Welcome to a new edition of the Word Constructions newsletter I am pleased to announce that during February, I have moved my website to the wordconstructions.com.au site. I have owned both domains (.com and .com.au) for some time, but the main site was at .com until recently. Like many new businesses, I started with the .com because it was cheaper and easy to obtain. However, if I was starting again today, I would pay the extra money to start with the .com.au domain as the main site and have the .com parked there as well. Search engines will find .com.au sites in Australian searches and that is important for local businesses. You can still reach my site and emails with the .com address, but the .com.au site will now be the URL I promote. During February, Word Constructions also celebrated its 5th year anniversary. It is interesting to look back and see how the business has changed in that time - as have I for that matter. I have enjoyed working with such a variety of businesses and business owners in that time, and learning from them all. And to think the idea of owning a website back had me in awe! Now, I own a number of sites and have worked on many others for clients as well, and even advice clients on website basics! How often do you look back and acknowledge the distance you have travelled in your business? It is an interesting and worthwhile exercise, although not often at the top of the priority list. Use your words wisely! Tash PS One of the advantages of changing my site and establishing the site with a new host (www.multimediart.com.au) is that I will be able to host my blog on my own domain name - that will be happening very soon. Tash Hughes 0428 376 110 fax 03 9445 9154 blog - wordconstructions.wordpress.com www.wordconstructions.com.au For all your business writing needs Humility is the only certain defence against humiliation - unknown True humility is intelligent self respect which keeps us from thinking too highly or too meanly of ourselves. It makes us modest by reminding us how far we have come short of what we can be.” - Ralph W Stockman Is being a guru worth it? By Tash Hughes of Word Constructions Maybe its just me, but the business field seems to have more than its fair share of guru claims - that is, people claiming to be a 'business guru' or 'marketing guru' and the like. Some people would think the guru title is a beneficial way to promote yourself and your business to the business community, thereby building a customer base and high profits. However, I think there are serious downfalls to the idea, and I would never call myself a guru; even if others were calling me a guru (and they aren't as far as I know!) I would not use that on my website or in my marketing, at least because others may think I gave myself the title. My newest article discusses the disadvantages and alternatives to calling yourself a guru to develop your business. I have copied the above text into my blog, too, and would be interested to read your comments about the value of being a guru. Superannuation is easily forgotten by the self-employed, but it is an important consideration for your future. Blogging for business By Tash Hughes of Word Constructions More and more businesses are introducing blogs to their customers and potential customers. In short, blogs can build interest and traffic in your site, develop your credibility in your field, establish you as knowledgeable and give you the opportunity to show your personality to the public. Through my own blogging and a lot of research, I have learned the following points are important for successful business blogging: add the blog to your own domain if possible so the traffic benefits are maximised. A blog hosted elsewhere is better than nothing and can be a good interim step, but on your own domain is the ideal keep the blog relevant to your business and audience, at least most of the time. Personal blogs where you give your opinions and taste on many topics are fine, but not for promoting your business include links in your blog - links to your own products and services, other sites you can recommend, relevant articles, and so on. As well as making your blog more interactive for readers, it helps join your blog into the blogging community which has many rewards post frequently - it doesn't have to be every day or on a strict pattern (unless you have promised one of those things), but it does need to be often enough it is worth people returning to see what you have written do what you say you will do - or explain why not. For example, if you write 'I will review this book once I have read it', make sure you add a review to your site as soon as possible My article on business blogging and my blog posts about blog content may also help you. Poor examples Sometimes, the easiest way to learn the correct way to do something is to see it done poorly so in this section of my newsletter, I show you some real-life examples of writing that need a little help. Today's example comes from a website of someone who does coaching. example: Usually people only require one or max 2 months before they have shifted and moved on. Issues with this example: I'm not going to comment on the credibility or value of such a statement on a website, so we'll just look at the other issues. Although I do wonder if one month means one sessions or twenty? The obvious problem is using an abbreviation without explaining it or even making it clear it is an abbreviation. We can assume 'max' is short for maximum, but it should be written 'max.' (as the last letter is not the same as the last letter of the complete word) so we understand it is shortened. Anybody not competent in English or Australian idioms may find that sentence confusing with the informal language, and for the small amount of extra effort to write 'maximum', it is a large risk. 'shifted and moved on' - what does this mean? The majority of her clients move house just after her coaching? I won't touch the humorous interpretation of that one! Much better to state what she means - something like '... have achieved their goal' or '... have gained clarity and direction', or even '... no longer need coaching'. Personally, that sounds as if she only coaches minor issues that can be resolved quickly so people with larger issues perhaps should look elsewhere. 'usually people' is probably not giving a good impression either - am I 'unusual' if I need more than 2 months coaching? A number related term has less potentially hidden meaning than a term like usual. Grammatically, the usually needs to be separated from the people by a comma ('Usually, people only...') or a rearrangement of words; the current meaning is clients who are usually people, sometimes they are not people, but usually they are! A better version would be: (without changing the meaning) Most people find that one or two months of coaching sessions is enough to meet their needs. You are welcome to pass this newsletter on to anyone you think will be interested, but please send it as is without changes. If you were passed this email by a friend, you can subscribe here. This newsletter is only ever sent to my clients and people who request the monthly newsletter & writing tips found at www.wordconstructions.com.au. Your email details will never be given, lent or sold to any party whatsoever and you are free to leave this service at any time by unsubscribing here. Important: This email (including any attachments) is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender. Whilst Word Constructions has taken reasonable steps to ensure this email is virus free, it accepts no responsibility and makes no warranty. The recipient should take its own steps to ensure there is no virus. 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