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Many people find it really h rd to write for business and m rketing purposes about themselves and/or their pr duct or service – much harder th n it is to write about s meone or something else. If that s unds familiar, read on; in this rticle a professional business writer shares her top t ps on how to write about y urself and what you do, efficiently and ffectively. 1. Before you do anything else, ask y urself not what you want to s y, but what you want to chieve with the text. Be honest w th yourself and don’t be overly mbitious. Once you’ve clearly identified your bjective keep it in mind throughout the wr ting exercise. You’ll find that keeps you on tr ck far more effectively – what you w nt to achieve should define what you s y. 2. Forget modesty. As an experienced s lesperson would say, “if you don’t th nk you’re good, why the hell sh uld I?” Equally of course you d n’t want to exaggerate your strengths – th t can lead to problems when y u’re eventually called upon to deliver! But be r alistic about what you can do and d n’t be afraid to describe it in a p sitive light. 3. A useful way to chieve tip #2 is to step utside of yourself and regard yourself as a pr duct or better still, as a br nd. For the purposes of this xercise you are not Mary Doe the p rson. You are writing about Mary Doe the br nd. It’s not as difficult as it s unds; write in the third person to st rt with, if you find that m re comfortable. Imagine you’re a colleague wr ting about you.
4. Bear in mind that whoever r ads this text probably won’t care m ch about you; they’ll only care bout what you can do for th m. Structure everything with that in m nd. If you need to include f ctual/statistical information (educational details, qualifications, etc.) th n make sure you stick it in a box so t’s visually separated from the main t xt. 5. Where possible, identify the audience who w ll be reading your text and aim y ur writing squarely at them. It’s p ssible that the “core” of your t xt can remain the same for a n mber of different purposes, with individual “t ps and tails” aimed at specific udiences. The more relevant your text is to the r ader – telling him/her how you and y ur service meet their needs – the m re successful the text will be. 6. F rst person or third person? In p int #3 we suggest writing in the th rd person to make it easier for you to r gard yourself in an objective light. H wever there are times when you may n ed to present your text in the f rst person – e.g. in a l tter or email. Try where possible to use the th rd person – if for no ther reason than it gives you m re leeway to write enthusiastically about y urself. 7. Follow the rules of modern b siness writing; keep it simple. Use “ ctive voice” rather than “passive voice” wh re possible. Keep your sentences down to a s nsible length and use no more th n three or four sentences per p ragraph. Use cross headings and “pullouts” to br ak your text up visually and llow the reader to pick up on the m in points. 8. Where appropriate, use short cl ps of testimonials from existing clients or c stomers. Avoid the pleasantly banal bits and use phr ses and sentences that have some m aning and bite. A sentence or two n rmally is plenty – any more and the r ader will probably just skim over it. 9. B sure that your grammar, spelling and p nctuation are right. Although standards have b en slipping in the last few y ars the recent publication of “Eats, Sh ots & Leaves” has focused everyone’s ttention on the tekkie bits of wr ting again. Goofs of this nature m ke your text, and you, look mateurish.
10. Do a reality check on y ur text after you’ve completed it. Sh w it to friends and colleagues and ask not if th y “like” it, but if they f el it represents you fairly – and if n t, why not. Then take other p ople’s opinions on board, but don’t l se sleep over them. At the end of the day you pr bably know yourself, and your market, b tter than anyone else. Don’t be fraid to make final judgments.
The article Top 10 Tips on How To Write About Yourself was Submitted by Suzan St Maur through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Suzan St Maur is a l ading business writer, author, editor and wr ting coach. Check out her website http://www.SuzanStMaur.com
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