writing tips and tricks
7 Tips To Avoid Accidental Plagiarism When Writing Content
In school, we were taught to think of plagiarism as a type of cheating. It was something BAD students did. They stole information and text from various sources and deliberately tried to pass it off as their own work. As a professional writer (and a decent human being), I know how to avoid that kind…
Read MoreWriting Effective Email: 10 Tips To Be Both Purposeful And Polite
If you’re looking for an article on how to get unsuspecting strangers to open spammy email, keep hunting. This post isn’t for you. Also… you should stop that foolishness, because we’re all busy and impatient, and no one wants that kind of email. This article is about how to improve your email communication skills so…
Read MoreWant More Concise, Powerful Content? Ditch These 20+ Words!
When speaking and writing, we naturally favour certain words and expressions. To some extent, this is a good thing because readers like to hear the voice of the writer, and some of those words and expressions carry your voice. But each word and phrase you put on the page also adds bulk, so you need…
Read MoreHow To Write Copy That Converts Website Visitors Into Customers
By definition, conversion is the process of changing something from one form to another. In the context of online marketing, website conversion is generally about changing visitors into customers, donors, subscribers, or members. The bad news is that, on average, only 2.35% of people who visit a website actually convert. That said, this is just…
Read More15 Excuses For NOT Writing And How To Move Past Them
I’ve been a professional content writer for more than 20 years. And I’ve made ALL the excuses for not writing, including (but certainly not limited to): Too many other things on the to-do list. Not in the right mood. Need to do more research. Need a longer piece of uninterrupted time. Not settled on the…
Read More5 Easy Ways to Warm Up Your Content and Connect With Readers
Your topic is popular and you’re providing lots of valuable information, yet… The writing feels COLD. FLAT. TEXTBOOK-ISH. (If that isn’t a word, it should be!) You know in your heart that folks are going to get bored and click away. So, what can you do to connect with readers and keep eyeballs on your…
Read MoreHow to Stop Writing Mediocre Words: 186 Better Ways to Say “Great”
How often do you toss the word “great” into a sentence, without really thinking about it? A great product, great service, great opportunity… yadda, yadda, yadda. “Great” is the written equivalent of toast with butter. It’s familiar and it feels like you’re adding something to the plate, but there’s almost no taste to it. I’m…
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