18

Oct

Keywords and Quality

website

Image via Wikipedia

Bob Bly – a successful copywriter and internet marketer – recently wrote a blog entry “Articles By the Pound” about the challenges of writing articles and content for websites.

Bly argues that instead of opting for keyword-intensive articles that are churned out quickly and inexpensively, website owners and internet marketers should insist on high-quality and interesting articles.

SEO, keyword development and search analytics are very important for ensuring that your website gets found. Without the right search terms, your website, intranet page or blog won’t ever get found by your readers.

However, when writers focus solely on keywords, the language seems forced and, often, generic. Your site may be found more often, but the readers probably aren’t impressed with your content.

How can you improve your website’s content quality and still get found? 

  • Develop an extensive bank of keywords and search terms. Aim for 250 words for an entire website and 50 words for an article. By having a larger bank of options, your keywords won’t be repeated over and over.
  • Write the site’s content WITHOUT looking at the keywords. Write interesting, well-organized articles that speak directly to your audience so they’ll keep coming back to your site for more. This type of writing takes skill and talent, so make sure that it’s valued.
  • Review the website’s copy and replace any words that have a keyword synonym.
  • Review the website’s copy once more and check that you have at least one or two keywords per paragraph. Every title should include a keyword, as well as the footer and page description.

To craft a readable, clear and highly interesting website, your top priority should be the content’s quality and your second priority the keywords. People will easily find your articles and site – plus, those who are seriously interested in your thoughts will be impressed by your knowledge, understanding of your audience and clarity!

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222 days ago Short URL 1 Comment

Business Writing/Writing

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14

Oct

When You’re the Office Proofreader

Downtown LA's office skyscrapers. Including th...

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Do your colleagues and employees’ rely on your writing and editing skills? Are you frequently asked to look over others’ writing or give projects a “quick look”?

Congratulations! Your co-workers obviously respect and admire your writing skills and keen eye for small errors. You should feel flattered. However, this can quickly become frustrating. When others ask for your help, it’s hard to refuse, despite having a full work load.

Poor writing skills in business can cause larger problems, too. If employees frequently sends out poor communications or produce documents peppered with errors, you clients, customers and competitors may believe that your business isn’t concerned with details. Worse, if your emails or proposals to clients are unclear, they may think that your business doesn’t fully value the relationship.

How can you improve communications skills at your office or business? Here are a few ideas:

  1. When a co-worker approaches you to edit some of their writing, offer to sit down with them and go through the document together. Your co-worker will appreciate the opportunity to learn your editing process.
  2. Create an “editing checklist” for your office or department. List errors that you see frequently, spelling and grammar mistakes. Include other questions for the writer to ask themselves, such as “Is the tone appropriate?” or “Will this make sense for someone with no prior knowledge of the topic?”
  3. Offer writing workshops – or webinars – for your department. Workshops will offer you and your co-workers the opportunity to assess writing skills, identify areas to improve and practice new techniques.
  4. Emphasize high-quality writing as vital for your business’ success. Ask your managers and executives to do the same.
  5. Hire professional writers and editors to craft and polish high-priority projects and communications. This investment will help improve your company’ reputation and even bring in more business.
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226 days ago Short URL 1 Comment

Business Writing/Writing

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12

Oct

Why it’s Difficult to Edit your Writing

09222011Xaverian_gm048

Image by Xaverian Hawks via Flickr

Why are we so much more likely to miss simple mistakes in our own writing than anyone else’s writing?

Proofreading or editing something that you’re so familiar with poses several challenges:

  1. You have a deep understanding of the information and project’s goal. This makes it harder to judge how well the writing conveys the information or reaches the goals.
  2. While crafting the project, you become immersed in the nuances of your personal writing style. As a result, you may lose sight of small errors or ways to make the writing clearer to others.
  3. Crafting great writing is hard work! You may not have the necessary energy to edit the project well.

Many people that I work with say that they are so focused on the “big picture” that they don’t see the small errors of their own writing. Not only is this frustrating, it can be embarrassing! Here are a few tips for editing and proofreading better:

  • Don’t look at the writing for at least one full day. You have to take a break to gain a fresh perspective on the writing and the details. This is the most important thing you can do to catch spelling, grammar and punctuation errors, as well as reevaluate the writing’s flow.
  • Print it out. Editing a hard copy is more effective – especially for checking grammar and punctuation. Plus, it’s easier on your eyes.
  • Read every word out loud. “Listen” to your writing to determine if it’s clear and flows smoothly. This is the best way to improve sentence structures and transitions.
  • Edit multiple times. Go through the document once to improve syntax, organization and sentence structure. Second, check the details, including spelling. Then edit once more for good measure.
  • Have a professional editor or trusted colleague proofread the project. This is the best way to ensure your writing is clear and free of any errors.

Sign up for my e-zine to practice your editing and proofreading skills with the “Error Challenge” section.

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228 days ago Short URL 1 Comment

Writing

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04

Oct

Organizing your (Blog & Newsletter) Ideas

Evernote Screenshot

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How do you come up with new ideas for your business’ blogs, newsletters, e-zines, intranet site or magazine articles?

If you’re like me, ideas sometimes pop into your head. Other times, reading an interesting article may provoke some ideas or topics that you want to write about. Then these ideas turn into articles, generating more and more ideas.

But how to remember all of them? How can you store all these ideas to write better and faster?

Here are a few of my favorite ways to organize ideas and concepts for my website, blog, e-zine:

1. Create a large mind map of what you want to write about. Organize around one central theme that your articles will discuss in detail. If your blog or e-zine focuses on improving the Work-Life balance, for example, you can break this topic down into sub-themes (exercise, stress relief, nutrition, prioritization, etc.), and then into article ideas. Mind maps are fun to create and great for focusing on the big picture.

2. A word document. A classic organization tool for a reason, word allows you to organize notes easily and keep tabs on the topics you’ve already written on. Write down larger concepts, then break them down into smaller ideas. Capture your title ideas and include a few key points that the article will discuss. I like to have one document dedicated entirely to ideas, but some people prefer having a folder filled with multiple documents.

3. Write on index cards. If you have great ideas while running errands or waiting for a meeting to start, try a portable method. I like writing on index cards (and filling out as many ideas as I can) and transferring them to my main idea folder when I’m back at my computer.

4. Use Evernote to save thought-provoking articles and sites. If articles, websites, blogs or online discussions inspire you, Evernote can help you store those great articles that you’d like to write about.

How about you? What’s your favorite method for organizing your ideas? How do you prevent that terrible feeling that you have no ideas?

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235 days ago Short URL 3 Comments

Business Writing/Writing

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26

Sep

Write like a Leader

While perusing Toastmaters International‘s website – an organization I admire – I read their article “The 10 Commandments of Communication: How to Speak like a Leader.”

Speaking and writing effectively have much in common – both require knowing your audience, the purpose of your speech, letter or article, and allowing your personal voice to shine. Writing poses several challenges that speaking doesn’t: when writing you have to engage readers more quickly, be more concise and convey your understanding of the audience creatively. Here are four tips to help you write like a leader:

1. Write to be understood. Just like with speaking, the purpose of your e-mail, article, brochure, booklet or report is that your reader will understand – and absorb – certain information. Take the time to organize and structure your writing. Use simple sentences and emphasize your central points.

2. Write for your readers’ benefit. Address your readers’ interests and concerns as openly as possible. Use “we” and “you” often, and “I” and “me” as infrequently as possible. You must do your research and know your audience to do this.

Use phrases like “From discussing your thoughts on ___” or “We’ve developed strategies to improve ___.”

3. Write authentically. When giving a speech, it’s much easier to tell jokes and show your human side. When writing, make sure you emphasize this part of you with concise jokes (but remember, sarcasm usually doesn’t read well), anecdotes or highly human language. An easy way to infuse e-mails with your human side is to add a short note about yourself and the reader outside of work, such as, “Jim and I had a great weekend at the beach. Have you and Sarah had time this summer to enjoy the beach? It must be hectic (but fun, of course!) with the new baby.”

Remember, nothing cultivates trust like authentic conversation.

4. “Listen” in writing. Your writing is only one side of the discussion – make sure your readers know that you understand their interests and concerns, and that you value their input. Instead of dictating information or listing what needs to be done, ask questions and invite them to share their perspective.

This is easier within e-mails, where you can ask questions freely, such as “We thought your performance on the last project was outstanding and would love to put your organizational skills to greater use. Is there a specific project or task you’d like to join?”

“Listening” in writing is more difficult in white papers, reports or brochures. Articulate your readers’ viewpoints and concerns that’s pertinent to your information. Only by beginning this way will readers feel that they can benefit from reading on. Conclude with a “call to action” for the reader to share their input – you’ll continue the conversation and learn valuable ideas.

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244 days ago Short URL 2 Comments

Business Writing/Writing

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20

Sep

Why Worry about Good Intranet Writing?

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Many corporations now have large intranet portals so all employees can access and share information. A corporate intranet is fundamental for internal communication, collaborative work and sharing successes.

Why worry about this writing? Only your employees and colleagues view it – and they base their opinion of you on your contributions to projects and technical knowledge, right?

Nope. Appearances – including intranet copy – matter. In fact, employees learn most about their company through its written communications.

Employees absorb the intranet’s messages and tone, and this profoundly impacts their engagement, perception of the company’s stability and belief that their work is valued.

When the writing is sloppy and riddled with mistakes, employees may believe the company doesn’t care about details. When the writing and design are outdated, they may think that the leadership resists the change required to move forward.

Your employees and colleagues deserve a well-organized and high-quality intranet. Show them that you respect their time and hard work by creating an intuitive intranet portal that includes engaging and insightful writing.

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250 days ago Short URL 4 Comments

Writing

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16

Sep

Better Writing in Business

Want to improve your writing? Want to raise the bar on business writing at your organization?

Sign up for my free e-zine Better Writing in Business!

Each issue is full of tips and strategies to write better and faster, along with quick quizzes to test your proofreading skills and e-mail intelligence. Write with more creativity, confidence and effectiveness!

254 days ago Short URL Comments

Writing

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14

Sep

The Importance of Tone

Know Before You Go Campaign leaflet containing...

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“The overall tone of a written message affects the readers just as one’s tone of voice affects the listener in everyday exchanges.”

-Scott Ober in Contemporary Business Communication

Striking the right tone can make or break a piece of writing. By creating a certain tone, we as writers influence how readers perceive our message and even how they respond to it. Crafting the right tone can be challenging – especially when you have bad news, an urgent deadline or need to give feedback – but it’s vital for cultivating an affable work environment and motivated employees. Fortunately, the same tone works well for most business writing.

How can you make sure that your e-mails, reports and other messages all have the appropriate tone? Here are some key points to keep in mind:

Professional writing must always be just that – professional. Avoid excessive use of explanation points and emoticons. Many writers rely on these to convey happiness and excitement, but they can be read easily as insincere. If you want to highlight a detail, write it in a short sentence and bold the text instead of using CAPS. Capital letters are often read as yelling or extremely urgent.

Be confident. You’ve done the work to write this message, so demonstrate your expertise.

Example: (Confident) The research I’ve conducted throughout this year clearly shows that we should alter our current strategy.

(Not Confident) You must agree that my research shows that a change may need to be made.

Be motivating. Inspire others to do their best work by recognizing their skills and leadership.

Example: (Motivating) Thanks for your leadership on this project. Your ability to bring our team together is such an asset in getting things done – and enjoying the process!

(Not Motivating) This project will be challenging so I need you to do your best to keep our team united and engaged.

Stress the benefits for the reader. Convey your interest and dedication to your reader by making them – and their concerns – the subject of your sentences.

Example: (Reader-Orientated) Your request will be processed tomorrow.

(Not Reader-Orientated) I’ll process your request tomorrow.

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256 days ago Short URL 2 Comments

Uncategorized

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07

Sep

Fuel Your Writing

I firmly believe that story-telling can powerfully connect prospects and employees to businesses. We consume so many things and are constantly barraged with the benefits of various products and services – authentic story-telling can cut through all this white noise and make an impact.

Fuel Your Writing invited me to contribute my thoughts and a few tips for businesses to connect with prospects and employees on a deeper level. Check it out!  I’m so excited to be writing regularly for such a dynamic site about the many different aspects of writing.

262 days ago Short URL Comments

Writing

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01

Sep

Writing Supplies

A small pad of Post-It notes.

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When “back to school” time rolls around, I find myself feeling jealous of young kids – their shiny new notebooks, bright colored pencils and pens. Growing up, I always loved summer (and still do!), but also remember loving the renewed sense of focus and optimism that the each new school year brings and, of course, new school supplies.

Writing – like any other job, including school – requires many supplies. Some are basic, and others are the writer’s favorite tools for focusing and being productive. Here’s my list of supplies I use for writing and editing:

  • Legal pads for writing notes, lists, thoughts and outlines.
  • Binder for organizing projects, research and notes.
  • Dropbox to store, backup, organize and share documents.
  • Mindmeister for brain-storming and creating mind-maps.
  • Words That Sell and The Corporate Storyteller
  • Headphones to help me concentrate and write anywhere.
  • Post-It Notes, of course!

What supplies to you find helpful for your writing? Do you ever treat yourself to new office supplies, just because? What supplies are essential you to do your job well?

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268 days ago Short URL 1 Comment

Writing

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