People will make
judgments about you based on the way you write. It may not be
fair, but it is true. From spur-of-the-moment emails and simple
business letters, to those exhaustive research documents and
published articles, the impact of your message is directly affected
by the way it is written. It may be true that you get paid for
some skill other than writing, but you must be able to communicate
effectively through written media if you want to achieve the
highest level of success in your field. Our Effective Business
Writing workshop covers every aspect of the writing process,
beginning with what you need to know and how you need to plan
before your fingers ever hit the keys. Business
Writing - An Imperative Asset
Have you ever written a letter to a friend?
Ever written an outline for any project you were about to
start? What about a shopping list? If you have, and I imagine
most have, you can then write focused, brief, content articles
for your online home business.
Why write? Well, of course you can spend lots of money to
drive traffic to your site with absolutely no guarantee that
you will obtain a single sale. Moreover, most of the traffic,
although targeted, may leave your site and forget it ever
existed. Writing puts you personally, your site, and your
products/services within the same framework as a well-honed
opt-in list of subscribers. People remember you, learn to
trust you, eventually purchase from you, and most importantly
return to purchase again and again, as long as you continue
to offer what they need.
"So how can I simplify what seems to be
the arduous task of writing", you ask?
Try this:
(1) Take out pen and paper and go someplace
quiet where you can trigger the creative side of your brain.
(Yes, I said pen and paper. Don't sit in front of the computer
for this exercise.)
(2) Sit back and think for a moment about your
online home business. What do you offer? What have you learned
so far about building traffic? Have you noticed any patterns
for certain promotion methods that work? What about anything
that can be considered well needed advice to others just starting
out?
(3) Now write down the first thoughts that come
to your mind. Don't edit. Your not at that stage yet. Just
write the ideas, and do this for several minutes, or until
you have at least a single page filled up.
(4) Done? Good. Now go back to the top of the
list. Slowly go through and hone the ideas. Anything that
pops out as particularly intriguing or immediately brings
up related ideas mark off for the next step. These are the
ones to develop further.
(5) Now take out a sheet of paper for several
of the ideas marked off and write the idea at the top of the
paper. (You can use your computer now, but I tend to think
better with pen in hand.)
(6) O.k. Ready? At the beginning I asked if
you ever have written a letter to a friend? Remember? Keep
this in the back of your mind always. Write like you speak.
I promise you that for short content articles to develop your
online home business, this is the tone that works. If people
need a textbook they will buy one.
(7) First make a list, sort of a shopping list
of related things to cover. Try not to get carried away. Remember
- short content articles.
(8) Now fill in the details as if you were explaining
it to a friend.
That's it. All there is to it. I think you will
be surprised how easy it is once you write a few. Personally,
I keep a notebook handy at all times just for ideas that I
later cultivate into short articles. When I learn something
new that I believe will be of benefit to others I make a note.
The power in this technique resides in the fact
that you are not a robot and neither are your prospects. When
you write, and take it from the perspective of friends sharing
information, you step onto a personal level. Now who wouldn't
pick up on that. Eventually, with continually writing and
publishing your articles in newsgroups, e-zines, and other
web site, your credibility builds, your persona builds, and
your traffic and sales will build. You absolutely cannot loose
with this cost effective traffic generating strategy.
By Dan J. Fry
"Business Writing - Communicate Effectively"
Business Writing Quote:
You're not obligated to win. You're obligated to keep
trying to do the best you can every day.
Marian Wright Edelman
Suggested Reading
Effective Business Writing: A Guide for Those Who Write on
the Job
by Maryann V. Piotrowski
Better Business Writing: Techniques for Improving
Correspondence (Fifty-Minute Series.)
by Susan L. Brock
Business Writing : What Works, What Won't
by Wilma Davidson
Professional Business Writing, Student Text-Workbook
with CD-Rom
by Elizabeth Kerbey, Marilyn Satterwhite
Business Writing Makeovers: Shortcut Solutions
to Improve Your Letters, E-Mails, and Faxes
by Hawley Roddick
The Plain English Approach to Business Writing
by Edward P. Bailey Jr., Larry Bailey
Writing Business Plans That Get Results
by Michael O'Donnell
Webster's New World Business Writing Handbook
by Richard Worth, Sharon Sorenson
Strategies for Business and Technical Writing
(5th Edition)
by Kevin J Harty
Writing of Business, The
by Robert P. Inkster, Judith M. Kilborn
Persuasive Business Proposals: Writing to Win
More Customers, Clients, and Contracts
by Tom Sant
Writing a Convincing Business Plan
by Art Dethomas
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