the necessary conditions for building community are also true for building brands. As you are building your brand, Chris&#8217;s ideas about community might serve as inspiration. They did for me. Here&#8217;s the summary recap of Chris&#8217;s thoughts (my comments in italics):</p>
<p><strong>A community needs a leader.</strong> <em>That&#8217;s you, business owner, CEO, pastor, president. There is no brand if you don&#8217;t act. <a href="http://www.kanonclarity.com">Need help aligning your vision and your action?</a></em></p>
<p><strong>A community needs friends AND enemies.</strong> <em>There is no inclusion without exclusion. You want fans (short for &#8220;fanatics&#8221;), not a lot of people who just think you&#8217;re ok. Do your ads annoy people? Good. They&#8217;re listening. If you are afraid of having enemies, you can&#8217;t have a brand. Do you think Starbucks is Starbucks because everyone likes them? No. Their brand has attracted friends of Starbucks &#8211; and enemies.</em></p>
<p><strong>A strong community needs long-term commitment.</strong> <em>That&#8217;s why you build a brand &#8211; to get commitment. It starts with your commitment to your audience and that commitment never stops. You must earn their commitment to you along the way. As you keep delivering on the promise that is your brand, as you keep adding value to the lives of your audience, you will have your own community &#8211; that you lead &#8211; that has long-term commitment.</em></p>
<p><strong>A community needs its own language.</strong> <em>YES YES YES! This point cannot be understated. My best friends and I communicate in a way that no one else understands. The world&#8217;s people-groups are organized by language. Certainly, you need to be clear about who you are and what you do in this world. BUT, if you develop a language that you use with your clients exclusively, and they use with you exclusively, you have built a community. The person that orders an iced-quad-venti-whole-milk-caramel-macchiato isn&#8217;t crazy. They&#8217;ve experienced love, commitment, and a language from a brand &#8211; and they are making that brand very rich in the meantime.</em></p>
<p><strong>A community needs to actively (and carefully) solicit other members</strong>. <em>D</em><em>on&#8217;t grow too fast. Not everyone is a good client. Your brand&#8217;s integrity is worth more than your bottom line this year.</em></p>
<p><strong>A community built on hope is stronger than one built on fear.</strong> S<em>ales and discounts don&#8217;t build brands. Do you want people to BUY FROM YOU RIGHT NOW!!! or know that you&#8217;ll be there tomorrow and the day after that, ready to take care of them when they need what you have to offer? Your brand is strong when people think of you when they have a need that you fulfill.</em></p>
<p>Maybe it&#8217;s not that &#8220;the principles of building community are the same principles of building a brand.&#8221;</p>
<p>Maybe it is that brand-building and community-building are the same thing.</p>
<p>What do you think?</p>
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		<title>Wordswell Communiqué &#124; “How to Write Sp*m Emails”</title>
		<link>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/wordswell-communique-how-to-write-spam-emails-2/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/wordswell-communique-how-to-write-spam-emails-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 05 May 2009 13:25:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>brody</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[how to]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[email]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[email marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spam]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wordswell.com/?p=1018</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Spam &#8220;Best Practices&#8221;
 Step 1: Include the 20 Words to Get Your Email Marked as Spam.
Step 2: Blind carbon copy (Bcc:) as many people as possible.
Step 3: Write in all caps. If you want to be a varsity-level spam creator, type some of the 20 Words in all caps.
Step 4: Attach large images and files. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3>Spam &#8220;Best Practices&#8221;</h3>
<p><strong> Step 1:</strong> Include the <a href="http://www.wordswell.com/blog/top-20-words-to-get-your-email-marked-as-spam/">20 Words to Get Your Email Marked as Spam</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Step 2:</strong> Blind carbon copy (Bcc:) as many people as possible.</p>
<p><strong>Step 3:</strong> Write in all caps. If you want to be a varsity-level spam creator, type some of the 20 Words in all caps.</p>
<p><strong>Step 4:</strong> Attach large images and files. Use HTML tags not meant for email.</p>
<p><strong>Step 5:</strong> Don&#8217;t honor opt-out requests.</p>
<h3>Are you interested in <em>good</em> email marketing?</h3>
<p>Wordswell can help you send emails that:</p>
<ul>
<li> bust through spam filters</li>
<li> look great</li>
<li> offer measuring tools such as open rates, click-through rates, and forward rates</li>
<li> are easy for you to manage</li>
</ul>
<p>Here are some more short pieces you should read:<br />
•<a href="http://www.wordswell.com/blog/an-introduction-to-email-marketing/">An Intro to Email Marketing</a><br />
•<a href="http://www.wordswell.com/blog/email-system-features/">Features of Our Email System</a><br />
•<a href="http://www.wordswell.com/blog/what-makes-our-email-services-unique/">What Makes Our Email Services Unique?</a></p>
<p>If you&#8217;d like a free demo of how all this works, please call me at 443-804-0108.</p>
<p>Can spam,<br />
brody</p>
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		<title>Wordswell Communiqué &#124; “What Is Message Creation?”</title>
		<link>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/must-read/wordswell-communique-what-is-message-creation/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/must-read/wordswell-communique-what-is-message-creation/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:00:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>brody</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[must read]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thought provoking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[content]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[creative consulting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[email]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[film]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[identity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[influence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[message creation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[production leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[value]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[voice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wordswell.com/?p=971</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Your BRAND
only matters if it has
INFLUENCE
only matters if it has a
VOICE
only matters if it adds
VALUE
only matters if it offers good
CONTENT
only matters if people can
FIND IT.
Message Creation isn&#8217;t just about getting you a website, logo, or brochure.
With Message Creation you bring into focus the value you offer your audience, establish your voice in a crowded world, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Your BRAND</strong></p>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">only matters if it has</h5>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>INFLUENCE</strong></p>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">only matters if it has a</h5>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>VOICE</strong></p>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">only matters if it adds</h5>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>VALUE</strong></p>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">only matters if it offers good</h5>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>CONTENT</strong></p>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">only matters if people can</h5>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>FIND IT.</strong></p>
<p>Message Creation isn&#8217;t just about getting you a website, logo, or brochure.</p>
<p>With Message Creation you bring into focus the value you offer your audience, establish your voice in a crowded world, earn the right to have influence, and <a href="http://www.wordswell.com/blog/wordswell-communique-your-promise/">deliver on the promise that is your brand</a>.</p>
<p>Wordswell helps our clients do this. And we offer production leadership and creative consulting when it comes time to create your identity, website, email campaign, film, etc.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wordswell.com/about-you/">Need help?</a><br />
brody</p>
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		<title>Wordswell Communiqué &#124; “A Bigger Sign”</title>
		<link>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/wordswell-communique-a-bigger-sign/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/wordswell-communique-a-bigger-sign/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:31:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>brody</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[story]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[content]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[film]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[message]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sign]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website content]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wordswell.com/?p=958</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This Communiqué is written by Steve Smallman, Creative Director at 15four Integrated Media. 15four creates amazing films of all varieties. You can see their film portfolio here. 15four is a partner with Wordswell in creating great messages and distribution channels for our clients.
Our New Office Space
It&#8217;s funny that for weeks after we moved into our [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This Communiqué is written by Steve Smallman, Creative Director at <a href="http://www.15four.com">15four Integrated Media</a>. 15four creates amazing films of all varieties. You can <a href="http://15four.com/casestudies.html">see their film portfolio here</a>. 15four is a partner with Wordswell in creating great messages and distribution channels for our clients.</em></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Our New Office Space</span><br />
It&#8217;s funny that for weeks after we moved into our new office space, the sign of the previous tenant was still on the front of the building. It wasn&#8217;t really helping the cause, you might say.</p>
<p>We called a sign company to install our new 15four Integrated Media sign &#8211; and it looks great! The colorful character that installed our sign was also the owner of the sign company. I just had to talk to him.</p>
<p>&#8220;How&#8217;s your business holding up?&#8221; I asked.</p>
<p>&#8220;I hate to admit it &#8217;cause I don&#8217;t wish bad times on anybody else, but we&#8217;re booming right now,&#8221; he replied. I was surprised. He continued, &#8220;We make signs. When businesses struggle, they need a bigger sign. So we&#8217;ve been building a lot of signs.&#8221;</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Using Film as a Sign</span><br />
A sign is anything that points to something else. The goal is to create ideas or images that point people to you.</p>
<p>Integrating short films on your website is a way of building a bigger sign. Companies are quickly realizing that their static web content must get a voice and a personality. Your message must be dynamic and engaging to be the biggest and best sign that it can be. This happens through film; film can be a sign that moves people to action. It&#8217;s available 24/7, on demand, and has world-wide distribution.</p>
<p>Convert your messages to short films. It&#8217;s cheaper than scattered marketing approaches. Integrated film content on your website gets you a bigger sign. We help you build it and hoist it up where everyone can see it.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.15four.com/ripken.html">Check out this example for the Ripken Foundation.</a> You&#8217;ll see some familiar faces.</p>
<p>Let us help you hoist,<br />
Steve</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wordswell.com/blog/wordswell-communique-a-bigger-sign/#respond">Comments, stories, or advice? Please share!&gt;&gt;</a></p>
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		<title>Wordswell Communiqué &#124; &#8220;Your Promise&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/wordswell-communique-your-promise/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/wordswell-communique-your-promise/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:00:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>brody</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[advertising]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[audience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[promise]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wordswell.com/?p=948</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Your Brand is a Promise
So, how do you get into the tiny decision-making window of your customer or member? Your brand has to &#8220;Starbucks&#8221; them. When you say &#8220;Choose me,&#8221; you are making a promise to your audience that you won&#8217;t let them down.
As customers/deciders, we need brands to help us make our decisions. We [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Your Brand is a Promise</span><br />
So, how do you get into the tiny decision-making window of your customer or member? Your brand has to &#8220;Starbucks&#8221; them. When you say &#8220;Choose me,&#8221; you are making a promise to your audience that you won&#8217;t let them down.</p>
<p>As customers/deciders, we need brands to help us make our decisions. We buy based on our emotional attachment to a brand.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Quick Thoughts</span><br />
Ideas about branding are vast, but take these to the bank. Your brand is:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>greater than the sum of its parts:</strong> Every aspect of your organization is your brand. Your brand is not just your colors and logo. These merely serve as visual cues to help customers remember your true brand and differentiate you. Instead, the way your employees act, the way you answer your phones, the cleanliness of your restrooms, your perceived value &#8211; that&#8217;s your promise, your brand.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> <strong>personal:</strong> In addition to &#8220;buying billboards&#8221;, brands are now having conversations. Technology and social media are opening the doors here. More than ever, brands have personalities like people, and we are asking, &#8220;Is he reliable? Is he authentic?&#8221;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> <strong>foundational:</strong> Your brand drives everything you do as an organization, internally and externally. It informs hiring, pricing, decor, and management. And it is certainly the base for all communication, PR, and marketing.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> <strong>a promise.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Before you spend another day and another dime on &#8220;marketing&#8221; yourself, take a look at your brand. Wordswell can help if you need it.</p>
<p>Don&#8217;t be a commodity,<br />
Brody</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wordswell.com/blog/wordswell-communique-your-promise/#respond">Comments, stories, or advice? Please share!&gt;&gt;</a></p>
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		<title>Wordswell Communiqué &#124; “Substance By Way of the Surface&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/must-read/wordswell-communique-substance-by-way-of-the-surface/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/must-read/wordswell-communique-substance-by-way-of-the-surface/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>brody</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[must read]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[buyers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prospects]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[psychology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[style]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wordswell.com/?p=928</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Style
In a recent issue of Psychology Today Magazine, Hara Estroff Marano writes:
As the speed of all our transactions increases, we need fast ways of transmitting information about ourselves without losing authenticity; we have less and less time to make our mark in other, more leisurely ways of knowing. Style, like a perfectly fitting book jacket, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Style</span><br />
In a recent issue of Psychology Today Magazine, Hara Estroff Marano writes:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>As the speed of all our transactions increases, we need fast ways of transmitting information about ourselves </em>without losing authenticity<em>; we have less and less time to make our mark in other, more leisurely ways of knowing. Style, like a perfectly fitting book jacket, evokes the substance within by way of the surface. It makes an authentic visual impression, is a memorable mark of identity in a world that otherwise strips people of identity. There was a time when style was a luxury. Today it is a necessity. &#8230;</em></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>In the end, style is fundamentally democratic. It assumes every person has the potential to create a unique identity and express it through grooming and a few well-chosen clothes. Yet style is also aristocratic. It sets apart those who have it from those whose dress is merely utilitarian. &#8230;</em></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>Whatever else it is, style is optimism made visible. Style presumes that you are a person of interest, that the world is a place of interest, that life is worth making the effort for.</em></p>
<p>That&#8217;s brilliant, and it has everything to do with how you build your brand.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Converting Prospects to Buyers</span><br />
Ultimately, when a person makes a particular decision it comes down to one moment in time. It&#8217;s a window of a few seconds. You gotta be in that window! Some ideas and suggestions will be in the next Communiqué. But you can always call us for specific advice.</p>
<p>Glances are fleeting,<br />
Brody</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wordswell.com/blog/must-read/wordswell-communique-substance-by-way-of-the-surface/#respond" target="_blank">Comments, stories, or advice? Please share!&gt;&gt;</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Wordswell Communiqué &#124; &#8220;Release&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/wordswell-communique-release/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/wordswell-communique-release/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:00:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>brody</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ideas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[message creation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[metaphor]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wordswell.com/?p=896</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[#1
I found an unexpected metaphor recently.
After lunging out of my still-moving car, sprinting to my apartment, fumbling to find the right key, throwing open the door, and shuffling across the floor, I made it to the place of release – the restroom.
I had too many refills at the restaurant. It was an increasingly painful drive [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">#1</span><br />
I found an unexpected metaphor recently.</p>
<p>After lunging out of my still-moving car, sprinting to my apartment, fumbling to find the right key, throwing open the door, and shuffling across the floor, I made it to the place of release – the restroom.</p>
<p>I had too many refills at the restaurant. It was an increasingly painful drive home. You&#8217;ve been there, right?</p>
<p>Whenever something is built up in us, it becomes a burden – not a pleasure – to hold on to it.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Pain of Accumulation</span><br />
The pain of accumulation plagues our minds and emotions, also. Do you have something building inside of you? An idea, a story, some knowledge, some love, a business, a project, a dream, something that can help those around you? Are you holding it in as the pressure rises?</p>
<p>Release it already! What are you waiting for? The pressure is going to kill you. And if you&#8217;ve been sitting on it this long, it&#8217;s gotta be good.</p>
<p>We know what to do when our bladder is too full; it&#8217;s instinctual. But often, after cultivating our ideas for so long, it&#8217;s hard to figure out what to do when our brains are too full and there&#8217;s an impending explosion in our heads.</p>
<p>Wordswell does message creation, creative consulting, and brand development. But, really, we just try to help you not explode.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wordswell.com/why-wordswell/" target="_blank">Release</a>,<br />
Brody</p>
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		<title>Wordswell Communiqué &#124; &#8220;Light&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/must-read/wordswell-communique-light/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/must-read/wordswell-communique-light/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:00:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>brody</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ideas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[must read]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[light]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[message creation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[metaphor]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wordswell.com/?p=879</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Nature of Light
Imagine two adjacent rooms sealed off from each other except for a perfectly tight door. One of those rooms is completely dark. The other room is completely light and bright, and it has no shadows.
You&#8217;re in the dark room. The door opens. What happens?
Immediately, light invades the darkness. Now, you can see! [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Nature of Light</span><br />
Imagine two adjacent rooms sealed off from each other except for a perfectly tight door. One of those rooms is completely dark. The other room is completely light and bright, and it has no shadows.</p>
<p>You&#8217;re in the dark room. The door opens. What happens?</p>
<p>Immediately, light invades the darkness. Now, you can see! All that&#8217;s in the dark room is revealed. The darkness, completely unable to encroach on the light, is powerless.</p>
<p>Furthermore, the amount of light in the bright room has not been compromised. That room is still just as bright as before, yet it lends its brightness to the other room. What happened was not like pouring water from one glass to another; it was like sticking your glass under a fountain &#8211; of light.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Message Creation</span><br />
At Wordswell, we&#8217;re always trying to find metaphors to explain things. It&#8217;s sursprisingly hard work, but it leads our clients and us to beautiful clarity.</p>
<p>In our new comments section of the <a href="http://www.wordswell.com/blog">Wordswell Blog</a>, <a href="http://www.wordswell.com/blog/must-read/wordswell-communique-light/#respond" target="_self">let us know what you think about this metaphor</a> for what Wordswell does:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>Message Creation is standing in one of two adjacent dark rooms, figuring out how to turn on the lights, and then kicking open the door to share your light with the world.</em></p>
<p>What&#8217;s it like where you&#8217;re standing?<br />
Brody</p>
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		<title>Wordswell Communiqué &#124; &#8220;Pavlov&#8217;s Second Experiment&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/wordswell-communique-pavlovs-second-experiment/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/wordswell-communique-pavlovs-second-experiment/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 30 Dec 2008 14:00:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>brody</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[story]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[action]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brand building]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[message]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[persuasion]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wordswell.com/?p=809</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Learning
We all know how Pavlov could ring a bell and get a dog to start drooling.
But do you know about Pavlov&#8217;s second experiment? This time he tried to use shapes to stimulate salivation.
Over time, the dog was trained to salivate at the sight of a circle. But he was also trained to stop salivating when [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Learning</span><br />
We all know how Pavlov could ring a bell and get a dog to start drooling.</p>
<p>But do you know about Pavlov&#8217;s <em>second</em> experiment? This time he tried to use shapes to stimulate salivation.</p>
<p>Over time, the dog was trained to salivate at the sight of a circle. But he was also trained to stop salivating when a long oval was on display.</p>
<p>Maybe Pavlov was a bit of a sadist when he started to change the shape of the oval to become more circular. When the shapes became very similar in shape &#8220;the dog became highly agitated and the previously conditioned reflex was lost.&#8221; Ultimately the confused dog ignored Mr. Pavlov entirely.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Mixed Signals</span><br />
Here&#8217;s the lesson: If you want people to complete an action that you desire, your message must be singular, focused, clear, and repetitive. Your message must be bound to a need your audience <em>already</em> feels.</p>
<p>Are you sending mixed signals? Why don&#8217;t you figure out your own story and tell it over and over. Make sure your customer is the main character.</p>
<p>Otherwise, people might stop listening to you and you&#8217;ll be left with drool to clean up.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s to an effective 2009. Happy New Year!<br />
Brody</p>
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		<title>Wordswell Communiqué &#124; &#8220;Announcing Wordswell&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/must-read/wordswell-communique-announcing-wordswell/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wordswell.com/blog/must-read/wordswell-communique-announcing-wordswell/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:00:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>brody</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[must read]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[consulting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[message]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[message creation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wordswell]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wordswell.com/?p=811</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Wordswell is here to help you kick doors open.
Chances are you have some idea, message, business, or vision that needs to be heard.
But, chances are it&#8217;s not moving people. Sometimes it&#8217;s trapped because:

people haven&#8217;t heard you
they may have heard you, but your idea doesn&#8217;t mean anything to them
you know there&#8217;s technology out there, but you [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 150%; font-family: trebuchet ms;">Wordswell is here to help you kick doors open.</p>
<p style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 150%; font-family: trebuchet ms;">Chances are you have some idea, message, business, or vision that needs to be heard.</p>
<p style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 150%; font-family: trebuchet ms;">But, chances are it&#8217;s not moving people. Sometimes it&#8217;s trapped because:</p>
<ul style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 150%; font-family: trebuchet ms;">
<li>people haven&#8217;t heard you</li>
<li>they may have heard you, but your idea doesn&#8217;t mean anything to them</li>
<li>you know there&#8217;s technology out there, but you can&#8217;t get it to effectively tell your story</li>
<li>you don&#8217;t have the time, energy, or resources to get your message out there</li>
</ul>
<p style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 150%; font-family: trebuchet ms;">Each of those is a closed door. Wordswell is here to help you kick them open.</p>
<p style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 150%; font-family: trebuchet ms;">The marriage of innovative strategy, clear writing, and potent ideas with polished design, sweet websites, and alluring media and technology (e.g. film, email newsletters, and social media) is how Wordswell makes your message grow legs and get running.</p>
<p style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 150%; font-family: trebuchet ms;">Top-to-bottom consistency makes Wordswell&#8217;s approach more effective than a &#8220;field of silos&#8221; marketing effort. A Wordswell project is infused with strategic, results-based, compelling, and practical solutions. We call it message creation.</p>
<p style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 150%; font-family: trebuchet ms;">Message creation when ideas matter. Here&#8217;s the fun part: it&#8217;s your ideas that matter. We&#8217;re here for you.</p>
<p style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 150%; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><a href="http://www.wordswell.com/message-creation" target="_blank">Let&#8217;s kick open a door</a>,<br />
Brody</p>
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