Two Decisions to Make Before You Start Writing Your Nonfiction Book
Most of our ghostwriting clients come to us with some clear ideas of what they want in their book: They know what they want to say, and they know who they’re writing for. They know why they’re writing a book -- whether it’s to honor a loved one, bolster their career, share their expertise, or tell their unique story. They’ve often decided whether they want to p...
February 22, 2019 READ MORE
Autological Words: Words That Describe Themselves
As writers, we are passionate about words and language. Oftentimes, when we come across a word that we have never heard before, we immediately want to know not only the meaning, but also the history of the word. In most cases, as with most words, the actual meaning of the word has nothing to do with the word itself. Words are generally just arbitrary sounds that are pu...
February 21, 2019 READ MORE
Top Six (Really) FREE Image Sites
With the Internet’s seemingly endless stream of images for any given subject, it’s hard to know which ones are free to use, and which ones are protected by strict copyrights. Seeing a large watermark on an image is generally a good indication that the image you are looking at is copyrighted. But what if there is no obvious copyright watermark? And what if you ar...
February 20, 2019 READ MORE
Coffee – The Key to Writers’ Survival
Some things just go together: peanut butter and jelly, salt and pepper, the sun and the moon…writers and coffee! There are numerous possible reasons as to why coffee has become the “nectar of the writer” over the years. Perhaps it is the boost of energy and stimulation from the caffeine. Maybe it’s the flavor of the roasted beans that inspires creativity. Or, as...
February 19, 2019 READ MORE
Copywriter Q&A: Getting Social With Dana Robinson
Our resident social media guru Dana Robinson has provided businesses with blog and social media content for nearly a decade. Her career -- much like a social campaign or Instagram account -- grew organically, starting with newsletter and blog and social content for a single nonprofit client. Today, she manages blogs and social media campaigns for a variety of businesses. ...
February 18, 2019 READ MORE
Accommodating All Five Types of Web Visitors
There are five different types of online visitors, each with unique reading and learning styles. In order to write effective copy, your website needs to reach each of the different types of readers and give them the information they need in the way they want it. Let’s take a look at each of the types of online personalities, and some best practices to get them hooked, ma...
February 14, 2019 READ MORE
Microcopy: Small Words with a Big Impact
When it comes to communication, few things are as important as the words we choose. Especially in written communication. And although most writers pay close attention to how things are worded when writing web content, there is one kind of writing that tends to get overlooked or downplayed as being less important. That is microcopy. Not only is quality microcopy vi...
February 13, 2019 READ MORE
How to Find the Right Tone and Voice in Writing
As writers, we are always trying to make sure that our work reflects our clients’ unique and authentic personalities. It’s important that the things we write do not sound “cookie cutter,” or too generic. At the same time, though, we want to make sure that our writing is relatable and entertaining. But, how do we go about finding the right tone and voice for our w...
February 12, 2019 READ MORE
Copywriter Q&A: RFP Survival, Success, and Lessons Learned with Shelly Spencer
TWFH team member Shelly Spencer has more than two decades of experience in RFP writing and has worked with up-and-coming organizations and non-profits with budgets of $30 million per year. One thing she’s learned? Although RFPs can vary greatly in terms of subject matter, industry, length, and format, the process of preparing a response is essentially the same across the...
February 11, 2019 READ MORE
Imagine yourself in the following situation: You’re the chief engineer of an up-and-coming technology company, and you’ve just led the launch of a ground-breaking systems control software package. You’re excited. You know your new product can meet a wider range of needs for industrial operators than competing solutions. You’ve published a detailed press release, an...
February 4, 2019 READ MORE
Sans Forgetica: A Font To Help Readers Remember
As a general rule, we writers tend to favor fonts that are practical and easy to read. While Baskerville Old Face and Lucinda Calligraphy are fun, it is highly unlikely that you will ever see them printed in a book. But what if we are doing it all wrong? What if the “easy” fonts such as Arial and Times New Roman are actually TOO easy? Well, researchers at RMIT U...
January 28, 2019 READ MORE
Publisher Interview: What to Expect when Publishing Your Book
The fairytale version of finishing a book goes something like this: You dramatically pull a final book page from the typewriter carriage, stack it on top of a huge pile of papers, stuff it into a bulky package, rush ship it to your favorite publisher, and immediately get a call praising your book and offering you top dollar. Of course, we all know that’s not how it...
January 21, 2019 READ MORE
How to Easily Craft an RFP Solicitation to Attract the Best Vendors to Your Business
Oftentimes, getting the right vendors to work with your company is a critical part of your business success. But how do you attract high-quality vendors to provide you with the services and supplies you need? An RFP solicitation can be key in attracting the right suppliers to help your company achieve its goals. And whether it’s for your own business or the company yo...
January 19, 2019 READ MORE
It is one of the greatest debates in the English-speaking world… To Oxford comma, or not to Oxford comma. While it is technically a grammatical option in American English, there are many people who feel very passionate about the Oxford (or serial) comma. In fact, this silly little comma has been the topic of debate among The Writers For Hire staff for many years. ...
January 16, 2019 READ MORE
Your Website Migration from HTTP to HTTPS
If you have browsed the internet lately, you have probably noticed that when you attempt to access HTTP sites, you get a scary-looking warning about possible security risks. You have also probably noticed that more and more companies are switching from HTTP to HTTPS. But what is the difference? And why is it such a big deal? Well, we found a great article from online.ma...
January 16, 2019 READ MORE
A Genealogist’s Guide to Deciphering Old German Script
If you’ve ever dabbled in genealogy, you know that reading the print on old documents can be a daunting task. Not only is the writing hard to read (especially on documents that have not been well maintained), but the formation of the letters is often different from what we see today. Well, if you think that is hard, just wait until you attempt to decipher old family rec...
December 31, 2018 READ MORE
Words of Wisdom from 10 Great Writers
Some people are naturally gifted writers. They don’t have a fancy education. They haven’t spent endless hours and money taking classes to learn how to write well. They are just good. They simply have an incredible talent for the written word that the rest of us can only sit back and envy. But have you ever wondered what those amazing writers would say if you had the c...
December 31, 2018 READ MORE
How Email Marketing Can Improve Your Business
In today’s business world, online competition is fierce! Between Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, it seems nearly impossible to keep up. Yet, some businesses seem to be thriving in the world of social media. So, what’s their secret? According to this interesting article from Hostgator, if you’re going to have any chance of getting and keeping your audience’s att...
December 17, 2018 READ MORE
The Ghostwriter’s Survival Guide
Have you ever wondered what goes into being a ghostwriter? Have you pictured yourself writing books for other people, but have no idea how to get started? If you answered “yes” to either of these questions, then this great “survival guide” from Freedom With Writing is just what you need. This informative guide covers everything from the definition of ghostwritin...
December 17, 2018 READ MORE
Publishing Guide – Defining the Terms and People Found in Publishing
Publishing has a long and romantic history, filled with names and figures that we all know. For example, most aspiring writers can tell you not only who it was that invented the printing press, but also what is often considered to be the first book ever printed on it (if you’re not sure what the answer is, click here). A lot has changed since then. There’s ...
December 11, 2018 READ MORE
The 17th-Century Preposition Rule
If you are a stickler for correct grammar (or happen to know someone who is), then you have probably heard the rule about not ending a sentence with a preposition. But where did this rule come from? (Or, perhaps we should be asking, “from where did this rule come?”) And is it really a rule? Or is that just a myth? According to this article from Atlas Obscura, it all ...
December 3, 2018 READ MORE
I think we can all agree that it is important to stay up-to-date on what is going on in the world. From television newscasts, radio programs, and newspapers to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram; there are endless ways to get real-time updates on local and international news. All of those news outlets tend to have one thing in common, though… Bad News. It’s not that ...
November 19, 2018 READ MORE
The Researcher’s Guide to Screenshots
As writers, we often need to capture information from sources: online, print, and interviews to name a few. When you are on the computer, you can record your findings in your favorite word processor; for print, you've got the good old copy machine, with OCR if you're lucky. And for interviews, of course, we have our trusty recorders. But when it comes to capturing resear...
November 19, 2018 READ MORE
Publishing Ins and Outs: Proceed with Contract Caution
Long hours and late nights of pounding the keys have finally resulted in something monumental--a book! You’ve finished your manuscript and even scored interest from a publisher or two. What’s not to like? You could get used to this author life. But wait! Before you start counting those dollar signs in your bank account without even a page in print, you want to think ...
November 13, 2018 READ MORE
Our Writers’ Favorite Word of the Week? Synesthesia!
Today we found a new word! Synesthesia! Synesthesia is a rare neurological sensory phenomenon that causes people to experience unique perceptual cross-overs. Do your numbers or days have colors or personalities? Do certain words taste sweet to you, while others are bitter or sour? Or do you see colors when you hear music, see abstract concepts like time projected in the ...
November 5, 2018 READ MORE
Etymology of Orange- What Came First, the Color or the Fruit?
Have you ever wondered where colors get their names? Why is yellow called yellow? And why is red called red? The answer is that they are just basic words. These words were given to each color, in order to describe a whole range of shades associated with them. And the different shades associated with each color generally get their names from things that are that particula...
November 5, 2018 READ MORE
Commonly Used Printing and Publishing Terms
To a first-time author, few stages of the book-writing process are as overwhelming as publishing and printing. You’ll make decisions about everything from cover art to paper quality. You’ll have to decide which printing option is right for you and your readers. You’ll need to have opinions about whether you want a prologue or an appendix -- or both. You’ll al...
October 29, 2018 READ MORE
It’s hard to believe that it has already been more than a year since Hurricane Harvey dropped more than 30 trillion gallons of water along the Texas Gulf Coast, causing immeasurable amounts of destruction and devastation. To those who experienced the disaster firsthand, memories of those days (and the months of recovery after) are burned forever in their minds. In an e...
October 23, 2018 READ MORE
Gone are the days when it was common for Americans to sit around and read for pleasure. Whether it can be attributed to our busier lifestyles or our lack of attention spans, it is estimated that Americans only read for pleasure an average of 17 minutes each day. In fact, the percentage of Americans who read for pleasure on any given day continues to decline, bringing us ...
October 23, 2018 READ MORE
MICROSOFT WORD TIPS FOR WRITERS … *Mac Edition*
A little while back, we compiled some “Word hacks” that our writers have learned over the years of working with Microsoft Word. But we realized that Microsoft Word is, like all things, different across platforms. So not to be left out, our Mac users piped up with tips and tricks of their own.[block_heading content="Take Control from A to Z" size="h2" color="black"][[/b...
October 16, 2018 READ MORE
Graduation Speeches in 50 Words Or Less?
Graduation is an exciting time. Whether you are the one getting the diploma, or you are supporting a loved one from the audience, graduation is a celebration of years of hard word and a future full of opportunities. But, let’s be honest. Sitting through long graduation speeches can, at times, be excruciating. What if there was a limit put on the length of those gradua...
October 9, 2018 READ MORE
How to Make Your Website 60% More Effective
It’s no secret that shorter paragraphs on web pages makes for easier reading. But, did you know that shorter webpages are nearly 60% more usable? Additionally, tweaking your copy and re-writing it to be more concise, scannable, and objective can increase the usability to 124%! According to this interesting article from Wylie Communications, by simply cutting down on the ...
October 9, 2018 READ MORE
If you have ever interviewed someone for a book, you know that it is nearly impossible to take thorough enough notes to catch everything that is being said. Even if you are an ace on the keyboard, something is bound to be missed. For this reason, we always recommend recording all of your interviews, so that you can go back and re-visit key points of your interview later ...
September 24, 2018 READ MORE
The Dangers of Mixing Languages
I have always been anti-Spanglish. I don’t know exactly why, but mixing two languages at one time is a big pet-peeve of mine. And watching “Dora the Explorer” with my kids drives me completely nuts. Come on Dora, please just pick a language! Spanish or English! Well, it turns out that I am right! This fascinating article from the BBC explains how switching ...
September 24, 2018 READ MORE
A Survival Guide to Writing a Company History Book
Your company is getting ready to celebrate its 50th anniversary, and the higher-ups have decided that a book will be the perfect way to commemorate the occasion. They’ve also decided that you are the perfect person to act as project manager, writer, and editor. And they want it ready to send to clients, investors, and employees by the end of the quarter. But is that a...
September 17, 2018 READ MORE
From Your Phone Camera to a PDF- Like Magic!
Do you dread wrestling with your difficult scanner? Or maybe you don’t even have a scanner at all. Are you constantly trying to figure out the best way to turn the pictures you take on your phone into presentable documents? If this sounds even a little bit familiar, this Watercooler Writer tip will change your life (or, at the very least, make things a bit easier)! W...
September 10, 2018 READ MORE
Six Books Everyone Should Write
Are you the kind of person who constantly has a million ideas in your head? Or maybe, instead of letting those ideas cloud up your head, you write them all down on paper. What if those ideas were not ideas, but were actually just an ongoing diary of everything (and I mean everything) you see and do on a daily basis? Or, even better, a journal compiled of all of the goss...
September 10, 2018 READ MORE
What’s Different – and What’s the Same – in Today’s Job Search Game
You haven't looked in a job for 10 years. But for a variety of reasons, you’ve decided to get back into the job search game… and you’re noticing that things have changed. From LinkedIn profiles to targeted keywords, resume writing is a whole new ballgame – and a confusing one, at that. Our internet-centric world has made job searching trickier than in the past. S...
September 3, 2018 READ MORE
When It Comes to MMbbl vs. Mbbl, You Can’t Be Too Careful
Fun fact! MMbbl and Mbbl can mean the same thing. Our writing team was recently working on a whitepaper and needed to pull some statistics about oil production volume. We noticed that, in some of the sources we used, “Mbbl” was used to represent thousands of barrels. In others, “Mbbl” referred to millions of barrels. In still others, millions of barrels was w...
August 27, 2018 READ MORE
Six Benefits of Written Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
From training and hiring to work policies and procedures, Standard Operating Procedures -- or SOPs -- help companies stay organized, operate smoothly, and ensure that employees understand how to accomplish their assigned tasks. But here’s one thing we’ve learned from more than a decade of working with companies of all sizes: Even though nearly all companies have som...
August 21, 2018 READ MORE
How to Prepare Your Content Before Migrating to a Digital Asset Management System: Part Two
Your files are inventoried and you know exactly which ones you’ll migrate to your DAM solution, but there is one more thing you need to do: optimize that all-important metadata so your system will function as you need it to. Let’s start by defining what metadata is and talk about why it’s so important to the functionality of DAM. What is Metadata? Metadata ...
August 14, 2018 READ MORE
How to Prepare Your Content Before Migrating to a Digital Asset Management System: Part One
If you’re thinking about migrating to a digital asset management (DAM) system, you likely have one key goal: to centralize your content so that it’s more easily retrieved, edited, and shared. And DAM is the ideal solution for many organizations. But before you migrate, it pays to do some preliminary work so that your content is ready to be transferred. We’ll talk a...
August 11, 2018 READ MORE
RFP Software: Breaking Down the Options
Several of our RFP clients have asked us if there’s any good proposal software out there. Software that can help them make the proposal writing process a bit easier. Software that can help them keep track of deadlines, rules, forms, and updates. Software that makes it easier to manage feedback from multiple reviewers and balance several time-sensitive moving parts. T...
July 30, 2018 READ MORE
Close Corporate Communication Gaps and Avoid Duplicate Content: Here’s How
Your company’s hiring manager has a great human-interest story about a group of employees who donated vacation days to help out a sick co-worker. She shared the story in an email the people in her department -- but the story never found its way to the company’s social media director. Nobody outside of the HR office heard about it. An engineer from your company just pr...
July 25, 2018 READ MORE
INTRANET CONTENT, WRITING, AND GRAPHICS
[block_heading content="Deciding on Content for Your Intranet" size="h2" color="#000000"][[/block_heading] What makes you want to open your morning news source? A shrieking headline? [caption id="attachment_23030" align="alignnone" width="300"] Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels[/caption] A New York Times Morning Briefing text every five minutes on your IPhone? The...
July 13, 2018 READ MORE
HOW TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL INTRANET
You and your company have already made the decision. This is your intranet vision: a dynamic, collaborative experience that is Possible? One-hundred percent. It’s been successfully achieved by countless organizations. But one thing they all agree on---whether you’re a big company with thousands of employees worldwide, or a small company with a few offices scattered ...
July 5, 2018 READ MORE
Our Writers’ Favorite Podcasts For Your Listening Pleasure
[block_heading content="Break up the drive-time monotony with these entertaining alternatives to local FM" size="h2" color="#000000"][[/block_heading] If you’ve ever spent a lot of time sitting in traffic, you know that local radio can get pretty monotonous. How many times can you listen to “Meant to Be” before you find yourself wanting to scream, “Let it go! It ...
June 13, 2018 READ MORE
Stay on the Write Side of the Law: Steer Clear of Publishing Woes
"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...." there was a copyright lawsuit between Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica. Stars Wars had captured the hearts of adoring fans across America, and Universal Studios wanted to jump on that bandwagon, so they launched Battlestar Galactica. But Star Wars execs saw one too many similarities in the Battlestar Galactica storyli...
June 7, 2018 READ MORE
Content Migration Doesn’t Have to be a Nightmare: Best Practices for a Smoother Transition
For most people, the thought of migrating thousands of pages to a new website is overwhelming. Even if the project involves only a website redesign, it can feel like an impossible task. [tweet_this tweet_text="While content migration could never be labeled as “easy,” it is entirely doable if you start with a defined goal and think of it as a series of strategic steps...
May 22, 2018 READ MORE
The 1,000+ Page Website Overhaul…How to Undertake a Massive Website Rewrite
Much has been written about crumbling infrastructure throughout the United States. If it’s not roads and bridges, then it’s internet networks and dated telecommunications infrastructure. But not so much has been written on the effects of aging on internet content. The internet has been around long enough that many sites have compiled years of content and supplementa...
May 8, 2018 READ MORE
Auditory, Visual or Kinesthetic? Why You Should Tell Your Writer Your Learning Style
When starting a project with a writer – be it a book brochure, website or whitepaper – it’s common to focus on the end goal. How will it read when it’s done? Less focused on, but equally important, are the mechanics of creating the document. That is, a smooth journey from blank page to finished manuscript, can not only directly impact the quality of the final p...
May 1, 2018 READ MORE
Top 10 Microsoft Word Tips for Writers
When you use something every day for years, you start to think you’re getting pretty good at it.But if you’re like most writers, you’ve probably been using Microsoft Word to write a few pages, save them, and maybe print them out. If you’re working with an editor, clients, or other writers, then you likely use Track Changes or Comments all the time, too. You c...
April 24, 2018 READ MORE
Word Tip of the Week: Create a Custom Toolbar
If you’re like most of us, you tend to use the same Word features all the time. And those features might not just be in the Home tab. If you find yourself switching tabs over and over, save yourself some clicks – and time – by customizing the ribbon. To customize the ribbon in Word: 1. Right-click on any tab. A menu will appear. 2. Choose Customize the Ribbon�...
April 17, 2018 READ MORE
Word Tip of the Week: Compare Documents to See Revisions
When several people are working on a document, it’s almost inevitable that someone will eventually forget to use Track Changes. Luckily, Word includes another way to see the revisions between two versions of a document. Don’t comb through a document looking for changes! Instead, use the Compare feature: 1. Make sure both versions of the document are open in Word. 2...
April 10, 2018 READ MORE
Rounding Up With The Writers For Hire
Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes at The Writers For Hire? The details of our weekly meetings are usually top secret, reserved only for those with the highest level of security clearance. Sometimes, though, things are just too good not to share. So, here it is… some of the amazingly interesting things that we have discussed (and learned from each other) durin...
April 10, 2018 READ MORE
Word Tip of the Week: Using Tables to Insert Images
Have you ever tried inserting a bunch of images into a document by just clicking on Pictures in the Insert tab? If so, you might have spent the next 30 minutes trying to drag them into place, then another 30 trying to fix your text formatting. Once everything looked like it was wrangled into place, you added a little more text….and BAM! Word went wild yet again. Fixin...
April 2, 2018 READ MORE
Word Tip of the Week: Removing Mysterious, Unwanted Formatting
Recently, we had a long document that had several dotted lines running across the page. We had no idea how they got there. Several writers tried to remove them, but it wasn’t until months later that one of them succeeded. It turns out that fixing this issue is pretty simple. Just follow these steps below: 1. Copy the area surrounding the line, inclu...
March 19, 2018 READ MORE
Word Tip of the Week: Use ‘Read Aloud’ for Proofreading
If you’re an audio learner, you’ve probably wished that you could listen to a Word document instead of reading it. Good news: there’s a Word feature that allows you to do just that. Activating the Read Aloud feature is also a great proofreading tool to use after Spell Check. To activate Read Aloud: Select the text that you want Word to read. Go to Review ->...
March 12, 2018 READ MORE
Word Tip of the Week: Using the Readability Feature
Writing something for the general public? Then you’ll want to aim for about a 5th grade reading level. If you’re writing for an academic journal, on the other hand, you’ll probably want to aim for college level. How do you know if you’re close? There’s a handy feature tucked inside Word that will let you know if you’re in the right ballpark for your audienc...
March 5, 2018 READ MORE
Word Tip of the Week: Format Painter
If you’ve ever copied content from one document and pasted it into another, you’ve probably had to go back to fix the formatting so that it matches. There are a couple ways to get everything uniform, but none of them are as good as Format Painter. This single button makes tedious formatting a breeze. To use Format Painter: 1. Highlight some text containing the form...
February 27, 2018 READ MORE
Word Tip of the Week: Use Your CTRL Button
This week’s tip isn’t specific to Microsoft Word – but it sure makes typing in Word a lot faster. Learning a few control button commands will keep your fingers on the keyboard instead of drifting over your computer’s touchpad. Here are a few of our most-used CTRL button functions: • CTRL A to highlight all • CTRL C to copy to the clipboard anything yo...
February 20, 2018 READ MORE
Word Tip of the Week: Add Another Language to Spell Check
Are you tired of Word giving you a long errors list because you use languages other than English in your writing? If you’re a science writer who uses a lot of Latin words, or anyone else who uses dual languages in your writing, then you can speed up the spell-checking process with the Languages feature. This feature allows you to add languages to your spell checker so ...
February 12, 2018 READ MORE
The Finesse of Dealing With Difficult Clients
We all dread those emails. The ones where you can almost hear the client yelling at you through the computer screen. When those emails arrive, it’s hard not to immediately jump on the defensive and start to fight back. However, addressing those situations in a professional and polite way is imperative to maintaining good client relations. But how do you do that?!? [...
February 5, 2018 READ MORE
The Writers For Hire: A Look at 2017
Two-thousand seventeen was an exciting year at The Writers For Hire, Inc. We celebrated some big milestones and witnessed our community come together in amazing ways, during a time of crisis. [tweet_this tweet_text="As we reflect on the past year, we are ever grateful for the opportunities we have had to meet so many wonderful people who have greatly contributed to the g...
January 15, 2018 READ MORE
NAVIGATING A SUCCESSFUL PROPOSAL PROCESS: PART 3 OF 3
[block_heading content="The Proposal Team Kick-Off" size="h2" color="#000000"] You’ve chosen your team, and you’ve scheduled its first meeting. In order for your team to produce a solid proposal in the required timeframe, your next task is to ready yourself for the kick-off meeting. Your team must get started with solid direction, clarity, and some best practices....
January 10, 2018 READ MORE
FINDING OLD COPIES OF PUBLICATIONS IN A DIGITAL AGE
So, you’re trying to find copies of old magazine and/or newspaper articles. Easy, right? Ha! That’s what you think. A few months ago, I was given the task of tracking down some old magazine and newspaper articles for a book project we were working on. Given that the articles were to be included in the book, they had to be original publications or copies with the pic...
January 4, 2018 READ MORE
Don’t Let a Crisis Freeze Your Business-Blue Bell’s 2015 recall is a lesson in crisis management
When it comes to customer loyalty and crisis response, communication is key. And a little planning can go a long way toward repairing the damage. Blue Bell is a great example of how a company can bounce back from a potentially reputation-damaging event. For ice cream connoisseurs living in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and a few surrounding states, Blue Bell isn’t just a...
December 19, 2017 READ MORE
THE ART AND SCIENCE OF RFP WRITING
We’ve written quite a few blogs about how to craft a thoughtful, well-organized response to a request for proposal (RFP). If you’ve ever been tasked with responding to an RFP, you know that proposal writing takes a staggering amount of work, and just the right balance of art (writing and communication are definitely arts) and science (developing best practices, adheri...
December 11, 2017 READ MORE
Gone are the days when a customer walked away from a less-than-stellar dining, shopping, or service-related experience with head held low and disappointment weighing heavy on her shoulders. Now, an unhappy customer can spread word of a business blunder in the blink of an eye by posting a bad review on Yelp, a scathing video testimonial on YouTube, or an unflattering post ...
December 5, 2017 READ MORE
NAVIGATING A SUCCESSFUL PROPOSAL PROCESS: PART 2 OF 3
We’re Going Forward. What Next? The Go/No-Go meeting was held, and the decision’s been made: Your company is going forward with the proposal. Now the ball is back in your court. You’ve managed a proposal team before, but the contract was simple and called for far fewer resources. This one will require input from several divisions, and somehow, they all need to coor...
November 21, 2017 READ MORE
Are You Writing for You or Writing for Them?
A Tip on How to Balance Good Writing with Good Customer Service I had spiders in my garage. Lots of them. Probably hundreds, to be honest. But they were just in my garage — they hadn’t infiltrated my home. Yet. In fact, I hadn’t seen a single spider in the living room, the bedroom, or the bathrooms, and I kept trying to tell that to the lady on the other end of the...
November 13, 2017 READ MORE
Reading Between the Lines: Avoiding Communication Breakdowns in the Creative Process
If there’s one thing that drives a project forward while keeping everyone working toward the same goals, it’s good communication. At some point or another, all agencies encounter communication breakdowns. You think a project is moving along beautifully only for it to hit a sudden stall as you come up against an (occasionally angry) brick wall. When good projects go ...
November 8, 2017 READ MORE
Interview: A Look at Publishing Options
If you’ve written a book, you have several options for getting your final product in front of readers: traditional publishing, self-publishing, and niche publishing. Not sure which is best for you? Wintress Odom, owner of The Writers For Hire, shares a few suggestions to consider during this interview on radio show, The Price of Business. Click play below to hear the ...
October 12, 2017 READ MORE
Interview: The 7 Stages of Book Writing
As owner of a ghostwriting company, Wintress Odom hears a lot of questions about how to write a book. For starters, she suggests, break the project into manageable tasks or stages, so you won’t feel overwhelmed. During her latest interview on The Price of Business, Wintress describes the seven stages that she works through during book projects. You may be surprised to ...
October 12, 2017 READ MORE
Interview: Setting Realistic Goals For Your Book
Writing a nonfiction book can yield excellent results: from strengthening your company’s brand to passing along decades of hard-won business insights. In most cases, however, writing a book isn’t going to make you very much money. Wintress Odom, owner of The Writers For Hire, makes a point of covering this reality whenever potential clients approach her about ghostwr...
October 12, 2017 READ MORE
How to Put Together a Winning Investor Presentation
One of the trickiest obstacles businesses face is crafting an effective presentation that will appeal to investors. Both new and established companies at some point face having to raise capital to operate and grow their business. The most popular way to introduce and solicit investment in a project is via the investor pitch presentation, which typically takes the form of...
October 4, 2017 READ MORE
It started out as a bit of a joke, says Brittany Cooper. Not long after Hurricane Harvey filled Houston’s streets with water, Brittany and her husband, Cody Cooper, started checking in with her friends and family, making sure everyone was OK. When Brittany learned that one of her friends was stranded amid the rising water, she joked about jumping in her boat and comin...
September 27, 2017 READ MORE
NAVIGATING A SUCCESSFUL PROPOSAL PROCESS: PART 1 OF 3
To Bid or Not to Bid You’ve just received a Request for Proposal (RFP). You’re elated. It’s a sizable contract; capturing the contract and the customer’s repeat business would be an enormous leap forward for your company. Then you begin to look at the RFP. It’s a 100-page document full of jargon, legalese, and pages upon pages of requirements you may never have ...
September 14, 2017 READ MORE
How To Help Hurricane Harvey Victims
Since Hurricane Harvey brought record rains to greater Houston, people throughout the country have been looking for ways to help flood victims. During this special radio interview, Wintress Odom of The Writers For Hire suggests effective ways to do that. Wintress also describes the program that she and her husband, Sean Odom, started to buy and take supplies directl...
September 8, 2017 READ MORE
Interview: The Difference Between Editing and Proofreading
With traditional publishing on the decrease — self-published books represented 31 percent of e-book sales on Amazon's Kindle Store in 2014 — more authors than ever shoulder the responsibility of making sure their books contain clean, polished, and accurate copy. That means, ideally, that they're hiring professionals to fine-tune their manuscripts once ...
August 29, 2017 READ MORE
How to craft a winning press release
What is a press release and how is it used? The first press release was facilitated by public relations industry “founder, Ivy Lee, in response to a 1906 New Jersey train wreck. Lee wanted to ensure that details about the crash were communicated from the Pennsylvania Railroad to media (in this case, The New York Times). The idea was generated based on Lee’s philosoph...
August 17, 2017 READ MORE
Why Content Marketing Fails in Information Technology (and how to fix it)
As the world moves toward an increasingly digital existence, the IT industry has been growing more than ever. With that growth comes a need for IT companies to stand out from the pack and establish themselves as leaders in their field. Content marketing — which is a form of self-promotion that uses web content such as blog posts, emails, white papers to help companies b...
August 3, 2017 READ MORE
Celebrating 10 Years With Our Senior Editor Stephanie Hashagen
Since joining The Writers For Hire (TWFH) 10 years ago, Senior Editor Stephanie Hashagen has learned something important about herself. She can write about almost anything. Some of the weird and wonderful topics Stephanie has tackled during the last decade include the health benefits of beets, machines used to clean oil and gas pipelines, how to boost personal credit sco...
July 26, 2017 READ MORE
Interview: How to Hire a Ghostwriter
Despite the mystique surrounding ghostwriters, finding people who can write on your behalf is not as difficult as one might think. The real challenge is finding the right ghostwriter for you. During her latest radio interview on The Price of Business, The Writers For Hire Owner Wintress Odom shares insider tips for finding — and vetting — ghostwriters. Wintress a...
July 20, 2017 READ MORE
Content Marketing: Cultivating An Authentic Voice
Colorado business owner William Fuller knew that if he wanted to attract more customers to Summit County Mountain Retreats (SCMR), he’d have think beyond traditional advertising. In a place known for breathtaking scenery, year-round sunshine, and near-limitless outdoor activities, vacation rental companies like Fuller’s aren’t exactly in short supply. A sales email s...
June 29, 2017 READ MORE
New to proposal writing? It helps to learn the language. If you’re new to the world of proposals, it’s all too easy to get lost in a sea of acronyms, industry jargon, formatting rules, and submission guidelines. What’s the difference between an RFI and an RFP? How do you respond to an RFQ? What is a SOW? Is your company a WOSM or an SDVO? When do you send an LOI? ...
June 22, 2017 READ MORE
Interview: Communicating With Writing Professionals
While communication is a vital part of any successful work project, communicating clearly becomes especially critical when you ask others to write on your behalf. Wintress Odom, Senior Editor of The Writers For Hire, has first-hand knowledge of what it takes to ensure successful client-writer communications. During her latest interview on Price of Business, Wintress offe...
June 13, 2017 READ MORE
Is Content Marketing a Cure-All for the Hospital Industry?
What if you could implement one marketing strategy that ties together other strategies, increases patient trust, extends return on investment, and connects directly with target audiences? Effective content marketing can do all of this, and more. While it might not be a miracle pill for the hospital industry, it comes close. It is difficult to overlook the presence of...
June 8, 2017 READ MORE
Interview: Why Most Web Copy Fails
One of the most important things your business web copy should do is show potential customers, from the beginning, why it's in their best interests to select your products or services. Some business web sites accomplish that spectacularly, and some, well, don't. During her latest radio interview on The Price of Business, Wintress Odom, owner of The Writers For Hire,...
April 4, 2017 READ MORE
Is Traditional Publishing Still Worth It?
“Writing a novel is like driving at night in the fog,” E.L. Doctorow once said. “You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” But when you finish a book, those headlights may fade out. You face a question the muse can’t answer: Should I seek a traditional publisher or independently publish this myself? It’s a complex ...
March 30, 2017 READ MORE
Interview: Writing With SEO In Mind
If your website content is a key to search engine optimization (SEO) success, what kind of content should you be writing? Wintress Odom, owner and senior editor of The Writers For Hire, answers that question a lot, and she has some do's and don'ts for you. Click play below to hear the interview. [video mp4="https://www.thewritersforhire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/...
March 23, 2017 READ MORE
As a marketing specialist, you recognize that SMEs (subject matter experts) are critical to effective content marketing. They’re authorities on your company’s products and services. Without them, your company couldn’t run—and it would be nearly impossible to create detailed content that showcases your company’s expertise. But if you’ve ever had to collaborate ...
March 8, 2017 READ MORE
Social Media and Today’s Hospitals
By Michelle Perron When Facebook logged its first likes in 2004, no one was predicting that social networking would become a tool in the practice of medicine. Yet it has. From the revered Mayo Clinic to little-known regional specialty centers, the health care industry is finding that social media helps attract new appointments, generate revenue, and build relationships. ...
February 21, 2017 READ MORE
Interview: Content That Drives Google Rankings
There was a time when adding the right keywords to your website copy would go a long way toward boosting its Google ranking—where the Google algorithm places your site in search results. But today, keywords do little to help in that area. Driving up Google rankings is a complex, constantly changing process. On the bright side, your site's content can have a huge effect...
February 15, 2017 READ MORE
Gordon Graham “That Whitepaper Guy”
The whitepaper is arguably the keystone of a great content marketing campaign. A single, comprehensive whitepaper on an enduring industry topic can last years – creeping up month after month in search results, circulated and posted by peers and potential clients, attracting hundreds or thousands of mentions on social sites. The whitepaper can also be incredibly versatil...
February 8, 2017 READ MORE
Interview: Secrets to Great Content Marketing
What is content marketing, and what can it do for your business? Wintress Odom, owner of Writers For Hire, explains during her latest radio interview on The Price of Business. Topics covered include: Finding and selecting relevant subject matter Getting the most out of your content marketing campaign Getting your subject matter experts on board Capitalizing ...
February 1, 2017 READ MORE
Better Hospital Communication Improves HCAHPS Scores
Since the establishment of the Affordable Care Act in 2012, one question has been plaguing hospitals all over the country….“How can we improve our HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) scores?” With the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program, which ties patient satisfaction sc...
January 21, 2017 READ MORE
By Jenny Higgons Companies and individuals often wonder how to get press coverage in magazines, newspapers, and other media outlets. I’ve spent many years on both sides of that fence — as a freelance writer, and as a writer and editor at both national and regional magazines and a major daily newspaper. Here’s a primer. It all starts with “the pitch” to an edito...
January 6, 2017 READ MORE
The Secret to Producing Successful Blog Posts
Thank you to Michelle Rebecca for this guest post. Just about anybody can be a blogger, but it takes a certain set of skills, knowledge, and experience to consistently write popular posts. When it comes to creating content for an online audience, you can be the best writer in the world and have little impact unless you know the tricks to the trade. If you are just establ...
December 26, 2016 READ MORE
Interview: A Look At Professional Writing Services
People sometimes ask Wintress Odom, “Can your firm help me with copywriting and content marketing, or is your company a technical writing business?” The answer, she says, is yes. And, she usually adds, the firm also helps clients write books and articles, speeches and scripts, and with myriad other writing and editing projects. During this radio interview on The Pri...
December 19, 2016 READ MORE
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