Dear Lynda, Thank you. I am using the tip about using numbers and it does 3 things:
1. Keeps me organized
2. Gets better answers from my readers.
3, Makes my emails look less cluttered.
— Elaine Z. Jennerich, Ph.D., Director of Organization Development and Training University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.

Oh, Lynda: This was terrific! Exactly what I was looking for. Wow – a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. [Our work together] is a must for my future projects and personal work. — Dr. Katherine A. Hart, Ed.D., ClearVision Consulting, Alameda, Calif.

Thanks for speaking at Rotary today. It’s always nice to have a hands-on learning experience. You were great! — John Germain, President, Rotary, Greater Seattle Area, Wash.

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Words At Work

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The Writer’s Companion

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A handy reference guide packed with quick answers to common writing questions. Topics include: Five Must-Ask Questions, Six C's of Strong Communication, Seven Essentials of Structure, Eight Extras for Excitement, Ten Embarrassing Errors, Twelve Pointers on Punctuation, and much more!

Is your writing limiting your success?

Take our five easy steps to make your business writing—and career—soar!

STEP 1. 

Discover what you’re doing right—and where you can improve—with our Quick Quiz:

1. You write daily and your fingers fly across the keyboard. Your writing is good enough in our fast-paced e-world.

True
False

2. Your first drafts stink, so you must be a bad writer.

True
False

3. You have trouble getting started with writing projects and don’t write fast enough.

True
False

4. You offer excellent products/services and share all their great features with your clients/customers.

True
False
During a sales course, I delivered my presentation to the class. I felt good about all the exciting features I had to offer and shared them with great enthusiasm. Afterward, the instructor said he was surprised I was still in business.”What do you mean?” I asked, my face burning red. “I’ve signed up several clients with this presentation.”His answer: “Even a blind pig finds an acorn once in a while.”Ouch! But I never forgot his message—I needed to talk about the benefits and impact my services offered my clients, not just deliver a glowing report of the features! The same goes for writing, whether you’re writing a letter, e-mail, report, or sales piece. By the way, in today’s busy world, every document is basically a sales piece because it competes for readers’ attention and time. Grab it with benefits they’ll resonate with.One of the best ways to learn this important technique is to study how successful people do it. Our e-book Imitate to Innovate shows you how to “deconstruct” the writing of people you admire (or envy!) so you can start writing that way too. (It’s not copying—just practice.)

5. A client/customer is angry about something you’ve done. You’ve just lost their business.

True
False

6. You want to write blogs and/or articles, but you don’t have enough good ideas.

True
False

 

 

 

How’d you do?

A lot of people say “good enough.” But you know what? Good enough isn’t good enough anymore! You need effective—and creative—business writing.

Today, especially with the economic downturn, lots of people are vying for the same job, the same contract, the same sale. Powerful business writing can put you at the top of the list.

And to be found online, what do we do? That’s right—we write.  Blogs and articles, Web copy and reports, proposals and white papers. You want your business writing to be more than good enough so you’ll stand out.

Go from “good enough” to great!

STEP 2.

Check out our Free Resources. You’ll find lots of information to help you get started taking your writing—and career—to the next level.

STEP 3.

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STEP 4.

Join the Association for Creative Business Writing. All our programs are open to everyone, but membership has its privileges. We offer three tiers (including a free one!)—with one just right for your needs. Check out membership benefits here.

STEP 5.

Sign up for your free 20-minute consultation and get answers to your business writing questions and concerns. Click on the red button to schedule your appointment.