Small Business Ownership: How and When to Write Formal Contracts
Business contracts outline important agreements you (or your business) enter into with others. If you own a small business, you should familiarize yourself with writing a good agreement, or contract. Sure [more…]
Copywriting Basics: Giving Grammar a Break
Copywriting doesn't necessarily demand the strictest observance to formal English grammar. Because your objective is to build an empathetic rapport with your readers, you want to write the way they speak [more…]
Writing a Good Business Blog
Early blogs focused on technology and the ubiquitous "this-is-my-life" commentary; an intermediate wave of blogs focused on news and politics; more recently, the hottest blogs are business blogs. Why do [more…]
Finding Copywriting Inspiration
Stuck on a copywriting project? It happens from time to time. Fortunately, you don't need a miracle or even a flash of brilliance. Almost invariably, what you really need is a change of perspective, a [more…]
How to Introduce Your Business in a Letter
An introductory business letter is supposed to make a good impression with a potential customer (called a prospect). Writing a letter to introduce your business to someone involves shifting the focus to [more…]
How to Keep Your Business Writing Clear and Professional
Clear business writing requires good grammar, spelling, and vocabulary and ruthless self-editing. You also need to make your business writing courteous, getting your point clearly across with civility. [more…]
Examining Standard Business Stationery Needs
Every business should have a variety of stationery for communications with customers and contacts. Each type of business stationery has its function, but all types of your business stationery should share [more…]
How to Format a Business Letter
You write most business letters with the intention of getting the reader to respond. Write your business letters with a clear purpose, making those letters error-free, friendly, and pertinent. All business [more…]
How to Format a Business Memorandum
Business memorandum or memoranda — also called memo or memos — are specially formatted written communications within your business. A memo's format is typically informal [more…]
How to Format a Business Invitation
At some point, you might have the opportunity to host a social business event. Make sure you send your business invitation promptly to leave time for the invitations to be returned — either accepted or [more…]
How to Prepare a Business Thank-You Note
Prepare and send thank-you notes within a day or two of the business interaction. Business-related thank-you notes should be short, gracious, and to the point. Two to three lines is a perfectly acceptable [more…]
How to Address Envelopes for Your Business
Include a printed return address on envelopes for your business that match your business's letterhead. Ideally, the recipient’s address on these envelopes should be typed or printed by a software program [more…]
Basic Job Skills to Include in a Cover Letter
Use skills language in your cover letter — including basic skills, people skills, thinking skills, and personal qualities — to communicate your expertise in fundamental job skills. These basic skills [more…]
Business-Related Skills to Include in a Cover Letter
Your cover letter should highlight business-related skills you have that are highly sought after by employers. These include marketable, crossover, job-related, and motivated skills. These skill groups [more…]
Must-Have References for Copyediting and Proofreading
If you’re a copyeditor or proofreader, you know the importance of good reference sources. Much of the information in desk references can be found on the Internet, but a good copyeditor or proofreader should [more…]
The Proofreading Symbols
As copyeditor or proofreader, you need to become familiar with the proofreading symbols so that you can make your edits understood. The following tables list proofreading symbols every proofreader and [more…]
Finishing Up a Business Contract
Before you sign off on a business contract, make sure that it contains everything it should and nothing it shouldn’t. Use the tips in the following list before you conclude any business agreement: [more…]
Key Business Contract Terms
If you’re dealing with business contracts, you need to be able to speak the language. Some common contract terms you may encounter while doing business are defined in the following list: [more…]
Technical Writing For Dummies Cheat Sheet
Write a technical brief as your important first step in the technical-writing process — whether you're an experienced technical writer or a beginner. A technical brief helps you identify and organize important [more…]
How to Work with a Researcher when Writing a White Paper
Most companies don’t have researchers available to help out white paper writers. Some independent writers do hire researchers to do the grunt work of finding the perfect quotes, stats, and factoids to [more…]
Incorporate New Media into White Papers
Tomorrow’s white papers will likely incorporate new media beyond text and graphics; they may even move beyond the paradigm of a fixed document into a flexible cluster of information accessed via the web [more…]
Managing Your Computer Documents during the Writing Process
Modern technology certainly isn’t foolproof. One morning, your computer may refuse to boot. Or as you’re cleaning up your hard drive, you mistakenly delete the wrong files. And here it comes, that sickening [more…]
Using Innovative Software to Enhance the Writing Process
Any real writer can work with paper and pencil, if he has to, or scrawl words on the wall with the end of a shoelace dipped in soot. But everyone uses computers now. So if you ever wonder, “What software [more…]
Jazzing Up the Appearance of a White Paper
Few people will read a text-only white paper. You can provide visual relief by using at least one of these text enhancements on every page: [more…]
Promoting a White Paper for Maximum Impact
To get your target audience to notice your new white paper, you need to unveil it like a mini-product launch. Try different promotional tactics and repeat as long as they keep working. Don’t abandon promotions [more…]
