Michelle Fabio, Esq. reports:
"No matter the value of your estate, it is essential that you plan for what will happen to your assets after your death. A living trust can give you the peace of mind not only that your family will be provided for but also that your wishes will be followed after your death. When done correctly, a living trust can also assure a fast distribution of your assets, avoid unnecessary taxes and keep your wishes private as well. As your living trust will be one of the most important documents drafted in your lifetime, you should be prepared before getting down to the business of writing one...Be sure to...make a list of your assets that includes everything you own. Assets are everything from tangible items like your house, car and jewelry to intangible ones like stocks, bonds and life insurance policies...Just as it is important to list all of your assets and their values before writing the living trust, be sure that you have all of the paperwork—titles, deeds, stock certificates, life insurance policies, etc.—in order and ready to hand over to the attorney that will be preparing your living trust. Having all of this ready will enable your attorney to get a running start as your assets will need to be transferred to the trust in order to 'fund' it...You will have to name beneficiaries, those who will receive assets upon your death, so plan on who should get what before you sit down to write the living trust. Beneficiaries can include family, friends or organizations (including charities). You may also want to consider who you don't want to get anything at all and discuss this with the attorney as well. Keep in mind that if you have named beneficiaries on insurance policies or retirement or savings accounts, these may conflict with your plans regarding the living trust. Be sure to let the attorney know of these potential trouble spots...With a living trust, you will name yourself as the trustee so you continue to have control over your assets during the course of your lifetime. Your successor trustee, though, will pay your debts and distribute your assets according to your instructions upon your death, so be sure to choose someone you trust. Moreover, in the case of your incapacitation, your successor trustee would also be the one to handle your affairs...Although you cannot designate a guardian for your minor children [if any] through a living trust, you should still consider who you would want to take care of them in case of your death. You can include this information in a 'pour-over will,' which also provides for the distribution of any assets acquired after the creation of the living trust but before your death or any assets inadvertently excluded." Anne Handley-Fierce reports:
"Regardless of what type of writer you are, there will always be someone out there who doesn’t like what you’ve written. In the past, you may not have even known about most criticisms, but these days, every comment, blog review, or tweet becomes a public statement. You can’t help but read them, particularly when they are in response to your online writing. So, what do you do with all of this criticism? Your first instinct may be to take it to heart. Your second instinct may be to fight back—but that can make the situation even worse. What you do should depend on what type of criticism you’ve received...Remember, everyone has different tastes. Suppose you write an article for a food magazine and share your secret for perfect banana bread. No matter how wonderful your recipe is, you are bound to receive comments along the lines of 'It was only okay,' or 'I still prefer Alton Brown’s recipe.' So, what should you do? Nothing. You can’t be everyone’s favorite. This is especially true for anyone who writes fiction. Assuming that you feel confident in your work and you’ve followed the online writing checklist, it’s best to let these negative reviews go. On the flip side, you may be able to gain constructive feedback from the reviews. If you see a few comments that the reveal in your mystery story was weak, take them seriously. Try to understand where the criticism is coming from and use it to make your next piece better...If readers have valid queries, you should address them when you can. They might wonder why you left out certain information, or they may disagree with your interpretation of events. It’s okay to clarify or address concerns. Just remember to always be professional in your response; never criticize the writer or the comment itself...If you had specific reasons for the choices you made, explain them. If it was an oversight, apologize. If possible, promise to address the information in a future article or update the original piece...The worst type of negative feedback requires damage control. When someone attacks you, you need to respond. If a reader is spreading rumors or outright lies, do your best to set the record straight. Use all available social media channels to tell the truth and debunk the lies. If you get a positive message out there, people will start to ignore the negative comments. Once again, you need to take the high road and remain professional in all your replies. If the comments ever turn into threats or abuse, stop engaging and speak to the authorities...[N]egative criticism is a part of any writing career. Don’t waste your time worrying when you could be working on your next great piece." Laura Spencer reports:
"Conversational English has become the language of business and it is definitely the language of the Internet. In this post, I’ll explain what a conversational writing style is and list some of the benefits of using it. I’ll also give you a simple test that you can use to determine whether your own writing style is conversational...What is a conversational writing style? Having a conversational writing style means that you write the way that you would speak (even if that means stretching or breaking a few rules of grammar). If you want to write something that’s actually going to be read, use a conversational writing style...A conversational style makes it easier for your readers to relate to you as an actual person...If you’re using a conversational style, you are more likely to be writing in your own natural voice and your writing will seem less strained...Conversational English is easier for most readers to understand. For that reason, a conversational style conveys your message better. If you think about what you’ve enjoyed reading recently, chances are it was written in a conversational style rather than a formal style. If you don’t believe me, when was the last time that you read a legal document (or a tax return, for that matter) for fun? If you’re like me, the answer is probably…never. We read those documents because we have to, not because we enjoy it. Sadly, most English teachers still teach students to write in a formal style. While I think that it’s important to understand the rules (so that you can break them), English teachers would be doing their students a real favor if they also encouraged students to develop an authentic conversational voice...One way to test your own writing to see how conversational it is [is] by reading it aloud. If you feel awkward speaking what you’ve written, chances are you aren’t using a conversational writing style." Will Kalif reports:
"Here are some simple yet amazingly effective steps that will [e]nsure you start and finish your epic fantasy novel. You just need to understand what epic fantasy really is and why you want to write it. The key to writing a real epic fantasy novel lies in the word 'epic'. But this doesn’t just mean big in scale, scope, and size. An epic fantasy novel doesn’t have to be a thousand[-]page doorstopper. It has to be epic in its ambitious reach for finding answers to the big questions in life. This is the true and hidden goal of epic fantasy. It is a vehicle for understanding what life is about. And even though the story may have dragons, and take place on an unbelievable world that doesn’t really exist[,] it needs to be applicable to the human condition. So this is the first thing you have to do when writing an epic fantasy novel. Decide what you want to say about life or what important topic you want to explore. Write this down and keep it in mind throughout your whole novel writing experience. And remember that you don’t have to come right out and explain your theme. It is usually better, and more rewarding for the reader, if you reveal the theme slowly and allow him or her to discover it. Some common themes you may want to explore in epic fantasy include the examination of the nature of good and evil, the ultimate meaning of life, the quest to understand oneself, or the challenge of making the transition from childhood to adulthood...Write your theme down on a big piece of paper and pin it to the wall near your computer...The world truly deserves to hear your perspective on the big questions in life. When doing the actual writing of the prose of the novel I recommend you set yourself a very distinct goal. This is imperative and the goal I recommend you set is that you will write part of the story every single day until it is done...The important thing is that you write every day. I don’t recommend you set goals that are pinned to dates or word counts. Dates can be tricky because a novel is a fluid thing. Your novel could end up being fifty thousand words or two hundred thousand words. This is because you are exploring a theme and more ideas and angles are going to come to you as [you] progress. And I don’t recommend pinning a daily or weekly word count to your writing because writing is a creative process and you could end up with just a lot of filler. Simply set yourself the goal of sitting down and writing every day...At some point in the middle of the novel you are going to look back and realize that you are in a routine and everything is flowing quite smoothly...I recommend you keep a spiral bound notebook for ancillary information and notes...Write down the details in a spiral bound notebook and refer to it often. The last bit of advice I have for you is that you should never rely on the fantasy aspect of your world as an escape route. What I mean is that there is nothing worse than watching the main character of a novel getting out of a tricky spot by whipping out a super-duper magical spell that the reader never even knew about. Make sure there are rules in your world and make sure your characters follow them. You are drawing parallels to real life and in real life there are tangible rules to everything. So create rules in your world and follow them. An epic fantasy novel is an exploration of the big questions in life. You have a very valuable point of view about these big questions and there is an audience out there that is very willing to listen. Write yourself a clear statement of what you want to say and then write toward that goal every day. Before long you will have a written work that you will be proud of and that will enrich other people[']s lives by shedding light on the human condition." Kevin Johnston reports:
"When you bid on a project, your bid proposal will include many important elements. The most important of these elements is the estimate, sometimes called a quote, that shows how much you will charge. If you take time to make your estimate clear, accurate and relevant to your potential client, your entire bid proposal will carry authority and help you win business...Though you may think of your income in terms of annual earnings, you may find it helpful to look at your value in hourly terms...Once you decide what you're worth on an hourly basis, you can estimate the number of hours you will have to put into a project. If you base this estimate on experience and a thorough knowledge of the amount of work involved, you will have a strong basis for your job estimate...Materials cost you money, and your estimate should pass on those costs to your client. In addition, you must decide whether you will mark up materials as compensation for having to go get them, store them and transfer them to the project site. You may also factor in a lost opportunity cost. If you had to pay for the materials up front before you were compensated, you used money that could otherwise have been earning a profit elsewhere...Your estimate must give details about what you are going to do for the client, which requires a clear understanding of the task at hand. Be careful not to make assumptions that could cause you to either underestimate the work required, or overestimate it and therefore overbid...Failing to ask the right questions beforehand could be a miscommunication harmful to your bottom line...Your estimate should start with your letterhead, followed by the term 'Estimate' or 'Quote.' Give a number for the estimate. Follow this with a statement about payment terms, including any necessary deposits and when you expect final payment. The main part of the quotation should provide all details about materials, services, hours you expect to put in and a description of the final product [you] will provide. This final product is your deliverable, or what the client is hiring you to produce. Close with a statement that explains how long the quote is effective." Tao of the GetYourGuide blog reports:
"Search engines and our ranking algorithm reward relevant content, so writing good descriptions will increase the chance that a potential customer will click on your product page...Now that the customer is already on your product page, you want him to actually book your product as well...Think from the customer perspective and try to use general keywords like 'tour', 'activity' or 'adventure' and keywords that are relevant to your product offering. For example, to get customers for a boat ride, use keywords like 'cruise' or 'water'...Travel people are in the business of selling dreams so instead of writing what the tour is about, you should be writing about what the customer will experience. For instance, 'see the Great Wall of China' sounds less inviting than 'When you walk on the Great Wall of China, imagine life as a border soldier defending the country against invading barbarians'...Would you buy a $5[,]000 car that only has a 3[-]sentence description and some bullet points? No one wants to read a novel, but from our experience 80% of tour descriptions tend to be too short rather than too long...One trick that professional presenters often employ is that, first, they tell you what they are going to tell you, then they tell you what they said they would tell you, and finally they will tell you what they just told you. That’s why you should reinforce your product description with catchy product highlights. When people compare different products, it’s the highlights they will use to compare products (and the price of course)...Buying services is a matter of trust and having more information about what to expect makes customers feel more confident about booking...The reason many people use the [I]nternet is because they can compare things online. And travel is already a crowded market. So if you want your products to stand out, writing a nice description is the first and probably most important step to take." Freelance Writing Solutions reports:
"Feature articles are a smart addition to your website and marketing strategy. This compelling content makes you an expert…makes your website more 'sticky'…and makes your prospect want to take action...Decide whom you’re targeting. Picture the reader in your mind...What do you know about that person? Where does he work? Where does he live? What is he worried about? What information is he looking for? Be as specific as you can, to the point where you can imagine that person is sitting down right in front of you...When the person has read your article, what do you want him to feel? Do you want him to feel confident? Insecure? Warm and fuzzy? Even more than feeling, what action do you want him to take? Do you want him to go to a product page on your website? To forward the article to his boss? To call you? Know what you want to happen as a result of your article...Why should the reader bother with your article? What’s in it for him? Don’t make the article all about you. Make it relevant to the reader, too. And tell him why...What information is important for you to share? What is important for the reader to know? Create a bulleted list of topic points...Imagine you’re having a face-to-face conversation with your reader, where you’re sharing your information. What additional questions might come up? Be proactive. Anticipate and answer those questions. So here’s the great part. Once you’ve gone through these steps, you’ll find that the article is essentially written for you. Here’s how it works: Numbers one and two set the tone and style you’ll use in the article. They tell you if you’ll be writing with a professional voice, or light and conversational, or even wry and humorous. Tone and style sets the stage for everything that follows. Number three grabs your reader’s attention…which makes it a perfect introduction. Even better, it makes for a perfect way to wrap up the article, that is, a perfect conclusion as well. So now you’ve got your first and last paragraphs written. Moving right along! Numbers four and five are your body, the bulk of your content. But now you know what you want to say, so it’s just a matter of organizing those bullet points and writing them out into complete sentences and paragraphs. And voila! You’ve got great, compelling content that establishes you as an authority, holds your prospect’s attention, and helps to convert prospects into buyers. In marketing, content counts." Jane Sheeba reports:
"Good quality blog content is the backbone of your online business...Not just for Google, but the only way to please people and search engines is to have good quality blog content. It is the only way to tie both the ends...Every blog post or any form of content you create should have a 'point' or a 'message' in it. If not, why publish it? Make sure you start with the message when you conceive an idea for a blog post. The moment you conceive the idea for a blog post, you should be clear (to yourself) about the end point or the message of that idea. Ask yourself this question: 'What is the ultimate thing I want to tell people via this blog post?' If you can answer that question, you can start writing the post; else you need to wait until you find a proper hook or a point for that post. All search engines (yes, not just Google, but all search engines) want to offer a great user experience to their users; after all[,] it is their business. If your content helps the search engines deliver that, you’ll be golden from them. And think about people. If they click through your blog post from a search result and leave with a great message you’ll be golden to them as well. Simple, right? It’s not rocket science...Keyword research is a very important part of creating awesome content to please BOTH people and search engines. Why? Because keyword research will help you find out the following: (i) What keyword phrases are mostly searched by people – if you look into the global or local monthly search volumes, you can find what people are hungrily looking for. What is the use of finding those keywords? Those keywords are the 'language' people use to find what they want. Those are the search terms they put into the search boxes if they are desperately looking for an answer. (ii) What keyword phrases are hot – again, the global or local search volume will tell you which keywords are most sought after or most popular...(iii) What keyword phrases are profitable...Even when you pick up the very best topic to write on, if you cannot keep your visitors on your page for long[,] this will send a bad signal to the search engines. Do you know about (or remember) the metric called 'bounce rate'? It actually measures how many people jump off your site without staying for more page views...If your post misses the point or is totally off the...track, then your readers will surely jump off as soon as possible. Don’t beat around the bush thinking that you need 700 or 1000 words for a successful blog post...It’s about the point or the message you’re delivering. Nobody is conducting a contest here...Let your posts clearly get the message out in as many words [as] it needs. Do not either restrict yourself in words or beat around the bush. And, more importantly, don’t be boring! And, don’t be annoying either...Remember, the more interesting and search engine friendly you are, the easier it will be for you to: (i) be visible in search results, and (ii) keep your visitors longer in your site." Dana Lynn Smith reports:
"Don't approach a bookstore to discuss a signing unless you've written your book for a wide consumer audience (vs. an industry or other type of niche - lawyers or rock climbers, for example). Many bookstores won't host signings when it's clear that the audience for the book is too narrow. Ask yourself if there's a better place to meet your niche audience face-to-face...The book signing where you sit at a table and try to make eye contact with shoppers is increasingly passé and often a waste of time. You need an event where you can speak to and engage your target audience, whether your book is fiction or nonfiction...Go where you'll find your audience - it might not be at a bookstore...Be creative - if your book is a vegetarian cookbook, schedule an event at a natural foods market or the produce section of a supermarket. Your new mystery takes place at a museum? Talk to the most popular museum in your area about hosting a presentation and signing...Market to warm...Jackie Dishner, author of the regional travel book Back Roads and Byways of Arizona, sold more than 60 books at her signing at the weekly meeting of her businesswomen's group. Members knew she was writing the book and welcomed the opportunity to celebrate its publication with her. Do you belong to a similar group that might support you? For whatever reason, people like to say that they know an author. A signed book is proof of that connection...Do your share to get the word out. Don't expect your event host to do all the promotional work - collaborate so you reach as many people as possible. Contact the press, send an e-mail to locals in your address book and ask them to forward it, and use social networking tools such as Facebook events and Twitter to spread the word...Don't just sign your name. When I sign copies of my humor book about men, Why Can't a Man Be More Like a Woman?, I write the person's first name, add 'It's all true!' and sign my name. For Publicity for Nonprofits, I use 'I'll see you in the news!' People like that additional touch because it feels more personal...Planning, promoting, and executing a successful book signing takes time, thought, and effort. It will all be worth it, though, as you watch those cases of books under your table empty and your hand gets tired from writing with your favorite pen." Marc Pitman reports:
"No matter how digitally savvy you are, if you want to be successful in fundraising you need to come to grips with the fact that direct mail fundraising letters...still work...Fundraising works best when it’s one person writing to another person. So who is the one person that will be writing this letter? The Director of Development? The Executive Director or CEO? The Chair of the Board?...Studies show that statistics kill fundraising results. Engaging the part of the brain that pours over figures and pie charts actually suppresses the part of the brain that makes donation decisions...It helps to imagine yourself having coffee with the one donor you’re writing to. What would you tell that donor? Put that on paper...Don’t try to write in complete sentences or in grammatically correct English...It’s important to make your fundraising [appear] skimmable. Something people can scan and get the gist of in seconds. So judiciously use bold and italic and even underlines to help get the message across...One of the biggest mistakes nonprofits make is letting English majors write their letters. An even bigger one is writing the type of fundraising appeal you’d like to receive. Chances are very good that you aren’t your perfect donor. This is especially important when it comes to writing a P.S. So many nonprofit leaders resist using them...But decades of eye motion studies show that it is the first part of the fundraising letter a donor reads after their name. So sum up your entire message — the ask, the deadline, and the compelling call to action — in the 2 to 3 sentences of a post script...The envelope is an important part of the fundraising letter and overall fundraising package. After all, you need to design it in a way that gets the donor to actually open it. So you need to consider: Will you use a teaser from the story on it? Will you have red letters (like a stamp) saying 'Emergency Appeal' or something similar on it? Or will you leave the envelope blank except for addresses? All these techniques have worked successfully. You need to test them out for yourself to see which is most effective for your donor prospects...Sending a fundraising letter without a reply device is a waste of money. So think about how you’ll craft this. Most nonprofits tend to use a slip of paper or card stock with options on it...When it comes to options, less is more. Neuroscience shows that people like 3-4 options. But more than that (like adding planned giving options on an annual fund appeal) causes their mind to shut down...For what it’s worth, direct mail studies show your best gift prospects are the people that most recently gave. Pulling people from mailings simply because they made a gift this calendar year can be detrimental to your fundraising effort. Counterintuitive but true. Make sure to put some good thought into the list you’ll be sending your fundraising appeal to...A simple, special page dedicated solely to collecting money from this fundraising appeal is best. Having one general online donation form is a bad idea. It’s pretty simple to create a page that has the look and feel of the direct mail fundraising letter. So do it. Design it to have a visual tie-in with the buck slip from the letter but to also be able to stand alone if people are responding from links in social media or email. Don’t leave out the online giving form as part of your direct mail process. Recent studies indicate that one of the best ways to drive online giving is to send a letter!" |
Writing and editing can be pretty rigorous processes if you want to do them well, but that's what this page is here for. Check out the latest tips here. Archives
April 2024
CategoriesJ.D. Parsons
Author SEO Writer Proofreader Editor Internet Researcher |
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