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By writing much, one learns to write well.

– Robert Southey

Learning Grammar through Reading: What Harry Potter Can Teach Us about English Grammar Rules (Week 6)

Introduction

Remember earlier in the series when we discussed the use of interrogative sentences in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban? Well, if Azkaban is all about raising questions, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is all about surprises. It’s only appropriate, therefore, that we should use the sixth book of the Harry Potter series to examine the use of exclamatory sentences.

I know I’ve given the “spoiler alert” warning with each of these posts, but I feel especially obligated to give it again here. Let me be very clear: this post will explicitly state major plot twists. If you haven’t read the book, this post will ruin it for you. I beg you—don’t do that to yourself! Please, for the love of all that Dumbledore holds dear, please don’t read this post until you’ve read the book!

Exclamatory Sentences and the Half-Blood Prince

It’s time to look at exclamatory sentences—that is, declarative sentences that express a strong emotion. All exclamatory sentences end with exclamation points. As mentioned before, there’s a lot of reason for strong emotion in Half-Blood Prince, as can be seen in the following examples.

“Don‘t you see? Voldemort himself created his worst enemy, just as tyrants everywhere do! Have you any idea how much tyrants fear the people they oppress? All of them realise that, one day, amongst their many victims, there is sure to be one who rises against them and strikes back! Voldemort is no different!“

Dumbledore passionately explains just exactly how Voldemort fulfilled Professor Trelawney’s prophecy in his attempt to avert it. What’s that I hear, Lord Voldemort? Oh, yes. That would be Karma. She’s coming for your Horcruxes, and she’s not happy.

“We did it, Professor!” Harry whispered with difficulty; he suddenly realised that he had a searing stitch in his chest. “We did it! We got the Horcrux!“

Harry is happy to be safely back in Hogsmeade with Dumbledore after an almost-fatal quest to retrieve one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes. So happy, in fact, that he can’t help but throw a few exclamatory sentences in there. (But he doesn’t know! He doesn’t know that the danger is just beginning! Oh, the horror!)

“You dare use my own spells against me, Potter? It was I who invented them—I, the Half-Blood Prince! And you’d turn my inventions on me, like your filthy father, would you? I don’t think so . . . no!“

Major, major spoiler alert: Snape is the Half-Blood Prince. Don’t worry, though—he’s a good guy. I mean, he’s not really a good guy. He’s kind of a bitter, lonely, middle-aged wizard who has a really hard time letting things go. But he is definitely a hero. It’s kind of confusing, really. Anyway, Snape doesn’t get excited very often, so you know that when he’s using exclamation points, things are gettin’ real.

The final set of exclamatory sentences we’re going to examine are the ones I couldn’t stop myself from exclaiming for approximately three days after finishing Half-Blood Prince:

“SNAPE KILLED DUMBLEDORE! Snape killed Dumbledore! DUMBLEDORE! He’s dead! Snape killed him!”

Heart = broken. Mind = blown. (I warned you that there would be major spoilers, did I not?)

Conclusion

Some people think reading is boring. I think those people are nuts! There is punctuation for every occasion, my friends, and exclamatory sentences are great for alerting the reader that something really important or shocking is going on. They also help keep things exciting!

Thanks for reading this week’s post. Don’t forget to check out the posts from books one, two, three, four, and five if you haven’t already done so, and feel free to reach out on Facebook or Twitter if you have something to say about this Learning Grammar through Reading series. Don’t forget to read the final post next week, which will cover pronouns in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. (If thinking about the final book in the Harry Potter series makes you want to cry, know that you are not alone—I’ve been weeping since the book was published in 2007. I guess you could say it’s been a long eight years.)

5 Marketing Tools to Make Your Business Soar

Marketing tools to boost your online influence

There’s no substitute for a good marketing campaign. After all, it’s what makes your business stand out from the crowd.

A recent survey showed that most companies spend 20 hours on marketing per week. How do you know if you’re using this time wisely? Having the right data is the best way to evaluate your marketing strategies.

Here are five tools that will boost your productivity and effectively measure your online impact.

1) Moz

Moz offers a complete set of tools to synchronize all your marketing campaigns. From traffic stats to social media shares, Moz tracks the data you need to get the right customers.

Moz not only provides top-notch analytics tools but also offers actionable advice on how you can improve your marketing. One of its best-known features is Open Site Explorer, which tracks inbound links to your website. This is essential information for any marketer because it can help you build connections with key influencers.

Ever wondered who’s talking about your business? Moz’s Mentions tool scours RSS feeds and URLs to find out where your brand appears on the web. Moz also features an on-page ranker that helps optimize your content, allowing you to rank higher for a specific keyword.

2) Passpack

Chances are, you use multiple passwords to run your business. Since 2006, Passpack has been making it easy to remember passwords by storing them all in one application.

Once you’ve installed Passpack in your browser, you can securely log in to any website with just a click of a button. The type of data you can save is diverse, from email passwords to log-in credentials for online banking. With Passpack, you can safely share your passwords with anyone in your network, including employees and family members.

Passpack offers different subscription plans to suit your business needs. While its free account allows you to save up to 100 passwords, purchasing a subscription gives you more passwords, shared users, and disposable log-ins.

3) Klout

Klout provides an ideal way to measure your marketing reach and grow your influence. The company has a stellar track record and has run campaigns for some of the most influential brands in the world.

Once you sign up for Klout, you can link your social media profiles, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, and Instagram. Klout will then give you a “score” based on your social media activity.

Klout digs deep, looking beyond superficial statistics such as your Twitter follower count. It tracks how often users actually pay attention to what you post. For example, your Klout score will increase when you receive comments, retweets, and likes on your content. The built-in reporting tool makes it easy to track your activity on a daily basis, so you can easily tweak your marketing efforts.

4) Raven

Like Moz, Raven combines multiple pieces of software in one easy-to-use package. With dozens of available tools, Raven streamlines the work so you don’t need to spend hours doing marketing research on your own.

Raven focuses on five different categories: social media, content marketing, reporting, PPC, and SEO. One of its most useful tools is the Site Auditor, which crawls your website to figure out which SEO issues need improvement. Raven can also check search engine rankings for keywords, improve backlinks, and monitor your brand on social media.

Raven’s content marketing tools help push your content out quickly across multiple platforms. Using its metrics, you can discover which content is most profitable and keep tabs on the topics that industry leaders are talking about.

5) MailChimp

Smart businesses know the power of email marketing. With MailChimp, you can build your subscriber list and send more great content to the clients who matter most.

If you don’t already have a subscriber list, MailChimp helps you create a sign-up form. Once your list is ready to go, you can begin a new email marketing campaign using the service’s customizable templates. Your emails can be plain text, graphics rich, or pulled from an RSS feed. MailChimp lets you target specific subscribers with your emails so that clients receive only the most relevant information.

After your marketing campaign has launched, you can track it using MailChimp’s analytics tools. Here you’ll learn helpful information, such as how many subscribers actually open your emails. MailChimp can also recommend the best time to send marketing emails based on the activity level of your subscribers.

If you have fewer than 2,000 subscribers, you can use MailChimp for free. However, there are more advanced features, such as automated emails, that are restricted to the paid versions.

Marketing tools put your business on the map

It’s a common refrain in the marketing world that content is king. However, not all content has a built-in audience.

To get the exposure you want, you’ll need to share your message on multiple platforms and connect with the top experts in your industry. Having the right tools is the key to building your online brand and growing your business.

What Kind of Content Should I Be Posting on My Website?

It’s no secret that search engines love content that’s optimized, engaging, and relevant to your industry. But remember — robots aren’t the only ones reviewing the information on your website. Creative, credible content can also help set you apart from your competitors, gaining you loyal customers and brand followers. Whether you’re a Fortune 500 company or a lean start-up, strong content can help you generate leads, convert browsers into buyers, and encourage referrals following the sale.

The trick is knowing what kind of content you need to produce in order to initiate and nurture client relationships.

Build trust with better content

According to a recent study by Focus Research, companies should use a mix of content types to attract customers, depending on the type of business they operate. Blog posts, white papers, research papers, and infographics all offer unique opportunities to engage and build trust with your audience.

But what if you want to shake things up a little bit? Here are three unconventional ways to create content that attracts attention to your company.

1. Create a competitive analysis

You heard that right. Publish a downloadable document to your website that compares your product or service to a competitors’. Today, most consumers begin the buying process by Googling information on products or asking advice from friends on Facebook and Twitter. Publishing content that clearly explains how your product measures up (and outperforms) your competition will make it easier for potential clients to appreciate what your company has to offer.

Industry insider tip: According to TechTarget’s 2009 Media Consumption Benchmark Report, technology consumers are especially receptive to competitive comparisons. This report found that technology companies seek out content comparing a vendor’s offering to the competition as they get further along in the decision-making process.

2. Don’t shy away from controversy

A little controversy can give your company’s blog a big boost in readership, but only when the topic is well executed and properly researched. This means quoting reputable sources that support your argument and lend validity to your stance. When done properly, controversial content can increase engagement and brand awareness, as well as drive traffic, comments, and inbound links to your website.

3. Use your FAQ page properly

Never underestimate the value of the frequently asked questions (FAQ) page on your website. When executed properly, your FAQ page can help enhance your customer service and communicate your brand value.

Unfortunately, many companies seem to go out of their way to avoid answering questions that could open their product or brand up to criticism. Of course, these are exactly the questions every company should address. Publishing this kind of content to your website is your first line of defense against negativity and skepticism. Be transparent and address any uncomfortable issues up front. Your customers will appreciate your honesty.

4. Interview an expert

Running out of interesting content ideas to incorporate into your blog or website? Then why not ask an expert for their opinion? Interviews are a great way to provide your readers with a fresh perspective on a popular topic. If you’re lucky, you might even learn a thing or two yourself!

At the end of the day, the goal is to develop content that your audience finds useful. Quality content can position your company as an industry leader and a reliable source of consistent, credible information.

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