introduction to blogging

I created my first blog in the fall of 2006, after attending a break-out session at the Professional Organizers in Canada annual conference in Toronto, Ontario. The subject of the session - led by podcasting expert Leesa Barnes - was how to use social media to inexpensively advertise your business.

(Read my very first blog entry (written the same day as the break-out session) here.)

I like inexpensive. When I started my first blog, I already had registered a domain name for my organizing business, but I couldn't afford to pay someone to build a website for me. After creating a blog and writing a few posts, I realized my dilemma was solved.

What's so great about using blogs to advertise your business? A blog is easy to set up (even if you're a total technophobe). I think my first blog took about ten minutes to create at http://www.blogger.com/.

Some blog platforms and hosting are free. (Like Blogger and LiveJournal. You can also download free software from WordPress to use with an existing website.) Those that charge money for their services are relatively inexpensive. (Look at Typepad.)

You can pick and choose from existing templates to create your blog, and if you're handy with HTML (the computer language used to create websites), you can individualize your look.

A blog is easy and cheap. But why bother creating one in the first place?

The thing I love about blogging is that I can add new, informative content to my sites as often as I choose. It's almost as easy as writing an e-mail. And when I give potential clients the web address, they can quickly:

1) Learn about me, my background, my personality, my products or services, and my business style.
2) Pick up valuable, frequently-updated tips relating to my businesses.

Many clients have found me through my blogs, and have told me that the content on my blogs was the deciding factor in choosing me (rather than someone else) for the job.

how not to create a powerpoint presentation

I don't own PowerPoint and I've never had to create a PowerPoint presentation, but I recently found this absolutely hilarious comedy routine by Don McMillan on YouTube that touches on a lot of common errors that many presenters and writers make in their copy.

I don't want to spoil the video, so I'll let you watch it and come to your own conclusions. But do take this guy's cautions to heart!

can u spell gud?

I found this online spelling test while doing some research. It's from a site created by a former copy editor - she's come up with a list of 50 commonly misspelled words based on her eleven years' experience.

Take the test here.

Don't be embarrassed if you don't do well. These are tricky words. I'd hate to admit my first score. Needless to say, I've since learned by heart the words I originally spelled incorrectly.

How can you reduce spelling mistakes in your own writing? Use a dictionary to look up every word you're not sure of. The second time I took the above test, I used a dictionary. When we pour passion and intention into our learning, it sticks in the brain longer.

have someone proofread your copy

No-one is immune from mistakes.

(Even me.)*

If your copy matters, have someone read it - preferably someone with knowledge of grammar and style. If they're not an English professor, at least they can still catch typos and point out confusing sentences.

If you can afford to hire someone to proofread for you, even better. A good pro can catch subtle errors like the one two sentences ago. (And if you have no idea what that error might be, you definitely need to hire someone!)

I was looking through some online employment wanted ads for freelance copywriters and editors on craigslist recently. I couldn't believe the number of typos I spotted - even when the writing was otherwise good.

I repeat: If your copy matters, have someone read it.

*A few of my friends who are writers or editors have pointed out errors in my blog copy. I am thankful to them!

why hire a professional writer?

Everyone can write, right? Wrong. I know several people who teach at the post-secondary level, and they all bemoan the decline in the quality of student writing. We aren't being taught how to write well anymore, and it's reflected in the poor writing found in business materials, including business websites.

Hire a writer if you want it written right.

A good professional writer knows how to make words sparkle, and a good editor can catch embarrassing, unprofessional errors before they leave an unfavorable impression on your business's clients or customers.

Is there a right way to write? Yes and no. English rules for spelling, grammar, and style are flexible, and always evolving. But it's important to be aware of - and follow! - some long-standing fundamentals in spelling, grammar, and form.

A good writer or editor with a working knowledge of reputable style guides can choose a clean, consistent style of writing for your business, based on the type of image you wish to present - be it traditional, casual, scientific, cutting-edge, approachable, or irreverent.

The truth is, if your business depends on written material to attract or keep clients, you can't afford not to hire a professional writer.

copyright 2007, Michelle Lynne Goodfellow

practising your practice

Last night when I was editing my most recent post I remembered something I really hate about Spell Check.

It doesn't recognize "practise" as a correct spelling.

You may remember from your elementary school days: practice with a C is a noun, and practise with an S is a verb.

So how come Spell Check can't figure out the difference between the two?

Anyhow, if you are writing something in Word and you use the word "practise," make sure that Spell Check doesn't automatically change the word to "practice" if it's not a noun.

Examples:

I need to start practising my singing every day. (verb)

My singing practice has been a little lax, lately. (noun)

copyright 2007, Michelle Lynne Goodfellow

do use spell check, though

Don't get me wrong: If you haven't anyone to proofread your text, Spell Check is better than nothing. My friend Laurie sent me this, from an actual website on resume writing:

First impressions are cruical.

I kid you not.

Do yourself a favour. Use Spell Check. Just don't rely on it.

other ghastly contextual errors

This is from my friend Laurie, who is even more of a word and grammar hound than I am. From a sign at a mall:

Washrooms closed due to construction. Please use food court.

Um, really?

Errors like this often happen when we write as we speak, trying to use as few words as possible, and don't take the time to proofread well. You most often see these errors on signs, although you can also find them in newspaper headlines from time to time.

but i used spell check!

Spell Check is a great feature of word processing programs, but you should never rely on it. It has its limitations. Spell Check will find spelling errors, but not errors of context. That means if you spell a word correctly, but it is not the appropriate word for the sentence, the error will not be caught.

For example:

My sister has a lean on her house. Its really inconvenient for her.

In the above sentence what I really meant to say was, my sister has a lien on her house, i.e. a creditor is being nasty.

And I should have written It's, because that is the short form for It is. It is really inconvenient for her.

Its without the apostrophe is the possessive version of It: Its error [the error that belonged to it] caused me lost business.

The thing about Spell Check errors is that they can create some humorous - or even unfortunate - sentences. And they can cause you lost business, because they make you look unprofessional. Think of the following:

At the wild party, the celebrant drank too much, then fell asleep with his head in the desert.

The correct version is:

At the wild party, the celebrator drank too much, then fell asleep with his head in the dessert.

A celebrant is an officiating priest, not one who celebrates (although some priests might argue me on that point). And the desert is a barren land, not the delicious end to a meal.

The moral of the story? If you can't say what you mean, don't expect Spell Check to read your mind.

(And if you invite priests to your party in the desert, don't let them drink...)

copyright 2007, Michelle Lynne Goodfellow