Elizabeth TaiDec 10, 2022
Matthew Haughey

Just before I left Slack, we welcomed a few new hires and I gave a talk on how to write on the team without sounding like an asshole to our readers.

I have been meaning to publish this for over a year, and just finished it up today, here it is: https://a.wholelottanothing.org/2022/12/07/how-to-be-a-writer-on-a-marketing-team-without-sounding-like-a-jerk/

How to be a writer on a marketing team without sounding like a jerk

A Whole Lotta Nothing
Dec 7, 2022 at 9:54pmWeb
Show threadLaMarshallDec 7, 2022
@mathowie The motto for life: “Don’t be an asshole.”
Show threadCarter BaxterDec 7, 2022
@mathowie Great writing advice.
Show threadMatt BrownDec 7, 2022
@mathowie [furiously rewriting an upcoming blog post]
Show threadChris EnnsDec 7, 2022
@mathowie Whether twitter, Mastodon, blogging, or at Slack, I've always appreciated your tone and voice in your writing. Thanks for publishing this for the rest of us trying to figure it out.
Show threadMatthew HaugheyDec 7, 2022
@ichris aw thanks that's super nice of you to say
Show threadbill (pliny the older)Dec 7, 2022
@mathowie I love this a lot. I’m not a marketer, but you’ve given me a lot of good ideas for my work writing.
Show threadGreg BooneDec 7, 2022
@mathowie Know yourself and be yourself is really under-appreciated writing advice, as is sleeping on a draft. Also, if you think regular Concur is bad, wait till you get to try the version government employees have to use
Show threadJason SandersDec 8, 2022
@mathowie this is great! Thanks for sharing, Matt.
Show threadEvan LightDec 8, 2022

@mathowie @phire
> I hated using Concur’s own web interface for any business flights I had to book at work. Concur’s web app felt like a government website built in the 1990s that barely functioned and took at least 5-10 minutes to login and accomplish a single task.

Same as Concur ever was.

Show threadDan CiruliDec 8, 2022

@mathowie This is excellent and I'm going to share it.

My team of product managers writes PR/FAQs for befor major features, and I am always pushing them to describe the VALUE and not the feature itself.

Show threadAnthony BakerDec 8, 2022
@mathowie Thanks for this!
Show threadDanDec 8, 2022
@mathowie this is great
Show threadNicole MartinelliDec 8, 2022
@mathowie Love this - especially #5 no-no phrases. If everyone stopped using these...marketing wouldn't have such a bad rap
Show threadStan FletcherDec 8, 2022
@mathowie This is really great. Bookmarking it for future (and frequent) reference.