Cara Murphy reports:
"Spotlight articles are featured on the front pages of newsletters, magazines and webpages and are fun to read as well as informative. They often connect people and inspire them to action...Start your spotlight article with little-known information, interesting facts or even questions that readers want answered. Head your spotlight article with an eye-catching title. Display a company's financial success with numbers, a store's upcoming sale or ask[ing] a question the reader will want to know the answer to. If you're writing about a person, write his name in the title along with the promise of a secret of some sort...Make sure the title neatly fits on the page and meets format specifications for the publication. Write an introductory paragraph that fulfills the promise of the title. Answer the question or provide the information for the title. The article should be professional and respectful yet still fun; do not divulge private secrets or embarrassing information, but share information that makes the person or company seem more welcoming and accessible. End the introductory paragraph with an enticement that makes the reader want to continue. To introduce a bulleted list, for example, write, 'Here's how to...' or 'You can do these things to help...'." Craig Berman reports:
"Bed-and-breakfasts convey a sense of luxury, a change from the everyday experience. Your menu has to show your customers that you're giving them something they can't easily make for themselves. Accentuate the uniqueness of your dishes and select adjectives that make them sound as appealing as they taste...Come up with a selection of dishes you can easily make but that seem like something out of the ordinary. This doesn't necessarily mean making a recipe up from scratch -- putting a new spin on an old favorite can do the trick. Note what ingredients are available locally -- an omelette with eggs from the farm down the road or vegetables from your own garden sound much different than a meal with the same items that can be made at home...Generate enough options that guests staying for multiple nights don't have to eat the same things every day...Describe the care that goes into your dishes and what makes your offerings different from others, and accentuate that...Rather than simple 'blueberry muffins,' point out that your muffins are 'homemade' from 'locally-grown blueberries.' List special ingredients in your signature dishes to make them stand out, or provide recipes that show how they're made. Describe juices as 'fresh-squeezed' and breads as 'fresh-baked.'...You can increase your pool of potential customers by offering specialty menus, or stating that you'll create special dishes if requested. Being able to meet the needs of vegetarians and vegans, guests who need gluten-free or lactose-free meals for health reasons, or guests who prefer not to eat pork or other [items] for religious reasons can make your business more attractive. Display a sample menu online and detail how much advance notice you'll need to meet special requests...Focusing on a particular niche can help make your bed-and-breakfast stand out. For example, being known as an eco-friendly bed-and-breakfast will attract guests looking for that particular experience." Salesfusion reports:
"There are a lot of things that sound great in theory, but in reality don’t deliver what they promised. The same holds true in the B2B world. The combination of stellar marketing and sales teams can be lethal — getting the right messages in front of the right people at the right time, telling them exactly what they want to hear and closing the deal. But as buyers, how can we be sure that what we see is what we’ll get? In this case, a small dose of cynicism is healthy given that anyone trying to make a sale is biased. Enter the customer case study — a testimonial from an unbiased, third party...How many times have you been on the fence about something and a suggestion from an experienced friend helped you make up your mind in an instant? When it comes to making decisions, we can never underestimate the power that a relatable, trustworthy and unbiased source wields. And that’s exactly what makes a customer case study such an important weapon to have in your content marketing arsenal. A customer case study is so powerful because it gives readers someone with whom they can relate and showcases how you helped another business with similar needs overcome their challenges and achieve their goals. Perhaps most importantly, it demonstrates that you have customers who are so satisfied with your product or service that they are willing to go on the record and devote their valuable time to say as much (this last point alone says a whole lot)...Pick the right customer and story: Before you can do anything else, you need to think about your customers and their stories. Everything else that follows will depend on the quality of both, so even though this first step might seem like an obvious one, it’s an important one. As far as the customer, the more recognizable and respected the business, the better. That said, the most important thing is relatability to your target audience in terms of industry, company size, initial challenges or setup, etc. As far as the story, you want to make sure it’s one that’s worth telling. If you have the perfect customer to showcase but their story isn’t that compelling, it’s not worth it. Remember: You want relevant, relatable and positive...Make your customer the hero: It’s very tempting to put your business in the 'hero' role when writing a case study, but that would be a mistake. Your customer needs to be the hero. That helps your readers envision themselves as the hero (which of course they will be if they go with your business and all the value you can add). The role of your business in this story is helping to create that hero...Always talk to the customer: In order to truly bring your customers’ stories to life and put them in that coveted hero position, you need to capture their voice and point of view. And the only way to achieve that goal is to talk to your customer directly. Whoever you speak with should be the 'voice' of your case study, and this person should be someone with whom your target audience can relate. Your conversation with this person should play a key role in shaping the story and you should try to use any anecdotes they share to make it more relatable. As a rule of thumb, you should also never say something about yourself when you can get your customer to say it for you...Wait until you have results: Once you have a great customer with an equally compelling story who is willing to go on the record, the knee-jerk reaction is to get started right away, but it’s important not to jump the gun. In many cases, results aren’t apparent right off the bat or, even when they are, they become even more so later on. Therefore, if you wait even a few months for the results to really settle in, you’ll get a much better story...Look for opportunities to complement and reinforce the story: Once you write your case study, you need to get it in front of your target audience. And while the story itself should be a powerful one, there’s a lot you can do to sell the message even further...Following those top five do’s, we’ll leave you with one don’t — and it’s a big one — don’t go blind. If you have a great story but the customer isn’t willing to go on record (and it might have nothing to do with your business, as some industries and/or businesses are just more private than others), that’s where your story needs to end. An entire case study devoted to an unnamed customer devoid of quotes and testimonials straight from the customer itself will not convert and can even hurt your credibility. Remember: While a well-known, well-respected brand name can bring a lot of visibility and credibility to your case study, it’s not the be-all-end-all that gets readers to convert. What gets readers to convert is a relatable story from a business (any business) they can trust who is willing to attach their name (and their time) to...promote a positive image of your work." Celeste Banner reports:
"When you need to update a training manual, business process or handbook, the perfect vehicle is a training memo. The memo format allows you to target your recipients and include timely follow-up information, and is especially useful in situations where new legal considerations or required steps have been added to an existing process. By following a few simple steps, you can ensure that your memo communicates your ideas clearly and succinctly while avoiding common pitfalls. Identify your audience. This will help you include the most pertinent information for your memo...Introduce your topic. The first couple of lines should let your readers know why this memo is important to them. Let them know what the old process was, or which current process this update applies to, as well as the reason for the update. Outline the new steps or requirements. Use only one level of headings and keep your explanations concise and focused. Include the updated information as well as any prior steps or processes that should no longer be followed or performed. Include a [timeline]. Clearly let your audience know when the new policy will go into effect. If it is an immediate change, state clearly if there is any grace period or transitional process for the prior procedure...Close with follow-up steps. At the end of your memo, let your audience know what they should do if they have questions that have not been answered in your document. This might include a link to additional documentation, or a contact number that they can call. If your training memo is part of a series of updates, state when the next update will be ready...Limit your memo to one primary topic. Use second person (you) to speak directly to your audience." J. Johnson reports:
"A personality essay is an essay that is written about your own personality or the personality of someone you know. It could be someone you know personally or a celebrity, politician or historical figure. You will be required to analyze the individual's personality as well as demonstrate knowledge of the theory of how personalities are formed. Demonstrating this type of knowledge will require some research. You will also need to use your own ideas to draw conclusions about how the person's personality was formed from factors such as their experience, influences, education, and background. Read through your instructor's directions for the personality essay carefully. In order to write a good personality essay, you will need to follow the directions of your assignment...Make a list of possible people who could be the subject of your personality essay. You may have to write about yourself, or you may be able to choose someone you know or admire. Your list should contain people you feel would be most interesting to write about. Think about the people on your list and make your choice based on your own personal preferences and your assignment. Research your topic. This will involve gathering information on the person you're writing about and on the psychological theories behind how personalities are formed. Journal articles and psychology books can help you research personalities in general. If possible, interview the person you're writing about. If it's someone famous or a historical figure, you will need to utilize website articles, academic journals and reference books for your research. If the essay is about you, interview your friends and family members about your personality. Write the outline for your essay. Your introduction should explain who you are writing about and why you chose to focus on that person. The introduction should also outline the main points of your essay. Each body paragraph should contain a topic sentence and discuss details about that topic...Your conclusion summarizes your essay and might explain what you learned by completing the assignment. Edit and revise your personality essay. Add more details to your paragraphs, including information you found during your research. Double[-]check your introduction to be sure it accurately describes what your essay is about. Proofread the personality essay to make sure there are no misspelled words, typos or awkward sentence structures. Revising and proofreading will ensure you've written a good essay." Angelique de la Morreaux reports:
"Writing a record of investigation for the workplace can assist you in future litigation. Not only does it provide a [timeline] of the events but it can [also] provide the names and statements of witnesses as well as the parties to the investigation. It also provides detailed information of the steps you took in the investigation. As this information may be necessary to prove the truth from witnesses in the case, organize the file with the original signatures in a safe place for future use...Speak to the complaining party. Get as much detail as you can regarding the incident, including the person's full legal name and address. Request names of witnesses, dates and injured body parts, if any. Prepare the statement and ask the party to review, sign and date it...Talk to the witnesses. Find out if a family or relationship connection exists between the witness and [the] complaining party. Request the particulars regarding the incident including specifics as to what the witness saw. Prepare the statement and have the witness...review, sign and date it...Follow the steps outlined in the HR manual for employee misconduct. Schedule an interview with the 'defending' employee and a member of the HR department and the union rep for a represented employee. Discuss the complaints about the employee's conduct or the problems the employee is causing in the workplace. Prepare an initial warning for signature by all...Examine the scene; if an on-the-job or customer injury, do this right after notification of the injury. Touch the ground to determine if it is wet, sticky or slippery. Look at the machine for a malfunction or the shel[f] for breakage or falling items. Check lighting of the area for sufficient viewing to walk. Write down your observations and take photographs of the area...Write up the investigative report. Begin with the names, date(s) and location of the incident. Assign all statements numbers that are to be included as exhibits in the report. Keep these numbers the same for each party. Delineate the steps taken for the investigation and the corrective action taken, if applicable...Be as detailed about the incident as possible." |
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
March 2024
CategoriesJ.D. Parsons
Author SEO Writer Proofreader Editor Internet Researcher |
Proudly powered by Weebly