Happy New Year: How to keep to one resolution

Being a week into January, I have already reached for the wine. I challenge any of you to deal with a room full of teenage mechanics without having some kind of crutch to lean on. And it's not as if I was drinking at work. I mean, sure my writing went up the board like sort of deranged ski and my spacial awareness was... limited. Hey, I didn't say anything about turning up to work still drunk from the night before, did I?

My point being, 'resolutions' signify something we can't stick to! Better to call them goals or challenges in my opinion.

Whatever you call them; many writers would like to write more in 2014.

Here's a quick guide to making sure this is the one resolution you do stick to.

Write

As inviting as a fresh field of snow, the blank page beckons creativity. It's just that the longer we stare at it, the more it seems to taunt us. Remember all those embarrassing love poems you wrote as a teenager? All the diaries describing the minutiae of what happened on the bus? They were needed! They were part of a process and they actually helped you to become a better writer. And the same is true for blank page syndrome. You can always go back and change the awkward beginning.

Start a blog

Whether its purpose is for increasing interest in your business, or just for fun; writing a blog encourages you to write frequently.This leads to connecting with other writers. Over time, you'll find you pick up habits in your writing that become ingrained. 

Save the ideas!

 Even if you only want to write for blogging and promotional purposes, inspiration strikes at inopportune moments. Collecting these ideas together can prevent writer's block. We need to campaign to save the hundreds of ideas that escape daily because they don't get written down! Save the ideas! Carry a notebook and write things down as they enter your head.

Connect with other writers

Be it through blogging, twitter, facebook , a local writing group; connect with other writers. Exchange ideas with them. Read each other's work. Make suggestions on how to improve and respond to suggestions. Writing is a process, and getting feedback assists that process. Who knows? You might even make some new friends!

Read

Easy as it sounds, this is the golden rule of becoming a better writer. Read. From following interesting blogs online to increasing your bookshelf at home; read. Allow words to consume you. Keep a book in the bathroom. Read on the bus or train. You will find reading more inspires you to write more, and widens your vocabulary. 

With all this advice, I realise I've neglected my book today, so I'm off to soak in the Spanish sun. 

Over to you: What are your tips for staying focused and writing? Comment below.

Wrecking (B)all: Techniques to get your company noticed. (And no-one needs to take their clothes off!)

Gaining a wider audience

After this week's controversy about THAT video and what sells these days; we decide to look at the top tips for making sure your company gets noticed for the right reasons.

Get. Their. Attention.

Use an interesting title or refer to a recent event to make your post stand out. We are constantly exposed to text. To make yours appeal to potential customers, use a great headline.

What's in it for them?

Write from your customer's point of view. This means writing about how your product/service/company will benefit the customer. Don't go into lengthy detail about the features. This comes later. At first, you want to generate interest and reveal the details when they're hooked.

Jackanory. Wait... What?

Read it aloud. Does it sound natural? Does it flow well or are you waffling? Good copy needs to be carefully chosen to provide a simple and clear guide to your product or service. Which brings us to the next point.

Use subheadings

Don't make your topic seem too dense by suffocating the reader with huge blocks of text. Break it up into manageable chunks. Use headings and subheadings to organise different subjects.

Get personal

Address your audience as 'you'. This makes them believe you are talking to them personally. It makes the audience trust the writer if you write as if you are just talking to one person. It may help to imagine this is someone you actually know.

All hands on deck

Ask a colleague to read through your copy. Even better, ask a customer to read it. This is the best way to test how effective it is. Respond to feedback. If someone tells you it's too long, EDIT it. If someone says it's perfect, EDIT it. There is always room for improvement.

Be specific

The more specific you are, the better your customer will understand how they will benefit. For example saying "my clients have found my copy to be excellent." doesn't really tell the customer much. However, saying Mr. R. Bird - "Copywriterlaura provided excellent copy, which increased my web traffic by 27%" sounds more believable and much more specific.

Start using these seven tips today, and watch your copy gather more interest and get your company noticed.

What are you top tips for widening your web audience? Social media? Leaflet bombing? Please share your ideas in the comments section below.