Do you ever provide transcripts of question-and-answer sessions that you record and make available to clients and prospects? That’s something that I’ve suggested for many years, including in “Videos: 3 ways to make them palatable for video-haters like me.” However, as I said in “Financial call transcripts: Are they good for marketing?”, a word-for-word transcript […] The post 7 tips for editing Q&A transcripts appeared first on Susan Weiner Investment Writing ..read more

If you live in the U.S., you can buy a paperback copy of Financial Blogging: How to Write Powerful Posts That Attract Clients for only $27 including shipping. Email me your shipping address so I can send you a PayPal invoice and confirm that you’re eligible for this offer. The offer expires when I run […] The post SEPT. NEWSLETTER: Sale on paperback version of Financial Blogging! (& press release tip) appeared first on Susan Weiner Investment Writing ..read more

Is search engine optimization (SEO) changing for the better? That’s the sense I get from “How to Write SEO-Driven Content That Customers (And Search Engines) Love” from Contently. The article makes me feel as if good writing and good SEO are converging, I like the article’s four suggestions for improving your writing’s search engine ranking: Get […] The post Adapting to SEO’s changes appeared first on Susan Weiner Investment Writing ..read more

I’m a little obsessive about proper usage, but there are plenty of holes in my knowledge of writing style. Thus, when I saw “all our funds,” it drove me to the internet to see if that should read “all of our funds.” My first observation: this seems to be a question mainly for English language learners. There don’t appear to be many established grammar or style gurus writing online about this topic. Use “all of” only with pronouns, says Grammar Monster Grammar Monster says to use “all”—instead of “all of”—before any noun except a pronoun. For example, “all of us,” but “all the cheese.” In a sid ..read more

Did you ever learn that you shouldn’t “split infinitives”? You probably know that it means to insert an adverb or adverbial phrase between “to” and a verb. The proponents of “no split infinitives” don’t like Star Trek’s mission “to boldly go where no one has gone before.” However, apparently, no such rule exists, according to many experts. Grammarly says, “It’s generally preferable to place an adverb as close as possible to the verb it is modifying.” Also, it says, “Sometimes, even when a sentence could be rewritten to avoid splitting an infinitive without its meaning being obscured ..read more

Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? Please post your answer as a comment. This mistake isn’t easy to find, in my opinion. I post these challenges to raise awareness of the importance of proofreading. The post MISTAKE MONDAY for June 24: Can YOU spot what’s wrong? appeared first on Susan Weiner Investment Writing ..read more

Protect your publication against AI-generated text You need a policy on text created using generative artificial intelligence (AI), such as ChatGPT, if you’re publishing a blog, newsletter, or other communication using articles that you haven’t personally written. Here’s my policy. To protect against allegations of plagiarism and copyright infringement, we have a policy on the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in preparing articles. The writer agrees that all of their work is originally produced and not the product of any AI program, bot, or application. Generative AI (such ..read more

Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? Please post your answer as a comment. This mistake jumped out at me. Did it catch your eye quickly? I post these challenges to raise awareness of the importance of proofreading. The post MISTAKE MONDAY for May 27: Can YOU spot what’s wrong? appeared first on Susan Weiner Investment Writing ..read more

Want to do a better job on your next quarterly commentary? You’ve finished your first-quarter commentary, but you have a nagging feeling you could have done a better job editing it. Check out the five-step process in my blog post on “5 steps for rewriting your investment commentary”! Also, if you’re writing for an audience of individual investors, pay attention to my list of “Words to avoid in your investment communications with regular folks.” You might also enjoy “Investment commentary numbers: How to get them right.” For a handy overview of my approach to investment commentary, you can  ..read more

Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? Please post your answer as a comment. This example has more than one mistake. I post these challenges to raise awareness of the importance of proofreading. The post MISTAKE MONDAY for April 29: Can YOU spot what’s wrong? appeared first on Susan Weiner Investment Writing ..read more