Picture yourself with a client on the golf course, loving the
sunny day and the easy conversation. Despite your below-average
game you ease closer to a sale with each bogeyed hole behind you.
Or imagine finishing up an important sale over a hearty
restaurant meal. Aaah. Now hit the delete key if your business is
operated online.
You do business on the cold screen. There's no sunshine. No
outstretched hand to shake. No hot appetizer to share while you
break the ice. So how do you warm up to your customers? You be
yourself -- but on the screen. To be successful your writing must
be clear, be enticing, and be truly 'yours'. The words you write
are your handshake, your conversation, and in the end, they make
your sale.
So, haven't written much since your last five-paragraph theme on
"To Kill a Mockingbird?" Expressing yourself creatively and
originally while writing can be frightening for most people.
That's because most people aren't comfortable and confident
writers. So take some time, at least a couple of hours, to review
a good book on writing. A great, easy read is a snappy book by
Joel Saltzman titled, "If You Can Talk, You Can Write." (Warner
Books, and a Writer's Digest Book Club Selection.) He gives the
novice writer courage to "talk" on paper. You'll read sections
like "From Fear to Freedom", "Okay, I've Finally Got a First
Draft, Now What?" and "Rules of the Road". The little paperback
is packed with knowledge, and in the end will take you from a
blank page to final copy. Study a couple of books like this and
you'll soon be writing clear, energetic copy. Doesn't your
reader deserve that?
But it will take practice. There's an irony about the writing you
and I enjoy for its ease and simplicity. In fact it took the
writer real work to arrive at that look of ease and simplicity.
So maybe you'll never be a Hemingway, but strive for clarity in
your writing above all things, while communicating in a 'voice'
as close to your own natural voice as possible.
Exhausted already? Maybe as captain of your small business, you
can't squeeze one more hat on your head. You're the creator, the
systems engineer, the accountant, the in-house advertising agency
and, late at night, the worn-out janitor. You have no desire to,
nor will you ever get around to becoming a good writer.
There are options.
The cheapest? Write up your own rough draft, and have someone who
passed Advanced Placement English take a look at it. Ask him to
help you edit for clarity and grammar while preserving your
'voice'. I edited some writing for a neighbor who is a heck of a
great meat salesman but wouldn't have sold bologna with his
written communication. My family ate Boarshead brand smoked ham
that night.
Still affordable and guaranteed good? Use an Internet writing
service. Don't be afraid! Editors don't bite. At least we don't,
at Internet Writers. Dr. Nunley, with a PhD. in Communications,
wears no-iron sports shirts and puts a lot of happy exclamation
marks in his effervescent emails, for example. Meridith Pond
wrote 'We need a redwood deck and outdoor furniture' on the
office wipe board. (But her press releases are realistic and
sharp.) You couldn't call Kent snooty in his flip-flops and
backwards baseball cap. But he was born to find the right word
like a cat was born to jump onto three-inch ledges. Ron, with a
Masters in Communications and an expert in public speaking, is
friendly and approachable and super generous in sharing his
knowledge.
Warm up online through good writing. It takes practice, or
perhaps even professional assistance. But it's positively
essential to your success.
Lisa Lake shares her ability to communicate through
good writing with anyone who wants to learn. See her free tips
at http://MyAdBlaster.com and catch advice from the staff
at http://InternetWriters.com Quick turnaround on writing
from classified ads to ezines and ebooks. Reach Lisa at
lisa@drnunley.com or 801-328-9006.
