From the daily archives: Friday, February 12, 2010
More and more writers are finding it easier to write newspaper articles compared to writing feature stories and articles for the web. This is because the rules in writing news articles are well-defined. As long you follow them, there is no way that you’re going to get lost in the process.
Here are the steps to take in order to create a compelling news article:
1. Choose your stories. What are you going to write about? When deciding on your topic, make sure that you consider the newspaper where your articles will be published and the people that you’re serving. For example, if you’re writing for broadsheets, you must consider writing about more serious issues that are happening around you. You can talk about politics, the economy, etc. However, if you’re writing for tabloids, you can focus on writing police reports, entertainment, and sports.
2. Use the inverted pyramid technique. Take that extra mile to make sure that your audience will read your articles until the end. It would help if you write your articles using the inverted pyramid technique. This simply means giving them the most important information on your lead or first paragraph and giving out supporting details on the succeeding paragraphs.
3. Write with clarity. Always keep in mind that you’re main goal in writing your articles is to inform or educate your readers. So, don’t make it too difficult for these people to understand the stories that you’re covering. Always use those terms that your audience can easily understand and if possible, incorporate relevant images or visuals.
Author: Sean R Mize
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Make PCB Assembly
Complaint letters aren’t always fun, but sometimes they need
to be written. In many cases, if people don’t complain, the
problem agency at fault (i.e. company or government) won’t
even know that the problem that you and others may have
experienced even exists.
Ultimately, legitimate complaints, by even a few people,
can (and often do) result in better service for everybody.
Not only that, writing complaint letters can be personally
beneficial too!
That’s right. Writing complaint letters can be an empowering
and therapeutic experience! It allows one to take action
instead of playing the role of a victim and “nursing” an
ongoing resentment towards a company about poor service or
treatment received. Once the complaint letter is written and
in the mail one can “let it go” knowing that one has done
something tangible and constructive about the situation.
Not only that, but properly written and handled complaint
letters get action!
After I started writing complaint letters, I began receiving
gracious letters of apology and contrition from senior
executives including bank vice-presidents and VPs of
marketing for giant corporations.
Getting those in the mail, felt one heck of a lot better
than “polishing” an ongoing resentment and getting even
angrier the next time something bad happened. Sometimes I
even get discount coupons and free merchandise!
THE 10 SECRETS
Here are some strategies I have learned for writing
complaint letters guaranteed to get attention and action.
1. Write To The Senior Person Responsible
It is important that you get the name and detailed mailing
address of a very senior person responsible for the product
or service that you are complaining about. I generally try
to write to the V.-P. level. Never go below Director level
if you want a serious response. Name and address information
can be obtained from the organization’s Web site or by
calling the company and asking for the name and title of
the senior person who you should write to.
2. Don’t Send An E-Mail
When it comes to sending a serious complaint letter to a
company or the government, don’t send an e-mail, regardless
of what it may say on their Web site. E-mails are usually
handled dismissively by low level “customer service” people.
If you want serious attention and action, the formal written
complaint letter is the only way to go. When it arrives in
the VP’s office (yes, by snail mail!), it triggers a
bureaucratic process that ensures that the right people
will see your letter, and will act on it.
3. Keep It As Short As Possible
Preferably no longer than one page, two at the most. When
drafting a complaint letter there can be a tendency to go
on and on just to make sure the recipient gets the point.
Keep it as short as possible, but without diluting the facts
of your message too much.
4. Give It A Heading For Identification
Place a heading at the top of the letter with information
that the company or agency will relate to, such as your
account number or customer number. Make it easy for them
to find you on their computer filing system.
5. Clearly Explain The Situation
Make sure that you give all of the specific details needed
so that the company or agency can verify your claim without
you having to get into an endless game of telephone tag with
them. Include specific dates, times and places, as well as
the names of people you dealt with. If you’re not sure of
these details when composing the letter, call them back and
ask for the specifics. (You don’t have to say it’s for a
complaint letter).
6. Use A Positive And Respectful Tone
I have found that the best approach is to use a positive
upbeat tone. Remember, you are writing to a senior person
who probably sympathizes with what happened to you. Your
tone should convey the message that you are the innocent
victim and you understand that the company wouldn’t have
done such a thing deliberately.
7. Send Copies If Appropriate
There can be cases where it is wise to send a copy of the
letter to other parties just to make sure that you will get
some serious action. For example, in a case where you have
been told to write to the Regional Manager of a program, it
is often a good idea to make sure that someone in head
office also gets a copy. I sometimes send a copy to customer
service or customer relations offices at the national level.
8. “Shame” Them As Much As Possible
Companies that claim and advertise high levels of customer
focus and service do not like to be criticized in those
areas. If you have a strong case that makes them vulnerable
in one of these areas, use as much ammunition as you can to
embarrass them in these sensitive areas. Modern marketing
terms such as: customer relationship management (CRM),
one-to-one marketing, most valuable customer (MVC), and
customer-centric focus, all tend to get their attention.
Also, using such terms makes you sound like an authority.
9. Imply You Might Take Your Business Elsewhere
I always do this near the closing. Companies don’t like to
lose customers, especially long-time customers. Senior
marketing people are well aware that study after study has
shown that it costs five to seven times as much to recruit
a new customer as it does to hold on to an existing one.
10. Ask For An Early Reply
In the closing paragraph of your complaint letter, state
specifically that you are expecting an early reply. Make
sure that you follow-up by phone or e-mail if you have
heard nothing in three weeks. Some companies will send you
an acknowledgement letter stating that they are working on
your case and will get back to you within a week or two.
Use the above strategies and you are sure to get action
from your complaint letters. And, don’t forget the old
truism “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”!
To see a fully-formatted “real-life template” of a letter
of complaint, go to the following link:
http://writinghelp-central.com/complaint-letter.html
© 2005 by Shaun Fawcett
Author: Shaun Fawcett
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Benefits of electric pressure cooker
Learning a skill takes time. Becoming very good at it takes even longer. To become a very good technical writer you need to:
- Learn the necessary technical writing skills
- Practice these skills on a daily basis to keep them sharp
It’s easy to get complacent once you have settled into a good paying technical writing job. Or have developed a successful freelance technical writing business.
The daily duties and responsibilities of the job keep you occupied. Complacency sets in. And your technical writing skills are not as sharp as they used to be. This will have a negative effect on the quality of your documents and projects.
To avoid this, you must practice your technical writing skills as often as you can – ideally on a daily basis.
How to practice technical writing on a daily basis
Follow these five steps to keep your technical writing skills sharp and up to date:
- Set aside time every day and call this your technical writing practice time. It could be 30 – 60 minutes. Give this time its deserved importance. Don’t let emails, phone calls, friends, family and co-workers distract you.
- Take a manual, process, procedure, proposal, or brochure and study it. Think about the target audience and what the writer was trying to communicate.
- Next, think about how you could make it better. Is there something the writer missed? Or is there a place where you could insert some user feedback?
- Rewrite it. Include anything you think might make the document more specific and/or user friendly. It may be that the original document was precise and you will not need to modify it. Or the original document may be confusing and you may have to rewrite it completely.
- Do this little exercise on a regular basis.
There are three advantages of this daily exercise:
- By writing everyday you will keep practicing your technical writing skills.
- You will learn something new every day – about processes, products, current trends, writing styles and formats.
- You can use the writing you do as writing samples and include them in your portfolio.
Besides the above exercise, you can subscribe to technical manuals and publications specific to the industry you’re currently working in. And we here at TWTK will be sending you useful and relevant information every week.
Think of your technical writing skills like a set of knives. Each knife’s blade must maintain its sharpness to be effective. Only then will it cut precisely.
Author: Bryan S. Adar
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: PCB Prototype & Manufacturing
Looking for writing jobs? They’re everywhere online; writers are in high demand. But do remember that you need to protect yourself – let’s look at five easy ways you can avoid disaster.
1. Check out the Prospect out on the Web
Your first step should always be to check out the prospect. This can help you to avoid a lot of hassle down the line.
Did you know that many writing “jobs” are posted as a form of spam? Sleazy marketers use them to get people to Web sites and click on a link, or to provide or contact details, or in some other way make money for the poster.
So whenever you look at a job ad, both on the Web and offline, ask yourself: “Is this company legitimate?”
If you have doubts about the bona fides of the company, or the individual posting the job ad, then don’t apply. Use common sense, and always remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it is.
2. Read the Project Description Carefully and Ask Questions
Assuming the job ad has passed your legitimacy test, read the project description carefully. This is vital. Over the years I’ve posted ads myself looking for writers, and a full 80 per cent don’t follow the instructions in the ad.
Always read the description, read the instructions, and then follow the instructions to the letter.
Here’s a tip I give my writing students – ask questions. If there’s no way to ask the job poster questions, then pass the ad by. You need to know how responsive the poster will be when and if he becomes a client.
Now, assuming the job poster wants to hire you, you need to rewrite the project description in your own words.
3. Rewrite the Project in Your Own Words and Add It to the Agreement
Do you have a writing services agreement? It’s essential. You can find templates on the Web, or create your own. Add the rewritten project description to the templates, and send it to the job poster.
Why rewrite? So you know exactly what the job entails – it ensures both you and the job poster are on the same page.
If the poster sends you an agreement, read it carefully, and strike out any clause you don’t agree with.
4. Request Payment on Agreement – 50 Per Cent if You Have Writing Credits
Assuming you have writing credits (you’ve been paid for your writing and are experienced), always get a deposit.
If you’re a completely new writer, many buyers will baulk at paying you anything up front; that’s fine, write anyway, you need the experience. But once you have writing credits, get a deposit.
5. Hit Your Milestones, and Follow up With the Client
Always meet your deadlines. In a long project, meet the milestones, and insist that the client meets theirs. Clients get busy at times, and you’ll need to follow up with them, so do it. Communicate – communication is the secret of happy writing relationships.
Author: Angela Booth
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Programmable Multi-cooker
To write fiction is to dream on paper. What a poetic thought. But it is not far from the reality of fiction writing. In few other forms of writing is the author freer to express their imagination and personal ideology than in this “make-believe” realm of work. There is a distinction, of course, between fiction writing and fairy tales.
While all fairy tales and make believe are fiction, good fiction is just as easily based upon fact. The mixture of fact and fantasy makes for a good story with parameters in which the readers mind can more easily find and follow the direction of the plot. Good fiction writing is made up as much of solid reality as it is of self-made myth.
Any fictitious work is a compilation of words. These words are strung together to form sentences. Then, the threads of the sentences are woven into paragraphs. Like any story or plot, there is sequence and a formula that is required as much for the writer as for the reader. If the plot evolves over a period of time, then a time-line must be followed. If there are numerous characters, a character map with information on each might be needed just for the author to keep track of them. Because so much of the story does not exist in factual reference, the author’s notes become, in and of themselves, a sort of research material. And all of this work brings you a story, a fairy tale or a novel about places that may exist and people who might live in them, or maybe animals or talking trees. The field of fiction writing is not limited by the guidelines of reality.
Still, to succeed in fiction writing, you will need the same basic skills as any writer who employs the word as their craft. Your spelling should be correct, or at least consistent. The grammar and punctuation requirements are no less stringent for the fiction writer. And the continuity or flow of the story, often times, needs to be more finely tuned. Remember, you are asking the reader to delve into his or her own imagination to follow your lead. Your words, therefore, must be apt guides. This allows the reader to follow you through every twist and turn of the tale and arrive at the same ending, which in fiction writing, is not always a happily ever after situation. To read more please visit http://www.contentcreatorz.com/category/blog/.
Author: Maira Sarfraz
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Electric Pressure Cooker
Can Quick Grammar Guide & Checker solve our grammar writing problems once and for all? English writing is one of the most important forms of communication today, it is necessary to maintain it correct and professional. Let’s take a look and see how recent technological improvements can help us on improving our writing skills.
Quick introduction
What is Quick Grammar Guide & Checker all about? Well, it is one of these innovative solutions that technology keeps bringing in order to make our life easier – in our case it is about fixing our English writing. By simulating the human mind, this technology analyzes your writing by comparing it to a dynamic large database that contains proper variations of your text. Sophisticated language processing solutions usually offer the following: editing and proofreading, checking on spelling and typos, and most importantly – analyzing our grammar writing.
Important benefits
We can easily find several important advantages while using this technology:
* Significantly enhancing the capabilities of our existing text editors.
* Improving our self confidence with our writing.
* Improving the image we want to project through our writing.
Extra research on this solution would probably bring up additional benefits that aren’t mentioned here, as this important webmarketing technique keeps changing, bringing us fresh solutions that help us on improving our English writing and editing skills.
Quick summary
If we summarize the main benefit provided by this powerful Quick Grammar Guide & Checker – it is helping us on identifying possible writing errors before we deliver or publish our writing assignments. Everyone agrees that it cannot completely eliminate our writing problems; however, it can significantly help us on improving our writing skills. Undoubtedly we can expect this exciting technology to further develop itself, for one simple reason: writing is one of the most important tools that help us achieving many of our goals.
Author: Gil Lavitov
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Programmable pressure cooker
Can Quick Grammar Guide & Checker solve our grammar writing problems once and for all? English writing is one of the most important forms of communication today, it is necessary to maintain it correct and professional. Let’s take a look and see how recent technological improvements can help us on improving our writing skills.
Quick introduction
What is Quick Grammar Guide & Checker all about? Well, it is one of these innovative solutions that technology keeps bringing in order to make our life easier – in our case it is about fixing our English writing. By simulating the human mind, this technology analyzes your writing by comparing it to a dynamic large database that contains proper variations of your text. Sophisticated language processing solutions usually offer the following: editing and proofreading, checking on spelling and typos, and most importantly – analyzing our grammar writing.
Important benefits
We can easily find several important advantages while using this technology:
* Significantly enhancing the capabilities of our existing text editors.
* Improving our self confidence with our writing.
* Improving the image we want to project through our writing.
Extra research on this solution would probably bring up additional benefits that aren’t mentioned here, as this important webmarketing technique keeps changing, bringing us fresh solutions that help us on improving our English writing and editing skills.
Quick summary
If we summarize the main benefit provided by this powerful Quick Grammar Guide & Checker – it is helping us on identifying possible writing errors before we deliver or publish our writing assignments. Everyone agrees that it cannot completely eliminate our writing problems; however, it can significantly help us on improving our writing skills. Undoubtedly we can expect this exciting technology to further develop itself, for one simple reason: writing is one of the most important tools that help us achieving many of our goals.
Author: Gil Lavitov
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: How Electric Pressure Cookers Work
Online businesses need one thing to succeed. Traffic. If no one’s looking at your site, no one’s going to buy anything from you. There are many ways that you can increase traffic to your site, and one of these is by hiring a freelance writer. Freelance writers can actually help you make more money. The fact is, most freelance writers are experienced in the field of helping their clients earn a lot more money. This is because freelance writers have developed an understanding of what potential customers want to see. This includes information, truth, benefits and reasons. There are several ways a freelance writer can help you.
Sales Letters – By hiring a freelance writer to create sales letters for you, you have the chance to gain a LOT of customers. A sales letter is a letter that gives information about your site, what products your site features, the benefits of these products, and usually a short bio of the seller. By having sales letters at your disposal, you have the potential to gain a ton of customers. Simply send them out and wait for your traffic to increase.
Web content – Okay, you’ve succeeded in getting customers to your site, but now you have to get them to purchase from you. Hiring a freelance writer to produce pieces for your front page will greatly increase your chances of selling your items. As I’ve said, freelance writers know what your potential customers want to know. By reading a really great piece that explains the benefits of certain products, the explanation of the products, and why they should purchase, your customers are more likely to want to buy.
Articles – When a freelance writer creates a really great article for you, your chances of having much more traffic increase. Submit your article to article directories with your link, and you will have another great way to pull potential customers to your site. Why use a freelancer for these articles? Because freelancers are experienced in using keywords, phrases, and information that will peek your potential customer’s curiosity, and make them want to click on the link to your site.
Press Releases – Another great way a freelancer can boost up your customer numbers. Send these out to people, and get the word out about your business. The freelancer will highlight what you are selling, why they should consider visiting your site, the potential benefits of using your products, and a bio on you.
Using all of these available ways to boost up your traffic will increase your sales and help you make money. Find a great freelancer to help you today!
Author: Samantha Cummings
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Smart cooker
Online businesses need one thing to succeed. Traffic. If no one’s looking at your site, no one’s going to buy anything from you. There are many ways that you can increase traffic to your site, and one of these is by hiring a freelance writer. Freelance writers can actually help you make more money. The fact is, most freelance writers are experienced in the field of helping their clients earn a lot more money. This is because freelance writers have developed an understanding of what potential customers want to see. This includes information, truth, benefits and reasons. There are several ways a freelance writer can help you.
Sales Letters – By hiring a freelance writer to create sales letters for you, you have the chance to gain a LOT of customers. A sales letter is a letter that gives information about your site, what products your site features, the benefits of these products, and usually a short bio of the seller. By having sales letters at your disposal, you have the potential to gain a ton of customers. Simply send them out and wait for your traffic to increase.
Web content – Okay, you’ve succeeded in getting customers to your site, but now you have to get them to purchase from you. Hiring a freelance writer to produce pieces for your front page will greatly increase your chances of selling your items. As I’ve said, freelance writers know what your potential customers want to know. By reading a really great piece that explains the benefits of certain products, the explanation of the products, and why they should purchase, your customers are more likely to want to buy.
Articles – When a freelance writer creates a really great article for you, your chances of having much more traffic increase. Submit your article to article directories with your link, and you will have another great way to pull potential customers to your site. Why use a freelancer for these articles? Because freelancers are experienced in using keywords, phrases, and information that will peek your potential customer’s curiosity, and make them want to click on the link to your site.
Press Releases – Another great way a freelancer can boost up your customer numbers. Send these out to people, and get the word out about your business. The freelancer will highlight what you are selling, why they should consider visiting your site, the potential benefits of using your products, and a bio on you.
Using all of these available ways to boost up your traffic will increase your sales and help you make money. Find a great freelancer to help you today!
Author: Samantha Cummings
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Pressure cooker
Ive been in publishing since 1987, have been a freelancer since 1993 and ran an editorial staffing agency in New York City from 1996 through 2004.
Over the years, Ive noticed that successful freelancers, eg, those who make their living entirely from freelancing (writing, editing, copywriting, web design, etc.), have the following seven traits in common.
1. Write/design every day: Many freelancers are drawn to their particular career because they love it. They love to write, design, draw whatever it is, they would do it for free.
Once they decide to freelance full time, most work at it every day. They write articles, design sites, doodle illustrations, etc. In other words, they dont stop working on their craft just because there is no paying client.
Benefit to their career: These professionals always have a body of work to sell, show, update their portfolio with, etc. Beyond that, it keeps their skills fresh and allows them to work that much faster once they are being paid for a project.
As a personal example, when I first started to write articles to promote my business, it would take upwards of two hours to complete one. Now, I can knock one out in 30 minutes if I have to.
Side Note: I have run across more than a few freelancers who dont exactly love what they do. BUT, because they like the life of freelancing, they discipline themselves to do what it takes, eg, (work at it steadily) to make a living at it.
2. Dont wait for markets to come to them: Building on this first habit, when you are constantly churning out new material, you dont have to wait for clients to come to you, you can pitch to them.
If youve written a great article on the benefits of yoga, why wait for a national exercise magazine to take months to get back to you. Pitch your local newspaper journalist who covers health. Youll usually know within a week or two if they can use your story.
Your neighborhood paper cant use it? Pitch the neighboring countys newspaper, a popular e-zine dedicated to womens health, a new health website that needs fresh content, etc.
Successful freelancers are this proactive. When I was recruiting, I was constantly amazed at the type of assignments successful freelancers were able to ferret out for themselves.
When Id ask, How did you get that assignment, come up with that idea?, the comments ranged from, I couldnt sleep last night so I start doing some digging online because I just wrote this great article and wanted to get it published, to I was just doodling and came upon this great design; I knew it would make a great logo for this niche, so I put it on a t-shirt and pitched a few boutiques in my neighborhood
Successful freelancers are not only creative in their work, theyre creative in how they locate markets to sell their work.
3. Have more than one stream of income: By this, I do not mean that they have second jobs. Most successful freelancers do more than one thing.
For example, a writer may design a line of themed t-shirts with their witticisms on them. Illustrators, in addition to creating logos, may sell paintings or drawings. Web designers may also create online games.
I dont know how many more brain cells creative types use than the rest of the population, but editorial and creative professionals usually dibble and dabble in more than one sector and quite successfully I might add.
4. Have a niche: While this may seem to contradict the previous habit, it doesnt. Most successful freelancers do one thing and do it very well. Eg, they are a medical writer, a direct mail copywriter, a web designer.
This is because successful freelancers usually have a professional background in the discipline in which they freelance. Usually, they have built up a reputation and client list based on their expertise/experience.
Benefit to their career: This works well because once clients are comfortable with you on one level, you can approach them about doing other types of projects. In some cases, they will even approach you.
For example, if you are a web designer, you can approach a client about doing some logo design work. Most web designers are familiar with other tools of the trade like logo design software, that makes it easy for them to offer peripheral services to clients.
In the retail trade, this is known as upselling. BUT, you can only upsell if you have established a level of trust and professionalism in your base (niche) skill.
5. Have a website: Without fail, all successful freelancers have at least a basic website. They realize the need to present a professional image to clients and have invested in an online presence.
Every once in a while, I am still asked by those just starting out if they need a website. Invariably, I ask, Would you do business without a telephone? I think websites have progressed to this point.
Benefit to their career: Websites save freelancers time which is at a premium if you are a successful freelancer. You can direct potential clients there to see samples of your work, get pricing info, your professional credentials, your client list, etc. Many times, this is how clients will find you to begin with.
So, is having a website a must to succeed as a freelancer? In my opinion, absolutely. And, it doesnt have to be fancy and cost a fortune. Most web surfers are seeking information.
A basic site will serve your purposes just fine. Just make sure it is professional looking, is easy to navigate, is free from grammatical errors and has your contact info on every page (or a Contact Us button on every page).
6. Are savvy & consistent marketers: Revisiting habit three, successful freelancers are masters of marketing their services. They have to be.
When you are a freelancer, you have to remain hungry for the next assignment, the next gig. By being proactive and consistent marketers, successful freelancers dont wait for one project to be done before looking for the next one.
To this end, these professionals use many marketing tools (free and paid) to get the word out about their business, eg, search engine optimization, article marketing, press releases, e-book giveaways, speaking engagements, seminars, workshops, etc.
In other words, successful freelancers treat their careers like a start-up business which is what freelancing really is.
7. Put in much more than 40 hours/week: Face it, you may be able to go to the grocery store at 2pm when everyone else is stuck in an office, but you probably didnt log off until 2am, finishing up a project for a client who needed it at the last minute.
Freelancing is not a static career. Sometimes you will have weeks with nothing to do and then you will get slammed with three or four projects at once. Its some type of weird Murphys law at work.
Projects never come when you want or need them too. They invariable come at the most inopportune time (eg, when your kid is sick, when YOURE sick, two days before vacation, on a Friday afternoon and needed by Monday).
So, while you may be able to work in your jammies you may also not be able to go to the beach, hang out with your friends as much, take the afternoon off. Like anything in life, its a trade-off (a worthwhile one in my opinion).
Just know, while your time may be your own, it will be on an unconventional schedule.
Author: Yuwanda Black
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: WordPress plugin Guest Blogger
About
The Writers' Corner is dedicated to providing the tips and resources required for developing a career as a professional writer.Stuff We Like