Disqus - Latest Comments for ivanwalsh

Re: 10 ways technical writing is just like the World Cup

Ivan Walsh — Sat, 23 Jun 2018 04:54:33 -0000

Hi Tom,

Great writing as always.

Something to consider… at some point in the world cup there will be controversy, typically around an offside ruling.

Why? The interpretation of offside in soccer is much more subtle than other sports. A player can be physically offside but – if he is not interfering with the game (I know ) – they’re not considered offside. Clever players use this to their advantage.

What does this mean for tech writers?

If you listen to sports analysts, you’ll be surprised (or maybe not) how often they *feel* a decision should have been awarded, rather than based on what the rule book said. Why? Most don’t read the actually handbook as it’s too dense. It’s almost a legal document.

Note that the rules of the game are updated almost every year.

So, that challenge for writers is to explain the rules in such a way that players, coaches, refs, and fans can understand them – and there is no ambiguity in the interpretation.

Will then happen? Maybe.

In the meantime, enjoy the WC.

Croatia to win, btw!

Ivan

PS – your recent comment about the reward of writing frequently really struck a chord with me. Thanks for that.

Re: How to (Actually) Find Your Purpose

Ivan Walsh — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 08:17:15 -0000

Nice one, Danny.

The No Problem article was interesting.

Thanks.

ivan

Re: First video for API documentation course -- your feedback?

Ivan Walsh — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 10:41:07 -0000

Nice work, Tom.

The delivery, pace, and lighting all work well.

Best of luck with the rest of the course.

Ivan

Re: Look to the Past to Reinvent the Present

Ivan Walsh — Wed, 26 Aug 2015 11:22:51 -0000

Nice one Brad,

and one way to be different is to have a strong point of view!

POV is probably the one thing most brands side step.

Ivan

Re: What correcting other people’s grammar really says about you

Ivan Walsh — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 18:04:01 -0000

mea culpa :)

Re: 10 Step Action Plan to Increase Sales

Ivan Walsh — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 15:12:33 -0000

Thanks Naveen.

I'll be writing more about action plans this week, fwiw.

Regards,

Ivan

Re: How to develop ‘listening skills’ to gather requirements

Ivan Walsh — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 13:43:59 -0000

Hi Chris, there's a great article on HBR this week about listening skills. Worth tracking down

Regards,

Ivan

Re: Business Rules vs. Business Requirements

Ivan Walsh — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 08:44:12 -0000

Hi Khalid,

In general, the business rules should be statements - eg a credit card can ONLY be given if someone is over 18 - whereas the requirements are more complex, eg when, where, why can they be offered.

I'd say that you'll understand the rules quite quickly, but the requirements will take much more effort, eg 80% of the effort,

Regards,

Ivan

Re: Software Testing Templates

Ivan Walsh — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 16:00:43 -0000

Asmaa, drop me a line and we can resolve this. Ivan

Re: Software Testing Templates

Ivan Walsh — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 16:00:18 -0000

Try this http://www.klariti.com/busi...

Re: Land Well-Paid Freelance and Consulting Work in 30 Days or Less: Expert Tips From Diana Schneidman

Ivan Walsh — Sun, 08 Jun 2014 07:53:46 -0000

Hi Diana,

Another suggestion is to make videos where you demonstrate your expertise in a specific area but do NOT try to sell any product or service.

Why?

Because if you are the authority in an area, you should be beyond hustling affiliate products etc, which is what most fly-by-nights do.

I feel this is a very effective method for people who has real knowledge and have paid their dues, so to speak, as it indirectly positions you as an authority.

And once you're seen as the authority....

Regards from a rain-soaked Ireland,

Ivan

Re: The Ultimate Guide To Creating An Email Autoresponder Course

Ivan Walsh — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 14:20:47 -0000

Hi Julie, any suggestions on how many posts to send before you make a direct pitch? Thanks ?Ivan

Re: Lifehacks for the Modern Marketer

Ivan Walsh — Tue, 20 May 2014 08:54:24 -0000

Hi James,

You probably know this re where eat a frog comes from, maybe others don't.

The French writer Nicolas Chamfort (not Mark Twain) recommended that you should start your day by eating a frog.

What he meant was to do that one thing you hate the most first.

His Wikipedia page explains more. worth a look.

Ivan

Re: Modular Content – Creative Repurposing for Content Marketing

Ivan Walsh — Tue, 20 May 2014 05:00:20 -0000

Thanks Lee, the suggestions about interviews are a good one. Must do this. I know I should but you know.... :)

Re: Modular Content – Creative Repurposing for Content Marketing

Ivan Walsh — Fri, 16 May 2014 11:15:49 -0000

Hi Lee, any thoughts on how to 'extend' content into different formats, eg video, audio and... which perform best/worst?

From across the pond, thx
Ivan

Re: How to Manage Family, School and Business tasks with Google Calendar

Ivan Walsh — Sun, 04 May 2014 16:48:57 -0000

Exactly. Once it's in the calendar, you're that much closer to doing it.

btw, there's a really good book by Peter Bregman called 18 seconds. See if you can get a copy. He's really good at mapping a framework to structure things and like you said scheduling.

Think you'll enjoy it. He's on HBR as well.

Ivan

Re: How Often Should You Blog

Ivan Walsh — Sun, 20 Apr 2014 09:48:26 -0000

Jayson,

Happy Easter before I start.

I did a small experiment in March. I blogged 20 times in 20 days. Average length 800-1000 words.

The result: The Google Crawl rate shot up, Traffic was steady. Sales increased.
Also, Linkedin traffic went much higher but... MS Bing traffic went down.

Then I stopped. But... three weeks later - with only i post a week - traffic began to increase.

My interpretation: increased frequency alerts G that you're more active. After a delay, it factors this in and returns traffic to your site.

No idea why Bing slipped.

Regards from Ireland,

Ivan

fyi - small typo on While 8000 world blog

Re: 7 Essential Mobile Apps for Marketers

Ivan Walsh — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 13:02:18 -0000

the Buffer app is nice for scheduling posts. works on FB pages now

Re: 10 Reasons You Should Be Using Blog Comments

Ivan Walsh — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 13:25:46 -0000

Hi Julie,

I turned mine off because the number of comments plummeted once twitter and FB gained traction. Whereas once I was getting 5-10 comments it fell to maybe 1 of none, which looks bad...

Also, I suspect Google ignores comments as a signal.

BUT I do leave comments on my inner circle' of sites that I follow of Feedly, more to support the site than gain backlinks etc.

hth

Ivan

Re: The Social C-Suite. Let’s get real.

Ivan Walsh — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 08:43:08 -0000

David Cameron, the GB Prime Minister, tweets.

What's interesting is that they're obviously from him - not some underling - and quite often he shoots himself in the foot. See the Nigella Lawson trial.

But... somehow this makes him more interesting, give him a bit of personality.

Re: 12 Experts Define Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)

Ivan Walsh — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 08:46:35 -0000

Great article, Rob,

It's always surprising (or maybe not) how many customers don't baseline before starting a new project.

Ivan

Re: The Art of Raising Prices: Lessons from Amazon Prime

Ivan Walsh — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 08:21:34 -0000

Hmmm, interesting to see how Netlfix reviews its prices, which I believe is coming soon.

When you have a captive audience, it’s one thing.

When they have choice….

Re: Why We’re Quitting Social Business

Ivan Walsh — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 17:00:12 -0000

Amber, to help me understand this better. is there a cast study or example you could share to put this in context. thx Ivan

Re: Measuring Prospect Engagement to Improve Your Proposal Content

Ivan Walsh — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 02:32:42 -0000

It's a good point. If you dont have a benchmark, how can you measure where you're going.

Ivan

Re: What is search jacking and how can it hurt your brand?

Ivan Walsh — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 10:21:25 -0000

Hi Mark,

1. Every month, allocate 1 hour to check for search checkers

2. Do a Google disavow on the prime offenders

3. If they’re targeting a specific page, move your content to a new page

4. Do a 301 redirect

5. Then close your page when the google juice has passed over

Ivan