31

Jan

Why worry about good writing for your website?

When creating (or redesigning) your business’ website, design and code are vital. You want to immediately impress and draw in visitors with your site’s punchy and professional appeal. But by focusing only on the site’s development, color scheme and fonts, the site won’t achieve the success you want. You must take the time to create  high-quality copy for every page.

Writing matters to website design and, ultimately, its success. Great copy makes your site better by:

1. Dividing information logically and intuitively

If the site’s information isn’t organized, it’s difficult to read. This means that visitors will leave before they are persuaded to buy your product or service. When the information is divided and distilled intuitively, visitors will want to read every page — and return again and again. These visitors are most likely to share your ideas with others or purchase what you’re selling.

2. Determining search engine optimization

Your copy influences its search engine optimization — and whether or not searchers can find the site. Without properly placed keywords, your site may be beautiful, but will not show up in search results.

3. Showing the reader who you are and how you do business

With great writing, you demonstrate to readers that you have a great attention to detail, know your business and have a professional attitude. Also, clear descriptions of your business’ services, products and mission will attract the best prospective clients.

4. Selling your products and ideas 

The site’s design and useability attract the visitor initially. The words are what seal the deal. With excellent, benefit-orientated writing, visitors will become promoters of your blog posts and business. Ultimately, the writing turns visitors into customers.

Good writing is vital for your site’s success. Make sure you are putting the time and effort into creating great copy. If you aren’t sure where to start or need help creating insightful content, be sure to hire an expert.

117 days ago Short URL Comments

Business Writing

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27

Jan

When something can be read without effort, great effort has gone into its writing. 

- Enrique Jardiel Poncela

Best wishes for an enjoyable day of writing!

121 days ago Short URL Comments

Writing

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26

Jan

What Makes Your Writing Professional?

In business writing, I find that “formal” and “professional” styles often become confused, or even believed to be interchangeable. Often, people feel they need to write with a large vocabulary and formal phrases so that they “sound” professional.

Journalists must follow the Associated Press‘ rules and academics rely on The Modern Language Association or The Chicago Manual of Style. Business writers, however, have no set standard to follow. Perhaps this is because all organizations do business a little differently.

So let’s take a moment to consider what professionalism means, regardless of the type of business you work for:

  1. Responding to situations in a timely, skillful and respectful manner
  2. Acting with integrity, honesty and transparency
  3. Making decisions with sensitivity to the context and audience
  4. Shaping actions and decisions to support the organization’s larger objectives

The last two elements really speak to writing style; the organization’s unique objectives, context and audience should sculpt your writing style. Many organizations today want to be perceived as contemporary, personable and moving with the times, so a straightforward and conversational writing style makes sense. Many formal phrases — that came about when business was conducted via telegrams and letters — are no longer needed.

That’s not to say that formality doesn’t have it’s place, but it’s not always necessary for effective and professional business writing. What matters most is that you are clear, cogent and contribute to your organization’s image and productivity goals.

122 days ago Short URL Comments

Business Writing

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23

Jan

4 Ways to Avoid Confusion with Commas

The punctuation mark comma

Image via Wikipedia

As punctuation devices go, commas are often the most useful. They separate the structural elements of a sentence into more manageable segments of information, preventing confusion. The rules surrounding comma use, however, can be vague and flexible. Unlike semicolons, for example, there are few hard-and-fast rules.

Most writers, including business writers, don’t use commas enough to make their writing easier to understand. Here are a few strategies to help make your writing perfectly clear:

Use a comma to:

1. Address someone directly:

Wrong: Thank you Sheila! or Will you commit James?

Right: Thank you, Sheila! or Will you commit, James?

2. Separate a sentence’s introductory clause:

Wrong: Yes I received the report.

Right: Yes, I received the report.

3. Separate a sentence’s contrasting elements:

Wrong: My role includes these responsibilities not yours.

Right: My role includes these responsibilities, not yours.

4. Separate two distinct clauses: 

Wrong: Our department chose to support the Boys and Girls Club of America and Human Resources chose the Humane Society.

Right: Our department chose to support the Boys and Girls Club of America, and Human Resources chose the Humane Society.

Without the use of a comma, these sentence’s meanings are generally understood. However, with a comma, they are crystal clear and avoid any confusion.

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125 days ago Short URL 1 Comment

Business Writing/Writing

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20

Jan

Workbook for Organizing Writing Projects

Extensive business writing projects require careful planning and organization. When you take the time to plan, you’ll save time writing and produce a better final product. However, organizing them can be very challenging if you don’t know where to start. I spend lots of time and effort creating detailed plans for presentations, manuals and other larger communications — and have found a system that works well for me.

Fill out the form below to receive a free copy of my Workbook for Organizing Writing Projects!

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128 days ago Short URL Comments

Business Writing/Writing

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10

Jan

Business Writing Resolutions

“Poorly written business communications waste time, drain productivity and cause errors” (HR Magazine, June 2006). On the other hand, when you write well, you stand out by demonstrating your expertise, hard work and leadership.

My new issue of Better Writing in Business contains simple strategies and goals for writing better in 2012. Sign up for my e-zine for useful tips!

138 days ago Short URL Comments

Uncategorized

06

Jan

Talk Normal

Check out my review of Tim Phillips’ book, Talk Normal, over at Fuel Your Writing.

Have a wonderful Friday!

142 days ago Short URL Comments

Writing

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04

Jan

Reading Habits to Write Better

Reading opens us up to new ideas, research, ways of thinking and people we’ve never met. Whether you read articles about politics, insightful blogs, poetry or business books, it boosts your knowledge, analytical thinking, creativity and confidence. It helps hone personal gardian.co.ukbeliefs, ideas, philosophies and inspires us to engage more fully in our work. Reading provides us with infinite benefits, including helping us write better.

By reading, we develop a “mental template” for any writing task that may come our way. Reading gives us examples of highly successful writing that achieves all its goals, whether its to motivate, inform or express an artistic vision. What we read sets our personal standard for good writing, so it’s vital to read as much as you can.

Reading more isn’t difficult — delving into a great book is fun and relaxing. Enjoy what you read and learn as much as possible by:

1. Reading more genres every day: If you only read newspapers, you may find your writing style becoming a bit impersonal. If you only read Shakespeare, your writing may become more dramatic. Every author you read will teach you something, so aim to be well-rounded. Try to read at least three different genres every day. For example, a newspaper article, a chapter from a novel and a manual, or a blog entry, a favorite short story and a chapter of a business book.

2. Always looking up new words and concepts: You may not need to do this very often, but when you come across a word or concept you aren’t familiar with, look it up quickly to learn as much as you can from your reading.

3. Reading the “masters:” If you are interested in a specific field, make sure to read what the experts have to say. This is the best way to challenge yourself to think sharper and write better. Reading the masters of any given field may take an entire lifetime, but you’ll improve yourself by getting to even just a few.

4. Keeping a log of what you read: Tracking your reading reminds you of all that you’ve read, authors you enjoyed and inspires you to read more. LinkedIn’s Amazon reading list application is a great tool for logging the books you’ve read and your thoughts about them.

5. Keeping reading fun: Reading should be an enjoyable part of your day — something that you look forward to. The best way to ensure this is to read something that really pique your interest. Rely on friends, colleagues or expert reviewers’ opinions for your next read. When you find that an article or book is becoming a chore, set it down for a while, read something else and, if you want, go back to it again. If you can’t find anything that you like, re-read a favorite novel or short story to re-ignite your love for reading.

How does your writing improve when you read more? What are your strategies for reading more?

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144 days ago Short URL Comments

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