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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

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TashWord

Tash is a professional writer who loves helping people communicate clearly and effectively.
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Understanding bandwidth

Published 20 September, 2008 | By TashWord

A common thing people complain about when online is how long a web page takes to load. How many times have you given up waiting for a page to load or walked away and come back and the page is still only half loaded?

People are more likely to return to a site if the page loads efficiently and the content is worthwhile.

The term bandwidth describes the amount of data transferred to or from a website within a certain period of time. The bandwidth avilaable to a specific website depends on the hsoitng agreement in place, but will only allow a certain amount of data transfer in a specified time. So ultimately, the more information on a page, the longer the page will take to load.

When a web page is loaded into a browser it brings along with it all its content, that is the structural format code, the CSS instructing the browser how the content should look, the images, frames, text, and any other code that gives the page its content. Every single character and figure on a web page lengthens the time that the page takes to load; although individually they may be barely anything, they add up.

The average base of a web page should be about 30K and grow to be not much more than 60K. That is including all the graphics and text.

The main thing to remember here is that less is best, especially when web designing.

Posted in bit off track, web content | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

What is a bleed?

Published 19 September, 2008 | By TashWord

A bleed is the space around the edge of a page or design the allow for movement and cutting the paper itself. So if a page is 20cm wide the design will be 20.6cm wide to allow a margin of 3mm on each side as a bleed. It prevents the tacky look of a design that is almost to the edge of a page with a thin white area on the edge.

Inhouse printers always have a margin around them – they never print to the edge, so bleeds don’t help and you’ll get white lines around colour bits.

Bleeds are crucial for a good looking document or picture. Without a bleed it leaves it looking incomplete and messy.

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

Measuring your business…

Published 19 September, 2008 | By TashWord

I just came across a blog post about why you need to measure performance which seems like a good starting point for all small business owners.

It’s a good question – I mean, if you don’t measure your success in various areas of your business, how do you know you are actually succeeding? Or how will you know that there is a so-far-minor problem in one area before it turns into a major issue for you and your business?

Yes, it is important to keep on top of where you are at in all areas of business, but I liked the suggestion in this blog post that it is better to start monitoring one or two key areas now than to wait “until I have enough time” to set up measuring programs for everything important to your business.

Why start small with your measuring when the whole picture is so important?

  • it is easier to do so it’s more likely to actually happen!
  • starting with one area will teach you skills and make a wider scale measurement easier later
  • data in one area can be dealt with – once that area is working well, you can focus on another area. Compare that to trying to fix 6 areas at once whilst also trying to manage clients and general business tasks
  • improving one thing often has a flow on effect to other areas anyway
  • you’ll gain confidence and belief in measuring that will inspire you to make time for more over time

So my question is – how often do you measure your business performance? Which area do you think most needs assessment right now?

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

Leading others to want it your way…

Published 17 September, 2008 | By TashWord

One of the newsletters I receive in my in box is design lines, from Shel Design. I was just flicking through some of her older editions and came across this quote which I felt was worth sharing:

Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it
Dwight Eisenhower
It is an interesting statement. Some people act as if leadership is about making others do what you want, regardless of their wants and needs, but the results are much better if the people following can work towards something they want, too.

So next time you have to lead someone, think about how you can put the project into their terms. For instance, instead of “You need to make more sales so I make more money”, approach it as “If you increase sales by x%, I will give you a bonus.”

 

Posted in bit off track | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

I have a cell to sell

Published 15 September, 2008 | By TashWord

cell: a basic unit, often regular in shape and function
Each cell of his body reacted to the oxygen
or
He couldn’t find a way out of his prison cell

sell: to transfer or exchange goods or services in return for money or other goods and services
How do you sell your services?

If you are having trouble with these two words, remember that a shop sells things.

Posted in Monday Meanings | Tagged | Leave a comment

September Newsletter

Published 13 September, 2008 | By TashWord

Our September newsletter is now available and was sent out earlier this month!

One key message in the newsletter is that Word Constructions is closed to new projects between 12 September and 5 November as I am on maternity leave.

The other topics covered this month include: the importance of taking a break from work, no matter how impossible this may feel at the time it is important for your health, and how crucial it is for your business to know the audience.

You can subscribe to receive this newsletter monthly for helpful writing tips and information.

Business writing ideas newsletter

Posted in About Word Constructions, newsletter content | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Managing feedback

Published 10 September, 2008 | By TashWord

When I’m writing for some of my corporate clients, a number of people need to be involved in the document – usually a mix of technical experts and legal advisers, along with a manager or two. If you have ever had to deal with a committee consensus, you’ll know that this process can be frustrating and time-consuming.

The best results arise when everyone has the appropriate input with one or two people having responsibility for the final result – usually the writer and a senior manager.

Here are some of my tips to keep this process under control:

  • have all feedback come into a central place so it can be collated – and if a technical expert can collate it for you, even better!
  • as much as possible, get everyone involved to review the same draft by a specific deadline. This way, you can blend all of the feedback into the document in one go rather than having many drafts and missing details in the confusion. Most stakeholders then do not get another review – legal, management and you get to do final checks.
  • get the document as accurate as possible with one or two client representatives before it goes to the group
  • explain any potential issues before they start the review. For example, I often write ‘refer to page xx’ in a draft document rather than ‘refer to page 10’ to allow for layout changes. I warn clients of this when I give them the draft to save them and me dealing with page numbers unnecessarily
  • understand as much as possible who is who amongst the stakeholders. If Jane and Mary give opposing feedback – which should you rely on as technically correct and which is an opinion?
  • be willing to give way on some points if they aren’t important so that you can stand your ground on points where it is important – remember that the same information can be written in multiple correct ways, and it can be personal choice as to which is ‘better’

As a writer, it is my job to take their technical knowledge, legal requirements and document intentions and provide them with a clear, easy to read document. So sometimes I do exactly as their feedback requests (e.g. changing a measurement from 5mm to 5cm) and at other times I adjust their feedback for clarity.

Use your words wisely!

Posted in writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Is noise allowed?

Published 8 September, 2008 | By TashWord

allowed: to have permission
Under school rules, she was allowed to wear casual clothes.

aloud: not silent, speak openly rather than in a whisper
The students took turns reading aloud from the novel.

 

Posted in Monday Meanings | Tagged , | Leave a comment

whether the weather is what you want…

Published 1 September, 2008 | By TashWord

Today’s pair of definitions isn’t one I see misused very often, but it looks very strange when they are misused so it’s important to get it right!

whether: providing two or more options or choices
I am not sure whether I will have a boy or a girl.

weather: atmospheric changes that affect people – we usually include temperature, humidity, wet/dry conditions, wind and sunny/cloudy as part of the weather
Do you know what the weather will be for our picnic?

How to remember which spelling is which? Whether (starts with wh) is about which (starts with wh) choice, but weather affects what we want to eat!

Posted in Monday Meanings | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Finding material to blog about

Published 27 August, 2008 | By TashWord

Some days, words will just flow onto your blog, but there are times when it is harder to know what to write about. It’s normal to have days where we’re less creative, or are tired, or overwhelmed or a multitude of other things that get in our way.

A week or so ago, I looked at a new blog – well, newish as it replaces a previous blog by the same person – and noticed a few spelling errors. Knowing the blogger, I let her know about them and thought nothing else of it. A few days later, I noticed that Melissa had added a new post in which she talked about fixing those errors I had pointed out and the importance of proof reading.

This reminded me of how we can find blogging (or article or newsletter, etc) topics from the simple events that happen in our business and personal lives. Small events can remind us of important things or create a useful learning tool. So here are some suggestions for next time you are stuck on what to write…

  • questions clients have recently asked you – e.g. I recently explained bleeds to a couple of clients and I have been asked if I do editing of articles (which I do!), and both of those could become a blog post
  • tips you come across from other business people – for example, I shared some decluttering tips I gained from a workshop I attended
  • mistakes you see in others’ work – not as a means of criticising others, but as a means of learning from their mistakes
  • turning points and changes in your business – either just to let people know of them, or as a means of teaching others alternatives

By including little things in your list of ideas is a good way to increase the amount of topics you have to write about.

Use your words wisely!

 

Posted in blogging, newsletter content | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments
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