Sat.May 10, 2025 - Fri.May 16, 2025

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How to Write Precisely (and Pierce Through Your Readers’ Wariness)

Enchanting Marketing

Should writing be brief? Maybe not. Of course, I hate rambling writing as much as you do. I’m impatient. But writing thats too brief becomes soulless; it lacks the power to engage and inspire. In contrast, precise writing is sharp, vivid, and full of zest. Even if your text becomes longer, precision captivates readers. Want to know how? An example of piercingly precise writing John McPhee is a Pulitzer-winning journalist.

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It’s a Book, Not a Slide Deck: Avoiding Fast-Content Habits in Nonfiction

Jane Friedman

Todays post is by book coach and editor Dinah Laprairie. I opened the manuscript and sighednot at the message, which was well-stated and useful, but at the wall of bold, italic, underlined, ALL CAPS text that shouted for attention on every page. It read more like a web article or social post than a book. Nonfiction writersespecially those working on prescriptive nonfictionoften turn to familiar writing formats from business, blogging, or social media when they prepare their book-length projects.

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When the AI’s story is better than your own, it’s time to spill the ketchup.

Nick Ursborne

Im working on a whole new project. Pretty much an entirely new business. To help me build everything, Ive been using a Custom GPT, which has a knowledge base of everything I have been doing for the project so far. In other words, it knows as much about the business as I do. For fun, I asked it to make up an origin story for the company. Something fun, and maybe a little tongue-in-cheek.

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The B.R.E.W. Framework: How We Decide Which Marketing Ideas to Pursue

Ahrefs

New technologies, channels, strategies, and tactics are constantly emerging. Its impossible for any team to pursue every idea. What do you do then? How do you vet each idea and decide which one to invest resources in?

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State of AI in Sales & Marketing 2025

AI adoption is reshaping sales and marketing. But is it delivering real results? We surveyed 1,000+ GTM professionals to find out. The data is clear: AI users report 47% higher productivity and an average of 12 hours saved per week. But leaders say mainstream AI tools still fall short on accuracy and business impact. Download the full report today to see how AI is being used — and where go-to-market professionals think there are gaps and opportunities.

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How to Create.htaccess Redirects (Most Common Use Cases)

Backlinko

Whenever you move content, change domain names, or simply tweak a pages URL, youll likely use a redirect. This ensures your users (and Google) get to the right page, and it preserves the SEO value from your backlinks. You can use.htaccess redirects specifically to do this. But I get that messing with your sites server files can sound daunting. So the goal of this guide is to make.htaccess redirects as accessible as possible.

SEO 86
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The Hidden Costs of AI Copyediting Tools: An Editor’s Review

Jane Friedman

Todays post is by writer and editor Ariane Peveto. The debate over using AI in the writing process is far from settled, but as the conversation continues to develop, we can all agree that better information helps us make better decisions. With that in mind, I set out to test a variety of AI-powered editing tools for myself. While I wholeheartedly believe humans make the best editors, I know economic realities can make hiring an editor difficult or impossible, and many writers dont have skilled c

Prose 89

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Top 40 Fastest-Growing Cybersecurity Companies

Ahrefs

Using Ahrefs website growth data, weve found the 40 fastest-growing cybersecurity companies of 2025 based on estimated year-over-year (YoY) organic traffic growth.

Website 62
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The 7 Best PPC Tools for Your Goals, Budget, and Workflow

Backlinko

Running PPC campaigns isnt for the faint of heart. Youre constantly juggling dashboards, tweaking campaigns, and fielding requests from clients who wanted performance reports yesterday. Thats why the best PPC tools dont just offer features. They help you move faster. In this guide, Ive curated this list of the best PPC tools marketers swear by, organized by use case.

Ad Copy 81
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How SEO Resellers Can Guide Clients Through Budget Planning 

The Hoth

If youre an SEO reseller, your clients will come to you seeking answers, not just deliverables. They probably dont know that you outsource your SEO, so theyre going to approach you whenever they have questions or concerns about the process. Rather than viewing these instances as a hindrance, you should consider them golden opportunities for: Establishing trust with your clients Building their confidence in your abilities Helping them achieve their goals (to secure their future business) In parti

SEO 59
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Modernizing the Traditional Writing Assignment: Lessons from One Professor’s Approach at the University of Florida

Grammarly

As AI advances, colleges and universities must rethink how they assess student work while maintaining academic integrity. At the University of Florida, Professor and Associate Provost Dr. Brian Harfe observed that traditional writing assignments in his large-enrollment general education course were becoming increasingly vulnerable to AI-generated responses.

Writing 59
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Marketing Operations in 2025: A New Framework for Success

Speaker: Mike Rizzo, Founder & CEO, MarketingOps.com and Darrell Alfonso, Director of Marketing Strategy and Operations, Indeed.com

Though rarely in the spotlight, marketing operations are the backbone of the efficiency, scalability, and alignment that define top-performing marketing teams. In this exclusive webinar led by industry visionaries Mike Rizzo and Darrell Alfonso, we’re giving marketing operations the recognition they deserve! We will dive into the 7 P Model —a powerful framework designed to assess and optimize your marketing operations function.

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Top 50 Fastest-Growing EdTech Companies

Ahrefs

From AI tutors to classroom management platforms, both new startups and established players are racing to capture attention and market share.

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What is Keyword Stuffing? How to Avoid Doing SEO Like It’s 2005

Backlinko

Back in the early 2000s, keyword stuffing actually worked. All you had to do was repeat the same phrases, and you could rank pretty well. (Readability be damned.) Im not exaggerating here these sites were literally littered with keywords. Like this one from 2005. Yes, this is a real site I found on The Wayback Machine. And yes, online casinos was used enough times to make your eyes burn.

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New publisher: Putman Publishing

Jane Friedman

Doug Putman, owner of music retailer HMV UK, is launching a publishing company. The first imprint will publish music and pop culture books. This premium article is available to paid subscribers of Jane's newsletter. Here's what subscribers get: Access to more than 3,000 premium articles on this site, all searchable Industry news that includes Janes reporting and analysis, sent via email once a wek Access to Janes private resource guides, continually updated Login below, or learn more and subscri

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Rank Higher: Keyword-Rich Website Copy

iWebContent

In todays digital world, ranking high on Google isnt just a nice-to-haveits essential. Your potential customers are out there searching for exactly what you offer, but if your website isnt showing up, they wont find you. Thats where SEO copywriting comes in. At iwebcontent, we specialize in helping businesses like yours climb the search engine ranks through smart, keyword-rich website content.

Copy 59
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Mastering Remote Onboarding: Proven Strategies for Seamless New Hire Integration

Speaker: Tim Buteyn, President of ThinkingKap Learning Solutions

Join this brand new webinar with Tim Buteyn to learn how you can master the art of remote onboarding! By the end of this session, you'll understand how to: Craft a Tailored Onboarding Checklist 📝 Develop a comprehensive, customized checklist that ensures every new hire has a smooth transition into your company, no matter where they are in the world.

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AI Overviews Have Doubled (25M AIOs Analyzed)

Ahrefs

This chimes with what were seeing in Ahrefs Brand Radar, our new marketing intelligence tool which lets you track your brand presence in AI search. We analyzed 25M AI overview keywords in the two-month window of our analysis.

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How to Do Realistic SEO Forecasting Step-by-Step (+ Template)

Backlinko

Youre setting goals. Publishing content. Reporting on growth. But deep down, youre still asking: Are we aiming too high? Too low? Are we even on track? That uncertainty is normal but its also a signal that you need an SEO forecast. At Backlinko, we do SEO forecasting throughout the year. We use it to map planned content, track production costs, and project traffic and revenue gains.

SEO 57
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New agent: Howland Literary

Jane Friedman

Ashlee MacCallum has joined as a junior agent at Howland Literary. Previously she was an intern at Triada US. This premium article is available to paid subscribers of Jane's newsletter. Here's what subscribers get: Access to more than 3,000 premium articles on this site, all searchable Industry news that includes Janes reporting and analysis, sent via email once a wek Access to Janes private resource guides, continually updated Login below, or learn more and subscribe.

Content 59
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WordPress Tagging Best Practices for SEO

BKA Content

WordPress is one of the most popular website creation platforms in the world, powering more than 30 million active sites. Its user-friendly tools help small business owners create web pages, blog posts, and professional guides quickly. WordPress also offers built-in features, free themes , and powerful plugins for search engine optimization, including schema, categories, and tags.

SEO 52
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Do's and Don'ts: How to Pitch Your Press Release to Journalists

Speaker: Michelle Garrett, PR Consultant, Author, Speaker

Yes - press releases are still relevant in the world of public relations! 🎯 Ever wondered how to write a compelling press release, or what are current best practices for pitching your news to earn media coverage? In this exclusive webinar with Michelle Garrett, PR Consultant, we’ll cover tips and advice to help you get the most out of each piece of news you pitch!

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From A to B: Three Tips to Ensure a Smooth Delivery Process

Blogtrepreneur

Online shopping has quickly become one of the main ways that people obtain goods nowadays. It has become so common the in US that more than three-quarters of consumers have shopped for items online. This is a staggering statistic, and businesses should be prompted to take action. The action your business should take will impact the delivery process.

Content 52
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19 Sitemap Examples for Any Type of Website (+ Best Practices)

Backlinko

Your sitemap is exactly what it sounds like: a map of your sites pages. A good sitemap organizes all your most important pages logically, and it can help Google crawl and understand your site. Free template: Want to create your own visual sitemap like the example above? Download our free Canva template here. Below, I’ll go through 19 example sitemaps and explain the key best practices to help you build your own.

Website 75
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Links of Interest: May 14, 2025

Jane Friedman

The latest in traditional publishing, audiobooks, AI, and newsletters. This premium article is available to paid subscribers of Jane's newsletter. Here's what subscribers get: Access to more than 3,000 premium articles on this site, all searchable Industry news that includes Janes reporting and analysis, sent via email once a wek Access to Janes private resource guides, continually updated Login below, or learn more and subscribe.

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Could've vs. Could of

Grammar Underground

Could've is pronounced just like could of. But don't confuse them. You always want the contraction of could and have. Never use of. The post Could've vs. Could of first appeared on Grammar Underground with June Casagrande.

Post 52
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The GTM Intelligence Era: ZoomInfo 2025 Customer Impact Report

ZoomInfo customers aren’t just selling — they’re winning. Revenue teams using our Go-To-Market Intelligence platform grew pipeline by 32%, increased deal sizes by 40%, and booked 55% more meetings. Download this report to see what 11,000+ customers say about our Go-To-Market Intelligence platform and how it impacts their bottom line. The data speaks for itself!

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Title Tags: How to Write Them (+ Steal Our Formulas)

Backlinko

You can create the most helpful, well-optimized content on the web. But if you mess up the title tag, none of that will matter. The title tag is the blue, clickable headline that shows up in search results. Its also your one shot at convincing a reader to choose your content over everyone else’s. A subtle tweak to the title tag can make all the difference.

Writing 52
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6 Best Social Media Management Tools (Tried & Tested)

Backlinko

There are many tools that let you schedule content across different social media platforms. But: Not all of them are built to match your unique workflow. Some focus on collaboration, others on planning. Thats why Ive handpicked the best tools and highlighted the features that go beyond basic scheduling. Heres an overview of the best social media management tools included in this article: Best for Pricing Buffer Content creators and small teams that need help generating content ideas and staying

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Canva User and Revenue Statistics

Backlinko

Substack was initially released in August 2023 as a graphic design platform. Within its first year since release, Canva hit a milestone of 600 thousand users. Now, over 220 million users create designs in Canva and the company hit $3 billion in annualized revenue. Canva Statistics (Top Picks) Canva has 220 million active users worldwide. Canva has 21 million paying users.

IT 57
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Audible opens the door wide to AI audiobooks

Jane Friedman

Audible will offer AI production technology to select publishers, first for narration and later for translated narration. This premium article is available to paid subscribers of Jane's newsletter. Here's what subscribers get: Access to more than 3,000 premium articles on this site, all searchable Industry news that includes Janes reporting and analysis, sent via email once a wek Access to Janes private resource guides, continually updated Login below, or learn more and subscribe.

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Data Modeling for Direct Mail: Boosting Multi-Channel Reach and Response

Speaker: Jesse Simms, VP at Giant Partners

This new, thought-provoking webinar will explore how even incremental efforts and investments in your data can have a tremendous impact on your direct mail and multi-channel marketing campaign results! Industry expert Jesse Simms, VP at Giant Partners, will share real-life case studies and best practices from client direct mail and digital campaigns where data modeling strategies pinpointed audience members, increasing their propensity to respond – and buy.

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A flock of birds fly or a flock of birds flies?

Grammar Underground

Subject-verb agreement is usually pretty easy. But even the most grammar-savvy people can get confounded by sentences like these: A team of rivals was/were meeting the statehouse. A bunch of whiners is/are affecting morale. A flock of birds fly/flies by every day. Everyone knows that a team was meeting but rivals were meeting. Everyone knows that a bunch is affecting but whiners are affecting.

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Not dead yet! HarperVia launches small-format paperback imprint

Jane Friedman

Despite the decline of mass-market paperbacks, HarperVia is launching a line of pocket-sized paperbacks under the Nomad Editions imprint. This premium article is available to paid subscribers of Jane's newsletter. Here's what subscribers get: Access to more than 3,000 premium articles on this site, all searchable Industry news that includes Janes reporting and analysis, sent via email once a wek Access to Janes private resource guides, continually updated Login below, or learn more and subscribe

Content 59