“Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide for Creating Ridiculously Good Content” by Ann Handley

Cole Brennan
Nov 5 · 3 min read

Ann Handley is an American author who wrote “Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide for Creating Ridiculously Good Content”. Ms. Handley is the founder of MarketingProfs and a Wall Street Journal best-selling author. Ms. Handley is known as one of the most successful Linkedin influencers with a following over 400 thousand.

In Ms. Hadley’s book she highlights three major takeaways for the reader, while also providing 6 different and unique sections that apply for all writers. Ms. Handley routinely calls for writers to “wage a war on mediocrity” , because to often she finds that authors and writers don’t give enough effort. Ms. Handley further rejects the hypothesis that only a few gifted writers, she believes that writing is a skill that can be improved and polished.

Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash

The first of Ms. Handley’s takeaways is that in 2019 everybody is a publisher and a content creator whether they believe it or not. Gaining views on your own content used to be about just besting your competition, but with the vast and ever-expanding internet you are now competing with every other blog, influencer, social media, and website.

With the ever growing battle for views continuing Ms. Handley suggests that the best way to garner your audiences attention is by “less meandering”. What Ms. Handley is referring to is individuals waffling about attempting to reach their point. Ms. Handley wants writers to be clear and concise from emails, texting, business writing, and marketing. Ms. Handley bemoans how schools have instructed students to author pages with word or page restrictions. She believes that this has lead to worse writing as students are more focused on taking up space than providing good content.

Photo by Corinne Kutz on Unsplash

The final main takeaway from Ann Handley’s book was that writers have to do a better job of telling a story. Ms. Handley poses the question how can you make a reader or viewer care about something that may not always interests them or they have no prior knowledge of the situation. Ms. Handley implores writers to write with clear instruction, empathy, and inspiration.

Photo by Daniel McCullough on Unsplash

Other things that one can learn by reading Ms. Handley’s book is structures and blueprints for all types of writing and situations. Ms. Handley expertly explains how a business document will differ from an academic document, the proper way to send a formal email, how to pen a proposal as well as much more. One of Ms. Handley’s other great tips from “Everybody Writes” is to add heart to your content, her hope is that you can have a deep connection to a product and that connection is what compels the reader to continue.

ADPR 4300

Blog for ADPR 4300

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade