TashWord

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

How can you pick a good writer?

Published 26 January, 2008 | By TashWord

Once you have decided that you will outsource the content writing for a project, how can you select a good writer to help you? Yesterday, I sparked a discussion on writers being professional and skilled so I thought it best to help you recognise good writers!

Especially if you are outsourcing the writing because you don’t feel comfortable with grammar and sentence construction, it isn’t easy to pick a ‘good’ writer from a poor writer.

So how can you tell?

Read some samples of their work, not just their marketing brochure/website, and preferably samples of the same type of writing – writing for websites, children, media and manuals all require different writing techniques.

As you read these samples, take note of the following:

do you notice a lot of spelling or other errors?
did you read the content easily (without really noticing the writing itself) or did you have to reread sections to understand them? (Assuming the content was ok, rereading complex ideas is a different thing altogether!)
look at the entire text – are paragraphs all the same or in different lengths? How many start with the same word?
was it a struggle (content matter aside!) to finish reading the work? Were you loosing interest during the first paragraph?
did you notice any jumps in tense (present/past/future) or style (casual, formal, personal, etc)?
did the language seem appropriate to the audience?

Look and ask for testimonials and referrals. Don’t just rely on those the writer provides in marketing materials – ask to speak to previous clients or talk to other business owners who may know of the writer. A writer with poor results or who is otherwise unprofessional will struggle to maintain a good name.

Research the actual writer. Read articles they have on their site, their newsletter, their blog and their articles on other sites. As well as judging their writing skills, such articles should give you an idea of their knowledge and expertise. A newsletter and blog may also give you an insight into the writer’s personality so you can determine if they are professional and trustworthy. You can also decide if you can work with that writer – an effective relationship will produce better content than one where you and the writer don’t ‘get’ each other.

You can also do some formal checks, such as checking if they have a registered business name and number.

Have you had any experiences with picking the wrong writer?

Posted in business info & tools, writing | Tagged Add new tag, referrals, research, sampling, testimonials | 5 Comments

Writing professionally

Published 25 January, 2008 | By TashWord

I just read a blog post about writing online as a great career. Don’t get me wrong – I think writing is a great career! But I did not like this blog post.

However, the author of that particular post (and I won’t link to it as I don’t want to been seen as supporting their site!) wrote about how the only writing worth doing is online writing (not business writing mind you, although he also referred to business writing being good) and that anyone can do it.

The standard of writing in the post itself was not particularly high and he was offering writing work to others ‘even if you hate writing essays’ and ‘just know a few advertising principles’.

In response, I want to say that writing is a great career but not everyone has the language skills and knowledge to do it. It also requires some business ability in order to get enough clients and succeed.

As a professional in any industry, why would anyone downgrade the skills of that industry? By saying ‘anyone can write’ he is downgrading his own employees and business – and is not building up a trust in their abilities for prospective clients. And downgrading the industry in that way could also decrease the accepted price ranges for the industry, too, therefore he is not helping his employees either.

As a blog writer, the other lesson from this person’s post is – don’t make your blog posts ads. There is no useful information in his post – it effectively says (in 5 or 6 paragraphs) that writing online is a great job so apply with him now.

Reading an ad instead of an informative post is not going to entice many people back to read another post. People wanting ads can go anywhere – blogs are for information or entertainment.

Posted in bit off track, blogging, writing | Tagged blog, career, writing online | 12 Comments

Achieving goals

Published 19 January, 2008 | By TashWord

You may not be running for gold, but your goals are important

Earlier this month, I wrote about new years resolutions and SMARTY goals.

There are two more things that can really help you achieve your goals.

Wording goals

One is how you word your goals. It is important to focus on the end result and train your mind to see life as if you have already achieved the goal. So it is worth setting your goals in positive terms.

So instead of “I will lose weight” make it “I will weigh xkg”, or replace “I will get out of debt” with “I will have a positive bank balance”

You can take this even further by using the present tense in your goals – and this is particularly useful if you repeat your goal to yourself frequently as an affirmation. So our above two examples become “I weigh xkg” and “I have a positive bank balance”.

Adding a reason in the message can also be helpful – such as “I have lots of energy now I weigh xkg” and “My positive bank balance gives me security.”

Acknowledging efforts

The other way to increase your chances of achieving your goal is to acknowledge your efforts. Every so often, look back and acknowledge how far you have come even if it is not as far as you had hoped. It can just be a private “hey, I’ve done this much” or you could share with a trusted friend or give yourself a reward.

If the goal is going to be tough for you or is a long term goal, make sure you give yourself mile stone rewards, too. Maybe for every month you exercise you treat yourself to a massage or for every 25 cold calls you make you can watch your favourite DVD.

With a SMARTY goal written in positive terms and acknowledged and rewarded, I don’t need to wish you luck as your goals are practically achieved already!

Posted in bit off track, business info & tools | Tagged New years resolutions, possitive, SMARTY goals, wording | 1 Comment

Tagging…

Published 17 January, 2008 | By TashWord

This something I haven’t really dealt with before but the basic idea is that a blog owner ‘tags’ another to write something specific and then tag someone else. It’s meant to be a bit of fun (it usually results in blog owners being a bit more personal if they have a business blog like me!) and also to increase traffic between blogs.

So, I got my first tag a couple of days ago from Melissa. And now I need to follow through by giving you the instructions/explanation and commenting on myself. So here goes…

The Rules:
1.Mention the person who tagged you and create a link back to them.
2.Pick your month of birth.
3.Copy-paste the traits for all the twelve months (see below).
4.Highlight the traits that apply to you and if you would like write some wit or not.
5.Tag 12 people and let them know by visiting their blogs and leaving a comment for them.
6.Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve done it!

Here are the summaries for each month:

JANUARY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Ambitious and serious. Loves to teach and be taught. Always looking at people’s flaws and weaknesses. Likes to criticize. Hardworking and productive. Smart, neat and organized. Sensitive and has deep thoughts. Knows how to make others happy. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Rather reserved. Highly attentive. Resistant to illnesses but prone to colds. Romantic but has difficulties expressing love. Loves children. Loyal. Has great social abilities yet easily jealous. Very stubborn and money cautious.

FEBRUARY: Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract. Intelligent and clever. Changing personality. Attractive. Sexy. Temperamental. Quiet, shy and humble. Honest and loyal. Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted. Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily but does not show it. Dislikes unnecessary things. Loves making friends but rarely shows it. Daring and stubborn. Ambitious. Realizes dreams and hopes. Sharp. Loves entertainment and leisure. Romantic on the inside not outside. Superstitious and ludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions.

MARCH: Attractive personality. Sexy. Affectionate. Shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Loves to serve others. Easily angered. Trustworthy. Appreciative and returns kindness. Observant and assesses others. Revengeful. Loves to dream and fantasize. Loves traveling. Loves attention. Hasty decisions in choosing partners. Loves home decors. Musically talented. Loves special things. Moody.

APRIL: Active and dynamic. Decisive and hasty but tends to regret. Attractive and affectionate to oneself. Strong mentality. Loves attention. Diplomatic. Consoling, friendly and solves people’s problems. Brave and fearless. Adventurous. Loving and caring. Suave and generous. Emotional. Aggressive. Hasty. Good memory. Moving. Motivates oneself and others. Sickness usually of the head and chest. Sexy in a way that only their lover can see.

MAY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Strong-willed and highly motivated. Sharp thoughts. Easily angered. Attracts others and loves attention. Deep feelings. Beautiful physically and mentally. Firm Standpoint. Needs no motivation. Easily consoled. Systematic (left brain). Loves to dream. Strong clairvoyance. Understanding. Sickness usually in the ear and neck. Good imagination. Good physical. Weak breathing. Loves literature and the arts. Loves traveling. Dislike being at home. Restless. Not having many children. Hardworking. High spirited. Spendthrift.

JUNE: Thinks far with vision. Easily influenced by kindness. Polite and soft-spoken. Having ideas. Sensitive. Active mind. Hesitating, tends to delay. Choosy and always wants the best. Temperamental. Funny and humorous. Loves to joke. Good debating skills. Talkative. Daydreamer. Friendly. Knows how to make friends. Able to show character. Easily hurt. Prone to getting colds. Loves to dress up. Easily bored. Fussy. Seldom shows emotions. Takes time to recover when hurt. Brand conscious. Executive. Stubborn.

JULY: Fun to be with. Secretive. Difficult to fathom and to be understood. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Takes pride in oneself. Has reputation. Easily consoled. Honest. Concerned about people’s feelings. Tactful. Friendly. Approachable. Emotional temperamental and unpredictable. Moody and easily hurt. Witty and sparkly. Not revengeful. Forgiving but never forgets. Dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things. Guides others physically and mentally. Sensitive and forms impressions carefully. Caring and loving. Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy. Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations. Hardworking. No difficulties in studying. Loves to be alone. Always broods about the past and the old friends. Likes to be quiet. Homely person. Waits for friends. Never looks for friends. Not aggressive unless provoked. Prone to having stomach and dieting problems. Loves to be loved. Easily hurt but takes long to recover.

AUGUST: Loves to joke. Attractive. Suave and caring. Brave and fearless. Firm and has leadership qualities. Knows how to console others. Too generous and egoistic. Takes high pride in oneself. Thirsty for praises. Extraordinary spirit. Easily angered. Angry when provoked. Easily jealous. Observant. Careful and cautious. Thinks quickly. Independent thoughts. Loves to lead and to be led. Loves to dream. Talented in the arts, music and defense. Sensitive but not petty. Poor resistance against illnesses. Learns to relax. Hasty and trusty. Romantic. Loving and caring. Loves to make friends.

SEPTEMBER: Suave and compromising. Careful, cautious and organized. Likes to point out people’s mistakes. Likes to criticize. Stubborn. Quiet but able to talk well. Calm and cool. Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal but not always honest. Does work well. Very confident. Sensitive. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Must control oneself when criticizing. Able to motivate oneself. Understanding. Fun to be around. Secretive. Loves leisure and traveling. Hardly shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings. Very choosy, especially in relationships. Systematic.

OCTOBER: Loves to chat. Loves those who loves them. Loves to take things at the center. Inner and physical beauty. Lies but doesn’t pretend. Gets angry often. Treats friends importantly. Always making friends. Easily hurt but recovers easily. Daydreamer. Opinionated. Does not care of what others think. Emotional. Decisive. Strong clairvoyance. Loves to travel, the arts and literature. Touchy and easily jealous. Concerned. Loves outdoors. Just and fair. Spendthrift. Easily influenced. Easily loses confidence. Loves children.

NOVEMBER: Has a lot of ideas.Difficult to fathom.Thinks forward. Unique and brilliant. Extraordinary ideas. Sharp thinking. Fine and strong clairvoyance. Can become good doctors. Dynamic in personality. Secretive. Inquisitive. Knows how to dig secrets. Always thinking. Less talkative but amiable. Brave and generous. Patient. Stubborn and hard-hearted. If there is a will, there is a way. Determined. Never give up. Hardly becomes angry unless provoked. Loves to be alone. Thinks differently from others. Sharp-minded. Motivates oneself. Does not appreciate praises. High-spirited. Well-built and tough. Deep love and emotions. Romantic. Uncertain in relationships. Homely. Hardworking. High abilities. Trustworthy. Honest and keeps secrets. Not able to control emotions. Unpredictable.

DECEMBER: Loyal and generous. Sexy. Patriotic. Active in games and interactions. Impatient and hasty. Ambitious. Influential in organizations. Fun to be with. Loves to socialize. Loves praises. Loves attention. Loves to be loved. Honest and trustworthy. Not pretending. Short tempered. Changing personality. Not egotistic. Take high pride in oneself. Hates restrictions. Loves to joke. Good sense of humor. Logical.

About me…

I was born in February so here are my (apparent) traits:

Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract – I’d agree with the combination!

Intelligent and clever – absolutely true 🙂 And I’m sure modesty is listed somewhere, too, lol.

Changing personality – don’t know about that one

Attractive. Sexy – no comment! Told you modesty should be here!

Temperamental – can be, yep.

Quiet, shy and humble – yes. Although public speaking isn’t an issue for me – go figure!

Honest and loyal – to a fault, yes. In fact, I once was told that I was alone in my level of honesty!

Determined to reach goals – always striving for something…

Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted – definitely. This is a large part of why I love running my own business

Loves aggressiveness – no, I hate it actually – prefer peace and tranquility

Too sensitive and easily hurt – “too” is too judgmental for my liking

Gets angry really easily but does not show it – sometimes!

Dislikes unnecessary things – yep. Hate waste of time & resources

Loves making friends but rarely shows it – um, thought I showed it more than rarely!

Daring and stubborn. Ambitious. Realizes dreams and hopes. Sharp – guess that is all me!

Loves entertainment and leisure – yes, although not always what others consider entertaining

Romantic on the inside not outside – very insightful

Superstitious and ludicrous – ludicrous? I think not

Spendthrift – definitely. Again, this helped get a small business established, and I found lots of creative ways to market myself (does a blog count in there, too!)

Tries to learn to show emotions – this is also true.

Tagging…

Well, tagging 12 people is going to be tough – anybody want to be tagged???

I can’t think of them now so I’ll add names here later. Wow, I think this is my longest ever post!

Posted in bit off track | Tagged explanation, instruction, Tagging | 5 Comments

Leading from behind

Published 16 January, 2008 | By TashWord

We recently did a bushwalk up a mountain with our family.

My six year old proudly lead us on the hike, making sure we all stayed together and in the ‘correct’ order, and pre-warning us of rocks and roots that might trip someone. To a six year old, it was important to be in the front and that made her the leader – although she was also showing some good leadership other than being in front!

Of course, her ‘leadership’ was done under supervision but I didn’t feel the need to shout my qualifications and experience, or to be seen as the leader to remain confident and in control of the situation.

Thinking about her leadership made me think about leadership of managers I have dealt with. In my experience, the best managers (leaders) were those who left us (their team members) to get on with our jobs, being there for answers and support as required, and occasionally giving a push or nudge in the right direction or towards a new challenge. In other words, trusting people to do what their job is, even if it means admitting they are better at it than the manager is.

The worst managers I’ve dealt with are perhaps more varied:

one who watched everything we did at times but then disappeared for hours or days so wasn’t available for support
one who had a less-than-honourable relationship and expected staff to respect him and cover for him. He also favoured some people and the rest resented it and did not work to their best
managers who micro-manage everyone and everything so everyone ends up frustrated and nothing is done particularly well
managers who keep details to themselves and don’t communicate with their team

However, the absolute worst manager behaviour to me is from those managers who blame anyone they can for errors, delays and problems, and accept credit for anything they were remotely involved with. That sort of behaviour builds resentment, destroys trust and doesn’t build a team – I mean, who wants to work hard so someone else can take the credit? Obviously, such managers haven’t realised that part of their role is management so the results of the team also reflect on the manager – apparent poor team results do not make the manager look competent anyway.

Nelson Mandela once said:

It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.

Maybe that quote should be lesson one in management courses/manuals, or given from senior managers to their juniors, as it sums up good management I believe – put your people first, give them the rewards and take the flack.

Do you agree with Nelson and me?

Posted in business info & tools | Tagged authority, leadership | 4 Comments

A copyrighting expert?

Published 15 January, 2008 | By TashWord

Back in November, I wrote a post about the difference between copyright and copywrite. If you think about the actual words, it isn’t hard to tell them apart either (copyright is about rights for instance.)

Yet I have just come across a website with the following sentence:

we have combined many years of copyrighting skills to create magical letters for every occasion.

As much as the misuse of copyrighting annoys me, it being misused in a sentence where the writer claims to be an expert writer is shocking. Of course, I am also curious as how to someone combines years to create anything.

Before I get on my soap box about people posing as experts and (in my opinion) trying to fool people*, let me give you a much better version of the above sentence:

Together, we have many years of copywriting experience which we use to create magical letters for every occasion.

* I don’t know anything else about the writing skills of the site using the above sentence so I am not commenting on their level of expertise or claiming they are unethical. It is just a general comment that I hate people presenting themselves as more than they are and errors such as this are sometimes an indicator of such behaviour.

Posted in bad writing examples | Tagged appropriate, copyright, copywright, use | Leave a comment

SMS shorthand

Published 12 January, 2008 | By TashWord

Like pretty much anyone else, if I am sending a SMS message I may use short forms and abbreviated words – it’s quicker and easier on a small screen and keyboard. Although it is becoming less necessary with smart phones.

However, as a professional writer, I cringe every time I see shortened words in other contexts.

There is no need to use SMS shortcuts on a website, in a newsletter or blog, or in any other business or professional document. Personally, I don’t think there’s much need to use it in personal emails or letters, either, but I’ll leave that alone!

Reading information about a business, we want to know if we can trust the business and that they will provide a professional service*. If the business can’t even be bothered writing out full words, they do not inspire trust that they will provide much for customers.

Examples…

1. Only days ago a friend forwarded me an email she had received. The subject of the email was “Here’s to a gr8 ’08!” and she forwarded it to me with the comment that she hadn’t even bothered reading it because the subject “really put me off!”

With something like an email subject, you only have one chance to entice people to read it, so don’t lose that chance by not using full words.

2. A while ago I was asked to review someone’s website for a service based business where she really needed people to trust her. The entire homepage was full of U (instead of you), lower case letters and other SMS-type words. Had I not been reviewing it, I would not have even read the page – again, you only have a short time to grab a visitor’s interest on a website so make first impressions good.

So, go back to basics – use good grammar, spelling and expression to present a clear message even if you think your audience understands or relates to SMS texting language. Understanding it is not the same as respecting it away from mobile phones.

* By professional service, I mean service that is appropriate, courteous and business -like so it includes customer service in a retail setting as well as services from a service provider such as an accountant, lawyer or writer.

Posted in bad writing examples, grammar & details, web content, writing | Tagged context, professionality, shorthand, SMS | 7 Comments

SMARTY goals

Published 11 January, 2008 | By TashWord

As promised in my New Year’s message, I wanted to explain what SMARTY goals are – and why they are better than other goals.

SMARTY Goals are:

Setting goals will keep you heading the right direction

Specific

Measurable

Achievable

Relevant

Timed

whY

And now for an explanation…

Specific – the more specific the goal, the easier it is to see your progress and feel some achievement. For example, ‘loosing weight’ or ‘getting fit’ may be common resolutions, but they aren’t specific. Much better to say ‘I will lose 5 kilos’ or ‘I will train so I can run 10km’

Measurable – make it so you know when you have reached it, and see improvement along the way as well. For example, ‘I will make $x more this year than last year’ is easy to see how close you are to $x and achieving your goal.

Achievable – you must be able to work on the goal. Setting a goal of running a marathon next week is unlikely if you currently get puffed walking to the letterbox, but a goal of walking for 10 minutes every day is achievable. Of course, part of being able to work on the goal means your attitude, too – you need to be willing to work on it and allow yourself to grow your abilities along the way.

Relevant – your goals must fit in with where you are, what your values are and your big life goals. Following someone else’s goals may not be relevant for you (e.g. don’t try to lose weight if you are underweight), and you may need to set different goals at different times in your life. If your values are to help people, then ‘I will volunteer at the community centre 3 hours a month’ is a relevant goal.

Timed – goals without a deadline are just wishes really. A deadline makes you take them more seriously and to act on them now rather than tomorrow. Deadlines need to be realistic to keep your goal achievable, but they also need to be tight enough to keep you motivated and working towards the goal. So a timed goal is something like ‘I will read a business magazine a month’, ‘I will sell 10% more this year’, ‘I will exercise 4 times a week’ or ‘I will lose 6kg by 1 August’.

whY– you need to have a reason to aim for your goal. The reason will keep you going even when it is hard and you don’t seem any closer to the end. And I’m talking about the real, deep reason for your goal. For example, ‘my doctor says I should stop smoking’ will only motivate you on a good day. On a bad day, you will need to know ‘I want more energy and don’t want emphysema like Uncle Jim so I will not light a cigarette now’. So what is your real reason (and there can be more than one) for setting this goal?

So let’s go back to our first examples – I want to lose weight and I want to get fitter. Now, let’s word them as SMARTY goals:

I will lose 1 kilo a month until I reach 60kg so I can fit into my favourite dress and keep up with my kids in the park.

I will exercise four times every week to be fit enough for the fun run in September. I want to show John that I can compete at his level and I want to feel proud of myself.

So what are your SMARTY goals for the next six months?

Posted in bit off track, business info & tools | Tagged achievable, goals, measurable, relevant, SMARTY, specific, timed | 18 Comments

Choosing a charity

Published 10 January, 2008 | By TashWord

For a long time I have thought about having a specific charity to support through Word Constructions’ profits, but have just been too busy to select one. Not good, but that’s the way it is.

I have now found some possible donations and wondered which people would prefer?

If you were my client (or are my client, of course!), which of the following would you prefer me to contribute towards? Which is the most relevant/best suited to Word Constructions?

1. Money towards starting a business (yes, I know there are other places offering this, but if I wait to research them all it will take longer!)

2. School fees for a year in southern Africa

3. Literacy classes for adults in Cambodia

4. general donations to a specific charity (relating to starting a business or literacy) every 6 or 12 months (all of the above ones are individual gifts of $40 or less so I would make a number of them over a year)

I would really appreciate knowing what you think to help me make a decision! I might do another post soon to discuss the value of a charity associated with your business, so hold those thoughts, too!

Posted in About Word Constructions, bit off track | Tagged Charity, decision, donations, money | 4 Comments

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