TashWord

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

Qualify your statements

Published 10 March, 2008 | By TashWord

In business, there is a hope that in some way we can be the biggest and best so that clients will come flocking to us. And some businesses give into that temptation and make claims that are not exactly accurate, or even true.

Too much hype just makes people switch off, and being caught out in a lie or false claim does not build am image of professionalism or integrity. In other, these behaviours do not build a strong business foundation.

So before you make any claims, be sure they are accurate and that you have checked them out.

Be very careful using terms such as ‘best’, ‘most popular’, ‘biggest seller’ and so on unless you have statistics and research to back up your claims.

If you say you are the first – don’t just check that no one else has done it before, check that your wording makes it clear what no one else has done before. For instance, saying I run the first business directory in Australia is not quite the same as saying I run the first online business directory in Australia. Likewise, there may be two interpretations of some words – online support could mean forums, a mail group, an information site, chat room discussions or some combination of the lot. So you may be the first online forum but not the first online support group.

And remember, it isn’t just to maintain your image and integrity – if you stray too far from the facts, you may face legal issues, too.

Posted in business info & tools, web content, writing | Tagged business, Clients, image, integrity | Leave a comment

Presentation checklist

Published 6 March, 2008 | By TashWord

A few days ago, I posted about the importance of checking presentation as well as details of your content. Today, I am going to list the details I check for when reviewing a draft for a document’s design elements.

This list is in the order I think of them, not necessarily in any importance.

does the design complement your other materials, such as a website or business card? Does it suit your brand?
is your logo and/or business name included and in an appropriate way?
does the design match your message?
do any paragraphs end with a single word on a line? Professional designers call these ‘orphans’ and do everything to avoid them! I have often adjusted text to pull that last word onto the previous line
are headings and contents together? A heading at the bottom of a column and text in the next column is disjointed and looks strange
do headings stand out enough? This includes table headings, too
is there a consistent font size throughout the document? Headings may be bigger than the text, but should be the same as each other
are any tables, diagrams or pictures clearly labelled? Sometimes formatting pushes labels away from the item
can the design be adjusted to fit everything into one less page if it is currently an odd number? For example, printing is usually done in multiples of 4 pages so a 5 page document will actually need 8 pages printed
does everything match any relevant rules or style guidelines?
do contact details stand out sufficiently? People having to search for them are less likely to contact you
are the right things emphasised? For instance, if you have text in highlight boxes, do they stand out from the text? Are disclaimers and privacy statements attracting more attention than your main message?
are colours and fonts consistent throughout, except as design elements?

If you are happy with all of these details, you will be very close to the correct design for your needs.

Posted in bit off track, business info & tools | Tagged Checklist, content, design, document, presentation | 2 Comments

Check presentation

Published 3 March, 2008 | By TashWord

I often mention checking the details, expression and grammar of your business communications. It is also very important to check the presentation as well as that is one of the first things people notice before they even read a word.

Checking means in the final form as well as in drafts, too.

I know I have prepared something carefully on my computer, checked everything carefully and then uploaded it the internet to find it does not present properly live. Sometimes it was something simple like a bad image reference, but other times I couldn’t find a fault, only a solution!

This is why good printers and designers will provide you with proofs before printing starts, just to be sure nothing has moved or changed colour during the preparation process. When checking proofs, you have to be very focused and detail orientated.

I followed a link to a website recently. The entire site was a blog (and we’ll leave having a blog as your business website for another discussion) and I read through a few pages of it. One page was an article listing 10 points that literally looked like:

1. this is our first point
2. and our second point…
3. and so on…
11. closing paragraph one
12. closing paragraph two

To give her the benefit of the doubt, I assume she had the article written elsewhere with one set of numbers, added it to her blog and selected numbered list again. Human error, probably; carelessness to not check the final result, definitely.

What is possibly worse are the sites you visit to find little red crosses instead of images, even when you visit again months later. It certainly gives the impression that they never look at their own site or pay attention to details – which is probably not a good impression to give prospective clients.

In my next post, I will cover some of the details I always check for in a final presentation draft.

Posted in blogging, grammar & details, newsletter content, web content | Tagged check, Draft, expression, grammar | 4 Comments

The value of being a guru

Published 2 March, 2008 | By TashWord

Maybe its just me, but the business field seems to have more than its fair share of guru claims – that is, people claiming to be a ‘business guru’ or ‘marketing guru’ and the like.

Some people would think the guru title is a beneficial way to promote yourself and your business to the business community, thereby building a customer base and high profits. However, I think there are serious downfalls to the idea, and I would never call myself a guru; even if others were calling me a guru (and they aren’t as far as I know!) I would not use that on my website or in my marketing, at least because others may think I gave myself the title.

My newest article discusses the disadvantages and alternatives to calling yourself a guru to develop your business.

What do you think? Does someone calling themself a guru impress you so you respect what they say immediately? Or are you more cynical about them so that they have to work harder to impress you with what they say?

Would you call yourself a guru in your field (assuming you have a high level of knowledge)?

Posted in business info & tools | Tagged Guru, impression. | 3 Comments

Business Mums Conference

Published 1 March, 2008 | By TashWord

Last year I was fortunate enough to attend the first Business Mums Network Conference. I presented a workshop and in a forum at the conference, as well as being an attendee at other sessions, and found the entire weekend beneficial.

This year’s conference is a bit earlier so I have just finished a proposal to present again at this year’s workshop – I have already registered to attend anyway! I should find out later this month if my proposal was accepted so I will let you know what I am speaking about (I proposed more than one topic.)

If you can be in Melbourne in for 12 – 13 July for the conference, please make sure you meet me!

Posted in About Word Constructions | Tagged business, conference, Mums | 4 Comments

Keep up to date when you write

Published 29 February, 2008 | By TashWord

It is important to keep track of the date and what is happening if you want your writing content (and other communications) to be credible and respected.

I heard a perfect example of this morning. As part of a news item in the 10 am radio news, the newscaster said “… will be announced later this month.” Of course, at 10am on the 29th February, there really isn’t much of the month left for things to happen in! It was probably a simple mistake (perhaps it should have been “… later next month…”), but it stood out more than the actual news itself.

While people can allow for small mistakes, and sometimes won’t even notice them, mistakes can change the impact of what you write (or say) and that can be costly. So remember to check:

you have the correct dates
you refer to the appropriate season (for example, today is summer and tomorrow is autumn in Australia, but not in the northern hemisphere)
when unusual, but important, changes occur, such as leap years, daylight savings starts/ends and when Easter is

Take particular care when you are writing something in advance. For example, if you write blog or newsletter posts weeks or even months ahead of publishing them, it can be easy to refer to current details instead of the relevant future ones.

Posted in grammar & details | Tagged appropriate, correct date, keep up to date, write | 5 Comments

Branding is in the details

Published 25 February, 2008 | By TashWord

Branding is a big subject, covering how you use your logo through to how you give a presentation. But did you know that the words you use in documents, on websites and in presentations also form part of your brand?

For instance, if your brand is to be young and funky, you don’t want web copy that reads “In our experience, prospective partnerships are best developed through a commonality of interests…”

Some factors to consider to ensure your written communications enhance your brand are:

using language to suit the audience you want to attract
use Australian spelling and conventions if your brand is ‘Australian owned’
point of view – do you say ‘you’ or ‘clients’?
how do you write the business name? Can you abbreviate it under certain circumstances?
the tone – casual, formal, academic, legal
the focus – business people, families, students, employers, professionals, etc

This can all come into preparing a style guide, too.

Posted in business info & tools, writing | Tagged branding, business, communications, language, logo, preentation, spelling, webcopy, words | 4 Comments

Style Guides

Published 23 February, 2008 | By TashWord

A style guide is simply a set of rules as to how your business produces it’s communication materials (including website content, letters, emails, marketing documents and promotional articles.)

By having a style guide, you can ensure everything you present to customers and potential customers is consistent and supports your brand. For instance, if someone reads a formal letter from you then visits your casual website, they will notice the difference and probably feel uncomfortable with it.

Style guides can be in bullet point on one page or they can be comprehensive manuals – it depends on the needs and size of the business. In fact, I have written both types for a single client as they used them for different purposes.

If you want to create a style guide, you can always start with the key points and slowly build it up as you gather further information to include.

A style sheet is a summary of a style guide that lists common words and how they are to be presented. For instance, does your business write Internet or internet? Or is Aussie acceptable or must it always be Australian?

P.S. I wrote a longer comparision betwen style guide and style sheet last Novemeber.

Posted in Business Communications, writing | Tagged australian, guidlines, rules, Style guides, summary, words | 9 Comments

Business integrity

Published 19 February, 2008 | By TashWord

As a writer and professional service provider, I consider my job as helping my clients. I write webcopy or documents for their business, of course, but more than that I use my skills and knowledge to help them. I consider that my clients want my expertise, not just some words on a piece of paper.

So for example, if a client asks me to write a media release on something that I know is not news worthy and is extremely unlikely to get published, I tell them so and might suggest another way I could help them more effectively.

Whenever I approach suppliers, for myself or on behalf of a client, I always make my request along the lines of “Please do x, y and z – unless you can suggest a better alternative”. I trust suppliers to know more than me and hope we can work together to get the best result.

I hate seeing suppliers that are more concerned with making money than doing what is best for their clients. And let’s face it, it isn’t good business practice either – clients are less likely to come back or recommend you if you don’t do the right thing by them.

One of my clients has been approached by a marketing company with a lot of suggestions. Now, this company does produce some nice work and they are very friendly and helpful.

However, it concerns me that they are more interested in taking over the product marketing than in what is best for the product. For instance, they are suggesting changes to the website to make it more like x and z sites. I did a quick Google search – my client’s site shows on page one of a search for the appropriate term, the x site shows on page 2 and z doesn’t show before page 5. My client’s site get new visitors to the site everyday now, which is pretty good for a site less than 6 months old. And being so young, a branding change now would have limited benefit in my opinion.

To me, they would be servicing my client better to agree the site is doing well and here are some ways to promote it further rather than match it to less popular sites.

Do you have examples of businesses using good integrity in their dealings with clients? I’d love to hear them 🙂

Posted in business info & tools | Tagged business, Clients, service, writing | 1 Comment

Stick to your topic

Published 16 February, 2008 | By TashWord

When writing, especially if it is an article or blog post, it isn’t hard to get distracted by related topics and ideas. But if someone has chosen to read about a certain topic, that is what they expect to read about.

Changing topics within a piece of business writing can confuse your readers and reduce your ‘expert’ status. This is especially the case if you are presenting a number of points about a topic (such as ’10 ways to save money’ or ‘tips for reducing water waste in your office’.)

As an example, I recently read an article listing various ways to sell a product. It started with market stalls, direct sales and wholesaling, but then went onto networking and advertising which are not sales methods although they can increase the number of sales made.

If you do want to include points that are not part of your original topic, change the topic to indicate the scope of the writing. Alternatively, write two or more pieces, each about a separate although related topic, instead of one piece on different topics.

Posted in bad writing examples, blogging, newsletter content, writing | Tagged distractions, focus, topic | 5 Comments

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