PERSPECTIVE  1.)  Copywriters don’t make the most common, fatal mistake ALL of us see our business from our own perspective. So, when writing promotional material it isn’t easy to jump out of that mindset and into our customers’ viewpoint – which is of course what business need to do when writing brochures, website text, newsletters, etc. 2.)  Copywriters ask the key questions To write about a business, copywriters have to ask...

Headings really matter, and we all need to sharpen up our writing at times. Here are some less good and better examples from my recent book on Business Writing Tips – For Easy and Effective Results. Below you can read what were the original headings to my book’s parts (in bold) and chapters … and what they were in the final version (in italics). Only a couple of parts/chapters did not change their headings/titles. I think you...

If you are unsure about when to use colons and semi-colons, you are not alone.  In fact, getting colons and semi-colons muddled is one of the commonest mistakes I encounter when editing books.   Yes, the two are similar – both occur midway through a sentence – but they should be used in very different places. Here are my simple rules to guide you… Colons main useage – Where you want to explain or give an example of something you have just...

  Want some writing tips?  Then why not learn from the pros …  In my training courses on effective writing I show delegates some of the writing techniques used by professionals, and then let the delegates apply the techniques to their own writing.  I summarise these pros/professional writers as the ‘3Ms’: people who write for Mass Markets (i.e tabloid journalists) Marketers (writers of advertising copy) Maestros (newspaper/magazine...

ARE YOU unsure of your commas? Would you like a simple, plain-speaking and practical guide? You are in the right place.   Many people argue with work colleagues about the correct position of commas, and whether or not there should be one at all.  People have different views.  In fact, research suggests that 30 per cent of comma usage is writer’s choice.* So, your decisions may be neither right, nor wrong – just yours. Oscar...

GOOD NEWS  … Demand for my training courses continues to be strong… So, here are examples of the sort of training I do. BUT first things first: I am in talks with 2 new training clients – the National Union of Journalists and Executive PA – for training courses that will start this autumn.  That’s exciting! AND this month I gave a 5 training courses for a mix of public, private and third sector clients as follows: Writing for the web –...