Posts Tagged ‘web site content’

Raise your hand, volunteer

Friday, May 6th, 2011

Raise hands from FreeFoto.com

As a writer, a sole proprietor of a business communications company I need to know where my time goes. It isn’t all spent staring out the window looking for inspiration for a catchy phrase for a subject line of an e-newsletter. Sometimes I need to take a hard look at how I spend my time and re-focus on activities that are productive. You may say, define productive. Can you measure the results of the time you spend doing volunteer work?

Expectations of volunteering

Do you simply compare the time spent to the rewards achieved? Remember what Albert Einstein said, “Not everything that counts can be counted. And not everything that can be counted, counts.”

What are your expectations of volunteer activities? Are you looking for business, personal enrichment, knowledge, social interaction, recognition, work experience?

Do you want to share knowledge, help others, promote a good cause, nurture other businesses, give back to your community, raise funds for a charity, enrich your spiritual life?

Volunteers are the critical core of success of many organizations. Putting a dollar value on volunteer activities takes away the real meaning. Motivated volunteers hold our community together and allow useful organizations to exist and continue to provide useful services.

Where do you volunteer?

I do most of my work in my office, by myself, as I try to create content for websites and newsletters. When a volunteer activity comes up, I usually jump at the chance to get out of my office and I cherish the opportunity to talk to people face to face.

As a volunteer ambassador with the Brampton Board of Trade I can help businesses make connections with each other at After Hours Events. My principle has always been to give. Many years ago when I started my first business, I found that other business owners provided me with helpful advice and connections. I hope I can do the same as an ambassador. It’s not about selling my business services it’s about helping others make connections.

Since the early or mid 1990s I have been a member of HPCA (the Halton Peel Communications Association.) For this past year I have been on the 5-person executive serving as the Meeting Coordinator. My job is to organize monthly events with speakers or activities that provide professional development for a group of sole proprietors who are writers, editors, podcasters, videographers, PR professionals, photographers, graphic designers and web developers.

HPCA is such a friendly group of talented people. The members are an endless source of information and help. The time commitment is insignificant when compared to what this group gives back in knowledge, collaboration, and camaraderie. In the course of conversations with other board members, I pick up all sorts of helpful information on the latest tools and technology and strategies to handle this ever-changing world of communication.

In addition to these business-related volunteer contributions, I spend a similar amount of time on church committees and activities. This deep commitment is a very personal one that brings me satisfaction because I feel I am helping where I can. All I have, (and that is GREAT deal) comes from God above, and I am committed to giving back as best I can.

Many hands

I still do have time to run my business and my household. Sometimes it is hard to keep a proper balance and I force myself to make tough choices. In a volunteer context, the old phrase, “many hands make light work” holds true.

It’s my hope that more business owners would step up and volunteer when a need is expressed. If you are like me, by volunteering, you’ll uncover talents that you have not yet allowed yourself to exercise. You’ll have fun, you’ll laugh and yes, sometimes you’ll cry. You’ll meet new and inspiring people. You’ll experience a sense of accomplishment that cannot be measured and cannot be evaluated with price tag.

Tags: start-up business, volunteer, web site content, writer, writing | 1 Comment »

Power of words in business

Tuesday, April 12th, 2011

Good or bad communications, how we use words, determine our success in business and at home. We all send messages in one way or another to employees, stakeholders, co-workers, family and friends. As savvy communicators we connect on a professional and social level and are aware of the signals our words and body language send. The way we communicate is changing all the time. New words are created. Grammar rules evolve. New communication tools are created. Website content, advertisements and videos need to use just the right words to tell our stories in the proper tone, and voice to get the results we want.

Today, text messages are fired off rapidly and responses come back only seconds later. We now use a variety of short forms, abbreviated words and symbols. It is a new language of sorts. I need to study it some more. Some of the more common initialisms are quite logical when you think about them. Others take a bit of thought. Some are profane and not particularly articulate.

Are we losing the ability to eloquently express ourselves? Are we limiting our vocabulary by resorting to these short forms?

A couple of months ago I got an iPhone and I am still trying to get used to the sensitive touchscreen. My fat fingers and the auto correct function can send some pretty crazy messages. The web is full of embarrassing auto correct gaffs. The tool (iPhone) is handy, and has some great apps. Until my fingers get more adept, I will use the touchscreen keyboard with caution.

Using language effectively allows us to deliver messages that in a clear, concise and often beautiful way. We don’t have to use flowery and verbose sentences. We need to know how and when to use the right words. When we can articulate our thoughts and feelings in words, we communicate and we get results. As Albert Einstein said, “make it as simple as possible, but not simpler.”

A colleague, David Hunter pointed me to this YouTube video that demonstrates the power of using the right words – real words, not abbreviations.

Are you challenged with the new text message abbreviations? Does your audience understand them?

Tags: communication tools, web site content, writer, writing | 2 Comments »

Research, research, research – a mantra for writers

Thursday, March 17th, 2011

My first job after university was with the Nova Scotia Museum as a Curatorial Assistant. In that job, research was a part of my daily activity. When I wasn’t cataloguing artifacts, I was conducting research in the archives, or in the records of local historical societies. By using diaries, contemporary newspapers, probate records and correspondence we were able to provide background information for gallery exhibits or to determine appropriate furnishings for a particular historic house or what grew in the garden. I loved the work.

The challenge was to find out all we could about someone, or something and fit that information into a context for a specific audience. In my business today, I use the same research principles when writing articles, white papers, case studies, or website content for specific target markets.

In the museum context, I wrote material for the various age groups of exhibit visitors. Children aged 6-10 years, teens and adults. I also wrote a “Coles Notes” version of the life in 18^th century Nova Scotia to provide some context for historic house guides for sites such as Ross-Thomson House in Shelburne, N.S. I also wrote for a more academic audience with an entry in Volume VI of the Dictionary of Canadian Bilography.

Research was the basis for all that writing and research is the basis of all the writing that I do now. The resources are no longer musty handwritten documents that require deciphering. The skills of understanding what the audience/customer needs, asking questions, seeking out information, keeping notes, organizing and analyzing research material are the same.

Today’s resources

Most of my work today is writing website content. The main information resource is often a one-on-one interview with my customer. At this discovery stage, I digitally record interviews so that I can be sure to grasp the important technical vocabulary and nuances. On second listening the recording often provides new insight. I also take notes but the recording fills in a gap or two.

YouTube provides an immense resource on every imaginable topic. But you must consider the source, its authority, motivation and reliability.

Blogs also provide a great deal of information and advice. I sometimes think of blogs and comments on blogs as the very worst of open line radio talk shows. Everyone has a voice (including me) and not everyone knows of what he speaks! Blogs do give voice to previously unheard contributors. We make careful choices on our listening selection. Every good researcher considers his source.

Similarly, historical research is limited to the documents that have survived. We strive to determine the relevance of the source. Sometimes we don’t know if the writers of these old documents were the nutbars of their time.

In historical research, a primary source such as a diary is always considered preferable. The diary of Anne Frank, for example is a stunning first hand account that delivers colour and context in a way that a history textbook cannot.

Blogs are the 21^st century version of a diary and they can be useful sources of information, opinion and context.

WikiHow and Wikipedia also provide helpful backgrounder information on every topic. Do they speak with the same authority as Encyclopedia Britannica once did? This everyman authentication gives a broader interpretation of the world we live in.

Google search is probably the first place people go to find information. The quantity and quality of information is overwhelming. Organizing the information that you find can be a challenge. Bookmarking tools when used properly are a huge help.

Social bookmarking

Sites such as Del.icio.us can provide useful links to new-to-me information. For a helpful tutorial watch Donna Papacosta’s video about using Del.icio.us to advantage.

Get organized

The two-fold benefit of finding resources that other people are using and organizing your own bookmarks make Del.icio.us a powerful tool.

Uncover the nuggets and write

Research uncovers the nuggets of information that will make your writing glow. Information collected during the research phase provides the foundation for your writing. Research tells you how much more you need to research. That is always the challenge. You need to know when to start writing.

How do you conduct research? What tools do you find the most helpful? How do you organize your notes, interviews, bookmarks?

Tags: articles, blogs, case studies, corporate communications, freelance writing, interviewing, technical writing, web site content, white papers, writing, writing services | 2 Comments »

Collaboration is essential for success

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

No matter the size of your company, it is difficult to work alone and still succeed. As a start-up business or as an established freelance writer, we all have to work, consult and collaborate with others to complete projects. Who is in your network that can help you with the next assignment? Who is in the next cubicle or in the office down the hall with knowledge or skills to help you? What is it that you do best and how can you use your time to the best advantage?

A puzzling collaboration

I once conducted a face-to-face communication seminar for front line managers at a company with about 150 employees. We had three or four teams of managers at the session. We started out discussing the importance of teamwork and pride of accomplishment. Each team picked a name to help them boost team identity. I gave each team a bag full of jigsaw puzzle pieces and told them they had seven minutes to solve all the puzzles. What I did not tell them was that each puzzle had a couple of missing pieces and that the other teams the missing pieces. Unless they collaborated with the other teams, no one could complete a puzzle.

It was fascinating to watch how the exercise unfolded and to slowly see the light dawn. One team realized that they couldn’t solve the puzzle and started looking around the room. They would have to ask another team for help. ONLY by pooling all their resources were they able to solve all the puzzles. Perhaps it was a trite way to make a point. Throughout the day the message was reinforced. Communicate and collaborate for success. Eventually they recognized that in their everyday work as well, not just in this exercise, they needed to engage with others who had essential roles to play.

Collaborative partners supplement your expertise

In my own business providing writing services, my most profitable projects have been ones in which I collaborated with other professionals who complement my skill set. I am a writer and I don’t do page layout, unless the client wants the final product to look like my eighth grade art project. When design and page layout are needed I call a professional graphic designer to provide the quality product my client wants.

I am a writer of web content and I don’t do website design or development. When a client needs web design I call in a professional web site designer to do the job. Or, when web designers have clients that need web content written, they call me. It works both ways.

Collaborators learn from each other

Working on a common challenge with people who are willing and open to share ideas and solutions can be powerful and profitable. I have found that giving and receiving feedback helps me to identify ways to improve and change. It makes us all better at what we do.

Where can you add value to your client’s projects? When is it time to call in reinforcements to meet a deadline or to complete a task where your expertise is lacking? Can you set up a team of experts to enable you to submit proposals for bigger projects?

You’ll have an opportunity to hear about successful collaborations and learn about the depth of expertise in the membership of HPCA at our March 22 Bring and Brag Event.

Tags: collaboration, start-up business, web site content, writer, writing, writing services | No Comments »

Top Ten Reasons Clients Need To Outsource Writing Services

Monday, January 31st, 2011

At a recent networking group meeting I shared these situations and phrases that I have found to be indicators that a company needs writing services.

1. The to-do list is getting unmanageable.

When a small business owner gets overwhelmed with day-to-day tasks, writing new marketing material, a new testimonial story, updating of the website or writing the customer newsletter usually get pushed off the to-do list.

Business owners can concentrate on running the business when they outsource their writing tasks. Professional writers are skilled at coordinating communication tasks, conducting interviews, collecting the required information to distill messages and write the story for the targeted purpose. They can do the job efficiently.

2. I’ve never written anything like this before.

You may have some experience in writing a specific type of content but sometimes business owners fail to recognize the differences in various writing styles. Brochures, web content, white papers, case studies, media releases, corporate video scripts, advertisements, e-newsletters each require a different style and format. A professional writer knows where to start and how to finish the task with clear, concise messaging aimed at the targeted market and in the appropriate style.

3. My first language is not English.

When a business targets a Canadian English audience, they may need some help with editing text to make sure the message is clear, and uses local phrasing and terminology.

4. I’m too close to this subject.

Familiar subject matter gets in the way of defining the real message. The saying “you can’t see the forest for the trees” illustrates your dilemma. You see all the little details, every fern frond and every pine needle without seeing the bigger picture of the forest. A professional writer can bring a fresh set of eyes to help define or find your message and write it for a particular audience. A proofreader can find all the typos that you cannot see because you are too close the material.

5. It’s a big project but it’s still six months away.

When you start a large project, such as a website redesign or a trade show, deadlines seem to be in the distant future. As a result, your everyday work always pushes the big projects back.

A professional writer brought in at the beginning can handle the writing tasks ensuring the project is done well without the stress of trying to do it all at the last minute.

6. We need some planning time but we still have to get the newsletter out.

I actually had a client ask me to step in to finish some writing assignments so that they could take some blue sky moments with staff for a strategic planning session. They came back with plans for the next year and I had the assignments completed. Calling in a writer to take care of the deadline driven projects was an effective use of their resources.

7. I’m bored with this stuff.

When you are simply bored with the material you’re working on generating any kind of reasonable copy is a major challenge. You have no new ideas and you need a fresh perspective. A professional writer can bring the creative burst that you need.

8. It’s time for some fresh ideas.

Professional writers are skilled at thinking outside the cubicle. We work with a variety of clients in a variety of industries. As a result, we are exposed to fresh ideas and creative people who help to generate new points of view, new directions. The enthusiasm that we bring to our clients is contagious.

9. What is my unique message?

You do have a unique story to tell about your product or service and it needs to be told in an enthusiastic and believable way. A professional writer will ask enough of the right questions to draw out the unique message and tell your story in a way that is suitable for print, the web, podcast or video. The underlying message may be the same but the words and style will vary by the method of delivery. You need an independent writing professional to craft your message.

10. We don’t have anyone we can assign full time to this project.

Businesses need flexibility. Writers work by professional standards on an as-needed basis or by project. Generally, we are flexible with time. This is essential to meet our customers’ deadlines. We constantly push boundaries and strive to deliver value to customers. Customers who see value in the work of freelancers are satisfied customers. Satisfied customers provide referrals and that’s the best business we can get.

Tags: brochures, corporate communications, e-newsletters, freelance writing, web site content, writing, writing services | No Comments »

Testimonials are good for business.

Friday, May 28th, 2010

Satisfied customers can do great things for your business. Does your web site content include testimonials? Posting a well-written testimonial story on your website can influence potential buyers. Testimonial stories should quote your customers and demonstrate how you solved a problem or provided a service in a timely and efficient manner. By using stories in this way your potential buyers can see that you have an understanding of issues that they also face. You can add substance to the stories by adding photos of installations or video interviews with customers. Of course, it’s always nice to have testimonials from customers with big names that are recognizable in your industry.

Here at our house we recently had dealings with a young landscaping contractor. He is really nice guy (let’s call him Tommy) and he seemed to understand exactly what we wanted to have done. In looking at his web site, I thought it needed a little help but he seemed to know what he was talking about when it came to patio stones and decks. I was thinking that after he had finished the work to our satisfaction, I could write a testimonial story that he could put on his web site. Satisfied customers are the best recommendation you can get.

After doing our homework on three contractors, we got quotes and checked references. We hired a Tommy’s Landscaping to build a small deck and patio, and to rebuild an old patio and walkway. It is a LONG story.

Just think what this story might have looked liked.

Tommy’s Landscaping team showed up on time and started in immediately cutting the sod for the new patio. In no time, they were levelling the gravel and started laying the new pavers. They re-graded the bed for the old patio to ensure there were no low spots and to make it slope away from the house. They were careful not to disturb the buried PVC water pipe and took special care of our flower beds and grass. We love the new deck and the patio. Tommy’s team cleaned up the property when they were finished so it looked undisturbed. Best of all, we were able to use the patio on the holiday weekend, as planned.

That’s the story I wanted to write, but Tommy’s Landscaping will not get a testimonial from us. I am now convinced that the references that we called must have been the contractor’s brother and sister.

He did not communicate to his team what was to do be done. His workers were unskilled and untrained. His carpenter did not know how to measure nor did he know how to cut a board straight. I will give him credit. He willingly sent his team back four times to fix, repair, and redo work that was not acceptable. We are left to repair a buried the PVC hose connection that was nicked by a shovel in (so far) three places!

How do you use testimonials and recommendations in your business? Do you ask your customers to write testimonials for you?

Tags: corporate communications, testimonial stories, web site content, writing services | 2 Comments »