Resume Writing

Resume writing is an art. You will have to master this art in order to land up with a plum job. Your resume must be your unique masterpiece. Resume writing has undergone lots of changes and has evolved over the time. Resume writing is no longer about telling your degrees and qualifications, rather the resume should speak about the ‘real you’ on the paper, in your absence.

While writing your resume do not follow the tested routes. Try to incorporate something new. Your resume could be your ticket to your awaiting success and recognition. Your resume presents you to the prospective hirer. So take note as to how you would like to present yourself to a prospective employer.

A job offer attracts hundreds of resumes. The prospective employer has a pile of resumes stacked up in front of him. No employer has the time or the patience to go through the hundreds of resumes they receive daily. The prospective employer will just glance through all these resumes. If you have a well-written resume, it will instinctively attract the employer’s attention. Yes! It is possible to get a special attention to your resume even among the piling resumes. Remember, a well-written resume always attracts attention.

Your resume is not a historical account of your past. It should concentrate on your job history. Never write a resume reluctantly. You should not write it just for the sake of securing a job. You should use a real enthusiasm while writing it. Your resume reveals your state of mind to the employer.

Take care to write your resume according to the nature of the job you are seeking out. The resume should not contain unnecessary details about your other qualifications that are not required for the job applied. Be crisp in giving out information about the type of job you are seeking and the type of job you have experience at.

Before you start writing a resume be sure about the career path you want to follow. If you yourself are not sure about it then you will go nowhere. You will end up confusing your prospective employer thereby minimizing your chances of getting hired. Maybe this employer was the one you have always dreamt of being worked with. Just because you do not have a good resume you will end up losing the lifetime opportunity.

You must follow some basic rules of resume writing. The resume should be accurate and contain only the necessary and desired information. There should be uniformity in the use of capital letters, italics, bullets and underline. Your resume should be flawless. Your names, address, phone number and email address should always be mentioned at the top. Focus on all your strengths with the correct usage of grammar and syntax of language. Your resume should be eye catching.

Remember your resume can make or break your career. Spend quality time in constructing your resume. Master the art of resume writing. After all it’s your own masterpiece and a ticket to the bright future awaiting you.

Writing Course

How Online Courses Work

Anyone who chooses to become a writer in any category of writing would benefit greatly by opting to do an online writing course. While they work at honing their writing skills they could simultaneously be working at another career or even completely another online course in the same or even a different subject.

Online courses are a boon to students everywhere for a number of reasons. Students enrolling in online courses have the freedom and flexibility to complete a course at their convenience from anywhere in the world. All the projects, assignments, tests and quizzes are completed online and all communication with their online teachers is via instant message, e-mail and in some cases by phone too.

Advantages of Online Writing Courses

Online writing courses are becoming increasingly popular among people all over the world who are looking for an ideal way to express their thoughts such as novelists and fiction or non-fiction writers or for those who need to report real-life incidents such as journalists and historians.

Online learning is a boon to students whose career timings conflict with traditional school hours or those who have trouble concentrating on school work in conventional settings. All you need to complete an online writing course is a creative mind, a computer and an Internet connection.

Choosing an Online Writing Course

Lots of organizations offering online writing courses, however selecting a good one would require a lot of time spent on research and inquiry. Many online writing courses promise big advantages and it is easy to fall for these big claims. However thorough research should be done before enrolling for any online writing course.

There are a few points you would have to consider before enrolling for any online writing course:

Make sure the course has teachers who have the necessary qualification and experience in different kinds of writing.

Make sure the student-teacher ratio is low so that you can get the attention and help from the teacher when you need it.

Make sure that the course has competent teachers who are enthusiastic about assessing the work of budding writers and ready to lend a helping hand when required.

Different online writing courses offer different courses and different methods of teaching them. Make sure that both of these suit your requirements.

Check if the online writing course offers extra assistance to students by letting you communicate directly with teachers during office hours for any help you may require.
Types of Writing Courses

There are many different types of online writing courses available including:

Nonfiction Writing
Fiction Writing
Novel Writing
Feature Writing
Travel Writing
Screenwriting
Children's Book Writing
Memoir Writing
Poetry Writing
Science Fiction Writing
Business Writing
Writing Course Opportunities

A writing course is usually designed to help in developing writing skills for:

Creative Writers- story-writers, poets, lyricists, novelists

Professional Writers- copywriters, scriptwriters, journalists, speech writers

Teachers- all unit areas, primary, secondary, tertiary

Publishers
Editors
Historians
Educators
Communicators

Writing Prompts: Who Needs This Writing Help?

Writing prompts can offer tremendous writing help for writers at every level of experience and expertise. Who can use writing prompts?

Beginners can use writing prompts to help them learn and grow as writers as well as gain valuable experience in the craft. The only sure way to improve your writing is to write regularly and prompts can help you sharpen your skills on a regular basis. Perfection will never be in your writing future, but it is very true that regular practice is the only way to improve your work. While you may have a long list of ideas and projects to work on you may also want to employ prompts from time to time to fill in the gaps in your schedule.

Experienced writers can use writing prompts to stretch their writing muscles to prepare for their writing assignments or each day's work. They can also use exercises and prompts to create a swipe file of ideas for future reference.

Professional writers can use writing prompts to give them a creative jump start when necessary and to experiment with other forms of writing. If you feel your work is going stale or that you need some inspiration, then using prompts can make a huge difference in your creativity and overall work.

All writers can use writing prompts with writer's block and improving their work. No matter what level your word craft may be, every writer experiences some form of writer's block from time to time. Forcing yourself to write through it with a series of prompts can be a very effective way to tear down your writer's block. Many times we fall into a rut with our work and writing prompts can challenge us out of that rut. This stretching can greatly improve your writing. Every day, week, month and year that you work on your craft you improve as a writer.

Whether you are a beginning, experienced, or professional writer you can use writing prompts to help you improve your word craft.

MLA Writing Style Vs APA Writing Style

My paper is due! Which writing style should I use?

It happens to quite a few people in the wee hours of the morning just before assignments are due. Quotes are checked, sources verified, word limit exceeded, then, one comes to a screeching halt, “Papers should be formatted according to the MLA or APA style”. And so begins a frenzied computer research on the two writing styles.

MLA writing style

The MLA (Modern Language Association) requires that specific rules be followed for formatting manuscripts. It provides writers with a proper system to cite references, the usage of which enhances the writer’s credibility by listing outside sources in order to give recognition where it is due. One advantage of the MLA format is that it provides the user protection from possible accusation of plagiarism.

General Guidelines for MLA writing style

- When preparing a paper using the MLA writing style, general format guidelines must be adhered to as well as the technical rules of citation and bibliography.

- Assignments are to be typed on pages no larger that 8.5 x 11, double spaced, with either Times New Roman font, or Courier.

- One space must be inserted between all punctuation marks.

- Margins must be set to one inch on all sides of the paper.

- All paragraphs must be indented one inch (one tab) from the left margin of the page.

- Headers must be inserted on each page in the upper right hand corner displaying the page numbers of the essay consecutively (some instructors will ask that a student’s last name follow the page number on each page).

- If endnotes are included in your work, they must be placed on the last page, right before your works cited page.

For a more detailed look at the rules regarding end notes, in-text citations or works cited (multiple authors, electronic sources, periodicals, etc.), there are resources available online and in print that will aid you with this writing style. Some excellent print titles for reference material are: MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (6th edition), and MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (2nd edition). For those who have internet access, all MLA writing style rules can be found on a site built by the people at Owl at Purdue - http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/.

At all times, it is equally important to strictly follow your professor’s instructions on the use of long titles, the need to emphasize with underlines or italics and other personal choices. Careful attention must be paid to every detail so as to prevent loss of marks in the grading process.

APA writing style

APA (American Psychological Association) is a writing style that is generally used within the realm of the social sciences. As in the case of the MLA writing style, the APA has a list of general format guidelines as well as a list of rules pertaining to paragraph structure.

General Guidelines for APA writing style

All essays written in the APA writing style should be structured in accordance to the following guidelines:

- Assignments must be typed double-spaced on 8.5 x 11 inch pages.

- The title page must include bylines, titles, or running headers.

- Page numbers must be included (similar to MLA) followed by 5 spaces, then an abridged version (2 words) of the paper’s title.

- Some instructors require students to prepare an abstract which is a 75 to 100 word overview of the chosen topic highlighting the major points of discussion in the paper. It must be set up on its own page with the word “Abstract” centered at the top of the page, and placed right after the title page.

- Headings are not specifically necessary but can be helpful in navigating through a paper. Every word of the heading must be capitalized with the exception of articles such as ‘the’, ‘a’, and ‘an’, and certain conjunctions such as ‘and’, and ‘but’.

- Visuals such as tables and figures including graphs, charts, and drawings may be included; however, each must be labeled with an Arabic numeral i.e. Table 1, Table 2, etc.. Titles must be flush left, each inserted illustration must include its source.

- Lists of all references must be included on its own page at the end of your written work. Each reference should be centered, starting at the top of the page (also double spaced) and listed in alphabetical order according to the authors last name, editor, or by the title of the work (excluding the words A, An, and The)

Writing For Writing

Writers writing about writing may seem to be a highly conceited act. Since I am not reeaaally a writer, or at least I don't claim myself to be one, I guess me giving tips on writing can be taken casually. Preferably be taken with a pinch of salt. I may not have contributed much to the world of print but I do know a thing or two about being a connoisseur for writing. Apart from blogging and writing articles currently, I used to write award winning poems and short stories during my earlier days. Overtime everyone develops a style of doing something; anything. For writing, I know I have a certain style by now, though there is way too much room for polishing up.

The initial stage is the creative process which is something that we do not need to understand. There is nothing to understand because creativity does not have to make sense.

Creativity starts with a feeling. The kind of feeling to do something on an instinct. Artists, just like writers, start off by doing a piece of work randomly. It may not make any sense for a start, but at most times it triggers off a new idea in the artist's mind to create something creative. Same thing happens to writers, initial works may be shown the path to recycle bins but end up being useful by sparking off something of value in the writer's mind. Probably that is why recycle bins are named as such, to be recycled. Anyway, once we get an idea, we have to grab it quickly, just like grabbing a seat in an extremely crowded bus, and hold on to it in order to use it.

The creative process may seem complex. To ease the complexity we can simply develop the good old habit of reading. Actually not can, but we should read. Unless we read, we can't write. It is as simple as it gets.

The next simple, or maybe not so simple, task is to write frequently. As frequently as possible as much as time permits. Okay that seemed like a redundant statement but you get the point. The more we write the lesser the chances of getting a writer's block. When I mention writer's block, I don't mean getting some column to write in a magazine but I am refering to a mental block in terms of writing. The more we write, the more we learn to write in a fluid manner and develop a style of our own along the way if we have not got one already.

As we continue writing, we will slowly discover our voice. When that happens, we get to know about ourselves better.

Oh and one more thing, of course the nitty gritty details like grammar and spelling errors have to be avoided. That's right, totally avoided. For people like me *ahem*, it has become a habit long ago but that is because I made sure I was conscious of that. Proofreading is of high importance. Proofreading one more time after proofreading is of high recommendation. Most people don't enjoy it but fortunately I do.

Speaking of which, I just got to know some time back that there is actually a job for proofreading alone. Hmm, I am seriously considering it. Anyway, if you find the above useful, try it. If you don't, hmm, try it anyway because there is something to be gained along the way I am sure.

Tips On Writing A Killer Sales Letter

Writing a sales letter doesn’t have to be that difficult all you need is the right writing style and some tips to knock out a killer sales letter

Benefits The first thing you need to do is focus on the benefits the reader will find useful. Tell the reader what’s in it for him. Promise them increased sales, better skin, better results in writing a resume or whatever it is that you’re selling. Tell them how your product can help them. Don’t beat around the bush and get right to the point. Stick to benefits, facts and features. Whatever you do don’t be vague it will turn them off.

Give additional benefits. Show additional value other than main benefit. Give product/service features. Support benefit promises with product/service facts. Show how your company will help him. Don’t start sounding arrogant and brag.

Writing Style: An emphasis should be placed on “you” and not “I”. Use words like you and your, so that the reader feels you are writing for him. Write clearly. Make sure your reader doesn’t have to think about what you’re saying. Your main points must be understood immediately. Make yourself believable. Make sure your claims or representations appear to be realistic and believable. Don’t promise a 200% increase in sales because most people won’t believe it even if it’s true! You must be able to back up your claims. Use repetition; repeat benefits throughout letter. Present the same ideas and benefits in different ways.

Ask for action. Ask the reader to place an order, return the sales envelope or the sales card or phone for more information. Give reasons to act now. For example: Make your offer time sensitive a limited supply, two-week sale, and special purchase. Most sales letters fail to do this.

Understand that people are emotionally motivated. They want to:

1. Make more money
2. Save money
3. Do a good job
4. Experience love
5. Have a satisfying home life
6. Get something for free
7. Look good

Use simple graphics to get the reader’s attention:

1. Bullets
2. Dashes
3. Check boxes
4. Numbers
5. Asterisks

Some Things To Remember When Writing Your Sales Letter:

Put yourself in the reader’s place. Note your reactions while reading the letter. Have your friends and associates give you their honest opinions. Don’t tell them you wrote it! For some reason they think it’s bad manners to criticize their friends. Look at their reactions if they roll their eyes then you need to rewrite your sales letter. If they ask you, “Where can I find this?” You got yourself a winner! Listen to any and all comments. Re-write any parts that turn others off.

Be logical when you state your argument. Don’t try to fool them with outrageous claims that border on the fantastic. Your readers are too smart to fall for such trash.

When you begin writing your sales letter try to accentuate important statements using:

1. Underlines
2. Exclamation points
3. All capital letters (Careful here don’t over do it)
4. Highlight with a second color (Yellow)

The very last thing that should appear on your sales letter is the P.S. Remind your customers of the time deadline and the limited supply of bonuses. Urge them to pick up the phone and call or order immediately. Your P.S. is often read first by customers. So entice them to read the letter by mentioning the free bonuses and the limited time offer. Remember to put a P.S. (post script) on all sales letters.

Sample P.S.

P.S. At $29.95 the Super Car Wax is an incredible bargain reserved for past customers only. Act now, and get a bonus super car glass cleaner yours free! While new customers are forced to pay $39.95 for this one of a kind car wax you get it at significant savings! Act Now by calling 800-123-4567

Part Time Freelance Writing

There are many websites that publish freelance writing jobs on their sites. As a freelance writer, you can bid for the writing jobs that are available. If your bid is selected, you get the opportunity to complete the job. The payments are made through online virtual banks such as PayPal and e-Gold, wire transfer or checks. The market is huge and you can bid for writing jobs on more than one site.

Many outsourcing or freelancing websites operate the same way, with minor differences. In this article, we shall explore three prominent websites in the industry.

Elance -

Elance has a very simple design which doesn’t confuse the users. It is very easy to search jobs and obtain a comprehensive results’ page. The specialty in Elance is that they show the number of bidders by their name and relevant information, except for the amount bided for, unlike in some other freelance websites. The advantage in this method is that you can see who your competitors are, their reputation etc before determining the amount you want to bid for. At Elance, you can either browser or search for freelance writing jobs. But in order to bid for a project, you will need to have a registered account at Elance. Registration with Elance can be chosen over two packages. One is a free package with restrictive advantages while the other is subscription with more services and facilities. For part-time freelance writers, the basic package is recommended. Once the account is created, you can create your profile. Unlike other websites, Elance has an admission test to be passed before submitting bids.

RentACoder –

RentACoder has a professional interface and is quite straight forward compared to many other websites. It offer jobs in many categories and is one of the safest sites when it comes to payment transactions as payments for every project goes in to escrow before the start off of the project. RentACoder also, has a special team of facilitators who act as arbitrators in any case of dispute that may arise between the coder and the buyer. So all in all, it is a very professional site which works according to strict rules and regulations. If you choose to become a part time freelance writer on RentAcoder, it is vital that you read through their FAQ and other related articles on how everything works around the site. RentAcoder is a global community in its true sense because wherever in the world you are, you can work and get paid on time.

Guru

With a clear cut interface, Guru provides a high usability for freelances to navigate and find jobs. Just as any other website, you will need to create an account and a profile before you can start. In order to find a suitable project you could either browse through writing categories such as Writing/Editing/Translations or simply search with a keyword such as ‘proofreading’. As with all other websites, make sure you evaluate the deadlines and allow yourself sufficient space. Also, make sure that you place a worthy bid amount because the website will deduct a percentage from what you earn as a service fee.

Writing and historicity

Historians draw a distinction between prehistory and history, with history defined by the presence of autochthonous written sources. The emergence of writing in a given area is usually followed by several centuries of fragmentary inscriptions that cannot be included in the "historical" period, and only the presence of coherent texts (see early literature) marks "historicity". In the early literate societies, as much as 600 years passed from the first inscriptions to the first coherent textual sources (ca. 3200 to 2600 BC). In the case of Italy, about 500 years passed from the early Old Italic alphabet to Plautus (750 to 250 BC), and in the case of the Germanic peoples, the corresponding time span is again similar, from the first Elder Futhark inscriptions to early texts like the Abrogans (ca. 200 to 750 CE)

Chinese writing

In China historians have found out a lot about the early Chinese dynasties from the written documents left behind. From the Shang Dynasty most of this writing has survived on bones or bronze implements. Markings on turtle shells, or jiaguwen, have been carbon-dated to around 1500 BC. Historians have found that the type of media used had an effect on what the writing was documenting and how it was used.

There have recently been discoveries of tortoise-shell carvings dating back to c. 6000 BC, like Jiahu Script, Banpo Script, but whether or not the carvings are of sufficient complexity to qualify as writing is under debate. If it is deemed to be a written language, writing in China will predate Mesopotamian cuneiform, long acknowledged as the first appearance of writing, by some 2000 years, however it is more likely that the inscriptions are rather a form of proto-writing, similar to the contemporary European Vinca script. Undisputed evidence of writing in China dates from ca. 1600 BC.

History of writing & Proto-writing

The history of writing encompasses the various writing systems that evolved in the Early Bronze Age (late 4th millennium BC) out of neolithic proto-writing.

Proto-writing

The early writing systems of the late 4th millennium BC are not considered a sudden invention. Rather, they were based on ancient traditions of symbol systems that cannot be classified as writing proper, but have many characteristics strikingly reminiscent of writing. These systems may be described as proto-writing. They used ideographic and/or early mnemonic symbols to convey information yet were probably devoid of direct linguistic content. These systems emerged in the early Neolithic period, as early as the 7th millennium BC, if not earlier (Kamyana Mohyla).

Notably the Vinča signs show an evolution of simple symbols beginning in the 7th millennium, gradually increasing in complexity throughout the 6th millennium and culminating in the Tărtăria tablets of the 5th millennium with their rows of symbols carefully aligned, evoking the impression of a "text". The Dispilio Tablet of the late 6th millennium is similar. The hieroglyphic scripts of the Ancient Near East (Egyptian, Sumerian proto-Cuneiform and Cretan) seamlessly emerge from such symbol systems, so that it is difficult to say at what point precisely writing emerges from proto-writing. Adding to this difficulty is the fact that very little is known about the symbols' meanings.

In 2003, 6th millennium BC radiocarbon dated symbols Jiahu Script carved into tortoise shells were discovered in China. The shells were found buried with human remains in 24 Neolithic graves unearthed at Jiahu, Henan province, northern China. According to some archaeologists, the writing on the shells had similarities to the 2nd millennium BC Oracle bone script.^[1] Others,^[2] however, have dismissed this claim as insufficiently substantiated, claiming that simple geometric designs such as those found on the Jiahu Shells, cannot be linked to early writing.

The 4th millennium BC Indus script may similarly constitute proto-writing, possibly already influenced by the emergence of writing in Mesopotamia.

The "Slavic runes" mentioned by a few medieval authors may also have been a system of proto-writing. The Quipu of the Incas (sometimes called "talking knots") may have been of a similar nature. A historical example is the system of pictographs invented by Uyaquk before he developed the Yugtun syllabary.

Invention of writing

By definition, history begins with written records; evidence of human culture without writing is the realm of prehistory (see Writing and historicity, below). However, the "origin of writing is no longer a mystery."

The evolution of writing was a process involving economic practice and necessity in the Ancient Near East. Archaeologist Denise Schmandt-Besserat determined the link between previously uncategorized clay "tokens" and the first known writing, proto-cuneiform.^[3][4] The clay tokens were used to represent commodities, and perhaps even units of time spent in labor, and their number and type became more complex as civilization advanced. A degree of complexity was reached when over a hundred different kinds of tokens had to be accounted for, and tokens were wrapped and fired in clay, with markings to indicate the kind of tokens inside. These markings soon replaced the tokens themselves, and the clay envelopes were demonstrably the prototype for clay writing tablets.

The original Mesopotamian writing system (ca. 3500 BC) derives from this method of keeping accounts, and by the end of the 4th millennium BC,had evolved into using a triangular-shaped stylus pressed into soft clay ("cuneiform" writing). Thus the invention of the first writing systems is roughly contemporary with the beginning of the Bronze Age in the last half of the 4th millennium BC in Sumer.

The earliest forms of writing were logographic in nature, based on pictographic and ideographic elements. However, by the middle of the 3rd millennium BC, the Sumerians had developed a syllabic adjunct to their script, reflecting the phonology and syntax of the spoken Sumerian language. This logo-syllabic script was soon adopted by Akkadian and Eblaite speakers for their own languages, and later by Hittite and Ugaritic speakers.

While it is possible that Egyptian writing is an example of trans-cultural diffusion from their trading partners in Mesopotamia, the Egyptians did not borrow Mesopotamian written symbols. Instead, they used their own artistic iconography. Archaic Egyptian hieroglyphs are attested in the 3100-BC Narmer Palette, and more widespread literacy appears by the mid 3rd millennium (the Pyramid Texts). In southern Egypt, Günter Dreyer discovered records of linen and oil deliveries which have been carbon-dated to between 3300 BCE and 3200 BCE, predating the Dynastic Period. This find challenges the prevailing view that the first people to write were the Sumerians of Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) sometime before 3000 BCE.

An undeciphered logographic Proto-Elamite script also emerged at this time, and evolved into Linear Elamite by the late 3rd millennium, which in turn was replaced by cuneiform adopted from Akkadian.

The Indus "script" appeared ca. 2600 BC and outlasted the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization around 1700 BC. However, all records are extremely short, and it is not clear that it was a true writing system.

Writing and category

Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols (known as a writing system). It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and the recording of language via a non-textual medium such as magnetic tape audio.

Writing began as a consequence of the burgeoning needs of accounting. Around the 4th millennium BC, the complexity of trade and administration outgrew the power of memory, and writing became a more dependable method of recording and presenting transactions in a permanent form (Robinson, 2003, p. 36).

Writing as a category

Writing, more particularly, refers to two things: writing as a noun, the thing that is written; and writing as a verb, which designates the activity of writing. It refers to the inscription of characters on a medium, thereby forming words, and larger units of language, known as texts. It also refers to the creation of meaning and the information thereby generated. In that regard, linguistics (and related sciences) distinguishes between the written language and the spoken language. The significance of the medium by which meaning and information is conveyed is indicated by the distinction made in the arts and sciences. For example, while public speaking and poetry reading are both types of speech, the former is governed by the rules of rhetoric and the latter by poetics.

A person who composes a message or story in the form of text is generally known as a writer or an author. However, more specific designations exist which are dictated by the particular nature of the text such as that of poet, essayist, novelist, playwright, journalist, and more. A person who transcribes, translates or produces text to deliver a message authored by another person is known as a scribe, typist or typesetter. A person who produces text with emphasis on the aesthetics of glyphs is known as a calligrapher or graphic designer.

Writing is also a distinctly human activity. It has been said that a monkey, randomly typing away on a typewriter (in the days when typewriters replaced the pen or plume as the preferred instrument of writing) could re-create Shakespeare-- but only if it lived long enough (this is known as the infinite monkey theorem). Such writing has been speculatively designated as coincidental. It is also speculated that extra-terrestrial beings exist who may possess knowledge of writing.

What Is Your Writing Goal

Today's business writing style is less formal and far better.

Clarity and brevity must take priority in our fast-paced, information-overloaded world.

Remember the old days when people wrote to impress others rather than to communicate with them?

Many writers used formal language and multi-syllable words that no one ever said out loud, like "notwithstanding" and "heretofore". Now only
Lawyers talk like that.

Here are five tips for better business writing:

1. Write below the 8th-grade level. Some writers worry that this may insult the intelligence of their readers. But in reality, no one ever complains that something is too easy to understand! Studies show that writing below the 8th-grade level achieves the best results. It's not that your readers are dumb; they just don't have time to process complicated messages.

Note--Here's how to check the readability of your writing when using MS Word: Under "Tools" click "Options" and then "Spelling & Grammar." Select the "Check grammar with spelling" box and the "Show readability statistics" box then click "OK." The next time you complete a spell check, it will display information about the reading level. If the "Flesch-Kincaid grade level" is above 8, edit your document to make it easier to understand.

2. Get to the point immediately. As a general rule, state the reason for your correspondence in the first sentence.

Good: "We've already filled the position for which you applied."

Bad: "We wish to thank you for inquiring about employment opportunities at Joe's Networking, Inc. We are an equal-opportunity employer and are always looking for talented individuals to join our team. Your experience and educational background are truly impressive. Unfortunately, the position for which you applied has already been filled and we are therefore no longer accepting applications."

3. Get active (use active voice, not passive). It not only burns more calories, it clarifies your writing and gives it more impact!

Good: "We like your ideas and will implement them by the end of the year."

Bad: "The ideas you proposed have been reviewed and found to be acceptable and appropriate. An implementation schedule has been developed with the goal of being completed by the end of the year."

4. Use fewer words. People are busy; be brief!

Good: "We will not tolerate sexual harassment. Please read the attached policy. Call Mr. Write if you have questions."

Bad: "This is to inform all employees that sexual harassment of any kind will not be tolerated under any circumstances by this organization. Be advised that, in order to clarify the company position on this subject, the attached policy has been developed and provided for your reference. Your cooperation in this important matter is appreciated. Please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Wright if he can be of further assistance or provide you with additional information about this issue."

5. Include a clear call to action. If you are writing for a purpose other than to inform, tell your readers exactly what you want them to do.

Good: "Please sign the attached form in Block 10 and return it to me by May 1st."

Bad: "It is our desire to receive an indication of your concurrence as soon as possible."

Here's a bonus tip:

6. Do not repeat numbers. Spelling out numbers and then repeating them as digits within parentheses is redundant and unnecessary. Use this basic rule: less than 10 or beginning a sentence, spell it out; more than 10, use digits. Do NOT do both!

Good: "We collected 13 samples."

Bad: "Thirteen (13) samples were collected."

It is recommended that individuals who prepare written business correspondence follow a format and style similar to that of their verbal communications.

Umm, I mean, write like you talk.

Writing Skills With These Three Easy Tips

For some, writing effectively is as simple of a task as breathing. For others, writing is like a car that keeps stalling and really doesn't ever seem to get going smoothly. Have you ever wished that you could improve your writing skills? If your writing is more like the stalled automobile, don't let that stop you. You can improve your writing skills just by using the following tips.

Do a quick reminder course about nouns, verbs, adverbs, conjunctions and prepositions. If you want to write well, it's important to know what they are and how to use them properly. When you write using proper spelling and grammar it can make a difference in your perceived credibility as a writer. It is true of all of us, we get turned off to what we are reading if the author has made an obvious writing mistake. Make it a habit to confidently write. If needed, use a spell checker when you can and when in doubt: look it up.

This may sound backwards, but to be a good writer, you need to be a good reader. Try to read something everyday. Expand your knowledge by reading different types of writing. If you are primarily a fiction reader, start reading the newspaper or non-fiction books. Read articles online versus magazine articles and see if you notice the differences in writing styles. If you happen to read something that you really enjoy, study the article or story. Use the tips you find to improve your own writing. On the other hand, when you read something you don't care for, make mental notes of the mistakes the writer made and try to avoid them when you sit down to write. By all means give yourself permission to break the rules provided it provides impact to your writing.

Just like any skill, practice is what makes the difference between novice and pro. Writing something everyday, even something as short as a few sentences can improve your writing over time. There are many websites targeted to writers that offer daily writing exercises. For example, they may ask you to write the opening paragraph of a action story one day and the next day they could ask you to write a "how-to paragraph" about butter churning. Experimenting with different writing genres will greatly improve your writing style.

Keep what you write and review it every once in awhile. You will see how your abilities have changed with practice. As your skill and confidence grow, you will find that writing becomes easier and more enjoyable.

5 Book Writing

Many speakers, consultants, small business owners alike feel confident with communicating their message orally. They can spout their elevator speech with the accuracy of a scientist. But when it comes to putting it on paper, some grown men & women end up crying like a baby. It's not hard once you know exactly what to do. I promise; its not. Here's what successful writers do.

Successful writers set up a system of writing. Destroy these myths and setup your system of writing in 5 easy steps.

MYTH 1 It's too hard. First things first, as we did in an earlier chapter overcome fear of failure or procrastination. Most times the bottom line of procrastination is fear of failure.

TRUTH: You can act now. Select step one of a good writing program and begin today. Or simply sign-up for an easy course. Action will destroy fear. Each successful step of your system will deal a death blow to fear.

MYTH 2 I have to get away from everything to write a successful book. No you don't. I know several novelist and non-fiction book writers who had to write during a long commute to get their best book written and out to the world. They accomplished it because they systematically worked on their book until it was done.

TRUTH: You can always avoid marathon writing. In the midst of your busy life, designate your time to write (work on your book) with a goal to completion. (reasonable time to completion)

MYTH 3 I can't keep up with where I am after interruptions of life. It is a common challenge to find your place after being interrupted with family, work and daily life. After all that's why many think you must get away to get it done effectively. Yet, there's hope for those who can't get away or choose not to. Successful writers all over the world use the tracking approach. They succeed because they commit to doing a little each day.

TRUTH: Set yourself up for success use the tracking approach. There are 2 methods you could use for your tracking. Time is the method where you commit to a writing a certain amount of time each day. With the cumulative factor involved your commitment doesn't have to be that much.

For example, to accomplish my book writing goals I commit to writing one hour a day in my most productive time. For me it is right after my meditation and reading time. With this method don't be overly concerned about how much you write, just keep the time commitment.

The other method is focused on output. Commit to writing a certain number of words or pages a day, perhaps 750-1,000 words or approximately three and a half pages double-spaced text. The key factor is to stick to it until completion.

Winner's Note: You may ask how do I get started after interruptions or even in my daily allotted slot so that I don't spend a lot of time re-locating where I stopped? Start your daily writing session by re-reading the last words you wrote the day before. This will get you back in the flow.

The continued cycle of review will create a momentum that will keep you going to completion. Another piece of advice, is to create a support system that will help isolate you from telephone calls and interruptions during your daily Tracking Session.

MYTH 4 I have to complete each chapter in order. (Buzzer Sound!) Wrong answer. It's called linear writing. You don't have to write each chapter one after the other. For if you get stuck on chapter two, you could be stuck a very long time. I think this type of thinking comes from grade school where we are ritually taught to do everything in order.

If you have been thinking that way stop right now, no need to raise your hand. You have my permission to work on whatever chapter moves you or you feel passion bubbling for at the moment. Feeling stuck on a chapter, try another. There you have it now go with the flow.

TRUTH: Don't become chained to writing in order. Jump around and fill in the blanks. Review your chapters and whatever subject or topic you most drawn to, begin there.

MYTH 5 I am stuck. I have to stop writing until I feel it again. From what I said earlier you may have gotten the impression that you just write when you feel like it and quit when you don't. If so, no that's not what I meant. Unseasoned writers may play the martyr and push through just to put something on paper or give up and try again another day.

We would never get it done like that. When you get stuck simply close that chapter and pull out your chapter outline and choose another chapter. If you have been following this program, you have listed main points for each chapter. Select a topic from that chapter and begin there.

TRUTH: To maintain your momentum keep your writing commitments. Go around writer's block by working on another chapter. For example, while writing this book in one of my writing sessions, I wanted to finish my fourth chapter on titles but I ran into a writer's block. Instead of breaking my momentum, I came down to chapter eight about easy writing and began there. I was able to complete my time commitment of one hour and keep my momentum.

Writing a book is a journey. Most journeys go so much smoother with a map or travel plan. Taking the simple steps above will get you started and keep you going to completion. Start today then complete and release your significant message to the world.

Writing Up A Yearly Business Plan

It's important to have a serious business plan for your business each year so that you can see what your needs are for the coming year and to show yourself and the bank how far you have progressed since your original business plan was written.

A new business writes a business plan in order to show their intentions to operate and to provide information to financial institutions in support of start up capital and funding for other operations. In most cases, the banks want to see three to five year projections showing your intention for the funding. Depending on the scope of the business, they may only finance the first year, and will want additional proof that the business is progressing along the terms of the original business plan before they will advance any more funds.

Since you are not able to really show much in the way of financial records, having a business plan also shows potential creditors what you anticipate for the future of your business. They can then compare this to your original plan to verify if you are moving along as planned. They do not want to be stuck with an uncollectible loan by advancing funds to a business that has no potential of becoming successful. Even if you are a little behind your original projections, they are able to see if the potential is there for improvement, and may even make suggestions for helping you reach your original goals.

On the other hand, if your progress is way behind original projections, that can be a sign that your business is failing, so it's likely that you will not receive any more funding until you can prove the business is on its way to profitability.

It's normal for any business to take three to five years to turn a profit, but if you aren't showing improvement, that is an area for concern. As you enter into your second year, you should be showing less of a loss and more of a profit even if you don't yet show a net gain in income. Even if you aren't looking for additional funding, you should look at this as a warning sign and start making some changes so that you can your business what you originally intended. It may mean your prices are too low, or your expenses are excessive for the amount of business you have and need to be cut. For instance, if you are selling products from a website, investigate what others are charging for the same type of items to see if you are in line with the industry standard in pricing. If you sell services, find out what others are charging for the same service maybe your prices are too high, and thus people are going elsewhere for the same service. In reality, these should have been checked first, but some people in their haste to begin a business forget the most important step of price comparison.

Writing Articles - 8 Hard-hitting Article Writing Tips

One of the best reasons for writing articles is to get traffic to your webiste and lots of it, but you won't attract much traffic with boring content, ramblings and regurgitated ideas that no one cares about. Your articles must be interesting, easy to read and spark interest.

How can you do that? Here are a few tips:

1. Forget what you Learned in English Class

Internet surfers are skimmers, they want something that is easy to read and gets to the point fast. When it comes to paragraphs, shorter is better and each paragraph should consist of about 3-5 sentences. The last thing they want to read are big long run-on sentences, even if they belong together it's easier to read if you break them up. Keep your words simple, get to the point quickly and don't ramble or get preachy.

One thing you do need to remember from English class is make your writing understandable. I do this by speaking what I write. After you write it, say it out loud. If it doesn't make sense to you, it won't make sense to anyone else.

2. Use a Catchy Title

Your title is what lures your reader in. It must capture their attention and incite intrigue. This means using powerful, descriptive words. For example, the title of this article is "8 hard-hitting article writing tips'. 'Hard-hitting' is a powerful description of these tips. Get the idea?

Remember also that your title should reflect exactly what your article is about, so keep it relevant and focused.

3. Skip the Broad Topics

There's nothing worse than a broad topic with little detail. Keep your article focused on one specific topic and then follow through with informative details. Deliver good information in an expert manner. If you have too many topics running through your head, break them up into separate articles. If you are a little foggy about what details to include, ask yourself the who, what, when, where, why and how questions for ideas.

Additionally, keep your ideas flowing in a logical manner, don't jump around. Your article should flow like smooth running water.

4. Stir up Some Action

Light a fire under your reader by using action words. This means avoiding words like was, were, can, maybe, are, am, may, could, should, etc. Bring your message alive with action words like get, find, will, do, must, go, run, drive, etc. The idea is to bring forth a powerful message that adds enthusiasm and provokes action. Don’t be wishy-washy with your ideas. Project a powerful, authoritative, say what you mean voice.

5. Deliver Quality over Quantity

When submitting your articles to a directory, use the minimum number of words it requires. If a directory requires of minimum of 500 words and your article is 1000 words, split it up into two articles. The more articles you can submit the better. Having more articles is better than having larger articles.

6. Show Some Personality for cryin' out loud

Let's face it, articles can be dull. Just read some of the articles out there and you'll see what I mean. You'll get a lot more feedback and interest if you can interject some personality in your writing. If you are a funny person, let that humor come through. Even a little sarcasm or controversy can add to a reader’s enjoyment and help put them at ease.

No one wants dull, so let your personality reflect a 'spark of spirit' that will help your reader better engage in your article.

7. Funnel Your Readers

Forget the bio pitch. Your articles are not the best place for them; leave that to your website. Instead use your article's resource box to funnel your readers to your website. If they liked what they read in your article they will likely want to see more. Use your resource box to lead them there by attracting them with something of value. For example, your resource box might say something like this:

- get your free course here...
- learn more about xyz here...
- get more articles like this here...

The idea is to channel your readers to your website, not pitch your bio. At this point no one really cares. Get them to your site first.

8. Grammar and Spelling Count

Ever read an article with poor grammar and spelling errors? It's a bit of a turn-off. It diminishes your professionalism and authority. That's why you must use spell checker, particularly after making article changes or updates. Keep in mind; however that spellchecker may not pick up errors for words like 'there' and 'their' so give your articles a good eye-balling before submitting them.

As for your grammar, you don't have to follow every rule of grammar but you don't want to sound like a first grader either. Don't be sloppy; take the time to read over your article for good punctuation and a style of grammar that projects intelligence yet lets your personality shine through.

Planning your technical writing project

It is useful to follow a set process when producing documentation. Having a process in place helps make sure that you thoroughly understand the requirements of the writing project before you begin. This will help to reduce the need for rewriting and adding information later in the process. The first step in the writing process is to create a plan for the documentation you are about to write. To do this you should answer the following questions on the document:

What type of document is it?
What is the purpose of the document?
What key information should you cover?
Who will read the document?
How much do the readers know about the subject?
What style should use when writing the document?

What type of document is it?

There are a wide variety of technical documents and each document type will have a specific format. For example, a user guide provides instructions for using a product. So this type of document is written around tasks that you would want the user to be able to perform. Where as a report or case study also have their own specific format.

What is the purpose of the document?

The answer to this question helps guide your writing. By having a clear purpose in mind it can help make your writing more targeted towards the topic and mean you are less likely to add redundant information that does not help towards achieving the purpose.

What key information should you cover?

The answer to this question will guide your in the content to include when writing the document. For example, creating a user guide involves producing a list of tasks that you would want the user to be able to perform after reading the guide. When writing a report this will be the key pieces of information that your report will cover. At this stage you want to be brief when outlining the key information, don't get bogged down by putting in too much detail.

Who will read the document?


This is the where you look at who will read your documentation. If your documentation has multiple audiences this can affect how you write and how you structure the documentation. For example, a user guide may have two audiences, administrators and users. Each audience may need to be able to perform different tasks, so a good way to structure the guide might be to have a separate section for each audience or even separate documents.

How much do the readers know about the subject?

Assess how much your readers know about the subject. This will help guide you on how much information you need to include. For example, if you are writing a guide for system administrators to use to install a new piece of software you can assume they have a good knowledge of computing systems and you will only need to go into detail where the information is specific to the product that you are writing about. It is important to pitch your document at the right level for the audience so they will get the most out of it.
What format

What style should use when writing the document?

The style that you use when writing the documentation has an immense effect on how easy the documentation is to understand. It is important to find out if there is a style guide that you should be following. This will help ensure that you use terms consistently across an organization. In addition, it is important to make your document easy to understand. This can be done by using word with a clear meaning and avoiding ambiguity. Keep your writing concise and avoid wordiness. For example, instead of writing ‘due to the fact that’ use ‘because’. Segment information into tables and lists where appropriate. Stick to plain English and only use technical terms where you have to. Use active voice as this will make your writing tighter and improve the readability of the document. For example,

Passive - A recommendation was made by inspectors that consideration should be given by the company to installing a backup system on all computers to prevent users losing their work.

Active - Inspectors recommended that the company consider installing a backup system on all computers to prevent users losing their work.

Punctuation: The Secret to Effective Writing

As a small business owner, unless you have an assistant, you will be doing your own administration, paperwork and writing including letters, quotes, briefs etc. Incorrect punctuation can really have a detrimental impact on the image you present to your customers (and potential customers) and to associates. Using punctuation correctly enhances your effectiveness as a communicator and the image of yourself and your business that you are presenting, writes Alex Greer.

So if, like me on occasion, you wonder just where that apostrophe should go or if your comma is in the right place then these tips on using punctuation correctly are just what you need.

Tip 1 - The possessive apostrophe!
No, this isn't about a badly behaved and jealous punctuation mark! Using apostrophes is where I see the most errors in writing.

This is because a wrongly placed apostrophe doesn't change the emphasis or sound of a sentence or word, which you would pick up on if reading that sentence back to yourself. So here are two tips in one:

• When, for example, writing about an object that belongs to someone the apostrophe should go after that person's name, even if their name ends in an s - but don't add another s. So that is: James' car, Molly's house, the dog's bone.

• You don't need an apostrophe when you use plurals. The most common example of this is when people write about years or decades. I.e. 'The 1990's started out badly for Simon', or, 'It's not like it was back in the 20's'. You don't need an apostrophe here - the years don't possess anything, it is just a plural. There might be exception to this (there usually are exceptions in grammatical rules) but I can't think of one - please let me know if you can!

Tip 2 - The common comma
I love commas! They make writing come to life. They create pauses, a change of emphasis, reinforce meaning and they enable the reader to 'hear' what the writer was thinking as they were writing and much, much more. Here are ways to use commas effectively:

• As you write, hear the words in your head and when you hear a pause you probably want a comma. Read the words out loud too - this makes the use or omission of a comma obvious, especially when you find you need to take a breath!

• Don't use a comma before the word and - you can use it afterwards though. E.g. Michael, Jenny and, of course, myself went to dinner.

• Use a comma after the word however - even when it is the first word of your sentence and before the word which. E.g. However, Susan couldn't make dinner that night, which was a shame. These are non-negotiable uses of comma.

Tip 3 - E.g. and I.e.
Most people know what e.g. stands for: for example. Did you know that I.e. stands for 'That is'? If you do I'm not surprised, but a lot of people make mistakes when using e.g. and i.e. in their writing.

• They should always be written with a full stop after each letter, regardless of the rest of the sentence's construction.

• When written in full and in the context of this usage, For example, and That is, should always be followed by a comma.

• They are also often used in the wrong context. I find it easy to remember that if you have to give someone a general idea of what you are talking about then use e.g. or for example. If you want to provide a clear explanation of your previous statement or a specific example, then use that is.

Tip 4 - ...And I quote
Quotation marks are punctuation tool that it is easy to get wrong. Do you use the single or the double quote marks, for example? But there is a specific mistake that is a grammatical pet peeve of mine and that is when writing a quote and then putting the beginning and ending punctuation marks in the wrong place. Well, it's easier to show you what I mean:

When talking about punctuation, Alex said, "I wish that everybody knew how to correctly punctuate a quoted sentence" and I agreed with her.

This is a correctly punctuated, quoted sentence. The following rules apply to using quotes:

• Use double quote marks to open and close your quote.

• If you mention a speaker before the quote and use the phrase: Alex said or says, then the said or says should be followed by a comma.

• If you mention a speaker at the end of the quote then you should put a comma after the closing quote marks, e.g. "It can be easy to get punctuation wrong", said Alex.

• The first word of your quote should be a capital letter.

• If the quote ends at the end of your overall sentence then you should place the full stop inside the ending double quote marks, not outside. You do not need another full stop outside of the quote marks, i.e. .".

• If your quote does not end the sentence then you do not need a full stop inside the quote marks.

I could go on...

Tip 5 - Its and it's - isn't it?
This is a specific version of the possessive apostrophe usage but one that is really easy to get wrong. In fact, I find myself having to stop every now and again to make sure I have got the usage right.

And here's a simple way to check: read the sentence with the dubious its or it's in it and replace the offending word with it is. If this changes the intended meaning of your sentence then you are using the wrong it! That simple, but here's an example of what I mean:

• Its very easy to make this mistake; read this out loud with it is instead of its and it will highlight the fact that you need an apostrophe: It's very easy to make this mistake.

• The dog is biting it's tail; read this out loud with it is instead of it's and it will highlight the fact that you should take out the apostrophe: The dog is biting its tail. This is the exception to the possessive apostrophe rule in Tip 1.

These are my top 5 tips for this issue on using punctuation correctly. Remember the aim is to get it right so no one notices, not get it wrong so everybody does!

---

About the Author: Just Too Busy was founded and is run by Alexandra Greer.

Alex has an extensive skill set, gained through running her own newspaper business for the last five years, previous marketing and communications roles and now with running Just Too Busy: www.justtoobusy.co.uk

Alex earned her Media & Communications degree in 1996 and supplemented her time at college and university by taking on a variety of secretarial, administration and personal assistant temporary contracts. This formed the basis of her application knowledge, such as the Microsoft Office suite and other administration and office skills.

An accomplished PC and Mac user, Alex's IT interest goes beyond just using the applications, into providing software training as well as basic PC, peripheral and network support.

Alex is also an organisational whizz, with expert prioritisation, efficient practices & processes and time management skills. This experience was gained in the most part by running her own local newspaper and having to juggle adverts, stories, news and contributors on a daily basis.

"My skill set has been developed over the years and is constantly being added to, owing to my fundamental interest in learning new things and also from the point of view of being able to offer my clients a comprehensive service."

Creative with Your Article Writing

Full-time freelance writers will spend the equivalent of a working week on writing.

Most novice freelance writers in the US would be safe charging between $20 and $25 per hour for large project work. That situation obviously changes depending on your experience, command of the language and your location in the world.

The short story, or an article, is the ideal vehicle to begin a writing career. Personal events can provide the fodder for your first article, even if they aren't particularly memorable or exciting. Concentrate on mastering a style and communication. Try not to be too fancy with words or thoughts. You can flip open the dictionary or thesaurus when you need it. Just have fun and enjoy the exercise. You don't have to please anyone but yourself at this level. When you feel more confident, tackle the novel, win that Pullitzer Prize, but for now, just write your article..

If you're in the first five years of your writing career, enjoy your writing. Don't put too much pressure on yourself.

Here are some tips for getting focused on developing your freelance writing career and staying that way:

At the least, if you feel you cannot write it yourself, engage the services of a freelance professional, who will work with you to produce a worthwhile summary of your experiences in your chosen area of interest or competence. Ultimately however, developing your writing skills is not a bad idea, as it would enable you do more writing than you could if someone was taking notes from you.

The importance of verbal and writing skills in this information age cannot be stressed enough. The reward of disciplined writing is the most valuable job attribute of all: a mind equipped to think.

One of the best ways to get ideas is to write anything right now. Graham Green forced himself to write at least 500 words daily, whether he felt like it or not. Creative inspiration can strike at any time, but it strikes more often when there is work instead of waiting. Just start writing and you'll have more creative writing ideas for your articles.

Keyword and SEO article writing challenge

Several years ago, decades even, when you needed to look for data for an article writing assignment you have, you would immediately go to the library and check out the card catalog for books or references on the given subject matter. When you have a list of about 4-5 books, you would then start the search of these books from the multitude of shelves in the library. As you are successful in acquiring that reference material, you then scan the book for the topic on hand, checking out the table of contents and the index.
Oftentimes, you would find yourself going back and forth the card catalog, the shelves, and the table, with a growing pile of discarded reference books beside you and another one for those books you have categorized to be of some use. Several hours later as well as after a whole cart of books, you have successfully gathered data on the topic on hand for your article writing.

Such is the ease that the internet provides nowadays. You still need to have a keyword and enter it into a search engine before getting the results you want. Sometimes, you have to narrow down your search with more keywords just to get a smaller and useful hit count. Usually, the more keywords you use, the more specific your results will be. But too much keyword will also give you a negative result. These keywords are often particular words that were selected to ensure that their website is seen without any difficulty. It is commonly a word or a group of words that is uniquely formulated to represent a certain topic which may be searched for by someone who needs more information about it.

However, what has all these got to do with SEO article writing? Everything! It can actually be considered as the basis of why SEO or search engine optimization came about. With the infinite number of subjects that man can think of, searching for it specifically in the net would be quite a problem. This is why people have to optimize their website content, through SEO rich article writing, in order to guarantee that someone looking for that certain product will be able to see their specific website easily.
SEO article writing makes use of keywords that are scattered all over the article and the website, to ensure a high ranking over all those who have the same topic. These keywords are often particular words that were selected to ensure that their website is seen without any difficulty. It is commonly a word or a group of words that is uniquely formulated to represent a certain topic which may be searched for by someone who needs more information about it.

Therefore, using keywords for article writing will definitely ensure getting hits for a particular topic, and make it rank higher in search results, giving it an edge as long as popularity is concerned in article writing. But, nowadays, instead of bombarding articles with literal keywords, semantic keywords are now being used. Instead of making article writing utilize only a specific term, it uses even synonyms of that term, within the article, making it easier for the user to search for those specific explanations, without going through several books at the library.

Writing Articles for Publication

As one of the hottest forms of viral marketing today, article writing and submission must be part of your marketing effort whether your business is online, brick-and-mortar, or both. To get the most out of your article marketing campaign, you must avoid these three fatal mistakes.

• Not writing enough articles for publication


• Giving up too soon

The second fatal mistake is not writing enough articles. While it is not necessary to write an article every day or even every other day, the more articles you write the more potential you have for exposure. One man I read said that he writes 100 articles a month; another man writes 30 a month. If writing just one article sounds overwhelming to you, start with one article with a plan to write another one next week, another the following week, and so on. Once you start writing, you will be surprised at the knowledge you have and find that you enjoy writing. If you write one article each and every week, you will have 52 articles spread throughout the world in a year. Keep in mind that writing just one article probably won't increase your exposure enough that you will notice, but a number of articles written over time will bring a stream of traffic to your door.

If you absolutely cannot write an article, take advantage of article writing companies that are available. These can be found by doing a quick search in one of the major search engines. These articles won't be free, but they could still provide advertising through article marketing cheaper than advertising through other means.

The third fatal mistake in article marketing is giving up too soon. As I wrote previously, writing just one article probably won't increase your exposure enough for you to see much difference in traffic to your site immediately. However, repeated articles spread throughout the web by others who pick up your article have the potential of putting hundreds or thousands of dollars in your pocket. Your first article might not get much attention right away, but imagine that, as your writing skills and knowledge improve over time, subsequent articles receive attention and are picked up by more and more bloggers and ezine publishers. As your name becomes recognized, people who have enjoyed and learned from your articles will return to the internet and search for more articles that you have written. Even if your first article isn't widely distributed at first, it could receive exposure months later when you are seen as an expert in your field.

Think of some of today's best-selling authors. Do you suppose that every one of them made it to the New York Times Bestsellers list with their first book? By all means, "no!" Most of these authors worked and toiled for years, writing book after book before making it on the list. If John Grisham spent three years writing his first book, which was rejected repeatedly by publishers before writing a bestseller, should you expect that your first article will create such a stir in the industry that your name will be in the headlines tomorrow? Probably not. But remember that, even though his first book was rejected repeatedly before being made into a measly 5000 copies, Grisham immediately started working on his second novel, one made into a movie and ranked #1 on the New York Times Bestsellers list during its 47 week tenure. After that he had two more hits, one of which debuted at the top spot on the New York Times list. And it gets better, and makes my point. After three books made John Grisham famous, do you know what happened? His first book, the one that was repeatedly rejected and had a small printing of only 5000 copies, was reprinted and this time it was a bestseller. What changed? Certainly not the plot or the characters. What changed was the reputation of the author and the desire of his audience to read books that he penned.

This is exactly what could happen to you, too. But in order to get to that point, to the point where your work is sought after by people who want to hear what you have to say, you must avoid these three fatal mistakes in article marketing: choosing not to write articles for publication, not writing enough articles for publication, and giving up too soon.

Start writing articles today and consistently submit your original work for publication. You'll be glad you did.