Writing Tips

Coming up with ideas to write about can be a difficult task for a lot of us. Then when we do come up with something we are tied to our knowledge and ability to get out point across and keep our readers  interest throughout our article or blog post.

Spelling is my weakness. My grammar is a direct response to my education and where I grew up, so at times my southern style of jargon comes into play. That's me. You will have a different style of writing. This is what makes writing so much fun. It is an expression of ourself.




I know for me at times I have a hard time coming up with things to write about on this blog. I try to come up with a topic that is interesting. Then brain failure creeps in and shuts down my thought processes. Time goes by and nothing is written. I go to something else and forget about writing anything.

Cathy Stucker did an article last year that I think is still useful today. In it she discusses Ten Quick Ways to Improve Your Writing.

Maybe Cathy's article can help you and I solve some of our writing problems.

Here are her 10 tips:

  1. Write conversationally
  2. Avoid jargon
  3. Vary sentence length
  4. Include just one main idea in a paragraph
  5. Use subheads and bullets
  6. Use an introduction, body and conclusion
  7. Give examples
  8. Keep it simple
  9. Avoid inappropriate emphasis
10. Smile when you write

You can read the full article at http://cathystucker.com/ten-quick-ways-to-improve-your-writing

If you don't understand what 'jargon' means here is a good place to start learning:   
http://www.forbes.com/sites/groupthink/2012/01/26/the-most-annoying-pretentious-and-useless-business-jargon/?tm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

There are some excellent resources online to help your light come on. Here are a few:

Ezine Articles
http://ezinearticles.com/training/

11 Tips to Improve Your Blog Writing
http://foodblogalliance.com/a/11-tips-to-improve-your-blog-writing/

Grammar Checker
Link removed by request. Just do a search for a grammar checker. Sorry.

Dictionary and thesaurus
http://wordweb.info/

Even though this video is for students writing a paper it is an excellent source to study:


Some things I have learned about writing:
** Be myself when writing.
** Your and you're are two different words. (One of my pet peeves.)
** Being a horrible speller myself I have to use a spell checker often and then reuse it. I still may miss a word or two every now and then.
** Use a grammar checker.
** Research before starting. Plan, plan and then plan.
** Use images where appropriate but don't over use. Images take longer for a page to load.
** Use a video if possible.
** Review what I have written. Review, review and then review again.
** Use white space.  “When you try to process an unbroken block of text, it’s like trying to eat a whole apple pie in one gulp.” Author Unknown
** I like short, to the point paragraphs.
** If you have someone that can check your writing before you publish it then do so.

I am sure that most of us that write blogs or articles have lots of tips for writing and posting on a regular basis. What are your tips? Leave a comment for all of us to learn from.

Elaine

Are You Taking Advantage Of All Your Tax Write-Offs

Dr. Ron Mueller, Author of Home Business Tax Savings

Most of you that read my blog are home based business owners. My question to you is: Are you taking all the advantages allowed by the IRS? I bet not!


You shouldn't totally depend on someone that prepares your taxes to know all of the tax write-offs that home base business owners can take.

Remember, you are liable for your tax return even if a CPA or tax account does it for you. You need to learn all of the write-offs yourself.

It's your money - so way not take full advantage of saving all you can?

"Most hard-working Americans have more than half of their hard-earned wages sucked out for taxes, and then they get to live on the left-overs – called “take-home pay.”

Home-based business owners now qualify for more tax deductions than any other category of taxpayer in America, bar none!

Most working Americans are being strangled by taxes, paying more in taxes every month than their housing, their food, their transportation and their health care – COMBINED!"

NOTE: This is a time-sensitive announcement of a content-rich (and no-cost!) web briefing that could show you how to qualify for a SECOND REFUND, even on the tax returns you may have already filed. I am posting this on my blog because it is the fastest way to get the word out to the most people. And, I believe that this type of information is a valuable asset for all of us.

I know Ron Mueller and, trust me, this is NOT an opportunity to me missed! He gives great value on every call and webinar he does!

SEE DR. MUELLER'S ANNOUNCEMENT BELOW...

Are You Okay with the SIZE of Your Tax REFUND?
SERIOUSLY?

Even if you DO know about the special tax breaks for home-business owners, I'll bet you STILL overpaid your taxes by at least $1,000.00 - and probably even more!

And if you are new to, or not yet familiar with the special tax-deductions for home- based businesses, you probably just LOST up to $5,000!!! or more in Tax Refunds.

Why Do Most People NOT Claim All of the Tax Deductions they Could?

There are three reasons...

#1. You may fear you will be audited if you claim ALL of your deductions.

#2. You may not have adequate records to prove some of your deductions.

#3. You may not be aware of some of the special home-business deductions that could save you a lot of money!

THIS IS YOUR LUCKY DAY!

YOU ARE ABOUT TO LEARN the truth about the connection between amount of deductions and chances of an audit. (And it will be good news!)

YOU ARE ABOUT TO LEARN how to safely claim some deductions even if you
do not have perfect records. ("Reconstructed" records are ok with IRS.)

YOU ARE ABOUT TO LEARN about some frequently overlooked or misunderstood tax deductions worth hundreds in tax refunds. (You'll learn exactly what the top ones are!)

AND
YOU ARE ABOUT TO LEARN how to legally and quickly get a SECOND REFUND
on tax returns you have already filed.

JOIN ME SUNDAY or MONDAY -- Pick TIME & DATE
That's Most Convenient FOR YOU!

Please join me on a NO-COST webinar to learn ALL of the above.

This news is so important I will be briefing you on a Special Webinar, which I will REPEAT on these different days, in three different time slots. Select the date and time most convenient for you, and register right away! (Same content in all sessions.)

SUNDAY - May 20th
5pm Pacific, 6pm Mountain, 7pm Central, 8pm Eastern

MONDAY - May 21st
6pm Pacific, 7pm Mountain, 8pm Central, 9pm Eastern

To REGISTER for ANY of the Webcasts (which is REQUIRED)
Click on this link: http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/?af=193287
(See box in upper-right corner of homepage.)

YOU might just kick yourself is you miss this webcast. ATTENDING this webcast costs you NOTHING.
NOT ATTENDING could cost you THOUSANDS!

Get details and register NOW at: http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/?af=193287
(See box in upper-right corner of homepage.)

This is another FREE SERVICE from Dr. Ron Mueller and Home Business Tax Savings Learning Center.

Creating Tax-Smart Home-Business Owners,

Ron
Ronald R. Mueller, MBA, Ph.D. -author of
"Home Business Tax Savings, Made Easy!"

P.S. -- Although this is a "webcast," you do not need to be in front of a computer -- you can hear the audio by phone connection. It's all explained when you register, so please REGISTER NOW at http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/?af=193287
(See box in upper-right corner of homepage.)

Ron Mueller is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, and has earned a Masters degree from the University of Oklahoma, a M.B.A. from American University, and a Doctorate in Business Economics from San Francisco Regent University. He has had highly successful careers as a Senior Naval Officer and in International Marketing, Advertising, and Investigative Reporting.

Ron's website has globs of information on it so be sure to look around. You may just find something that you didn't know.

(Links within this post are my affiliate link and if you decide to purchase a product from Dr. Mueller's site I will receive a commission.)

See you on the webinar...

Elaine

How High Is Your Stress Level?

The picture may be a little funny but living a life full of stress isn't.

I have read that stress is a choice! I bet you are thinking, "yea, right!" Then why do we all feel so stressed out a lot of the time? It has always been a part of life and will continue to be so. It is what we do about it and how we handle it that matters.

Some stress can even be good. I know in my job I can work and think faster and clearer under some of the stressful situations I encounter. It allows me to block out non-essential thinking and concentrate on what has to be done. At the same time I wouldn't want to stay in that stressful state for very long. It is draining on the mind and body.

Feeling stressed out in our every-day life doesn't add anything to our life as a matter of fact it shortens our life.

"Most of us spend our lives as if we had another one in the bank."
       ~ Ben Irwin

One of the things you might try doing to relieve stress in your life, also meaning in your business, is to slow down. That's right, just slow down. Simple sounding but it actually does work.

Why do we insist on making life so complicated when it is really is so simple? Slow down and clean out the clutter. Set priorities. Clean out the garbage.
If you can do this then you will soon find that your life and your business is more fun and fore-filling.

Hopefully this movie can get you started thinking about cleaning the stress out of your life.


If your life isn't fun then change it!
If your business isn't fun then get out! Try something else.

How do you handle stress? Let me know. Maybe it will help me and some others reading this post.

Elaine

Personal Name Or Business Name?

Most of us are on several social sites for business. Do you use your own name or the name of your own business when signing up for these social sites? Or, do you use the name of the business you are promoting or the company you are working for?

Let's say for instance, you start a Twitter account and you want to promote the company you work for. Your thinking might be to use your company name or a form of it. This way when you get followers they will see your company name and then become interested in your company. Great!!! You think! 

Rather impersonal, don't you think.

Later on down the road you have thousands of followers. But, for some reason, you either stop promoting said business or you stop working for said company. OOPS!! What do you do now? 

According to Todd Wasserman in his post on Mashable.com you might want to rethink your original decision of using a company name to gain followers on any social network. Be sure to take the time to read his post before it is too late and you find yourself being sued. You can read the post here: http://on.mash.to/IgX9aI 

To me it is not a good idea to use a company name to setup a profile on a social site. I tend to stay away from doing this. Why? I want to brand myself not the company. Why? People join people not companies. People looking at your business want to know who you are first then they will make up their minds about the company you are promoting.

Take my Facebook accounts for example. I have a personal timeline and I have a business timeline. My personal timeline has only my name whereas my business timeline has Elaine Bullin: Life & Business. 

You see I still used my name for both timelines. I didn't just use my business name. Besides neither is my business name. My business timeline comes back to this blog. This is where I want people to come to. On this blog they can learn about me and the businesses I promote. A win-win situation.

Make yourself #1 not your company. Otherwise, you could find yourself in a position that you don't want to be in. Just a word to the wise.

If you didn't take the time to read Wasserman's post be sure to do so. Taking a chance by using a company name you work for or are promoting just may land you in a long drawn out legal battle.

Elaine Bullin

Teamwork

Believe it or not there is no "I" in team. A team is made up of a leader that strives to get other individuals to accomplish a common goal. Any one individual can accomplish a goal depending on what it is. Leaders are not born a leader. It takes time to develop leadership skills. A leader is only a leader if a team decides that person is a leader. Interesting thought, don't you think?

In other words, to be a leader you must have a team that agrees that you are a leader. Therefore, teamwork is imperative to getting most things done. Remember the saying, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts?" This refers to team and here I am using it to refer to teamwork.

In the video one person stood up and became the leader. Others noticed, watched his effort and determination to accomplish a goal: getting the tree out of the road so traffic could move through the street. Others were motivated to join in and help. They formed a working team and accomplished their goal together as one.

When people are willing to work together, learn from each other, develop the right skills, get the knowledge needed and not criticize weaknesses in others, much higher levels of success can be attained.

As Henry Ford said, "Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success."

How does this relate to your business? For that matter, how does it fit into your everyday life? If you think that you can survive right by yourself you are just waiting for a very slippy slop down fall.


T = Together
E = Everyone
A = Achieves
M = More
Together Everyone Achieves More

Elaine