Welcome!

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

Refer to older posts…

Blogging services

TashWord

Tash is a professional writer who loves helping people communicate clearly and effectively.
← Older posts
Newer posts →

SMS shorthand

Published 12 January, 2008 | By TashWord

Like pretty much anyone else, if I am sending a SMS message I may use short forms and abbreviated words – it’s quicker and easier on a small screen and keyboard. Although it is becoming less necessary with smart phones.

However, as a professional writer, I cringe every time I see shortened words in other contexts.

There is no need to use SMS shortcuts on a website, in a newsletter or blog, or in any other business or professional document. Personally, I don’t think there’s much need to use it in personal emails or letters, either, but I’ll leave that alone!

Reading information about a business, we want to know if we can trust the business and that they will provide a professional service*. If the business can’t even be bothered writing out full words, they do not inspire trust that they will provide much for customers.

Examples…

1. Only days ago a friend forwarded me an email she had received. The subject of the email was “Here’s to a gr8 ’08!” and she forwarded it to me with the comment that she hadn’t even bothered reading it because the subject “really put me off!”

With something like an email subject, you only have one chance to entice people to read it, so don’t lose that chance by not using full words.

2. A while ago I was asked to review someone’s website for a service based business where she really needed people to trust her. The entire homepage was full of U (instead of you), lower case letters and other SMS-type words. Had I not been reviewing it, I would not have even read the page  – again, you only have a short time to grab a visitor’s interest on a website so make first impressions good.

So, go back to basics – use good grammar, spelling and expression to present a clear message even if you think your audience understands or relates to SMS texting language. Understanding it is not the same as respecting it away from mobile phones.

* By professional service, I mean service that is appropriate, courteous and business -like so it includes customer service in a retail setting as well as services from a service provider such as an accountant, lawyer or writer.

Posted in bad writing examples, grammar & details, web content, writing | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

SMARTY goals

Published 11 January, 2008 | By TashWord

As promised in my New Year’s message, I wanted to explain what SMARTY goals are – and why they are better than other goals.

SMARTY Goals are:

follow your path across water

Setting goals will keep you heading the right direction

Specific

Measurable

Achievable

Relevant

Timed

whY

And now for an explanation…

Specific – the more specific the goal, the easier it is to see your progress and feel some achievement. For example, ‘loosing weight’ or ‘getting fit’ may be common resolutions, but they aren’t specific. Much better to say ‘I will lose 5 kilos’ or ‘I will train so I can run 10km’

Measurable – make it so you know when you have reached it, and see improvement along the way as well. For example, ‘I will make $x more this year than last year’ is easy to see how close you are to $x and achieving your goal.

Achievable – you must be able to work on the goal. Setting a goal of running a marathon next week is unlikely if you currently get puffed walking to the letterbox, but a goal of walking for 10 minutes every day is achievable. Of course, part of being able to work on the goal means your attitude, too – you need to be willing to work on it and allow yourself to grow your abilities along the way.

Relevant – your goals must fit in with where you are, what your values are and your big life goals. Following someone else’s goals may not be relevant for you (e.g. don’t try to lose weight if you are underweight), and you may need to set different goals at different times in your life. If your values are to help people, then ‘I will volunteer at the community centre 3 hours a month’ is a relevant goal.

Timed – goals without a deadline are just wishes really. A deadline makes you take them more seriously and to act on them now rather than tomorrow. Deadlines need to be realistic to keep your goal achievable, but they also need to be tight enough to keep you motivated and working towards the goal. So a timed goal is something like ‘I will read a business magazine a month’, ‘I will sell 10% more this year’,  ‘I will exercise 4 times a week’ or ‘I will lose 6kg by 1 August’.

whY– you need to have a reason to aim for your goal. The reason will keep you going even when it is hard and you don’t seem any closer to the end. And I’m talking about the real, deep reason for your goal. For example, ‘my doctor says I should stop smoking’ will only motivate you on a good day. On a bad day, you will need to know ‘I want more energy and don’t want emphysema like Uncle Jim so I will not light a cigarette now’. So what is your real reason (and there can be more than one) for setting this goal?

So let’s go back to our first examples – I want to lose weight and I want to get fitter. Now, let’s word them as SMARTY goals:

I will lose 1 kilo a month until I reach 60kg so I can fit into my favourite dress and keep up with my kids in the park.

I will exercise four times every week to be fit enough for the fun run in September. I want to show John that I can compete at his level and I want to feel proud of myself.

So what are your SMARTY goals for the next six months?

Posted in bit off track, business info & tools | Tagged , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Choosing a charity

Published 10 January, 2008 | By TashWord

For a long time I have thought about having a specific charity to support through Word Constructions’ profits, but have just been too busy to select one. Not good, but that’s the way it is.

I have now found some possible donations and wondered which people would prefer?

If you were my client (or are my client, of course!), which of the following would you prefer me to contribute towards? Which is the most relevant/best suited to Word Constructions?

1. Money towards starting a business (yes, I know there are other places offering this, but if I wait to research them all it will take longer!)

2. School fees for a year in southern Africa

3. Literacy classes for adults in Cambodia

4. general donations to a specific charity (relating to starting a business or literacy) every 6 or 12 months (all of the above ones are individual gifts of $40 or less so I would make a number of them over a year)

I would really appreciate knowing what you think to help me make a decision! I might do another post soon to discuss the value of a charity associated with your business, so hold those thoughts, too!

Posted in About Word Constructions, bit off track | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Online magazine or newsletter?

Published 8 January, 2008 | By TashWord

I’ve had a client swap from online newsletters to paper ones recently and it got me to thinking about the relative benefits of a paper newsletter/magazine over an online version.

So, following on from yesterday’s discussion on blogs vs newsletters, today’s post is about online vs print for newlsetter

What are the benefits of a hard copy newsletter/magazine?

  • it’s easy to read – on screen reading is slower and harder, printing it yourself requires a printer and costs!
  • not everyone is online so a hard copy may expand your readership base, which is particularly important if you want to influence a wider range of people
  • many people find it exciting to get something in the mail, especially something that isn’t a bill!
  • it’s easy to mark your place if you can’t finish reading it in one sitting
  • it’s easy to make notes in the margins or underline specific points of interest
  • it can be stored for later use or handed to friends and colleagues
  • articles tend to be longer and more detailed in a magazine or printed newsletter which is great if you are after information

And how is an online version better?

  • it is very cheap to produce and distribute, and is therefore more likely to be available for free
  • it can be finished just before a publication deadline – hard copies need more planning – so can be more up-to-date
  • it can link to relevant resources, expanded information and the publisher’s website
  • it can be kept very short by just having article excerpts and linking to the main article online
  • the link/pdf/email can be passed onto friends

As a general rule, businesses will pay more to advertise in your magazine than in an online or email newsletter because it is the more conservative and better-known option, and it is more permanent.

Email newsletters become popular very fast because they were cheap to produce and could be sent straight to people’s computers. However, there are now so many email newsletters available that people become overwhelmed and don’t read all the emails they get.  Additionally, there is so much spam flying around that legitimate newsletters and the like are often caught by spam filters and are not read.

So when contemplating what to do for your business, consider your budget, the purpose of your publication, what your market may like and how important it is for your newsletters to be read promptly. Remember, you can always do both or stop one if it truly isn’t working for you and your clients.

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

Newsletter or blog?

Published 7 January, 2008 | By TashWord

Many small businesses find it challenging to prepare content to fill a monthly (or weekly) newsletter, so adding a blog to their to do list makes them question the value of having both.

Although the value of each will vary with each business according to its client base and product/service range, the following points may help you decide whether a blog, a newsletter or both is the best solution for you.

Newsletter

  • it reaches people’s inbox so they are reminded of you without any extra effort on their part
  • most people know about email but a lot don’t know about or like blogs
  • maintain consistency if you have had a newsletter for some time
  • it can seem more personal and intimate as it is not generally available online; it is a one-to-one relationship between you and many people, especially if you personalise each newsletter with their name
  • can be quite short and link to articles/products/news on your site or in your blog
  • can attract advertising revenue – advertising on blogs is less common (although this is changing)
  • can be passed onto to other people – they may well read a newsletter but may not get around to clicking on a link for a blog

Blog

  • easy to include up-to-date information
  • entries can be very short or as long as you like – variety in length is good but a variety in newsletter length may not be so positive
  • if on your domain name, it can greatly impact on your site’s traffic and ranking
  • people can access older posts easily
  • people can comment and give you feedback; you can build a community
  • individual posts can be linked to by other sites and other pages within your blog/site
  • a younger demographic may relate well to a blog

If you decide to run your own blog and newsletter, you can save yourself some time by

  • using information from one to fill the other – for example, your newsletter can refer to a blog post. However, don’t overdo the repetition as some people will read both
  • using articles from Word Constructions or article directories such as Evan Carmichael (not all Australian)
  • inviting guest bloggers to write for you
  • write things in advance – fill newsletters or pre-date blog posts so that you aren’t faced with thinking of a topic and writing it the day it is due out

Posted in blogging, newsletter content | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Capital letters…

Published 4 January, 2008 | By TashWord

There are certain times when you must use a capital letter:

  • to start a sentence
  • for a proper noun (e.g. the name of a person, place or event)
  • in acronyms (e.g. the ATO, ASAP, TV)

The rest of the time, lower case letters are not only suitable – they are correct and preferred.

It Is Very Annoying To Read A Sentence Where Every Word Starts With A Capital Letter Isn’t It? And it takes more time and effort to type, too! Despite what some marketers would have you think, these extra capital letters do not make your message clearer or more important, and they certainly won’t bring in more sales. In fact, many people will see all those extra capitals and consider it a tacky attempt to manipulate them and therefore are less likely to even read their message.

It also just looks like you don’t know much about grammar or appearing professional.

And I’m not just talking about using capitals for every word, either. For instance, I received an email stating:

The first of these will address issues in Web Writing. The other two will focus on Web Accessibility: a half day Overview workshop and a full day Techniques Workshop. These are excellent programs.

There is no reason for ‘web writing’, ‘web accessibility’ or ‘techniques workshop’ to start with capitals – they are not proper nouns and shouldn’t be treated a such. As for ‘overview’, I can’t imagine why someone thought it needed a capital letter!

I find misuse of capitals bad enough – but for someone advertising a writing course, I expect much better than this! I wonder if they addressed the issue of using capitals in web writing – online, capitals are considered as yelling so really should be avoided in your web and email writing.

Posted in bad writing examples, grammar & details | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Happy New Year

Published 1 January, 2008 | By TashWord

I wish you a successful and prosperous 2008, however you define successful.

A new year is the time many of us think about what we intend to do differently in the future and what we intend to strive for. And it is a good time to do this – not only does a new year open in front of us, but we are often refreshed and have more time than during the working year.

Many people disregard resolutions as a meaningless fad. While I don’t think it is the only time to make resolutions, and I agree many new years resolutions don’t survive beyond January, I don’t agree that they are meaningless.

Making a resolution just because it is 1 January and everyone is doing it – that perhaps is meaningless.

Making a resolution because you really want to make a change or improvement is a great thing.

My tips for making resolutions today (or at any time) that will last are:

  1. make them SMARTY goals (I’ll outline them in another post, but essentially they are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timed and WhY)
  2. don’t set too many – one or two major resolutions per area of your life is plenty
  3. write them down somewhere you can see them to be reminded frequently
  4. consider telling a trusted friend so they can help keep you on track
  5. set your own goals – don’t copy others or do what others think you should do

Other than resolutions, it is also a good time to clear out last year and start afresh. My New Year, New Business article has some tips on refreshing your business, so I won’t repeat myself!

Good luck with your resolutions and goals, and enjoy 2008.

Posted in bit off track | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Need blogging help?

Published 28 December, 2007 | By TashWord

blog key for helpI have just found out that Simpleology is running a course on blogging (how to get one started and working well I believe.) What’s more, you can download a copy for free if you’re willing to blog about it yourself 🙂

So, here is the info from them:

Here’s a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they’re letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

  • The best blogging techniques.
  • How to get traffic to your blog.
  • How to turn your blog into money.

I have downloaded it so I’ll read it and review it here – but just in case it doesn’t stay free for very long I thought I’d better tell you now so you can grab a copy (you can always delete it if it isn’t any good!)

Posted in blogging | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Dreams

Published 27 December, 2007 | By TashWord

So many of our dreams

at first seem impossible,

then they seem improbable,

and then, when we summon the will,

they soon become inevitable.

~ Christopher Reeve.

I have read the first of Reeve’s autobiographies, which gives this quote even more power to my mind. The man struggled to do anything much after his accident, yet he exercised for hours every day (not exercise as the rest of us take for granted) so if he could keep reaching for his dreams, and get acting roles, and help charities and inspire people when he was immobile from the neck down…

I think we can take his ideas about dreams seriously and confront the difficult challenges with the belief we CAN do it.

~~~~~~~

My dreams story:

Some years ago, I had a dream of not working for anyone else. Then I had a mortgage and that dream seemed highly unlikely if not impossible. But I worked hard, saving money and reducing my debt, interest rates fell and I sold the shares I’d been given at work for a good price. The mortgage was no longer a reason to work for someone else.

But then I doubted I had a marketable skill so my own business was still improbable. Until I did a few writing/editing projects for friends and appreciated I had a skill with words that others valued.

Suddenly, I had a business doing something I love and working for myself was inevitable. And I wouldn’t give it up for a job, either.

What is your dream story?

Posted in bit off track | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Merry Christmas!

Published 24 December, 2007 | By TashWord

CHristmas lights - Santa and reindeerI wish you the best of times over the festive season – lots of laughter, friendship, contentment, peace and gratitude.

Have a wonderful day tomorrow and take time to enjoy the people you love.

Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

 

 

* photo courtesy of Love Santa

Posted in About Word Constructions, bit off track | Tagged , | Leave a comment
← Older posts
Newer posts →

Word Constructions | Subscribe | Contact us

Copyright © 2026. All Rights Reserved.