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I hope you find my writing and business tips and observations useful. My business and blog are dedicated to helping businesses communicate clearly and reach their potential. Read, and enjoy!Tash

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TashWord

Tash is a professional writer who loves helping people communicate clearly and effectively.
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Making your sentences effective

Published 11 May, 2011 | By TashWord

Put a few words together and you have a sentence; put some carefully chosen words together and you have an effective sentence. And effective sentences have much more power in communicating a message and helping your business.

If you look at two sentences saying the same thing, there often is not a right or wrong version. For example, ‘Tash is a professional writer based in Australia’ and ‘Based in Australia, Tash is a professional writer’ are both perfectly good sentences.

However, one form of a sentence may well be more effective in a particular context. Think about the purpose of the sentence – is it an instruction, a description, an inducement or an explanation? An explanation or instruction needs to be as clear as possible while an inducement may be effective with a hint of mystery.

When reading one of your sentences (or comparing multiple versions of a sentence), the following list may help you determine which is the most effective for your purpose.

  • clarity – can the sentence be easily understood on the first read?
  • meaning – does the sentence give the correct meaning? Mixing pronouns, making it too long, over using punctuation and inappropriate word use can all obscure the meaning
  • flow – does the sentence move smoothly or are there bits that break concentration and flow? Of course, a deliberate break in flow can emphasise a point, but generally a smooth flow is your aim. Flow with the surrounding sentences is also important
  • congruent – do all the words join into one unit that works logically? do all the words seem to belong there?
  • concise – does every word deserve its place in the sentence? If in doubt, try the sentence without that word and see if it is more effective
  • prominence – are key words and ideas shown as the most important? Generally, the words at the start and finish of a sentence carry the most weight so that’s where key words are placed for greatest effect

When testing your sentences against this list rememebr that reading them out loud can be a very useful tool – your tongue and ear will pick up issues your eyes may miss.

Posted in writing | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Proof read your work…

Published 10 May, 2011 | By TashWord

You have heard it before, but I’ll say it again – it is critical to proof read your work before sending it out to work for you. Even if it is boring and you are short on time, proof reading is important and a valuable use of your time.

I just came across a perfect example of someone not proof reading after using a spell checker (at least I am assuming they used a spell checker!) Too often people let a spell checker do the proof reading for them but it just isn’t a safe option.

I hate to use the word “disguised”, simply because you’re NOT hiding anything from your prospects, nor are you tricking them. But the bottom line is – “disgusted” *best describes* what your “free information pack” really is. It’s disgusted from THE FACT that it’s an ad, or that it WILL BE selling them something.

{That is an exact copy – capitals, punctuation and spelling are not mine!}

Easy enough to make a mistake while typing disguised and having a spell check suggest disgusted as the closest word. Very easy to ignore that and give a silly message, too, unless you proof read properly after using the spell check.

Of course, some of us may be amused at a marketing eBook referring to marketing techniques like information packs as disgusting, but I doubt that was their intent!

Proof reading is more than checking everything is spelt correctly – you also need to check the correct word is being used. And having a habit of proof reading everything you write, even the shortest emails and blog comments, will make it easier to project a professional and caring image for yourself and your business.

Having said that, what is your favourite story about a failure to proof read?

Posted in business info & tools, grammar & details, writing | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

What is a niche?

Published 7 May, 2011 | By TashWord

Have you ever actually thought about what a niche really is? Can you give me a simple definition of a niche?

I’m tempted to write no more until I have some answers, but I won’t prolong it 🙂

I recently read a blog post  that includes a section on marketing to a demographic rather than a niche and I found it really interesting. A demographic is group of similar people whereas a niche is a group of people with a similar problem – parts of a demographic may be more likely to have a problem but not everyone in a demographic will.

Not convinced? Think about all parents who run a business (demographic) – do they all need to find childcare to enable them to work? Of course not as some have teen or adult children, some have a partner who cares for the children and some have a business that can cater for the children. Do they all have to do things on the cheap because they have no money? Definitely not as many self-employed parents run very successful and profitable businesses. Do they all need a professional writer to help them with their website copy or blogging? Afraid not as some are excellent writers themselves, some don’t have or want a website/blog and others get family or friends to help.

That simply, there are three niches within the demographic of parents with a business. Marketing a niche is easier and more effective so who are you targeting? Do they share a problem you are offering to solve?

Posted in business info & tools, marketing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Adding the basics around your blog content

Published 5 May, 2011 | By TashWord

Last week I asked what features do we expect to find in a blog, beside the actual content. So this week I will answer the question 🙂

I think there are many features but using them all creates a cluttered look that can overpower the content so it is worth deciding which features best suit your needs and your readers. However, here are some of the basic features that I think are important and pretty much form the base level of reader expectations:

  • an about us page (regardless of what you actually call it) gives background information that can be really important and interesting. For example, it tells me if you are an expert or an enthusiast and whether you provide a service/product related to your topic
  • a search function is handy either because I only want to read certain information or because I want to reread something I read previously
  • previous posts gives me a better idea of what the blog covers – and confirms that there are actually other posts available (not so obvious in the essay-style posts I mentioned last week!)
  • a list of categories is something I find very useful in blogs I visit – it lets me read about topics I am particularly interested in rather than wading through posts on other topics. This is especially important in a blog with a broad appeal – for example, a blog on business may have categories of marketing, accounts and sales techniques which I could ignore if I just wanted their time saving tips
  • many blogs include a blog roll so therefore many people expect to see  one and I’m adding it to this list although I personally don’t pay much attention to blogrolls when I visit blogs

While perhaps not a basic, some form of subscription notice is also a common and useful tool to offer on your blog – make it easier for people to keep up to date with your blog and you are likely to have more loyal readers. You have various options – a RSS feed, email notifications or a newlsetter susbcription are probably the most common and obvious.

Are any of these features you find more important when visiting a blog? Any that you have chosen not to use on your blog for some reason? Why?

Posted in blogging | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Influencing search engine results

Published 3 May, 2011 | By TashWord

Having a website is of little business value unless it is getting seen by people, and preferably the type of people will buy your goods or service.

The March survey of small businesses showed that about two-thirds believe search engines is the key means of finding new customers. Now that may be more or less applicable in your industry or in Australia vs the USA (the survey was in the USA only), but search engines do account for a reasonable amount of website traffic.

Which means that making your website as attractive as possible to search engines is important. You can pay SEO (search engine optimisation is the term for making your site perform better in search engine formulae) or marketing companies to improve your site rankings, but there are also things you can do quite simply. In fact, I’d say some of the simple tasks should be done even if you are paying someone else to help you with SEO.

Here is a quick list of the easy SEO tasks you can do to increase your chances of being found in relevant searches:

  • meaning of SEOuse relevant keywords in your web and blog content
  • provide quality and relevant content on your site – a blog is excellent for this
  • aim your web and blog content at humans – search engines are getting more sophisticated at picking out fake pages of keywords
  • make your content web friendly – search engines read headings, too so make use of them
  • add links to relevant information (on your site and elsewhere)
  • encourage links to your site as much as possible without getting into link farms or spam
  • ensure your web pages and blog posts have relevant meta data (background information about the page) – which means it shouldn’t the same for every page
  • update your site and blog as often as you can to keep it fresh and give people a reason to come back for more – fresh content and visitors both help your search engine rankings

Posted in marketing, web content | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

encouraging links to your blog

Published 1 May, 2011 | By TashWord

On the assumption you want people to visit and read your blog, it is a good idea to get people to link to it.

Incoming links obviously lets more people see your blog exists and is also good for your SEO (search engine optimisation – in other words, getting search engines to list you high in their results).

I think the single step that is most effective in getting links is quality content – no one will link to your blog if you don’t provide useful or entertaining information. Regular additions to your blog will help bring people back, too, and repeat visitors are more likely to link to you.

Having said that, here are some more specific tips to increasing the number of links to your blog…

  • link to other blogs – only some will reciprocate but it is polite and shows you are part of the blogging community. People seeing your comments may lead to visitors to your blog  or someone else linking to you
  • write something controversial or outrageous (but stay within your brand and identity or it’s all for nothing!) and ideally back it up with your reasons
  • summarise complex issues relating to your topic to help people understand what’s going on
  • disagree (nicely) with someone or a ‘well known fact’ in your industry
  • participate in something unusual and interesting – it could be a treasure hunt across the web, running a competition, blog action day or a local event
  • join in or run a blog carnival
  • offer something valuable to readers – an eBook, a theme, plugin, a sample, etc – that they will be willing to tell others about
  • write something very funny – people love sharing jokes!
  • report on something new – if it is based on research or observations only you have access to, even better
  • be the first to review/announce/do something
  • stay topical – for example, post information relevant to an upcoming event, discuss a news item in relation to your industry or give ideas for the current season
  • get involved in guest blogging – either posting elsewhere or inviting people to post in your blog
  • come up with your own terminology for something – sometimes phrases just stick but people like to read how it originated

It is also important to make your blog and posts appealing so remember the usual things like paragraphs, good spelling and grammar, using pictures as appropriate or for interest, use white space and avoid clutter.

The last tip is to actually ask for other blogs to link to you – but managing that is probably worth a post on its own!

Posted in blogging, business info & tools | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Product Disclosure Statements – what are they?

Published 29 April, 2011 | By TashWord

Do you know what a product disclosure statement (PDS) is?

Many people now use them, and various companies refer to them in their advertising, but from personal conversations about things I write, I know many people don’t know what the term means.

A PDS is simply a document listing the key features of financial products are described; it is the little booklet you got about your savings account, insurance policy, super account and so on. Basic topics covered by a PDS include fees, options, inclusions and joining/buying the product.

There are variations between industrires and companies but generally the company has to make a PDS available before you buy their product – they can’t make you read it obviously but they must have allowed you that opporutnity.

A PDS is a point of reference when deciding between products and when you need to know something later (eg does my house insurance cover rising water or just floods?) Many PDSs are long and may not be visually appealing, but they are worth holding onto.

Posted in bit off track, business info & tools | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Making your blog easy to use

Published 28 April, 2011 | By TashWord

Doing some research this week, I’ve been to a large number of blogs but one in particular stood out and inspired a post from me 🙂 This blog has extremely long posts (even longer than those yellow-backed-sales letter-web pages!) which require a lot of scrolling – the home page is just one post! There is nothing else – no about us page, no list of previous posts or categories, not contact details.

Blogs simple structureI found it very frustrating (as I wanted to find some specific answers like what the blog was about without reading multiple essays!) It was also very strange to not see any of the common elements we’re used to for navigating a blog.

So it raises the question – what do you expect to find in the structure of a blog?

Posted in blogging, Business Communications | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Avoiding writer’s block…

Published 26 April, 2011 | By TashWord

Blocked door in a wallHave you had that sinking feeling of not being able to write when you need to?  Time seems to tick by so slowly… but yet the deadline approaches so quickly.

A few weeks ago I gave some ideas on overcoming writer’s block but the ideal is obviously to avoid it rather than deal with it. The following steps can be taken whenever you have the chance to reduce the odds of reaching that situation again. I won’t say you will never face writer’s block again because sometimes it is just too hard to get motivated despite any preparation, but you can reduce the frequency of it!

Here are my ideas for avoiding writer’s block, but I’d love to hear your ideas as well in the comments below…

  1. keep a list of writing ideas so when you have time to write (for a blog, newsletter, articles, etc) you don’t have to waste time thinking of topics as well
  2. if you know you need to write a report, jot down notes as you think of them. For example, every time I write major news items for a particular client, I copy it into a document that will form the basis of their annual report in July. Having those topics already in place makes the annual report much easier to deal with.
  3. set specific times for writing so you know there is a deadline and you don’t have time to sit and worry. Make a separate specific time for editing and rewriting so your writing time is exactly that – writing time.
  4. try making a regular time to write. If you don’t consistently have things you need to write you could still use this time – rewrite web content, write parts of reports you know are coming up, write some standard email/letter responses for customers and so on. Being in the habit of writing at a certain time will make it easier to write when you have to.
  5. know your limitations, and do something about them before crunch time. That could be learning some writing skills (such as reading through my blog once a week), starting bigger projects ahead of time if you can’t write for hours at a time, or researching a writer/editor to help you.
  6. look after yourself leading up to your writing project – get a good night’s sleep, drink plenty of water, grab some fresh air and exercise, and so on. Being run down and uncomfortable within yourself won’t help you write efficiently or effectively

What else have you done to avoid being unable to write when it’s important?

Posted in business info & tools, writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Lest We Forget

Published 25 April, 2011 | By TashWord

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

I attended an Anzac Day service last weekend and it was very moving. It was also very interesting to learn more about the Lone Pine story and how it became such an important part of Australian folklore. The service was held beneath a Pine Tree seeded from the original Lone Pine (which was destroyed in thebattles in 1915); a seedling from the Melbourne tree was also planted so that the Lone Pine can always be represented in that park as part of our gratitude to those young men and women who fought for our way of life.

Doyou have a place near you that signifies history and remembrance?

Lest we forget.

Posted in bit off track | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
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