Tag: Write

Guide on How to Write a Business Plan

From the start, a new business owner gets to know that having a business plan is important when dealing with banking personnel or potential investors. A business plan is also used by business owners and employees to make business decisions and to measure your company’s success. This document, at the least, should outline your company’s goals, and projected expenses, as well as marketing plans and exit strategy. Perhaps with these objectives in mind, many business owners want to know the easier way how to write business plan.

Here are some techniques.

a. Use a business plan template which has blank areas in which you can fill in the relevant information regarding your own business. Although a “fill in the blanks” approach is not a really a serious way to write a plan and will not help in securing financing or ensure the business’ success, think of templates as a good point to start writing your plan for business.

b. Business plan outlines are also a good place to start. Generic business outlines can be found in books or on the Internet, but the outline or the business plan’s basic structure should be changed to suit the type of your business.

c. Some beginning business owners use software like Business Plan Pro. It has sample of templates which can be used to help in writing your own business plan.

Here are some guidelines on how to write business plan. It should have:

1. An executive summary that outlines the company’s goals and objectives – Lending institutions always look for a business plan’s executive summary, which should always come at the beginning. It is important to emphasize the viability of your proposed business to persuade institutions to give you a loan. The executive summary can also be used as a way to communicate your ideas to employees and potential customers to get their support.

2. A short account of the company’s beginnings – Give a clear explanation on how the company was created and how the idea to start the business came about.

3. The proposed product or service you will offer – It is important that you discuss how the service or product is different from those already available in the market. Emphasize the market potential of your offering to convince employees and potential investors. Knowing the market potential usually requires research to know market demand but you can usually get basic information on this in the Internet.

4. A clear marketing strategy – If the business owner already has a good reputation, he or she could rely on word-of-mouth but most beginners should think of a plan to market or advertise on television, in print, or on the Internet. You need to include in this section your projected marketing expenses.

5. An exit strategy – List the benchmarks that will make you decide when to stop the company’s operations. These benchmarks could be based on revenue growth or the consensus among top management officers.

Knowing how to write business plan should not add to the pressures of starting a business. Good thing there are many resources beginning business owners can use for this.

How to Write an Article in No Time Flat

To make the most of your business blog, company newsletter, and online article directories, you need to be able to write quality articles on a regular basis.

If you haven’t been writing articles to build your business, you may think it will simply take too much time to do this week after week. But you’re wrong! It isn’t difficult to do this once you get the hang of it.

Here’s how to write an article in no time flat!

Step 1. Start with keywords.

It only takes a few minutes to use an online keyword research tool to identify the exact keywords people are using to find articles about the very topic you wish to write about. Once you’ve identified these exact keywords, use them to create a catchy title for your article. You’ll want to incorporate additional keywords into the article itself. But don’t overdo it on the keywords. Your main goal is to write something helpful for readers, not just attract them to your article through keywords.

Step 2. Determine the best structure for your article.

If you’ll be giving tips or steps in your article, then it’s easy to create the structure for your entire article. Simply start with an introductory paragraph, then list your tips or steps in bulleted or numbered form, then end your article with a concluding paragraph that ties everything together. Incorporate your keywords into the text as you go.

If it isn’t quickly apparent how you should structure your article, then use an article template. You’ll find many free templates available online. Simply Google “free online article templates” and see what comes up. Article templates give you an easy-to-follow structure so all you have to do is fill in each section of the template with the appropriate content.

Step 3. Include a call-to-action for your readers.

To make the most of each and every article you write, you want your readers to do something as a result of reading your article. Maybe you want them to sign up for your mailing list, subscribe to a free e-course you’re offering, or leave a comment. The thing is, you have to tell your readers what you want them to do. Just one sentence at the end of your article, like – Sign up here for my newsletter by putting your name and email address in the boxes at right – will do. Just remember to include some call to action with every article.

Follow these 3 steps to easily and quickly create quality content for your blog, newsletter, and article directories each and every week!

Try it!

How to Write a Book FAST – Steps to Write a TIPS Book

Have you ever dreamed of writing a book that would establish you as an expert worthy of attention? Have you seen authors get attention at seminars or on TV and thought, “I wish that was ME”? Writing a book is easier than you think when you know a few insider secrets. One kind of book above all others is the easiest to write, and you’re about to discover how to write it–a TIPS book.

You probably already know that authors get all the attention. It’s because people innately trust authors. So if you are an expert in your niche, or if you are a business owner (which still makes you an expert) without a book, it’s time to write one. In fact, becoming an author is essential, and it should be moved off the “someday I’ll” list and onto the “Do it now” list.

Anything is easier when you have a system, so that is what I am about to share with you. I’m giving you the “easy button” steps to write a book. And remember, you don’t have to write 300 or even 200 pages to be the author of a “real book.”

You are an expert in something (probably several “somethings”), and no doubt you know some of the insider strategies or shortcuts that people crave. Everyone wants the easy way, right? If you have ways to save someone time, make something simple, or improve results, you have the makings of a tips book.

The easy path is to write a “tips book.” This is simply a whole list of tips with a few paragraphs about each one. I’ll show you how, step by step, right now.

I am going to give you a step by step trail of breadcrumbs to follow, but first, I know you have this question, because just about everybody does…

“How long does my book have to be?”

The answer is, “It’s up to you.” There is no Law written somewhere on stone tablets saying “this many pages maketh a book.” One of my books is 152 pages. Another is 32. They’re both books and they both make me officially “an author.”

If you go to an online bookseller and put “tips” into the search box, you will discover there are no rules. Whether you have 101, 369, 365 or 88, it’s still a book.

Example: A gifted cook could write a book sharing 65 simple baking techniques your grandma never taught you. Each page would have the tip and a few paragraphs of explanation. Why is this method for how to write a book so powerful?

Because – You have all the information you need already. There is no research. – It doesn’t take much time. You can write a tips book in a weekend if you wish. – When your book is done (which will happen in a very short amount of time), you will prove to yourself that you can write a book.

How to write your tips book, step by step:

1. Write the tips.

You may decide to use your word processor or use more “old timey” methods like a pad of paper or a stack of index cards. Just write each tip, in full or in your own shorthand.

2. Assemble the tips book.

Write each tip at the top of a page. Leave a few blank spaces and then write the explanation. You decide the length, but tips are by nature quick. So don’t get carried away.

Insider writing secrets – Write to one person not to “you guys.” Only one person is reading the book. – Make sure you give your reader a reason to visit your website, such as a free downloadable gift. – The end of the book is the beginning of a relationship, so make an irresistible offer to your reader at the end of the book.

Congratulations! You are on your way to becoming an author and being perceived as an Instant VIP.

As You Write Your Children’s Book, Consider "The Slow Reveal"

Eighteen months ago, I took up karate. It’s a great workout, but the biggest reason I train is I want to be a formidable senior citizen. If someone tries to nab my purse or deny my senior discount at Denny’s, I’ll be able to answer with a quick roundhouse kick to the solar plexus. By laying the foundation now, I’ll be a badass when I’m 65.

But the coolest thing about taking up karate when you’re a woman in her mid-40’s is that people don’t automatically expect it. If you’re just a casual acquaintance, you won’t know I’m working toward my black belt. And by the time I’m collecting Social Security, the possibility won’t even cross your mind. Unless you try to steal my purse.

In life most people become more complex as we get to know them. This should also be true for characters in  children’s books. At a conference recently, Lyron Bennett, editor for Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, called it “the slow reveal”. It means giving your characters enough varied qualities that some can be withheld until called for in the plot.

The slow reveal is especially important when writing a series. If J.K. Rowling had allowed Harry Potter to reach his full power as a wizard in Book 1, would fans have waited nine years and six more books to learn if he finally defeated you-know-who? But equally important is planting the seeds early on for who you want your character to become. From the start, readers saw Harry’s potential, and Rowling allowed greatness to surface in Harry when it was least expected. Those qualities grew along with Harry as the series unfolded.

You don’t want to give away everything at once in stand-alone books either. Picture books and easy readers, with their lower word counts and straightforward plots, do best with characters who have one or two surprises up their sleeve. In Peggy Parish’s classic easy reader Amelia Bedelia, the child sees that Amelia is doing a bad job on her first day as a housekeeper because she doesn’t understand the list her employer left her. But even before Amelia starts on the list, she whips up a lemon merengue pie. What the reader doesn’t know is that Amelia makes the best pies anywhere, which eventually saves her job at the end of the book.

Parceling out your protagonist’s strengths and weaknesses keeps the tension taut in a novel. In Gary Paulsen’s beloved Hatchet (ages 11-14), Brian, a city kid, is stranded in the Canadian wilderness after the his bush plane crashes, killing the pilot. Neither Brian nor the reader know if he’s got what it takes to survive on his own. Can he figure out how to start a fire? Yes, quite by accident. Can he fish? Eventually. Kill and cook a bird? How about survive a moose attack or weather a tornado? Brian evolves from reacting to his predicament and stumbling upon solutions to carefully taking control of his situation. But nothing Brian does is out of character. Though he must teach himself to live in the wild, he draws upon bits of information he learned from watching television or at school, and reserves of strength that were in him all along.

Even if you’re writing a single title, make your children’s book characters complex enough to live for several books, just in case. Fans loved Brian so much that Paulsen was persuaded to use the character in several other wilderness adventures. Picture book series (such as Mo Willem’s Pigeon books) or easy reader series like Amelia Bedelia generally grow because the protagonist’s quirks are open-ended and funny enough that readers don’t mind exploring them over and over in different circumstances.

The slow reveal works particularly well in mysteries. In this genre, the readers gradually get to know the victim (perhaps an honor student who is discovered to be running an Internet business selling test answers), and the villain (who may seem like a good guy at the beginning of the book). Or, how about a first person narrator in any genre who appears normal and likable early on, but becomes more unreliable as the story unfolds? Read Robert Cormier’s timeless young adult I Am the Cheese for a masterful example of a shifting first person reality. If you prefer a broader perspective, try Avi’s Nothing But the Truth: A Documentary Novel for ages 11-14, which looks at one incident from several viewpoints, gradually separating fact from fiction. So when you first breath life into your characters, don’t stop too soon. Add layers that can be exposed later on. These surprises will keep readers enthralled, whether you’re writing about a boy wizard, a demanding pigeon, or a ninja grandma.

How to Write a Press Release Fast

Do you want to learn how to write compelling press releases in as little time as possible? Then, follow these steps:

1. Have an in-depth understanding about press releases. It is very important to know that press releases are not advertising vehicles and that they should sound very objective all the time. They must carry newsworthy information and they must adhere to the universal guidelines set for news releases. You cannot just deliver the information you have using your preferred writing format as there is a standard format that you need to follow that is quite different from other written materials. Knowing the elements that you need to use in writing your press releases will increase the chances of your copies being picked up by media organizations.

2. Universal guidelines. You must write your press releases using the third person. You must sound like a news reporter delivering an important information to your audience in a very objective and easy to understand manner. Your press releases must contain a compelling headline, a very descriptive lead paragraph, the date of publication, company information, and contact information. In addition, your news releases must be brief, to the point, and relatively short (about 500 words). They must also be able to answer the who, what, why, when, where, and how questions of your readers. Knowing what you need to include in your press releases can surely make the writing process a lot quicker.

3. Proofread. So as not to ruin your train of thoughts, ensure that you proofread your press releases once you are done writing your content. Ensure that your information are factual and that your content is free from any type of errors that can be easily taken against you. Also, check the overall flow of your content. Make sure that you use the inverted pyramid technique when sharing the information you have so you can keep your readers interested all throughout. Also, tie your ideas together to promote better understanding.

4. Practice makes perfect. You’ll be able to write press releases much faster if you practice on a regular basis. Try to write at least one press release per day. You may opt to solicit feedback from other expert news release writer so you can easily figure out your areas of opportunity. If you do this regularly, you’ll soon be able to empower yourself to write compelling copies in as little time as possible.

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