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PPG Proofreading Ltd - Peter Clarke

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39 pages

English

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Do you break out into a cold sweat when faced with having to write something in your business?Are you always stretched by a lack of time in your business and, as a result, the quality of your business writing suffers?Do you wake up in the middle of the night worried about your business and whether something you have written will achieve the desired outcomes?If so, rest assured, you're not alone.There are many small business owners who, for one reason or another, are challenged when it comes to writing something in their businesses.Everything you write in your business whether it's on a screen or on paper is either directly promoting or reflecting back on the quality of your business. It will also impact on how your prospective customers view you and your business.The importance of getting your business writing accurate and error-free is paramount if you are going to achieve your goals.In this book you will discover how to overcome your challenges through using a simple 7-step plan that will help your business to grow by attracting new customers with error-free writing and content.This book is for you if:- You are a small business owner- Your business writing is a challenge for whatever reason- You could have a simple process plan to follow when you are writing something in your business that will help to alleviate your worries.

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Marketing et communication

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Publié par	PPG Proofreading Ltd
Date de parution	03 mars 2017
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781912022021
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0124€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

CONFIDENT BUSINESS WRITING
A 7-Step Plan to Help You Overcome Your Business Writing Challenges
By Peter Clarke
Published by:
PPG Proofreading Ltd
Knowle
Fareham
Hants
First published in 2016
Copyright Peter Clarke 2016
The moral right of Peter Clarke to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
ISBN: 978-1-91202-202-1
Note: The material contained in the book is set out in good faith for general guidance and no liability can be accepted for loss or expense incurred as a result of relying in particular circumstances on statements made in this book.
Front Cover: Purplelily Design, Southampton, Hants, www.purplelilydesign.co.uk .
About the Author
Peter Clarke lives in Hampshire, UK and has helped numerous businesses to ensure that everything they WRITE is RIGHT and free from errors.
Peter has run his own business for more than 15 years and is ideally placed to understand the challenges faced by small business owners on a daily basis.
He is a trained proofreader and copy editor and focusses on helping businesses to publish accurate and error-free copy regardless of whether it is paper or screen-based.
His early banking career changed direction in the late 1990s when he developed an expertise in writing compelling bids to secure project funding from the European Union.
This involved extensive travel across Europe which also enabled him to pursue his passion for photography.
When not travelling, Peter likes to relax by walking through the lovely Hampshire countryside. He is an avid sports fan following cricket, rugby union, golf and football in particular.
Contents
About the Author
Introduction
Challenges facing small business owners
How do these challenges affect business writing?
Consequences of not facing up to these challenges
How easy it is to make mistakes
The Business Writing Process Plan
What else could you do?
Appendix 1
Business Writing Process Plan (BWPP)
Other Books by Peter Clarke
Stay Connected
Introduction
Why you need this book
Do you break out into a cold sweat when faced with having to write something in your business?
Are you always stretched by a lack of time in your business and, as a result, the quality of your business writing suffers?
Do you wake up in the middle of the night worried about your business and whether something you have written will achieve the desired outcomes?
If so, rest assured, you re not alone.
There are many small business owners who, for one reason or another, are challenged when it comes to writing something in their businesses.
Everything you write in your business whether it s on a screen or on paper is either directly promoting or reflecting back on the quality of your business. It will also impact on how your prospective customers view you and your business.
The importance of getting your business writing accurate and error-free is paramount if you are going to achieve your goals.
In this book you will discover how to overcome your challenges through using a simple 7-step plan that will help your business to grow by attracting new customers with error-free writing and content.
This book is for you if:
- You are a small business owner
- Your business writing is a challenge for whatever reason
- You could have a simple process plan to follow when you are writing something in your business that will help to alleviate your worries.
The purpose of this book
The purpose of this book is to highlight not only the continued importance of business writing in an era of rapidly changing technologies but also to recognise the challenges facing small business owners and their effect on business writing.
It is vital not to lose the traditional infrastructure that is found in correct business writing even though we are having to change and adapt it to meet the demands of technological advances, especially in the world of social media.
It remains vital that we, at the very least, get our spelling and grammar right if we are going to develop our businesses. So, if people are challenged with writing, it is perfectly OK and they should not be stigmatised in any way.
Business owners and their employees all need to be able to identify their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to not just business writing, but writing in general.
Writing for many is like riding a bike. Once you ve got the hang of it there s no stopping you. You don t think twice when you pick up a pen or pencil; you just start putting your words down on paper.
For many, however, it s not like that. For many, writing is a real challenge and if it can be avoided, people will choose to do something else. In the modern era of computer technology, we don t have to pick up that dreaded pen or pencil. We can tap away at a keyboard and let the computer do the rest.
It s not that easy though. There s that old saying about computers: You only get out what you put in - put rubbish in and you ll get rubbish out . Even Auto-Correct functions and spellcheckers are not fool-proof and should never be relied upon.
So, the challenge is still there even though the use of pen and paper is declining. Personally, when I write, I write using a pencil and paper in longhand. That s just me, though. It s what I m comfortable with; it s what I ve always done. In the days before computers, there was no alternative. Yes, I can remember those days!
I appreciate that today s generations are being brought up to use a keyboard or voice recognition software and maybe that s a contributory factor to why many people are challenged by spelling, grammar and the like. They are reliant on the technology to do it all for them.
As a trained copy editor and proofreader working with a variety of businesses, I see a wide range of abilities when it comes to business writing.
What do I mean by business writing ? Well, anything that is written in the day to day running of a business. It may be written on paper or on a screen. Whatever it is, that writing will either be directly promoting the business or it will be reflecting back on the quality of the business. Hence, in my opinion, it must be right otherwise the business will suffer because it will struggle to attract new customers.
Business writing can include any of the following:
Letters
Emails
Memos
Blogs
Articles
Reports
Proposals
White papers
E-books
Books
Newsletters
Website content
Training handouts
Direct mail
Press releases
Media kits
Sales pitches
Funding applications
Tender responses
Business plans
CVs
Questionnaires
Cover letters
Personal statements
Brochures
Handbooks
Social media content
Meeting minutes
Announcements
Apologies
And many more.........................
Business writing is also about how documents are structured and laid out. It s all well and good to write a 5,000 word report but if it consists of one long screed of text with little or no punctuation, paragraphs, sections with sub-headings etc., the reader will soon be turned off and the purpose and impact of the report will be lost.
Whilst things like spelling and grammar are generally taught in our schools, other aspects of business writing are not unless it is something learned at University. Not everyone, however, is fortunate enough to go to University.
My experience
I went straight into the world of work when I left school back in the mid-Seventies as going to University was an option I chose to forego at the time. In hindsight, now I see what my children have gained from a University education, I have some regrets about that decision. Be that as it may, at the time I chose to enter the world of banking at the bottom of the ladder as a statement clerk and over the years worked my way towards the top through hard work and learning which stood me in excellent stead for when I started my own business 15 or so years ago.
I will be forever grateful for the basic grounding that I learned especially when it came to writing in a business context. I am of the opinion today that many youngsters entering the workplace for the first time are not given the same grounding that I had all those years ago. OK, the culture in the workplace is different today and the requirements for traditional forms of business writing are different, but nevertheless, it s vital that basic spelling and grammar are right.
Working in an era before computers and email, I was brought up to write business letters, not only to customers but also to other departments of the Bank. I soon learned that customer letters were more informative in their content whereas departmental letters were more instructional, asking for things to be done on behalf of a customer. So, even at that young age, I was learning not only about the words to use but also about how the letter should be structured.
Nowadays, a traditional business letter is not commonly used, it having been largely superseded by email. Yes, emails can be a little less formal, nevertheless, I believe that a degree of formality is still required if that is your business s chosen form of communication and especially if it is the initial communication with a prospective customer.
Times are a-changing, however. The culture within our workplaces is changing as new technology comes in and advances so quickly. It s often difficult to keep up but unless you do keep up it s very easy to be left behind.
That s why we see a lot of young people coming into the workplace who are tech-savvy and are given responsibilities which some may say are too advanced for their age. As a result, the quality of any written communications may not be as high as the management might expect, which