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TashWord

Tash is a professional writer who loves helping people communicate clearly and effectively.
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What increased super rates mean

Published 26 March, 2012 | By TashWord

Helping build retirement savingsLast week, the Australian Government passed legislation that means the superannuation guarantee (SG) rates will gradually increase from 1 July 2013.

For employees, it’s clear – they will get more super in their account which should help them in retirement. I do support the idea of people retiring with more money and having less dependence on age pensions and the like.

But who will pay the extra 3% SG?

In simplest terms, employers will pay more super into their eligible employees’ super accounts. The Government will give tax concessions to that extra money which is what the mining tax is supposed to go towards.

There has been a lot of complaint in the last week from employers and employer groups about the need to find this extra 3% per employee – many had apparently thought the Government was somehow going to fund the increase.

Maybe the extra will come instead of pay increases for employees. But workers unions don’t agree with that concept and think the small percentage can be absorbed by businesses.

I don’t know the final answer and am not taking any political stand point on this either.

Small business people

For the self-employed, I don’t think we’re going to win from this deal.

I am self-employed so my super account only grows if I choose to make it so (or if I treat myself as an employee with a regular wage) – there is no compulsory super for me which means a change from 9% to 12% doesn’t have to affect my super savings.

As a small business I don’t have huge profits that would make it easy to increase employee salary packages by 3% (or the 0.5% steps).

My options would be to

  • reduce pay increases to cover the SG (so their pay over the following 7 years may not increase much regardless of CPI)
  • somehow reduce hours for existing staff (and that wouldn’t be fun for anyone really)
  • pay the extra out of my profits (meaning my take home pay is decreased)
  • increase prices enough to cover the super increases (of course, if clients don’t like that option my business suffers)

I do feel for small businesses with a number of employees as this could cause a lot of stress.

But I do agree with increasing savings for retirement. So is this a necessary pain for a few years for the greater good?

If you have a small business, what are your thoughts on the increased SG?

Posted in business info & tools | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Finding hares in your bathroom

Published 26 March, 2012 | By TashWord

I admit the only times I have seen today’s words used incorrectly is in bathrooms or children’s writing, but is a bathroom notice less important than any other business communication?

Putting up a notice in your public bathroom as part of a policy of keeping them clean and pleasant for all users is fine and can communicate more than the words on the paper. However, a very different message can be conveyed with signs like:

Please keep your hares out of the basins

and graffiti replies such as

Then provide some rabbit hutches for us

But hairs are ok in the basins?

So for the sake of all of us using public bathrooms with hair issues, here are today’s definitions.

Beautifully styled hairhair [noun]: a long protein fibre produced by animals (mostly by mammals) from follicles in the skin. Humans consider head hair as part of our appearance whilst hair is important for warmth and survival in many other animals. Similar strands (such as on plant roots) are also called hairs.
Jenny brushes her hair every morning before leaving her room.

Hare with brown hairhare [noun]: a mammal belonging to the genus Lepus, similar to rabbits
The hare is related to the rabbit but does not have burrows for its young and is generally larger.

My tips for remembering which is which – hares are like rabbits while hair is in the air.

Posted in Monday Meanings | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Replying to blog comments

Published 23 March, 2012 | By TashWord

Speech bubbles are part of conversationBlogging is part of social media and is about communication. The only way it can become a conversation, however, is to encourage comments about the posts in the blog.

Comments are sometimes just as acknowledgement that you are reading the post but often people leave comments that enhance what was written in the post – the conversation and comments can sometimes teach  and entertain as much as the post itself.

So here are some basic guidelines to replying to comments:

  1.  in your own blog, a key to encouraging more comments is to reply to every comment you get. It can be a short ‘hello’ or thank you’ but it shows you appreciate comments and the people behind them
  2. always be respectful and polite in comments – you don’t have to agree every time but respect the fact that others have a different opinion to you
  3. before replying to a post, read through the existing comments – apart from the fact you may learn something, this gives you the opportunity to discuss the issues with others and to not just repeat a comment made by someone else.
    If here are a LOT of existing comments that you don’t read, acknowledge that to show you have noted that and may be repeating what someone else has said.
  4. When replying to another commenter, make it clear that is who you are talking to – threaded comments make this easy but otherwise use the person’s name
  5. it isn’t always possible, but try to make your comment interesting and useful – give a personal example or opinion about the topic, answer a question asked in the post or give some additional, relevant information. This expands the conversation, builds your credibility and makes it less likely your comment will be considered spam
  6. if you  write guest blog posts, treat it like your own blog – aim to reply to every person who comments on your post. You have written the post as the expert so need to be available to answer questions; blogs are about people and community so it comes across as arrogant to not reply to people discussing your ideas. From a business perspective, doing guest posts is about building relationships and expertise, so not answering comments is loosing an opportunity.
  7. never make a comment an ad for your own business/services/products. It just annoys people and makes it likely your comment will be deleted as spam. Give tips and advice, mention you have expertise and link to your site but remember that  this is someone’s blog, not your personal ad directory, and that people don’t read blogs and comments for ads.

From comments you’ve seen and blogs you admire, are there any other guidelines to add to my list?

Posted in blogging, marketing, social media | Tagged , , | 24 Comments

identifying annual report tasks

Published 20 March, 2012 | By TashWord

Pile of reportsI find it interesting how little many people know about the process of writing and preparing annual reports.

Many people just accept an annual report exists, glance it and forget about it. Other people think annual reports are a good idea and that someone can just sit down for a few hours (maybe a couple of days) to write the report.

If only it was that simple!

I have already started on one client’s annual report – it won’t be released until September, so that gives you some idea of how long it can take.

So here is a list of tasks involved in producing a professional report that meets all legal, business and branding requirements professionally:

  1. checking what legal and regulatory requirements apply and ensuring those requirements are met. I often start with  checklist of topics to include so I don’t forget any of them
  2. deciding on a theme, if suitable, as this will influence the exact wording and design, and possibly some of the actual content
  3. collating relevant information, such as major events, financial reports, directors’ details and performance data
  4. arranging the design and layout – this may mean finding a designer or using an in-house person, but will require time and various drafts
  5. writing the actual content – which may include writing the bulk of individual reports (Chair’s report, CEO Report and so on) and writing marketing material
  6. collating relevant images to be used in the report – or editing and approving those collected by the designer
  7. deciding on marketing elements and then preparing them – you can insert ads for various products/services or even accept external ads as long as you have space and it meets all relevant rules
  8. editing, rearranging and refining to get everything to fit nicely!
  9. coordinating feedback from a variety of people (for example, technical, financial, legal, marketing and company experts)
  10. reviewing final drafts to ensure the report meets the requirements from step 1, meets the business style guide, has all spelling and grammar correct, is readable, appears professional and somewhat attractive, has all correct numbers (check phone numbers, ABNs and addresses are perfect as typos are easily missed) and is approved by the responsible people
  11. arranging printing – even with digital copies available, some printed copies are usually required – and digital access (formatting and uploading the document and adjusting webpages and links to make it accessible)

There also the additional tasks of arranging distribution (so designing and printing envelopes, arranging mailing lists and stuffing envelopes) and any other materials to go with the annual report (such as member statements, renewal forms and marketing flyers) that may be part of ‘writing the annual report’ or managed by someone else.

It is a lot of work and there is certainly some pride in the final result of your hard work, but it can be a little frustrating when you realise that many people just don’t open or read the annual reports they are given!

Posted in Business Communications, writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Feeling content with contempt?

Published 19 March, 2012 | By TashWord

These three words are completely different, and if said clearly, should never be confused by someone who knows their individual meanings. However, said quickly, these words can sound alike and lead to confusion – do you know the difference and take care to pronounce them carefully?

contend: [verb] taking a position or stand in an argument, competition, contest or effort
The politician contends his position again, hoping his past achievements will win back his seat. 

content: [adverb] satisfied, happy; [noun] contained or what is contained
Having finished another 10,000 words, the writer was content with her efforts.
He warily viewed the content of the student’s locker. 

contempt: [noun] feeling of disapproval and superiority to something or someone that is regarded as vile, of little account or mean
He treated all criminals with contempt, and never tried to hide the fact.

Posted in Monday Meanings | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Impressive words don’t

Published 15 March, 2012 | By TashWord

Including long ‘impressive’ words in your content won’t impress many people or make everyone think you are super smart.

In fact, using lots of long words makes your writing harder to read and you appear pompous. A study in 2005 showed a negative relationships between complex writing and perception of the writer’s intelligence – in other words, overuse of big words made readers think the writer was less intelligent.

You may have developed the habit of using a bigger vocabulary at school or university – and teachers do need to see you understand a range of words and technical terms – but it’s a good habit to break when writing business materials.

Keep words and sentences short – write in the same style as you speak – be clear and concise – and your message will be understood which is the point.

Posted in Business Communications, writing | Tagged , , , | 29 Comments

The birth of a berth

Published 12 March, 2012 | By TashWord

With my daughter’s birthday this week, this seemed like an appropriate pair of similar but unrelated words.

birth (noun): a new start, especially relating to a baby leaving its mother’s body
My youngest child’s birth was quicker than my earlier experiences.

berth (noun): a space for a ship or large vehicle to be tied up or parked; a sleeping space in a boat; a job (usually on a ship); space in which to turn or manoeuvre a ship
The Captain skilfully brought the ship into its berth. 

There are two ways to remember which birth is which. The first is to think of the sea in relation to the ship’s berth. However, the more fun option is to think of the i in birth as a candle on the-all-important birthday cake!

Posted in Monday Meanings | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Recognising an ineffective guest blog post

Published 9 March, 2012 | By TashWord

Good guest blog posts can be a great tool in your blog. However, as I wrote last week, low quality posts can be detrimental.

So what makes a low quality blog post low quality?Fail key for bad content

Here is a list of errors and faults I have seen in recent blog posts:

  1. the post is simply poorly written – I’ve seen poor sentence construction, multiple ideas squeezed into one confused sentence, changes of tense (future to past, etc) and lack of flow from one sentence or paragraph to the next
  2. poor use of sub-headings and bullet points – one I recently saw had bullet points appearing as sub-headings that didn’t actually make sense (maybe that is another blog post for me to write!)
  3. rambling – we all ramble a bit when we’re talking to friends, but rambling in a blog post wastes people’s time and often indicates you don’t know the topic well. It certainly shows you didn’t plan the post nor edit it well.
  4. using unnecessary, impressive words or misusing words makes the post very hard to read and understand
  5. rehashed content that is boring – using the same content over and over is not interesting. The post needs to contain new information or a new perspective on it
  6. using inaccurate data is not good for credibility at any time, but using incorrect data that the audience will spot as incorrect is just stupid or lazy. If you get the basics wrong, why should anyone trust your ideas and opinions?
  7. support of illegal/immoral/stupid things to do. I don’t like reading blog posts encouraging spinning articles (using the same content over and over with just enough changes to make them appear different), spamming people or using black hat (i.e. generally disliked by search engines and people) SEO tactics – there’s no way I would let a guest blogger put something like that in my blog as I value my honesty and credibility.
  8. A combination of the above! If one factor makes it look bad, imagine my response to multiple factors…
What other things have you noticed in poor guest blog posts? Or poor blog posts in general for that matter!

Posted in blogging, marketing | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Quality content for guest blog posts

Published 6 March, 2012 | By TashWord

Guest blogging can be a great tool for both the hosting blog and the guest writer, and helps generate more content in the blog community.

However, if the content of guest posts is only average, the benefits are reduced; if the guest posts are low quality they can actually do more harm than good.

I have seen a number of examples of poor guest posts lately and I end up frustrated with wasting my time reading them when I could have been reading some great posts elsewhere. Such posts on an otherwise good blog is even more frustrating.

As a host blogThe globe and people connected via computers and internet

Imagine if the first post I read on your blog was a low quality post by a guest blogger. I am busy so it is likely I won’t come back to your blog because I only want to read information that is useful and easy to grasp.

If I already trust and value your blog, I will be disappointed but will probably give  you another chance. However, I certainly won’t share that post on social media and am less likely to leave a (constructive or positive) comment.

Whatever the reason for accepting guest posts in your blog, you want the post to be an asset in your blog, with the ultimate aim of attracting more readers. If you add in low quality posts, you are failing your readers and therefore your blog.

As a guest bloggerFingers at a keyboard and mouse to share information

Would you accept a low quality post from someone else in your blog? No? Then it’s safe to assume that a low quality post is more likely to be rejected by any host blog you may approach.

Especially if you are approaching a high-ranking blog that probably has many would-be guest bloggers to choose from.

Even if your low quality post was accepted, is it going to work for you?

As a guest blogger, I want to showcase my skills and knowledge to a broader audience – it builds credibility for me and develops my SEO which hopefully leads to additional traffic for my site. If you read my guest post and like it, you may visit my blog; if you think my post is poor, you won’t click through or share it and may even ignore future links or recommendations to me.

Make the posts you offer to other blogs some of your best posts and you will get results – low quality posts need editing or deleting.

* Low quality may mean the actual content is poor or the writing is poor and therefore hard to read. Worse, it could be poorly written and offer no value in the content either.

Posted in blogging, marketing | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

Pause to check the meaning

Published 5 March, 2012 | By TashWord

My daughters recently had a confusing conversation because of the incredible similarity between today’s Monday Meanings – sunscreen and skin care mixed in with dogs was a bit strange so here are the actual meanings for you!

paws: [noun] feet of a clawed animal. [verb] touch in a clumsy or dirty way
The mouse pulled thorns from the lion’s paws. Their dog paws me every time I wear white to their house! 

pause [noun]: a period without action or noise
There was a pause in the meeting while lunch was served.

pores: [noun] a tiny opening in membranes such as skin. [verb] be intent and focussed
A facial will open up your pores. He pores over his book whenever Mary goes out.

pours: [verb] to make something flow, such as out of a jug; a heavy flow, such as of rain or events.
Joan always pours the tea before the coffee. We will cancel our hike only if it pours in the morning.

Not so easy to show you how to remember which is which, other than that wild animals may have paws and jaws to watch out for! Do you have a way to tell pores/paws/pause/pours apart?

Posted in Monday Meanings | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments
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