Category Archives: Business Writing

Top tips for Business Writing. Learn how to write reports, proposals, emails, and other types of writing used to communicate with different audiences. Business writing is a also known as business communication and professional writing.

5 Facebook Lead Generation Tactics

Can you really use Facebook for marketing? To be honest, I was a bit skeptical about this until I really made an effort to figure out how Facebook works, especially it advertising platform. I was comparing it to Google Adwords and that didn’t work. This course on Shoemoney about Facebook Advertising really helped. It’s not cheap but then the good stuff never is.

Klariti Top 100: Download Most Popular Articles in PDF

Ever wanted to find that article about writing Business Proposals, or using White Papers for Marketing? How about how to write your first Marketing Plan? Klariti.com now has close to 900 articles. Keeping tabs on these is now always easy, so what I’ve done is start to PDF the most popular articles and drop them […]

How Successful Business Writers Write Less But Earn More

A few weeks ago I wrote that I didn’t like business writing when I started out. Why? Well, it took me several centuries to write very long white papers, data sheets, and other sales collateral. Strange word ‘collateral’ isn’t it? The main reason we did this was the ‘assumption’ that customers preferred lengthy documents. These doorstoppers covered all aspects of the product/service. Sure, it had its place. But not all documents have to land with a thud. It’s the same with writing Business Plans. It doesn’t have to be fifty pages if you can get it under twenty and keep the material focused.

10 Step Guide to Better Business Writing

Look at how Hemingway does it. His writing style is crisp, direct and engaging. All the signs of a great writer. Look at how he makes long sentences short, mundane subjects interesting, and clips along at a nice pace. And without ever losing the thread. Business writers can use these techniques to improve business plans, […]

How to Use LinkedIn To Find Contract Work

Of the three main social media sites, which one gives you the best return? Well, I’ve had some reservations about LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/in/ivanwalsh) and didn’t join up until last year. Most of the folks I spoke to didn’t seem to get much return from it and looked elsewhere, mostly Facebook. I should add that most of […]

12 Steps To Becoming a Business Consultant

The BBC quotes research from Barclays Bank which shows that semi-retired workers are responsible for 50% more start-ups than 10 years ago. In the UK, 67% of small business owners are over 45, while a mere 8.7% are under 34. Such data suggests that running a business actually plays to the strengths of older people. […]

S.P.E.E.D. Writing – 37 Ways to Increase Your Business Writing Productivity

technical-writer-ivan-walsh-chinaWorking in China means more business and less technical writing, especially proposal development, web marketing case studies and white papers. As some friends I hang out with on LinkedIn are also moving into biz writing, I thought I’d add a few tips here. While there is some overlap with technical writing, it does require a different mindset, for example, to understand the emotional drivers that persuade customers to accept or reject business proposals.

A-Z of Customer Complaints

The more you sell, the more complaints. Nothing personal. Oscar Wilde said, ‘the only thing worse than being talked about, is not being talked about.’ It’s the same on the web. If you plan to run a business, you better get ready to deal with the complaints.

We’ve sold more than $600,000 of goods in three years. On good days, we do $4,000. Most days it’s about $2,000. That’s each day, every week, every month. We’ve learnt a few things. The #1 lesson I learnt is… take real good care of your customers and they’ll come back, and come back again, and come back again. Believe me, this is much better than chasing down new customers.

Business Negotiation: Learning To Say ‘No’

Roger Fisher best-selling business book on successful negotiations, Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In focused on how to gain mutual agreement between parties without confrontations. Its premise was that both parties want to get to “Yes.” You’ve read hundreds of article along the same lines. But not everyone is into win-win. Today, we’re going to look at getting to No.

Why Bill Gates Chose Warren Buffet as His Role Model

Should you use a role model to develop your business? Maybe you should: the top business magazines say, ‘be yourself, be authentic, share your story’ Or maybe you shouldn’t. For entrepreneurs, using a role model creates a dilemma. Does it mean you’ve sold out? Do you lose street cred? Can you really copy someone else and be true to yourself?

Why Middle-Age Waitresses Get Bigger Tips

Like experiments? Try this the next time you go out. Keep an eye on the waitresses and see who they touch, where they touch and when they touch. Understanding the power of touch, both inside and outside the office, can make a significant difference to your career. If you get it right! And you’d be forgiven for thinking that the leggy blondes, (or tall handsome waiters) would get the bigger tips. Doesn’t work like that. Here’s why.

9 Ways to Increase Traffic To a Technical Blog

To quote Van Halen, ‘everybody wants some.’ And what you want is traffic. Why write a blog if no-one visits, right? I have 17 technical writers’ blogs in my Google Reader & RSS feeds. Most are fine but… if they used some of the following tactics, they’d get more traffic, comments, money and Nobel prizes. […]