Sue’s newsletter

Don’t worry, your email address is safe with me! I never rent or share your information, and MailChimp also promises to keep all information safe. Read its privacy policy.

Past Issues

Issue 141 – November 2024: A look at the lyrical language of Taylor Swift

Issue 140 – October 2024: Inspire action with plain language alerts

Issue 139 – September 2024: Don’t make readers do the math! 4 ways to explain numbers

Issue 138 – August 2024: 7 steps to trim and tone flabby writing

Issue 137 – July 2024: An “aggressive stapler’ + more super similes

Issue 136 – June 2024; How comms pros can be more effective allies

Issue 135 – May 2024: Short words are a shortcut to understanding

Issue 134 – April 2024: Be clear to keep it confidential (a ‘Before & After’)

Issue 133 – March 2024: An Oscar class in context

Issue 132 – February 2024: A ‘turtle Fitbit’ and more marvellous metaphors

Issue 131 – January 2024: Making sense of long sentences (before & after)

Issue 130 – December 2023: Life lessons from my granddaughter

Issue 129 – November 2023: The poetic power of music in trying times

Issue 128 – October 2023: Plain language keeps it clear

Issue 127 – September 2023: What’s old is new again

Issue 126 – August 2023: A (Taylor) Swift look at numbers

Issue 125 – July 2023: Before & after: Dissecting a 5K waiver

Issue 124 – June 2023: Sharpies as a simile and more expressive writing

Issue 123 – May 2023: 5 ways to touch hearts by following the songwriter’s lead

Issue 122 – April 2023: Four minutes to  weasel words

Issue 121 – March 2023: Don’t freak out about ChatGPT

Issue 120 – February 2023: ‘The brain’s Jiminy Cricket’ + more marvellous metaphors

Issue 119 – January 2023: Be kind and translate your Terms of Use

Issue 118 – December 2022: Christmas flashbacks to ‘life is short’ musings

Issue 117 – November 2022: Cut contract confusion (before & after)

Issue 116 – October 2022: How big are bears? Perspective makes it plain

Issue 115 – September 2022: Clear the way to better writing

Issue 114 – August 2022: Weasel words only get you in deeper trouble

Issue 113 – July 2022: Are companies embracing DEI?

Issue 112 – June 2022: Set the stage for effective employee announcements

Issue 111 – May 2022: An empty gas tank + more pandemic analogies

Issue 110 – April 2022: 5 ways to make environmental comms clear

Issue 109 – March 2022: Break the ‘Curse of Knowledge’

Issue 108 – February 2022: A ‘Post-it note’ for the brain + more analogies

Issue 107 – January 2022: Want feedback? Get to the point

Issue 106 – December 2021: 54 ways to be kind

Issue 105 – November 2021: How to set your survey up for success

Issue 104 – October 2021: How comms + PR people can make a difference to DEI

Issue 103 – September 2021: ‘Spaghetti on a plate’ + more pandemic analogies

Issue 102 – August 2021: 9 tips for writing bulleted lists

Issue 101 – July 2021: 5 ways to help make numbers make sense

Issue 100 – June 2021: Newsletters are back (or they never left)

Issue 99 – May 2021: Asking people to sign a release? Make it readable

Issue 98 – April 2021: Walking on Lego + more COVID-19 analogies

Issue 97 – March 2021: So what if you dangle your modifier?

Issue 96 – February 2021: It’s a Zoom world; warm up your words to match

Issue 95 – January 2021: #WFH means internal newsletters need to be more helpful in 2021

Issue 94 – December 2020: Apt analogies related to COVID-19

Issue 93 – November 2020: More comms that’s working during COVID-19

Issue 92 – October 2020: Comms during COVID-19: What’s working?

Issue 91 – September 2020: 5 lessons writers can learn from hiking the Bruce Trail

Issue 90 – August 2020: Reel in reader attention with captions that captivate

Issue 89 – July 2020: 34 ways to kick ‘unprecedented’ to the curb

Issue 88 – June 2020: 15 ways to get to the heart of headlines

Issue 87 – May 2020: 9+ tips to overcome imposter syndrome

Issue 86 – April 2020: How to make numbers make sense, COVID-19 edition

Issue 85 – March 2020: 4 strategies to communicate during social distancing

Issue 84 – February 2020: The inside view of comms, part 5 (member comms at RTO)

Issue 83 – January 2020: The ‘cooling power of a cat yawning’ and more metaphor magic

Issue 82 – December 2019: Life is short; eat the shortbread

Issue 81 – November 2019: Make ‘terms of service’ readable

Issue 80 – October 2019: CEO support fosters great internal comms

Issue 79 – September 2019:  The inside view of employee comms, part 4 (with a look at PepsiCo Foods Canada)

Issue 78 – August 2019: Print’s not dead

Issue 77 – July 2019: The inside view of employee comms, part 3 (with a look inside Chartwell Retirement Residences)

Issue 76 – June 2019: The inside view of employee comms, part 2 (with best practices for e-newsletters)

Issue 75 – May 2019: The inside view of employee comms, part 1 (all about e-newsletters with Bananatag)

Issue 74 – April 2019: Words as Legos + more expressive language

Issue 73 – March 2019: 8 ways to make numbers meaningful

Issue 72 – February 2019: 8 reasons to keep e-newsletters in your comms toolbox

Issue 71 – January 2019: 8 ways to keep your New Year’s resolutions on track

Issue 70 – December 2018: Life is short: A Christmas reminder

Issue 69 – November 2018: Look for words that count people in

Issue 68 – October 2018: Think plain to make complex writing more readable

Issue 67 – September 2018: Cat’s + other apostrophe follies (for National Punctuation Day)

Issue 66 – August 2018: Feathers ‘soft as a whisper’ and more expressive writing

Issue 65 – July 2018: Let songwriters inspire your storytelling

Issue 64 – June 2018: Take steps to make legal statements readable

Issue 63 – May 2018: 9 ways to ace your endings

Issue 62 – April 2018: 3 ways to give numbers the context they need

Issue 61 – March 2018: Find your focus in the nut graf

Issue 60 – February 2018: Short attention span? Looks like a job for expressive writing

Issue 59 – January 2018: 8 ways to reel in your reader

Issue 58 – December 2017: Your “About” page is the place to get personal

Issue 57 – November 2017: Are you really explaining? Readability tests tell all

Issue 56 – October 2017: 10 tips for an effective non-profit newsletter

Issue 55 – September 2017: Citing Indigenous people? 10 ways to show respect

Issue 54 – August 2017: Hook your reader with compelling captions

Issue 53 – July 2017: 8 ways to get through the approval process

Issue 52 – June 2017: 5 reasons you should still embrace print

Issue 51 – May 2017: Employees need the inside scoop from leaders

Issue 50 – April 2017: How to keep your marketing e-newsletter in the spotlight

Issue 49 – March 2017: Take the dull out of digits

Issue 48 – February 2017: ‘Content as a Russian doll’ and more expressive writing

Issue 47 – January 2017: 7 ways to sabotage your employee e-newsletter

Issue 46 – December 2016: Let go of the stocking to live in the moment

Issue 45 – November 2016: Is Trump the new poster boy for plain language?

Issue 44 – October 2016: Interviews that get to the core of the story

Issue 43 – September 2016: How often to publish your employee newsletter

Issue 42 – August 2016: 4 steps to meaningful mission statements

Issue 41 – July 2016: 9 steps to readable writing

Issue 40 – June 2016: How to make numbers meaningful

Issue 39 – May 2016: Rhyme and rhythm: Musicians know how to write

Issue 38 – April 2016: 3 ways to spark interest with expressive writing

Issue 37 – March 2016: 7 deadly sins of e-newsletters

Issue 36 – February 2016: ‘Insight as a cat’ & more expressive writing

Issue 35 – January 2016: Jargon? Pin that Jell-O to the wall

Issue 34 –  December 2015: How to make resolutions you’ll keep

Issue 33 – November 2015: 5 Pinterest pointers for small business

Issue 32 – October 2015: Frightened? Good, that’s one way to grow

Issue 31 – September 2015: 5 tips for saying you’re sorry

Issue 30 – August 2015: 7 tips for inclusive writing about disabilities

Issue 29 – July 2015: 7 steps to spin straw into gold

Issue 28 – June 2015: 7 tips for non-profit annual reports

Issue 27 – May 2015: Get an ‘aha’ moment with analogy

Issue 26 – April 2015: 4 ways to simplify your sustainability report

Issue 25 – March 2015: How to reach “non-desk” employees

Issue 24 – February 2015: Is print dead?

Issue 23 – January 2015: Why newsletters still have value

Issue 22 – December 2014: Linguistic cicadas, a six-car pileup of clichés and other expressive writing

Issue 21 – November 2104: Launching a newsletter? Here are some ideas on content.

Issue 20 – October 2014: Tips for writing for impatient readers (and aren’t we all?)

Issue 19 – September 2014: Tips for getting and using quotes

Issue 18 – August 2014: Don’t gas your readers with jargon monoxide

Issue 17 – July 2014: The expressive language of loss

Issue 16 – June 2014: What the new anti-spam law means for newsletters

Issue 15 – May 2014: Use plain language to boost readability

Issue 14 – April 2014: How often should you publish your newsletter?

Issue 13 – March 2014: ‘Dumpster diving in the Internet’ and other expressive writing

Issue 12 – February 2014: Do’s and don’ts for email newsletters

Issue 11 – January 2014: 13 content ideas for association newsletters

Issue 10 – December 2013: Looking for your thoughts on IABC WC14

Issue 9 – November 2013: How to make a 105-word sentence readable

Issue 8 – October 2013: Writing lessons from Dancing With The Stars

Issue 7 – September 2013: What dogs can teach us about communications

Issue 6 – August 2013: 5 writing tips from musicians

Issue 5 – July 2013: 7 writing tips from Sesame Street

Issue 4 – June 2013: An ‘orthographical fig leaf’ and other expressive writing

Issue 3 – May 2013: Tips for great interviews

Issue 2 – April 2013: Fight for readability

Issue 1 – March 2013: Dig to find newsletter content