About Jonathan Rick
I'm one of those lucky people whose jobs are extensions of their hobbies: I'm a digital-marketing consultant. Follow me on Twitter and circle me on Google+.
Why You Should Always Write 2 Headlines
One for human beings and laymen; the other for search engines and insiders.
One of the greatest daily struggles faced by every professional, in every field, is to resist the allure of argot. That is, we think it's easier and quicker to use jargon than it is to spell out and explain what a familiar word means.
This idea is hard to argue with, especially when we're writing for people who are as knowledgeable about the given topic as we are. Yet even in those esoteric cases, it's often better to use plain language.
This principle is particularly important when it comes to headlines, or titles. In general, your headline should speak to the public; you want to avoid insiderism. Let me explain by way of an article from last week's Time magazine.
Published on October 31, 2019 in Headlines, Search Engine Optimization
Most Ghostwriters Don't Ask Their Clients This Question Until It's Too Late
Every writer must also be a businessman. Here's a simple trick to sharpen your savvy.
Seasoned ghostwriters know a secret: Writing is the easy part. It's everything else — from researching to revising — which consumes most of our time.
And yet, the one thing that would dramatically reduce our labor is the one thing we're often reluctant to do. Lest we be perceived as overly inquisitive or insufficiently independent, we hesitate to ask a critical question upfront: "How many people will need to approve this text"?
These nine simple words matter for one simple reason: The more people you need to please, the more your writing will become a game of Whac-a-Mole.
Published on June 11, 2019 in Writing
4 Hard Truths Every Aspiring Freelancer Needs to Hear
Most freelancers fail. Here's how to set yourself up for success.
For a freelancer, time is money, so let me be frank: Freelancing is tough.
It's tough from a financial perspective: You're always hustling, and you eat only what you kill.
It's tough from a psychological perspective: You don't get a paycheck every two weeks, nor do you get to socialize with colleagues in an office.
And it's tough from a productivity perspective: You have to be maximally disciplined and organized without a boss holding you accountable.
Don't get me wrong — working for yourself can be deeply fulfilling. But before you try to realize your long-deferred dream, ask yourself if any of these constraints is a deal-breaker?
Published on June 7, 2019 in Career Advice
These 3 News Outlets Have Figured Out a Better Way to Tweet
When tweeting, most of us add an image only if it's explicitly called for. For example, if we're commenting on a facepalm by the White House chief of staff during a speech by the president, it makes sense to include the priceless pic.
Yet for the vast majority of content, the vast majority of people don't think in visual terms. Instead, we put out the link along with some text, and leave it at that.
Published on February 12, 2018 in Twitter
A Few New Things You May Have Noticed on Our Website
They say the shoemaker's son has no shoes. Few fields illustrate this principle better than marketing: so many of our fellow flacks neglect their own websites that it can be hard to take them seriously.
That's why (after far too much procrastination), we finally made a few critical changes to JRG's site. They're nothing dramatic, but they facilitate major improvements in SEO and UX. Here are the details:
Published on November 6, 2017 in The Jonathan Rick Group