Writing about reading.
Writing about reading: a content-based strategy for everything we do in innovation.
When we started room44 in 2014, one of the decisions we made was to focus our marketing and research on the written word. Sounds obvious? Maybe.
The way all research is done, at one level or another, is to read stuff: data, reports, white papers, articles, blogs, strategy documents.
It’s also necessary to watch video content and, of course, we do. From watching something, we may get a flavour of a subject, yet it still takes reading into a topic to properly understand it.
As we read, we learn. In fact, as we read and then write, we are challenged to assimilate information and convert it into useable insight – to see obscure connections that might be exploited as part of an innovation strategy. That’s what we’re here for and why we spend so much time reading and writing.
Below is a short list of books that you might find of interest over the holidays.
They aren’t entirely business-focused, but they are writing-focused and have been useful to us during the latter half of 2018 as we prepare to further develop the room44 brand.
Being a Writer
This is a classic compendium of quotes about writing by famous authors. It’s enlightening, and presented in small enough chunks to dip into often and quickly.
Being a writer. Travis Elborough
You can’t make this stuff up
If non-fiction is your thing, and we’d include writing for business in that, Gutkind is something of a guru and this is a manual for doing it better.
For me, this has become a go-to reminder of how to write well and what readers like to see.
You can’t make this stuff up. Lee Gutkind.
Building a story brand
If content features in your marketing strategy, you may find this a useful read.
Another ‘how to’ manual, that gets into the nuts and bolts of how to push a message out and why.
Building a story brand. Donald Miller
Finally, there are lots of sources of advice about content creation. This is exactly why we look away from the light for inspiration. Reading away from obvious subjects always prompts a tangential thought. It provokes a perspective that wasn’t going to come into focus otherwise and it gets our ideation running riot. Think of it as not looking for your lost keys under the lamppost. They’re probably out in the dark and under a bush.
Something else we turn to regularly is The Happy Reader.
It’s a bit of an oddity. It’s the wrong size, has a feel all of its own and is almost a pamphlet in the old-fashioned sense. For all that, it’s worth trying as a challenge to yourself.
Enjoy.
If you’re looking for a new product, or trying to take your business in a new direction, and are unsure exactly what you need to do – click here and I’ll call you back to help work it out.