An ad arrived from my bank, Chase, which contained a reference to a “Chasexperience.” The “sex” resulting from the concatenation of “Chase” and “experience” had to have been intentional. The word, “sex,” wakes the reader up; the purpose of advertising is to attract attention, and then to make an offer. (Chase’s offer, in this case, was not sexy.)

The other day, my wife, Dalia, asked if I’d seen the manicure kit. My ears picked up, “manic cure kit.” I asked, “Why do you need a manic cure? Are you depressed?”

We need to pay attention to the inadvertent words that happen when inter-word spaces get lost. The effect can be powerfully supportive–or unintentionally amusing.

Alex Mandossian had another gem in a recording I just listened to: “The single problem with communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.” Wow! I think every writer should print out this quote and frame it.

Think about this. Are you sure your message has gotten across? How do you know? Make up tests to find out if what people are understanding is what you think you are writing. Get feedback!

Here are 3 ways to find out what people currently are interested in, in your niche:

• Visit a bookstore with a large magazine rack and scan table of contents of appropriate publications. Magazines are good at researching “hot topics.”
• Do that same research online; just search for “magazine directory,” then use directory sites to track down the magazines that match your focus.
• If you think you know some hot topics, use keyword research tools to see how many searches there are for them–http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com is a great one.

Be relevant. You will attract readers and search engines.