copywriting « We Write For You

One space, not two spaces, after a period. Period.

October 22, 2009 | Posted in: General Writing, Old School | Tags: AP, AP Stylebook, colons, copywriting, editing, editing tips, grammar, periods, spaces, spacing, We Write For You, wewriteforyou.com, writing, writing tips |

A sign showing an exclamation point. For many years, writers were taught to include two spaces after periods and certain other punctuation marks, such as colons. There was good reason for this at the time: Typewriters produced a typeface that made it aesthetically unpleasant to have only one space separating sentences.

However, those days are long gone. The fonts computers produce have made the two-space method unnecessary. Today, every major style manual (including the Chicago Manual of Style and the AP Stylebook) makes it clear that one space is proper.

Does it matter if you still use two? Actually, yes. Anytime we see two spaces in an article that was written in recent years, we immediately think “amateur hour.” And that’s the last thing you want your reader to think about you.

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Persuasive Writing: when “more” is “less”

August 28, 2009 | Posted in: Competitive Writing, Fundraising, General Writing, Grantwriting, Public Relations, Resumes and Cover Letters | Tags: brochures, business writing, compete, competition, copywriting, document, editing, funding, Fundraising, grant writing, Grantwriting, marketing, persuade, persusive writing, private donors, proposal, proposal scores, Public Relations, resume, We Write For You, wewriteforyou.com, winning grants, writing, writing tips |

Most of the time, persuasive writing is used in competitive situations.

It is the resume, when you compete with others to get the job. It is the grant proposal, when you compete with others to get funding. It is any time you compete with peers to get donors, votes and even “your way.”

More is less in persuasive writing when you use words that say the same thing. For example, “Our approach is economical, efficient and frugal, freeing up manpower, materials and money for other uses.”

It is obvious to the reader that your plan will save money. In fact, it is obvious over and over and over. The reader tunes out when statements include unnecessary words; and worn out by the repetition, gives little attention to the rest of your statements.

Imagine the sentence above being followed by “Think what we could do with the resources this method saves our organization.” When your sentences repeat the message, you suggest to the reader that you (in a resume) or your plan has no other good qualities; that much of the document is really filler.

In conclusion, when you write a resume, proposal or sales document, don’t use unnecessary adjectives and redundant sentences. Let each unique point you make stand out.

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Can you find all 14 writing mistakes?

August 3, 2009 | Posted in: General Writing, Spell Check is Not Your Friend | Tags: business writing, copywriting, editing, editing emails, editing tips, grammar, proofreading, proper usage, spell check, spell checker, spellcheck, spelling, usage, We Write For You, wewriteforyou.com, writing tips |

Here are some basic mistakes that do not get flagged by a spell checker. Can you spot all the errors?

I consider people talking loudly on there cell phones in public to be offense of. They should of taken care of business at home or at there work sight. Do they have more rite to be herd in public then others?

I mite just go up to a loud cell talker and say, “Are thoughts could be as important as yours. We cant here them because your so loud. You deserve an Olympic mettle for rudeness!”

There are 14 words used mistakenly in context. Did you find this type of writing to be a turnoff? One friend told us, “When I read something like this, I die a little inside.”

As we’ve said before: you must review and edit everything you write.

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Informal doesn’t always mean unprofessional

June 7, 2009 | Posted in: Competitive Writing, General Writing, Public Relations | Tags: Add new tag, copywriting, editing, editing tips, formal writing, ghost writing, ghostwriting, grammar, informal writing, We Write For You, wewriteforyou.com, writing tips |

…just as “formal” doesn’t always mean professional. Here’s what we mean:

Your job as a writer is to service the reader — whoever the particular reader is in that particular instance.

Nice shirt, nice tie, but decidedly unprofessional.

For some readers, your thoughts will be best expressed through very clinical, technical wording — very formal, if you will. Others might benefit more from a light, conversational tone — quite informal, if you will.

Just because your tone is informal doesn’t make it unprofessional. We could have written this post, for example, with no contractions — “Here is” and “does not,” for example.

While that’s more formal, it doesn’t make the post easier to read. Contractions are grammatically correct and do a fine job of lightening your writing’s tone.

An informal tone is not appropriate for all occasions, of course. And don’t use informality as an excuse to be unprofessional — but that’s a discussion for another day.

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The Best Writing Tip EVER.

May 23, 2009 | Posted in: Competitive Writing, General Writing, Public Relations, The Best Writing Tip Ever | Tags: Add new tag, annual reports, brochures, business writing, copywriting, cover letter, freelance writing, Fundraising, ghost writing, grant writing, marketing, PR, Public Relations, request for proposal, SEO, We Write For You, wewriteforyou.com, writing tips |

Okay, we’re just kidding with that title. Actually… kidding isn’t quite right. We do have a great writing tip for you today. And it is one of the best writing tips ever. To certain people–maybe even you–it might well be the best writing tip ever.

We’ll have many more writing tips for you to check out if you read this blog regularly. But if we had to choose a Top Ten, this would be in there. It’s probably in the Top Five. And though it sounds obvious, this is the one big rule we see people screw up all the time:

Write with your audience in mind.

It rather sounds simple and obvious, but writers botch this one constantly. All we’re saying is that for whatever you’re writing, you need to identify who comprises your target audience. Then, make sure everything you write is focused on connecting with that type of person.

This is true in virtually every type of writing. It’s true in business writing (sales letters, website copy, news releases, blog posts and plenty more) and in creative writing (manuscripts, screenplays, treatments, outlines, query letters and plenty more).

Yes, it's a rather generic audience shot. It's not always easy coming up with images for a writing blog, you know. At least it's more exciting than the "hyphen" image from the last post, right?

It’s even true in personal writing (emails, thank-you letters, love letters and–you guessed it–plenty more).

If you’re writing for an audience more likely to be compelled (to action, to understanding, or whatever you’re going for) by a warm, lighthearted tone, don’t write in a cold, clinical style.

If you’re writing to a CEO you know has little time on her hands, don’t waste time with a cutesy introduction–get to the point.

Want to sell something to people who are given to purchase luxury items? Make sure the tone of prestige and class informs everything in your sales copy. Targeting buyers on the other end of the spectrum? Focus on the themes of value and high return on investment throughout.

Remember, it’s up to you to orient your writing to the reader’s needs–not the other way around. People don’t have the time or the patience to jump through those hoops; they’ll move on to something that grabs their interest without any extra effort. Be that writer, and reap the benefits.

Check back here at the We Write For You blog (wewriteforyou.com) for more Best Writing Tip Ever installments.

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Welcome to the WeWriteForYou.com blog

May 14, 2009 | Posted in: Competitive Writing, General Writing, Public Relations | Tags: annual reports, copywriting, cover letter, editing, editing tips, freelance writing, ghost writing, ghostwriting, grant writing, Grantwriting, marketing, proofreading, request for proposal, resume, SEO, training, We Write For You, wewriteforyou.com, writing, writing tips |

Hi. Welcome to the first post on the WeWriteForYou.com blog!

This blog’s purpose is to share our decades of experience with you. At We Write For You, we believe good writing is critical to everyone’s personal and professional success. We also believe that clear communication helps bring the world together.

What can you expect from this blog? We’ll discuss all sorts of communication, particularly related to the written word. We’ll talk about how people’s means to communicate is changing rapidly in the 21st century.

We’ll talk about specific types of business and personal writing, such as tips for writing resumes and cover letters, press releases, website content, search engine optimized (SEO) copy, blogs, annual reports and other subjects.

Because our director, Barbara Gershman, is an expert in grants, we’ll also provide tips for people interested in how to create and format grant proposals, requests for proposals and so on.

Don’t be surprised if we occasionally branch out into other areas such as creative writing and anything else related to creating and communicating. And please feel free to contact us with questions you’d like answered here and ideas for future posts. We look forward to hearing from you!

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