During the darkest days of the pandemic, Forrester, a market research institute, urged companies to continue to invest in marketing, arguing that crucial investments made towards things like content creation during the bleak economic downturn would sow the seeds for quicker recovery. And two years on, companies appear to have heeded this advice.

Christine Purcell, Chief Marketing Officer of Twin Health said, “The marketing industry shined over the past two years. When COVID hit, brands quickly pivoted to be highly relevant in an unusual time. Messaging shifted, growth plans adjusted, creative production instantly adapted, and brands looked at holistic opportunities to show value in new ways. Successful brands were agile, meeting audiences in the moment.”

Not only has marketing investment already recovered from the pandemic and beaten pre-pandemic levels, but research shows that marketing growth will actually accelerate in the post-pandemic era by 1%. Moving a percentage in growth may not seem like much, but it’s very significant: it accounts for an additional $171 billion in investment over the course of five years. This offers content marketers an unparalleled opportunity to use their budget to grab the attention of key audiences in new and unique ways. Join Wordsmith as we explore three content marketing shifts you should consider making in our post-pandemic world.

Content writing provides websites with a steady stream of informative articles and material. The effect of which is twofold – more material means more ways to attract readers, but more content also means more opportunities to boost your ranking on Google’s search results. However, keeping up with a consistent publishing schedule is difficult. Even for the most gifted writers, there comes a point where you either burnout from the grind or hit the creative wall and lose sight of what to write next.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re losing motivation to write or your creativity is running on fumes, then perhaps Wordsmith has the solution for you!

When people think military, soldiers and battlefields come to mind. However, modern warfare is less about battlefields and more about a highly functioning communications engine. It’s one thing to yell orders over a radio, but when you’re trying to coordinate units or gather intel halfway across the world, information is as core to the military as their soldiers and weaponry.

Similar to how a business might operate, military branches also rely on emails to get their messages across – but unlike businesses who deal in money, wars are wagered in lives – hence the adoption of a no-nonsense email format that strays far from traditional business emails. From a civilian’s perspective, these emails are bizarre and oddly direct, but if you need something done right away, applying a militaristic coat of paint to your messages may evoke the right sense of urgency. Sounds interesting? Read on…

Although some people are able to hold down a job at the same company throughout their life, others will have inevitably hopped from one business to the next. Whether you feel like your prospects are better elsewhere or because you feel like it’s time to slow down, resigning is a process that can easily scare people. Written poorly, a resignation can and will burn bridges – and depending on the industry, it may have repercussions when trying to find a future job. To ensure that everyone can move on while also being respectful to your current employers, it’s essential that we are able to write a resignation letter that is both professional and graceful. Should you be looking to change jobs in the future or near future, this article is for you!

Complaining is easy and anyone can do it. On Facebook, you’ll find people blaming the President for gas prices reaching an all-time high. At restaurants, you’ll hear customers berating waiters because the kitchen overcooked their steaks. Complaints are, and forever will be, always around us.

We’ve previously explained how one should be written, but what happens when someone complains about you or your business? Join Wordsmith as we take a closer look at the fine art of responding to a complaint with class.

For those unfamiliar with the intricacies of writing, it’s a common misconception that all writers are the same. However, it needs to be clarified that online content usually fall under one of two forms of writing – copywriting and content writing. Although both have similar purposes, the direction and narrative between the two are rarely the same. Join Wordsmith for a quick rundown between the two!

The captivating power of a great story has been employed by door-to-door salesmen, savvy entrepreneurs and business moguls for centuries. But there’s a revolution happening in the way we’re building stories – emphasis on the “we”. Thanks to the advent of social media, everyone (and their mothers) has access to stories at their fingertips, and we also have a growing number of tools at our disposal to tell our own, unique stories in a more polished, compelling and narrative-driven way. Yes – we’re talking about User-Generated Content (UGC).

In this day and age, we are all authors, editors, videographers, photographers, visual designers and publishers. Customers crafting compelling brand narratives and sharing them with their online communities isn’t just a social media fad – it’s here to stay and it’s a phenomenon that’s fundamentally changing the way we interact with brands. Unlike annoying pop-up ads, automated emails and useless chat-bot conversations, UGC hooks potential customers by being inherently raw and relatable – and brands of all sizes need to take notice.

It’s common knowledge that emotions give stories depth. Even with the most archaic fairy tales, it’s fascinating to see a child’s eyes light up as you describe the epic battle between the heroic knight and the ferocious dragon – the unfaltering bravery of the knight as he stares down devastating power, the desperation and hope of the townsfolk and damsel trapped in the ivory tower. However, channelling your characters’ emotions only scratches the surface of good storytelling. Want to find out what it takes to tell a story that truly captivates? Read on…

When marketing and advertising agencies aren’t busy busting their chops for their clients, they are often putting together pitches and proposals to (hopefully) win new clients. Writing a project proposal can be intimidating. A good idea alone isn’t enough to secure a new business deal – which means our organisational skills and showmanship are also put to the test.

Join Wordsmith as we take a deep dive into writing an effective and convincing proposal!

Alright, you’ve got your marketing email all sorted out – great headline, snappy text and a key visual that shows off your product in the best light. Now you need a subject line that motivates people to click into your email.

Since many rely on mobile devices to screen their emails, Mailchimp recommends a subject line length of no more than 9 words (or about 60 characters). It’s definitely not a lot of room to work with, and it’s a common headache shared by both aspiring and veteran marketers. Just how do you cook up a short subject line that balances attraction and information? If you’re one of these people, don’t worry – these Wordsmith-approved subject line hacks are both easy to use and light on the word economy. Read on to find out more!

More than ever before, businesses are recognising that content creation is a critical part of building a successful brand strategy. This is because communicating and resonating with end-users, loyal customers, potential audiences and key stakeholders, be it with marketing materials, social media ads, articles or research studies, is essential for making conversions and establishing long-lasting credibility. However, it can be extremely taxing to meet all of your brand’s content needs in-house. Even with a full-time copywriter on hand, your team might not have expertise in a wide range of industries, or be able to cope with bandwidth demands to produce a steady stream of consistently good content – especially during peak times.

The Internet has made everything more accessible. We can have groceries delivered straight to our doorstep, and we can even move millions of dollars overseas via online banking. However, all this convenience doesn’t always lead to quality – sometimes, we receive products or services that are far below what we’d consider satisfactory.

In these cases, a complaint is in order.

While most businesses have some sort of hotline you can use to voice complaints, these are usually accompanied by lengthy waiting times and dreadful hold music that loops every 15 seconds. Furthermore, there’s no guarantee that your complaint will be recorded or even acted upon. What you need is something in writing: a formal letter of complaint. If you’ve ever wanted to complain like a professional, then you need to write like a professional – let’s learn how!

Is it unreasonable to have a gap in your resume? Some recruiting agencies and HR departments would scoff at the mere mention of that – how dare you not be constantly employed? Clearly it signifies underlying problems if you haven’t been employed throughout your career!

But the world is rarely so black and white. Life is full of the unexpected, and it often creates unforeseen breaks. Whether we stop working to care for the people around us, to care for ourselves or for some other reason, a gap in the resume is usually justifiable – with a bit of strategic thinking, you can frame your unemployment as a positive and boost your desirability as a potential hire. To find out how, read on!

Even though time remains constant, it always feels like there’s too little of it. With COVID thrown into the mix, it seems like the boundaries between today and tomorrow are constantly blurred. This is especially true if you frequently participate in online meetings: one meeting bleeds into the next, one presentation after another.

For those of us with short attention spans, we thankfully have memos to help us out – convenient little documents that keep track of the key ideas and details shared. Although memos are commonplace at corporations and large companies, they can often be a luxury at smaller businesses, requiring an (un)willing sacrifice participant to draft. What do we do when we inevitably draw the short straw? Join Wordsmith and let’s learn how to write our own memos!

From academia to journalism, we’re taught that stories without references make questionable sources. As a result, anecdotes are avoided in contemporary media. It’s inevitable that people will second-guess you when you use an unverifiable story as a main argument… but when anecdotes are used as hooks, then the veil of doubt suddenly gets lifted to create empathy and connection.

Just like with regular storytelling, there are some things to consider when writing anecdotes. Join Wordsmith and let’s learn how we can fashion anecdotes into hooks!

Imagine pouring your heart out while writing what you think is your magnum opus. After editing it several times and making sure all your points are perfect, you upload it. Eagerly anticipating an influx of views and comments, you check your article’s performance later.

1 view and no new comments. That view was probably your own, too.

Days come and go without any engagement. What’s going on?

If this has ever happened to you, it can be very discouraging to continue writing. As wonderful as the Internet can be, it can also be cruel if you are not familiar with the art of enticing readers. Don’t give up just yet – let’s start boosting those statistics!

Mayors, presidents, CEOs, commissioners, chairpersons… leaders come in many different flavours. Whether they are wise and with our best interests at heart, or profit-driven slave drivers at the top of the food chain, it’s common to find crowds gathered and gawking whenever leaders gives a speech.

You’ll find that the most successful leaders are also charismatic and able to sway crowds with words that strike and resonate. Although leaders are usually trained in the art of public speaking, not many have the time (or know-how) to write their own speeches and press material – hence, the need for ghostwriters. Ghostwriters’ works often go uncredited, but talented writers are widely sought after and treasured by their clients. If you’re curious about what it takes to be a ghostwriter, read on to find out more!

The fifth wave of COVID-19 hit Hong Kong hard. Although we’re already a quarter of the way into 2022, the mood in Hong Kong feels like 2020 all over again. With mass testing and a potential lockdown in sight, many employees are returning to “work from home” arrangements.

Assuming you are able to work from home, it’s obvious that there are many benefits. No need to wake up early for commutes, you can be as dishevelled looking as you like (provided you don’t have to attend online meetings), no supervisor skulking around and spying on your workstation… It all sounds wonderful, but these benefits can quickly become a double-edged sword. Slacking, power napping and spending a bit too much time online can seriously impact our productivity.

If you’re suffering from WFH-fuelled blahs, consider a few tips to get you back up and running - and crossing items off your to-do list!

It comes as no surprise that every writer has a hero – an author, screenplay writer or poet that inspired them to get into writing in the first place. We tell ourselves their literary genius was unique, their work ethic impeccable, their ability to craft the perfect sentences was, and always will be, their domain. Worldwide, you will find statues dedicated to them, museums that house their best works and even gravestones covered in red lipstick kisses from avid admirers (Oscar Wilde), but in reality, we’ve got more in common with these literary greats than we think.

Previously, we’ve mentioned the interesting habits that set some of the world’s best writers apart – like the strict daily exercise routine of Japanese writer, Haruki Murakami and Ernest Hemingway’s innate desire to type standing beside his chest of drawers. But there’s also no denying that there are common traits and characteristics that we, as writers, all share. So, join Wordsmith as we delve deeper into the 5 traits that make a great writer.

With Hong Kong exceeding 50,000 new COVID infections per day, it’s looking like work from home arrangements and extended social distancing protocols are becoming the norm again. With face-to-face meetings falling out of favour, email and instant messaging have become the preferred methods of communication for many. As text lacks the visual cues provided by facial expression in a face-to-face chat, some people argue that written communication lacks emotional impact.

How can we better express enthusiasm in our writing when recipients are unable to see our faces? You might just be surprised by how effective some of these tricks are!