Have 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…
What else have you done to avoid being unable to write when it’s important?
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.
Recently I was asked if there is any difference between a promotional article and a guest blog post.
The short answer is definitely 🙂
Here’s the longer answer! A promotional article is 500 – 600 words of information that you make available for people to use on websites and in newsletters. At the end of the article is your bio which is how you get promotion by letting people use your article.
A guest blog post is a blog post you write for someone else’s blog. The length will vary depending on the blog and topic involved but is probably 300 – 500 words long. You may have a bio at the end of the post, a bio elsewhere on the blog or simply a link from the author line. Generally, the blog post is not duplicated anywhere else.
So the promotional article will potentially be used in many places while a guest blog post is generally used once. Guest blog posts give you exposure almost exclusively though blogs (ie attracts people who read blogs to read your blog) whereas promotional articles get broader exposure and don’t require you to have a website, blog or newsletter.
Which do you prefer to write and use?
A picture says a thousand words.
It’s true that a picture can convey a message very quickly and sometimes better than words, and can make any document more appealing. However, you need to be careful relying on images in your marketing.
Before making an image the central part of any email message, remember the following:
So what do you think when you receive an email that is based entirely or predominantly on graphics? Are they as effective in getting your interest as text based emails?
And don’t forget to support your email marketing, too.
Running a blog to support your business in some way can be a good marketing move although it doesn’t suit every business or every business owner/manager.
Like everything else in business, just because running a blog is a good idea doesn’t mean it is easy to do or doesn’t have issues for the people behind the business.
So what are your biggest hurdles with running a business blog?
Leading up to friend’s birthdays and Christmas, gift certificates for product-based stores and personal services (eg a massage or facial) are often considered as a convenient gift the recipient can redeem for whatever they want.
There is also value for the business giving out gift certificates – quiet promotions, value add, follow on sales and cash flow in particular.
So would you give a business service gift certificate?
Here are a couple of situations where I think it could work:
1. a friend has just started their business and is overwhelmed with the things to do’ so you give a voucher for a VA’s services
2. as a web designer you know there is more than good design required for success so with all projects above $x you give a gift certificate to a professional writer to kick things off
3. instead of giving a bottle of wine or box of chocolates, a business gives out vouchers for a business service to enhance clients’ business. Obviously they need to be complementary businesses with a similar market so a business coach could give out vouchers for bookkeeping, a designer could give a voucher for a printer and a writer could give gift certificates from an IT support business.
4. you want to give a friend/client the means of improving something about their business, just because you like them or you can see their business really needs the help
5. it is the anniversary of your business relationship or someone starting their business so acknowledging that with something that will further their business (rather than a hamper or bunch of flowers) gives more meaning to your gesture
Have you ever thought of giving a gift voucher for a professional service? If you’ve done it, how did it go?
It isn’t only people who ‘can’t write’ who use the services of professional writers like me; in fact, many of my clients can write reasonably well. However, there is a misconception that hiring a writer means you are stupid or can’t write so I thought I’d share a few examples of where people find it helpful to talk to a professional writer.
1. writing about yourself. I’ve had a few people who are excellent writers ask me to write their website about us page or a business profile as they don’t feel objective enough to write about themselves
2. writing specific items. It takes some different skills and knowledge to write web content and technical reports for instance, so I have clients ask me to write their procedures but write their own web copy.
3. they don’t like writing. I don’t like doing data entry or researching differences between mobile phones, and I don’t expect that everyone likes writing as much as I do 🙂 Many of my clients are relieved to be able to hand me their written needs so they don’t have to face it themselves – and because it leaves them time for what they do like doing (hopefully!)
4. writing takes time – and we’re all busy. For my clients who can write, time is usually the biggest reason they hire a professional writer – they are simply too busy to write their own material. In many cases, I can write it faster than they would have anyway, so it saves them time in two ways really.
5. consistent and effective results. I write all the time and can set aside blocks of time for clients so what I produce for them is consistent (within that document but also with their other materials) and effective whereas they have more distractions if they try writing it themselves so the result is often less than optimum.
Can you relate to any of the above reasons for using a professional writer? How do you deal with such situations if you don’t hire professinoal help?
As a communications person, I do more for clients than just write. Recently, I reviewed the newsletter process for a client.
Initially, they were sending out a paper based newsletter but introduced an email version a few years ago. About a year ago, I helped them make the html (email) version shorter and more suited to emailing. The purpose of the recent review was to consider how to present their newsletter moving forward.
Here are some of the key points I considered before making a recommendation that suited the client’s needs:
There is no one size fits all answer to the question of paper or html newsletter, but the above points may help you decide. What other factors do you think are important?
About two thirds of small businesses using online marketing in some way say that new customers find them through search engines. Would you agree that is a key way that customers find you? If so, what are you doing about your search engine results?
The American Express OPEN small business search marketing survey (March 2011) has a number of statsistics to show where small businesses see online marketing impacting their sales.
While it is a list of survey results (yawn, yawn!) it is a summary so easy to read and can give some useful insights for trends within small business which is useful for comparisons and particularly useful if you sell to that sector. My opening questions are also examples of how you can use this information to assess your own online marketing.
Read the report and let me know what you learn from it…
Have you ever had to write something but just can’t find the words to start? 
Many people face this problem, and some find writing a problem every time they try. So here are some sure fire ways to get yourself writing when it seems impossible…
I will do another blog post on setting things up to reduce the risk of writers block, but for now stop reading and start writing!
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