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Archive for the ‘Improve Your Business Writing’ Category
Keeping Web Content Up to Date
by Ashley Smith, Scribe Contributor
Every February 2, many North Americans gather together to celebrate the emergence of a groundhog from its burrow. The hope is that the groundhog will not see its shadow and therefore winter will not perpetuate for another six weeks. Over the years the term “Groundhog Day” has come to express a situation in which events occur repeatedly for a period of time (such as a long winter).
Many websites are stuck in a long winter. Have you ever revisited a site after many months and noticed that nothing has changed? It still has the same products, same services, same testimonials, same articles, etc. Or even worse, the content is out-of-date? Can the same be said of your website?
If you haven’t kept your company’s website up to date, I’m sure you can think of a thousand excuses why: lack of time, lack of money, lack of know-how, whoops I forgot, etc. But what if I were to tell you why it’s vital and how you can do it without spending a lot of time or breaking the bank? Keep reading if you’d like to know.
by Ashley Smith, Scribe Contributor
The English language is prone to idiosyncrasies in spelling and grammar, so it is no surprise that people make mistakes when writing. For example, have you ever found yourself confusing “you’re” with “your”? It’s okay to say yes. Everyone makes mistakes such as these, even professional writers.
Before we get into why we easily confuse certain words and how to stop perpetuating this habit, take a look at some of the most commonly confused words. Are you guilty of misusing any of these?
- you’re/your
- they’re/their/there
- it’s/its
- then/than
- to/too
Most of us don’t make these errors because we are ignorant of the rules or lack the intuitive ability to use the correct word. (However, if you don’t know the correct use for any of the words above, please consult your dictionary or some of our Facebook and Twitter tips from last week). More often the culprit is carelessness or hastiness. Between our busy lives and the myriad forms of written communication we use today—emails, blogs, tweets, etc.—it’s easy to overlook mistakes.
However, if you want people to recognize you as a professional and take your ideas seriously, it is important to stop perpetuating these bad writing habits.
Below are some tips to help you avoid making mistakes.
- Read what you’ve written before clicking Print, Send, Share, Post, Tweet, or whatever other method you have of publishing communications.
- Go an extra step and read what you’ve written out loud. This increases your chances of finding errors.
- Use grammar checkers. You can download grammar checker software online. Also, word processing programs such as WordPad and Microsoft Word will automatically check for correct grammar. Make sure this option is turned on.
- If possible, take a break after you’ve finished writing and come back to it later. You’re more likely to see a mistake that you hadn’t seen before once some time has passed.
- When it’s an important message, have someone else read your writing. A professional proofreader or editor is trained to check for mistakes and will guarantee your correspondence is clear, succinct, and error free.
In short, give your writing just a little more time and attention. Carelessness is not the message you want to send with your business communication.
What tips can you share with other business writers for avoiding writing and grammatical mistakes?
by Ashley Smith, Scribe Contributor
The subject matter that shall be discussed in this article is about the importance of writing in a manner that allows you to make known all of the items you wish to express in only a few words.
Have I lost you yet? For those of you still scratching your heads over what that sentence means, here is a clear translation: This article discusses the importance of concise writing.
It’s the second day of spring and we were happy to see the sun come out in Seattle! (So happy that I took off a little early and went to Pike Place Market.)
It’s a fitting time to remember the rules of capitalization for the seasons. Winter, spring, summer, and fall/autumn are all lowercased except when used to denote an issue of a publication (e.g., the Spring 2011 issue of a company newsletter or other publication).
Other exceptions would be when the word begins a sentence (such as “Winter” in the previous sentence) or is part of the title of a work (The Torrents of Spring by Ernst Hemingway).
Lowercase rules also apply for spring equinox and winter solstice.
Hope you are all enjoying the longer days and glimpses of sunshine after a long, cold winter. Happy spring!
“Why is business writing so awful?” Jason Fried, I ask this same question all the time.
At Scribe, we’re doing all we can to make the business world a better place to read, one document at a time. Jason Fried, founder of 37signals and co-author of Rework, is doing his part with this article at Inc.com:
What’s bad, boring, and barely read all over? Business writing. If you could taste words, most corporate websites, brochures, and sales materials would remind you of stale, soggy rice cakes: nearly calorie free, devoid of nutrition, and completely unsatisfying.
One of my favorite phrases in the business world is full-service solutions provider. A quick search on Google finds at least 47,000 companies using that one. That’s full-service generic. There’s more. Cost effective end-to-end solutions brings you about 95,000 results. Provider of value-added services nets you more than 600,000 matches. Exactly which services are sold as not adding value?
Who writes this stuff? Worse, who reads it and approves it? What does it say when tens of thousands of companies are saying the same things about themselves?
This article gets a loud hallelujah and amen from me. Read the whole thing, folks.
Generic business writing tells people you have generic ideas. Add some flavor and creativity to your writing, and your ideas will be noticed for how creative they really are.
So, check your business writing for any full-service, end-to-end, cost-effective blather. Then think about how to communicate your ideas in a way that taps into the unique attributes that distinguish you from the rest of the crowd. Add some of your personality to your writing and reinforce the message behind your brand.
And drop us a line if you need some of our special Scribe spice.
How can you get writer’s block if you aren’t even a writer?
In the information age, anybody’s job description can include some kind of writing. That means anybody can suffer from writer’s block or any other kind of creative block.
Deadline is approaching. You have to be cunning, creative, even brilliant. But after a half hour of staring at the screen, the ideas just aren’t coming. What can you do?
Much of today’s business communication is overloaded with jargon and corporate buzzwords. Dilbert author Scott Adams has made millions by poking fun at the language used in the business world, and shows like The Office have become favorites for parodying workplace dialogue.
But when poor business communication starts costing you sales, it is no laughing matter.
Does Your Business Writing Stink?
Jargon spoils business writing as much as it does verbal communication. Products like BullFighter Software were developed to help people identify excessive jargon and “eliminate the bull” from their writing. But just as with spell-checkers, software only catches so much. It’s important to take a closer look at your writing and check for any jargon “droppings” left by the bull.
Here’s some of the B.S. (business-speak) that you should watch out for in your writing:
You’ve misspelled a client’s name in your newest project proposal. The presentation you spent hours perfecting still contains multiple typos your brain skipped over. Your website is full of outdated or incorrect information.
Anyone who has been in business for a while knows even the smallest errors can be extremely costly. I’m always surprised, then, how many companies take a laid-back approach to ensuring the quality of their online content and business documents. They publish material that no one but the author checks, or rely on colleagues who may understand the subject matter but lack the skills to effectively proofread the writing.