The level of attention an author gives to the small details can make or break an article and can impact upon the author’s reputation. A seemingly insignificant oversight can cause instant loss of an author’s credibility. The following is an example of how one incidence of carelessness can affect a reader’s opinion of an author.

I was reading an article which had been submitted for inclusion in my Article Directory. It was well-written: the author obviously understood his subject, the standard of English was good and there were no spelling errors or typos.

Then my opinion of the author was deflated because I came upon a sentence that went something like this: “??? as somebody (I think it might have been Thoreau) once said”.

My immediate reaction to reading that was to think “he couldn’t even be bothered to check who said that”. The article had been enjoyable until I came upon that quotation but, the fact that the author had not considered it worthwhile checking the source before submitting his article, created the feeling that the whole article had been put together in a slapdash way by somebody who had no respect for his readers. I didn’t quite feel outraged but I did feel insulted.

Is that an overreaction? Quite possibly, but I’m sure I’m not the only person who will have that reaction when reading that article. The whole point of the article was to impart certain information. The author chose to include that quotation as part of the article. Therefore, he should, as a matter of courtesy to his readers, have made the effort to verify the source of the quotation before the article was published.

Did the author assume nobody would be particularly interested in the identity of the philosopher he was quoting? Did he think it was acceptable to leave it up to his readers to seek out the information for themselves? Probably neither of these things apply. It is far more likely that he was writing as if he was telling a friend about something, maybe he was quite carried away by enthusiasm, and it simply did not occur to him that anyone would want to be told the source of the quotation or care that he didn’t know.

Much of the best writing you will find in ezine articles is by people who write as if they are talking to a friend and I suspect that is what happened here. When we are chatting to friends, we do say things like “somebody once said ? but I can’t remember who it was”. Nobody gets offended by that lapse of memory. Your friends don’t take umbrage and insist you immediately check in a dictionary of quotations. The conversation meanders along its course and, if you never remember where the quotation came from, it won’t matter.

It is good to write in a relaxed manner as if you were talking to a friend but, at the same time, you must remember that the written word is fixed on the page. Each sentence you write stands just as it is written, it is not modified by the ebbs and flows of layers of conversation. It is important to be clear in your meaning and as careful as possible in your attention to small details.

About the Author
Elaine Currie publishes ezine articles at her Work At Home Directory and at her Writing Tips website.

When writing articles for publishing in ezines, it is vitally important to ensure that you pay attention to the small details. There are numberless small details that can help or hinder the way your readers are affected by your writing. These details include ensuring you use correct spelling, punctuation and grammar when writing an article. The style and tone of your writing must be appropriate to the subject matter. Other things to check are: whether any paragraph headers strictly reflect the content of the particular paragraphs; whether it be better to have a bullet pointed list instead of a comma separated list in a sentence; whether the article flows naturally.

The best way to pick up any lapses of attention to detail or small errors, is to have every article you write proofread before it is published. When you write articles for ezines, you should always without fail proofread and edit a finished article before submitting it for publication. The most effective way to perform your proofreading and editing is to leave it until at least 24 hours after you have finished writing your article. Then read it aloud to yourself and make any alterations you feel are required.

Proofreading your own articles is necessary as part of the final editing process. Reading the article aloud to yourself is an excellent way of checking that the article is easy to read and of picking up tiny errors that you would not otherwise have noticed. However, you are not the best person to do your own final proofreading because you are naturally biased. You should be able to correct many things, such as spelling errors or typos, but you will not object to things like flaws in your style or inappropriateness of tone. It is simply impossible for you to be impartial when judging your own efforts. There is also another thing that can only be checked by somebody else and that is whether the article makes sense. As you already know what you wanted to say, you cannot judge whether everything in the article perfectly clear or if some points require further clarification.

To make sure your proofreading and editing is effective, you should have your articles proofread by somebody with a good grasp of written English who you can trust to give you an honest opinion of your work. If paying for the services of a professional proofreader is within your budget, that is the easy solution to your problem. Otherwise, you will have to rely on relatives or friends to help you out and this can be tricky.

Don’t have your work proofread by somebody who would worry about upsetting you if they find fault with your writing. If the verdict is going to be a thumbs down on an article or involves criticism that might be considered nit-picking, you need a proof-reader who will tell you the plain truth. For your part, you need to be able to accept the critical appraisal without taking the comments personally.

When deciding who you should ask to proofread your articles, it is usually better to avoid your parents and spouse or partner. People emotionally close to you might seem the best ones to ask for a favour but they are more likely to be too forgiving of your shortcomings and make allowances for tiny errors. In short, they have everything to offer that you don’t want in a proofreader but they will be a great audience once your article is published.

About the Author
Elaine Currie publishes ezine articles at her Work At Home Directory and at her Writing Tips website.

By: Corey Blake

This weekend, my wife and I were looking for a moving company for a big relocation we have coming up in the not-too-distant future. I was amazed when looking at the web sites of the local moving companies — every single one of them had ineffective copy. Not a single one of them excited me to do business with them and most just presented reasons not to!

The number one, most important job of your website is to make your visitor feel great about your company, but so many don’t rise to the challenge! I am going to share three ways you can do that.

1. STRUCTURE your home page. No one is going to get further into your website if the structure of the home page is not crystal clear and to the point. Make sure your home page answers these questions and then shift everything else to ancillary pages:

a. What do you do? Be specific and avoid technical jargon. Talk TO your customers, not AT them.

b. How do you do it? Let them know what systems and methods you use to be able to come through with exactly what they need.

c. Why are you qualified to do it? Remember that anyone can make a claim, particularly in the faceless world of the Internet. Offer some credibility statements.

d. What is unique about how you do it? Think about the ways you differentiate from your competition. Are you more responsive? Do you have a greater selection? Think about the special “signature” that you present to the marketplace.

2. Know and utilize your CORE VALUES. Your core values are the principles you use as the basis for your decisions. You should have four or five core values that represent your company. These values should be thought out and well defined. Samples of core values are integrity, passion, quality, customer service, affordability, joy, social responsibility . . . the list goes on.

Once you have labeled your specific core values, you MUST infuse them into your web site. You should be able to feel every single one of them on your home page! If “fun” is a one of your core values, make me smile when I read your web page!. If “sincerity” is on your list, your words MUST be from the heart. If “quality” is a principle that guides you, your home page MUST reflect that.

In other words, your home page has to be a mirror reflection of your core values. If there are any discrepancies between what you say your values are and how your site comes across to people, these prospects might not be able to put their finger on what they don’t like about your site, but they WILL NOT give you their business. Your core values are the heart and soul of your company and infusing them into your website will help you attract the people who should be doing business with you.

3. PROOFREAD your copy. This is the easiest and yet most overlooked issue that comes up time and again — and proofreaders are incredibly inexpensive! It would probably cost you less than $100 to ensure that your site is error-free. Websites with errors are sites with emotional road blocks. When visitors see that you did not take the time to invest in clean copy, they are immediately turned off (especially your higher end clients — the people who have the capacity to refer you to their entire network). Think about inviting someone to your home. Would you let them see a sloppy place? What kind of message would that send? That you just don’t care. Don’t give your visitors a reason to never even get to the heart of what your business offers.

Ultimately, when it comes to your site, you have to put out there who you truly are and make it easily understandable and error-free so people can experience your message in the way it is intended. Not doing so is like trying to enjoy a movie when the couple in front of you is making out, the kid behind you is on his cell phone and the film itself keeps stopping and starting. When you have a distinct message to give your visitors, make it easy for them to receive it loud and clear.

Follow these three simple steps and you’ll convert more visitors to customers. If your time is limited, or you simply want assistance implementing these ideas, contact me personally at cb@writersoftheroundtable.com

http://www.writersoftheroundtable.com We put the words in your mouth.

About the Author
Writers of the Round Table Inc., is a unique literary development and author management company that utilizes a writing staff of more than thirty ghostwriters to assist best-selling authors, academy-award nominated directors, executives, business owners, magazines, publishers and producers to generate writing content of substantial quality and bring it to market. Visit Writers of the Round Table to listen to our free teleclasses, view articles, and listen to interviews on the writing process.