Writing in the Age of Twitter

In today’s content-fueled B2B marketing environment, we’ve all turned into writers and publishers. Between Twitter updates, emails, blog posts and LinkedIn group discussions, we’re all trying to get people interested in what we have to say. Most of these forms though are relatively brief, which means a certain kind of craft is necessary to make your message compelling, yet succinct. The problem is that many people don’t think of themselves as writers even though they’re generating all kinds of content daily, which is where Christopher Johnson’s guide, Microstyle, comes in.

Johnson’s book is one for all skill levels, clearly outlining stylistic tools needed to use language to your advantage. He shares ideas for utilizing elements such as metaphors and rhythm, and even suggests that sometimes it’s okay to break those hard-learned grammar rules (English class blasphemy! But even Apple does it in their tagline, “Think Different.”).

Microstyle is not a dense style guide, but an enjoyable read packed with easy to understand pointers paired with innumerable examples, from effective corporate taglines to amusing Twitter updates. No matter how comfortable you are playing with language, anyone can find a piece of advice that will help sharpen their writing and increase the strength of their message.