Five Tips For Writing About Analytics

I write a lot about analytics. Blogs Posts, Power Point Presentations, Books, Training Materials, Marketing Pieces, etc.

What I write is influenced by what I read. 

I read a lot about analytics. Blogs, Books, White Papers, Research Findings, LinkedIn Posts and such.

What I read influences how I write. 

All that said and done, I came up with some quick tips to make writing about analytics more engaging.

Tip #1 – Write with passion. Analytics is a pretty dry topic on the surface. Lots of data and reports and formulas and models. The topic is among the leading causes of nosebleed amount my audience. SO, to get past the dry and head spinning content, your have to get people excited about it.

Let your passion for data-driven decision-making and using data to solve real world business problems shine.

Tip #2 – Keep it as simple as possible. This is my biggest challenge. Not getting to techie and using too many analytics buzzwords. Analytics is harder to explain then it seems, even though we all use analytics everyday. Companies know they need it, but can’t articulate how to use it successfuly.

Keeping my writings accessible to the novice analyst, but still interesting the expert is a key reason for my success.

Tip #3 – One Subject at a Time. It’s easy to start down one path and get pulled into tangents. Data is everywhere. Analytics means something different to every business. Trying to keep your writing focused is super important. Review key concepts and allow for everyone to keep up.

With blogging its easy, stay with what is on the subject line. With books and training materials, as long as you stick to your outline you will be fine. However you write, always make sure every thing ties back to the beginning.

Tip #4 – Get the Audience to Ask Questions. With my writing, I ask a lot of questions without actually asking questions. If you need help with this, connect with me. A lot of companies struggle with this (implying like your company does). I am constantly getting my audience to ask their own questions as they read.

It is all about creating an environment that encourages reflection and analysis. One question leads to another until you have created a culture of curiosity and discovery.

Tip #5 – Share Your Opinion. Your audience is reading your work because you are the expert. They don’t have the experience and/or the confidence to use their data or conduct their analysis on there own. Be the subject matter expert for them and they will keep coming back.

In today’s information age, everyone can be an expert in their own little niche. To truly become a thought leader, you have to be always sharing your opinions not just to your followers, but to your future followers as well.

As the number of analysts and data scientists explodes across the global work place, the need for experts has never been greater. If you have some knowledge others will benefit from and not sure how to get started in telling you story… connect with me. I will show you how.