Everybody Writes is a go-to guide to attracting and retaining customers through stellar online communication, because in our content-driven world, every one of us is, in fact, a writer.

If you have a web site, you are a publisher. If you are on social media, you are in marketing. And that means that we are all relying on our words to carry our marketing messages. We are all writers.

Yeah, but who cares about writing anymore? In a time-challenged world dominated by short and snappy, by click-bait headlines and Twitter streams and Instagram feeds and gifs and video and Snapchat and YOLO and LOL and #tbt. . . does the idea of focusing on writing seem pedantic and ordinary?

Actually, writing matters more now, not less. Our online words are our currency; they tell our customers who we are.

Our writing can make us look smart or it can make us look stupid. It can make us seem fun, or warm, or competent, or trustworthy. But it can also make us seem humdrum or discombobulated or flat-out boring.

That means you've got to choose words well, and write with economy and the style and honest empathy for your customers. And it means you put a new value on an often-overlooked skill in content marketing: How to write, and how to tell a true story really, really well. That's true whether you're writing a listicle or the words on a Slideshare deck or the words you're reading right here, right now...

And so being able to communicate well in writing isn't just nice; it's necessity. And it's also the oft-overlooked cornerstone of nearly all our content marketing.

In Everybody Writes, top marketing veteran Ann Handley gives expert guidance and insight into the process and strategy of content creation, production and publishing, with actionable how-to advice designed to get results.

These lessons and rules apply across all of your online assets — like web pages, home page, landing pages, blogs, email, marketing offers, and on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media. Ann deconstructs the strategy and delivers a practical approach to create ridiculously compelling and competent content. It's designed to be the go-to guide for anyone creating or publishing any kind of online content — whether you're a big brand or you're small and solo.

Sections include:

Traditional marketing techniques are no longer enough. Everybody Writes is a field guide for the smartest businesses who know that great content is the key to thriving in this digital world.

Social media has opened the door to anyone who wants to promote themselves--including small businesses. Designed specifically for busy small business owners, this book puts you on the fast track to maximizing your business's visibility and generating profits—regardless of the size of your marketing budget or the time you have to devote to it.

30-Minute Social Media Marketing provides 22 short chapters packed with real-world examples, templates, sample marketing procedures, and screen shots taking you step-by-step through the essentials. With little time and effort, you will master the arts of:

By the end of the book, you will have completed a social-media marketing plan that produces real results and created a strategy for future marketing plans--all in just 30 minutes a day.

Successful online marketing is about more than creating a Facebook page or writing a corporate blog. Brands need to build lasting connections with the right customers online through an effective online content marketing strategy, and this book shows you how. It explores ways to create a content marketing strategy, identify the content that will keep your customers coming back, create that content, distribute it online, and measure the results, with hands-on, step-by-step guidance.

Online content marketing positions your business and your product for lasting customer interaction; Content Marketing For Dummies gives you the tools to create a program that works.