Ann Handley

Misplaced modifiers and odd word order are among the most

common errors I see made by marketers—and by most writers,

for that matter. They are also the easiest to correct.

Here’s another example:

Original: Though often misunderstood, scholars know that anar-

chy does not mean chaos.

Corrected: Though often misunderstood, anarchy does not mean

chaos, as scholars well know.

Once you start paying attention to misplaced modifiers and con-

fusing word order, you’ll notice it everywhere. One word you’ll see

frequently misplaced is only.

So it’s not: Only publish good content.

It’s actually: Publish only good content.

Why? Because the idea isn’t that you should only publish—and not,

say, also create and distribute—good content; the idea is that the

content you publish should be good.

In other words, only needs to modify good content, not publish. (A

handy writing hack is to think twice about placing only immediately

before a verb.)

Give special love to the first and last sentences of your piece—the

opening and closing, or the lede (lead)1 and kicker—in traditional

journalism terms.

“A good lede invites you to the party and a good

kicker makes you wish you could stay longer.”2 This rule honors him.

A good lead, then, sets the tone for your writing and hooks the

reader into wanting to know more.

♦ Put your reader into the story. Put your reader—or someone

just like your reader—into the story.

♦ Describe a problem your reader can relate to.

Good Ideas from 13 Dead Copywriters”:5

Advertising is an ancient art.

Use this one infrequently, as the technique gets tiresome

otherwise. You want to avoid sounding like a one-note, late-

night infomercial (“Did you ever wonder . . . ?”).

♦ Quote a crazy or controversial bit of data. Grounding the

lead in a crazy stat that blows your reader away is a way to shock