Tips for Writing a Newsletter Article

Whether you are an experienced newsletter article writer or not, writing a newsletter article is a skill that can be developed. Ever read a newsletter article that made you want to laugh and cry for all the wrong reasons? From a writer’s perspective, the most frustrating thing is that a few handy tips for writing […]

Writing an Award Submission to Boost Your Organisation’s Image

Writing an award submission might seem like a big challenge if you are not an experienced award submission writer.  If your award submission writing is successful and you win the award or are a finalist, it’s excellent way to get free publicity and boost your organisation’s image.

While writing an award submission might seem challenging, there are simple points to remember that will help you write your submission and increase your chances of success.

Here are a few tips to consider when writing an award submission:

Answer the questions when writing an award submission.

This might seem like a simple point but is often overlooked. Go over all the questions before writing your submission and consider what is being asked. For example, if the award submission asks about volunteering and community involvement, don’t get into your customer service practices that aren’t connected with the question.

Also, stay within the word count for each question. If not, your award submission might be rejected for not meeting the guidelines.

Use specific examples to answer the questions in your award submission.

For example, in an award submission for a vocational education provider, we wrote the following when answering the question ‘Over and above your core business responsibilities, what sets you apart in the delivery of the services from other providers?’

Our main point of difference is our work experience program which enables our students to gain first-hand industry knowledge. This real-world experience gives our students an edge when they graduate and start seeking employment. Having the practical experience means they can start contributing immediately to the organisations they join. This is a great advantage for our students and the organisations that hire them.

Other things the set us apart from other providers are class sizes and individual attention to students. Each class has a maximum of 20 students, which means that our teachers provide individual attention to our students. Our professional teachers are always available for any students who may require extra support.

Include data in your award submission when appropriate.

Some award submission criteria will ask for specific numbers about your organisation. To improve your chances of success, do the research to find what has been asked for. For example, in response to the question ‘How would you describe the growth of your business in the last 3 years? Please illustrate by using examples such as turnover, profit, number of staff, market share, opening new premises etc.’

The answer we wrote included:

‘Our business has grown substantially in many areas over the last three years. This growth has included increasing:

  • The number of active clients from 230 to 345
  • The number of products we stock from 1,850 to 2,675.
  • Staff from 65 to 87
  • Capacity to serve more clients by moving our Melbourne warehouse to larger premises and opening our Sydney showroom
  • Turnover by 85%
  • Profit from 15% of gross sales to 21% of gross sales.’

Keep your writing as simple as possible in your award submission.

Be as simple and clear as possible when writing an award submission. This means avoiding jargon, complicated words and corporate buzzwords. Also, avoid long sentences and long paragraphs as these will make your award submission harder to read. You can get tips on clear and concise business writing in 10 Ways to Improve Your Business Writing and Editing Your Business Writing to Make It More Readable.

Proofread and get feedback before submitting your award submission.

Writing an award submission isn’t the end of the process. Have a colleague read over it to give you feedback for improvement. Getting another perspective can help you add supporting material and clarify anything that might be ambiguous or unclear.

Proofread your award submission as a final step. Check for inconsistencies and grammar and spelling errors. As the writer, you are more likely to overlook your own mistakes. So have a colleague or friend proofread the award submission as well.

Even if you don’t win the award submission, you haven’t wasted your time. You can revise and re-use the content in other documents and publications, such as case studies, company profiles, proposals and capability statements. You have also gained experience as an award submission writer, so you can do better next time.

If you are working on an award submission and need assistance, our award submission writer will be glad to discuss our submission writing and editing services with you.

Michael Gladkoff

Should You Use Abbreviations in Your Content Writing?

Writing Email to Connect and Communicate Clearly

Writing email is one of the most common activities in the business environment. Yet too many emails fail to connect and communicate the writer’s desired message.

Here are a few tips on writing email to ensure that your messages make an impact and get the results you want.

Have a clear subject and subject line when writing email

Have you ever received an email with a subject line that was not relevant to the content? The sender might have replied to an earlier email with a different subject or simply failed to think about the subject line. It’s important that the reader knows what the email is about from the beginning, especially if it’s an important subject. If the subject line does not reflect the urgency, for example, it might not be read in time or read at all. Professional email marketers know that a good subject line is critical for getting their emails opened and read. Keep this in mind when writing your email’s subject line.

Before you start writing, decide what action you want the reader to take and create your subject around this. Keep it simple. If you have more than one point to make in your email, organise them clearly – even use bullet points or numbers to separate each point.

Begin with a positive note when writing email

With all the challenges people face throughout the day, it’s always good to say something positive when writing email. For example, you can thank the person for their previous message or mention that you enjoyed speaking with them earlier in the day.

Use short paragraphs when writing email

Breaking up your text into shorter paragraphs makes your email easier to read. You probably have come across a huge paragraph in an email and stopped reading. When writing email, start a new paragraph when you begin a new idea. You might even have one-sentence paragraphs. There’s nothing wrong with this and it makes it easier for the recipient to read.

Use plain and simple language when writing email

Although, I’ve mentioned this in other blog posts, it’s worth repeating these simple tips:

  • Use the simplest words possible to convey your message.
  • Avoid long and drawn out sentences.
  • Don’t use jargon or buzzwords, especially if the reader might not be familiar with them.

For more details on these points, go to Editing Your Business Writing to Make it More Readable.

End with a call to action – and something positive as well

The end of the email is where you can give a call to action to the reader. What do you want them to do? Respond with yes or no answer, provide more information, set up a meeting? Be clear about this when writing email to get the response you want. Also, the end of the email is a good place to express something else in a positive way. This could be expressing gratitude, complimenting the recipient on recent achievements, or looking forward to catching up with them in person soon.

Writing email does not have to be difficult. Follow the steps outlined in this article to write emails that enable you to communicate your message clearly and connect with recipients.

Michael Gladkoff

 

 

Writing a Company Newsletter to Connect with Your Customers and Build Credibility

Writing a company newsletter and distributing it to you clients and prospects will bring your business many benefits. By writing a newsletter, you will keep them informed about company developments, such as new products and services, and offers. A newsletter will help you maintain regular contact and remind clients about your company at an affordable cost. Writing a newsletter will also build your company’s credibility by showing expertise about your industry.

How to Use Short Words for Better Business Writing

In previous posts on making business writing more readable, we have discussed the importance of using short and simple words. In the following passage from the Members’ Handbook of the Society for the Preservation of English Language and Literature (SPELL), see how short words are essential for clear and effective writing.

Short Words

You don’t have to use long words when you speak or write. Most of the time, you can make your points quite well with short ones. In fact, big words may get in the way of what you want to say. And what’s more, when you use short words, no one will need to look them up to learn what they mean.

Short words can make us feel good. They can run and jump and dance and soar high in the clouds. They can kill the chill of a cold night and help us keep our cool on a hot day. They fill our hearts with joy, but they can bring tears to our eyes as well. A short word can be soft or strong. It can sting like a bee or sing like a lark. Small words of love can move us, charm us, lull us to sleep. Short words give us light and hope and peace and love and health ─ and a lot more good things. A small word can be as sweet as the taste of a ripe pear, or tart like plum jam.

Small words make us think. In fact, they are the heart and the soul of clear thought.

When you write, choose the short word if you can find one that will let you say what you want to say. If there is no short word, then go ahead and consider the utilisation of a sesquipedalian expression as a viable alternative, but be cognisant of the actuality that it could conceivably be incumbent upon many of your perusers to expand, by consulting a dictionary or perhaps an alternative lexicon of particularised patois, copious amounts of their invaluable time in attempting to determine the message you are endeavoring to impart to them through the instrumentality of your missive.

Richard Dowis
From Members’ Handbook of the Society for the Preservation of English Language and Literature (SPELL)

How Aristotle Can Help You with Your Business Writing and Speaking

Although the Ancient Greeks may seem irrelevant to some, they developed many important concepts that influence many aspects of our lives today. One area where we can apply these concepts is in our business writing and speaking.

Aristotle’s Rhetoric is a prime example. In the book, Aristotle describes three essential elements of rhetoric: ethos, pathos and logos. Understanding these and applying them in your business writing and speaking will help you persuade your readers and listeners when you are promoting your products, services and ideas.

What is rhetoric?

Despite its negative image, rhetoric is the art of persuasive writing and speaking. There are many rhetorical appeals a writer can use. Aristotle broadly defined these as:

  • ethos – authority, credibility, character
  • pathos – emotion, identity, self-interest
  • logos – logic, reason.

According to Aristotle, any attempt to persuade your audience when writing or speaking should include all of these.

How you can apply Aristotle’s ideas to your business writing

Let’s look at a few examples of how you can use ethos, pathos and logos in your business writing and speaking.

Ethos

Ethos can be applied in many ways in your business writing and presentations to gain authority and credibility.

Your website is a great place to establish your credibility. You can do this is on your About Us page by showing your readers what you have achieved. This might be a list of satisfied clients, customer testimonials, projects you have completed successfully, industry or professional awards you have won, or profiles highlighting the skills and knowledge of your key personnel. Any of these will build your credibility and authority in the eyes or your readers.

If speaking at a public event, you can establish your ethos by the way you are introduced. The best way to ensure this is to write your own introduction, or at least list the main points that you want mentioned. These might include your educational achievements, previous roles, projects completed, your current responsibilities, and recognitions and awards.

Pathos

Many writers believe that pathos is the most important of the three appeals. Emotion can be introduced in many direct or subtle ways.

If writing a case study about your product or service, you can emphasise the frustration or discomfort the customer experienced before discovering your solution. If potential customers suffer from similar problems, they will connect with the emotional side of the case study.

A recent occupational health and safety television commercial by WorkSafe Victoria (Australia) appealed to the emotions by showing us a workplace accident scene and then switching to a family waiting for the husband and father to return from work. You’re not sure if he’s been hurt and you feel worried for the family. He returns safely in the end, but you get strong emotional reminder of the importance of maintaining safe work practices and environments.

Logos

Whether you want people to buy your products or agree with your ideas, you need to use some form of logic or reasoning in your business writing.

If you’re writing a brochure about your product, you can show how much time, money or effort it saves your customers. In many cases, you will want to use statistical data to make your point. To be more credible it will help to have third-party party confirmation – for example, from a customer or industry association.

A website of a major insurance provider points out that 80 per cent of Australians are underinsured and lists the source of the statistic as a survey conducted by a government agency. This fact will make readers think: “Am I one of the 80 per cent? Chances are that I am, and I need to do something about it to avoid serious problems.” In this case, the statistical fact leads to an emotional response.

Combining authority, emotion and reason in your business writing and presentations

Choosing the right mix of ethos, pathos and logos is the key to persuasive writing and speaking. How you combine the three will depend on the product, the service or idea you’re promoting, and your audience. Business managers, for example, often need to make a logical case for purchasing a new solution to a problem, so business-to-business products and services require a rational justification. Consumer products and services tend to be promoted on an emotional level. For example, if you’re selling a relaxing holiday on the beach or expensive jewellery, you will want to focus on the emotional side of your offering.

Michael Gladkoff