Content Mastery Guide

Editor and Ghostwriter

Corporate Coaches – CHOICE, the magazine of professional coaching, is looking to hear from YOU!

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Thanks to my colleague Kathy Mallary of http://spiritspring.com/ for alerting me of this upcoming deadline. I’ve already written several of my clients to let them know of this opportunity.

If you’re a corporate coach, this would be fantastic exposure. Here are the details:

Call for Contributions – March 2008 Issue Theme: Corporate Coaching

Back by popular demand is the choice Magazine review of corporate coaching. Are corporations showing greater success as a result of the increase in corporate coaching? Some corporations now employ many fulltime coaches, while others are still outsourcing their coaching. Read our interviews with leading CEOs, coaches and coaching clients who will talk about their experiences and perspectives on this form of leadership support. Article Deadline: December 20, 2007

NOTE: See the choice editorial guidelines and submission requirements at http://www.choice-online.com/article-guidelines.html and http://www.choice-online.com/article-submission.html

Quick Writing Prompt: What are you waiting for? Send your submissions today – good luck!

Don’t have an article ready? Or do you have an article started that needs some polishing? Let’s talk!

A better elevator pitch? You be the judge

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At a SOHO Women International meeting this morning, Lynda Robertson of the Sandler Sales Institute gave a presentation about prospecting.

I'll be blogging more about the great tips she shared, but here's one I applied immediately when I was sharing my 30-second introduction ("elevator pitch").

Here's what I planned to say:

"I'm Linda Dessau of You Talk, I'll Write. As a ghostwriter, I take my client's great ideas and put them into writing, both online and in print. As an editor, I polish those words to a shine. I work exclusively with coaches, speakers and organizers. I've created an article writing tool and you can download it for free from my website at www.youtalk-write.com."

Here's (roughly) what I said, after hearing Lynda's presentation:

"I'm Linda Dessau of You Talk, I'll Write. My clients have great ideas, but they're intimidated by the writing process, or they're worried about not writing well. So, as a ghostwriter, I take their great ideas and put them into words, both online and in print. And as an editor, I polish those words to a shine. I've created an article writing tool and you can download it for free from my website at www.youtalk-iwrite.com."

Did you notice what was different?

Lynda asked us all to think about which EMOTIONS we include in our 30-second introduction.

She reminded us that people buy based on emotion, and so we need to help them make the link between our product and services and the EMOTIONS that they either relieve (e.g. stress, worry or  fear) or elicit (e.g. peace of mind, confidence or satisfaction).

Do you have any suggestions for how I could improve my 30-second introduction? What positive EMOTIONS do you think my clients experience when I deliver their completed writing project?

Quick Writing Prompt: Whether you're speaking or writing, how can you bring more EMOTIONS into your message? Which emotions are tied in with your product or service?

Trying to Write the Article of a Lifetime?

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One of the Top 5 Writing Mistakes that I identified in last Friday's "From Ideas to Income" teleclass was trying to cram too many points into the same article (or other piece of writing). I called it the "Article of a Lifetime" mistake.

When we're excited and passionate about the ideas we have to share, and when we're genuinely concerned with helping other people find solutions, we want to SAY IT ALL.

However, trying to bring together all of those ideas at once can make it very overwhelming for your reader. That means they might abandon your article before they get to the end. And that's where your most precious real estate lies – the "call to action" and invitation back to your website to join your mailing list in exchange for a free gift (a "pink spoon").

Instead, stick to one main point (with two or three sub-headings) in each article, and then celebrate the fact that you've got content for more articles!

So don't try to write the article of a lifetime. Remember, you have a lifetime to write articles!

Quick Writing Prompt: Look through a recent article that you've written and consider whether it can be divided into two (or even three) articles. Make sure each article has ONE clear main point.

Update (January 2, 2011): I wrote a new post on this topic in January 2011, called How to Focus Your Mind, Your Topic and Your Writing.

Anatomy of a Business Email

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An email is like any other piece of writing – it can greatly benefit from a few extra moments of editing.

Please have a look at this article I wrote, where I share some tips for sending professional and well-written emails.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Anatomy-of-a-Business-Email&id=520408

Quick Writing Prompt: Make your writing the best it can be! Before hitting "send" on that next business email, check it against the tips in my "Anatomy of a Business Email" article.

Writing structures – friend or foe?

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As I get ready to teach this week’s From Ideas to Income tele-class, “I don’t know how to start,” I’m now considering the question – are writing structures our friend or our foe?

The answer? Quite simply, both!

On a call with a client this week, we came up with a simple test for when to use or stay away from a writing structure (such as a Top 10 list), and here it is:

If you’re bubbling over with ideas, then step away from the structure. Get your ideas out of your head and down on paper – with a pen or a keyboard, in words or pictures, into a voice recorder or to a “scribe” or ghostwriter – however feels best for you in that moment.

In this phase of the creative flow, structure is not your friend. It can stunt your creativity and force you into a box before you’ve gotten all of your ideas out.

However, when you’re facing those piles of ideas and it’s time to shape them, OR if you’re facing a blank page, writers block, procrastination, or a deadline, embrace the structure.

At this point you can rely on structure to call ideas out of you, to fill in any holes, to keep you motivated and to give you a template to work with, so that you can get it done!