Celebrating 10 Years With TWFH’s Erin Larson
10 years ago, an online “want ad" grabbed the attention of Wisconsin-based writer and editor, Erin Larson. Little did she know, her decision to respond to the ad would eventually propel her into a fascinating new career with an up-and-coming writing agency. In celebration of her decade anniversary with The Writers For Hire, we sat down with Erin reflect on the past 10...
November 4, 2022 READ MORE
Rebranding: 3 Ways a Writing Agency Can Help
Every business needs an upgrade once in a while. Whether you’re integrating a new philosophy or undergoing organizational changes, rebranding is necessary to make sure the improvements within your business match the message you want to portray. With so much research, planning, and strategy involved, it may seem like a daunting process. If your company decides to rebra...
October 4, 2022 READ MORE
For the Love of Words: A Writing Agency’s Story
“I’ve always loved writing; I really had a passion for it all my life,” says Wintress Odom, owner and editor-in-chief at The Writers for Hire (TWFH), a Houston-based writing agency with clients across the U.S. and the world. When she started out as a solo freelance writer over 20 years ago, Wintress Odom didn’t know that both adversity and success lay ahead. She...
July 27, 2022 READ MORE
Proofreading can be scary at times because it carries so much responsibility. The proofreader must deliver a product that is as perfect as humanly possible. In some businesses, the proofreader is the last person to touch a document, making the final changes before it is published. Like editing, proofreading can require a light or a heavy hand, depending on the sub...
April 29, 2022 READ MORE
Write Your Book Without Writing a Word! How to Hire a Ghostwriter to Get Your Book Written
There’s a fairly well known saying, attributed to the influential journalist, Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011), that states, “Everyone has a book in them, but in most cases that’s where it should stay.” Whether he meant the idea or story isn’t actually worth telling, or not everyone has the ability to tell the idea or story in a compelling way, or both, is har...
November 19, 2021 READ MORE
What Kind of Editing Do I Need?
“Can you edit this?” It’s arguably one of the vaguest requests heard in the world of editing and publishing. That’s because there are multiple types of editing, and they often mean something very different to each party in the editing relationship – the writer and the editor. A basic Internet search of “types of editing” can send you into a flurry of...
October 29, 2021 READ MORE
How to Write a Blog Post That People Will Want to Read
Have you ever passed a house that had a really cool front door? It could have been some cool glasswork or just a color that popped. It immediately gives the whole house a more interesting vibe, and it makes you want to see what’s inside. Your blog is the front door to your website. Don’t settle for basic brown or white. Give it some thought. Let it add some flair...
December 15, 2020 READ MORE
The Writers Behind Your Fortune Cookie Aphorism
It may come as a surprise to you that fortune cookies are not actually a Chinese invention. While their true origins are widely debated, it is a common belief that the first fortune cookies appeared in California sometime in the late 1800s to early 1900s. The real question is, though, who is behind the messages on those tiny pieces of paper hidden inside of the cook...
October 9, 2020 READ MORE
Who Owns Intellectual Property?
For writers, marketers, content creators, and businesses alike, intellectual property laws can make a huge impact on your company’s livelihood and protect you from having someone else benefit from your work. This means that someone else cannot publish a copy of your book as their own or that another company cannot steal your proprietary software to improve their own ...
September 1, 2020 READ MORE
The 108 Most Persuasive Words In The English Language
It's a long known fact that the secret to persuasive writing isn't in the adjectives, it's in the verbs. Copywriters know power verbs sell and convince. Internally, we have a list of 108 verbs that we've been using for a good decade, and we recently thought we should share it with proper credit to the original author. We found that although the list is being recirculated (...
November 12, 2019 READ MORE
Copywriter Q&A: Carissa Lamkahouan on the Art of the Pitch
Carissa Lamkahouan has two decades of professional writing experience and has been published in a wide range of newspapers, magazines, and online publications. At The Writers For Hire (TWFH), Carissa is our in-house authority for all things journalism. In this installment of our Copywriter Q&A series, we talked about the process of pitching an article. Carissa’s ...
June 7, 2019 READ MORE
I Shot the Serif: Is Font Choice Important?
When I married a man with the very Italian surname of Iacullo, I had no illusions about the spelling and pronunciation mishaps that were likely to follow. I knew I’d have to endure a certain amount of ribbing about the surplus of vowels in the old country and make endless attempts to explain that yes, my new last name really did begin with the letter “I” followed by ...
April 4, 2019 READ MORE
Five Common Web Writing Mistakes to Avoid
Web copy can be tricky to master: It has to sell, but it can’t feel too salesy. It has to be packed with useful, relevant information, but it needs to be succinct and easy to scan. It has to differentiate your company, product, or service -- but at the same time, it can’t feel like it’s “all about you.” We’ve found that there are a few common web writing mis...
March 8, 2019 READ MORE
Are There Any Synonyms for Synonym?
Whoever created the English language must have had a wicked sense of humor. Why else would they have used “monosyllabic” to describe a word with just one syllable? And why isn’t the word “long” actually long? Perhaps the most interesting of these questions is: Why are there no true synonyms for “synonym?” This great article from Mental Floss poses that...
February 28, 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
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
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
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
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
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
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: 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
5 Copywriting Rules that Haven’t Changed
How to Write Web Copy that Sells Stuff and Engages People #4: 5 Copywriting Rules that Haven't Changed It’s our last installment of our blog series on web writing, and we’re ending it by revisiting classic copywriting rules that still apply to creating great online content. 1. Be concise. Snip unnecessary items. To quote the infamous Strunk and White: ”A sentence ...
November 3, 2010 READ MORE
Good copywriters know that there are lots of different online visitors, each with unique reading and learning styles. In order to connect with the greatest number of visitors, your website should give your readers the information they need in the way they want it. Below is a brief profile of the 5 online personalities, with best practice Web writing suggestions to get the...
September 13, 2010 READ MORE
AP: Goodbye “Web site;” Hello “Website”
Good news for all word nerds: The Associated Press has finally made the switch from the old-fashioned "Web site" to the simpler, more natural-looking "website." Yay! To me, "Web site" has always seemed a little stuffy and English teacher-ish. Good for AP to know when it’s time to change things up. According to the AP’s Web site – er, website – the change will be i...
April 29, 2010 READ MORE
Eight Proofreading Mistakes that Count!
How’s this for a proofreading horror story: Because of a teeny little typo, people calling for a free cab service on New Year’s Eve ended up connecting with an “adult” chat line instead. Oops. That’s the kind of mistake that most likely ends in a lost client and a very, very unhappy boss. Proofreading is about more than making sure you’ve caught spelling and p...
January 26, 2010 READ MORE
How to Write 50,000 Words in 30 Days, Make New Friends, and Squash Writer’s Block
Image via Wikipedia Dust off your laptops, start doing some preliminary research, and clear your schedule for November: The beginning of next month marks the 10th anniversary of National Novel Writing Month. Here’s the deal. Anyone can participate (you just need to register on the NaNoWriMo site). Writing begins Novembers 1st and ends November 30th at midnight. The o...
October 16, 2009 READ MORE
Astroturfing: The Icky Side of Social Media Marketing
It’s disingenuous. It’s dishonest. And, it’s everywhere. It’s called “astroturfing”. Chances are, you’ve been exposed to it. And, if the folks behind it have done their jobs right, the chances are pretty good that you didn’t even know it. Social media is powerful stuff. In its most basic form, it’s the high-tech equivalent of your best friend recommendi...
September 11, 2009 READ MORE
Why Copywriters and Journalists Just Can’t Get Along
Versatile writers are hard to find. For a long time I was surprised when I’d get great journalism samples from a writer, but the minute I put them on a copywriting project, it was a total flop – and vice versa. But I’ve finally discovered the disconnect: the real reason that some writers have such a hard time, fundamentally, switching between these two genres. The re...
September 4, 2009 READ MORE
Killer Tips for Streamlining Your Copy, Part 2
As promised, here’s the second installment of my series on packing more punch into your prose. In Part 1, we talked about using strong verbs, ditching the adverbs, and the benefits of active sentences. Those are essential points to keep in mind if you want to inject some life into your writing. So, this week, I thought I’d share two more of my favorite writing tips. E...
July 8, 2009 READ MORE
The New PR: Five Steps to a Press Release that Really Sells
I recently attended a webinar featuring David Meerman Scott, author of the WebInkNow blog and World Wide Rave, the latest book on creating effective social media content that works. During the webinar, an interesting question popped up in the Q&A section: What’s the purpose of a press release – and how can it be used effectively? Scott suggested taking a new appr...
June 29, 2009 READ MORE
How Tweaking Your Copy in a Recession Can Help You Keep Customers
If you’re not already a regular reader of Copyblogger, you should be: Their writers offer a varied approach to copywriting for almost any genre you can think of. I was looking through their archives when I stumbled on a really, really interesting post by Barry A. Densa about attracting and keeping customers in any economy. Densa points out the still-hard-to-swallow real...
June 10, 2009 READ MORE
Should You or Your Business Be on Wikipedia? The Pros and Cons.
Everyone uses Wikipedia – in fact, if I see a Wikipedia entry come up on a Google search, that’s usually the first link I click on. Can Wikipedia be used for marketing purposes? The answer is certainly – though probably not in the way you think. A Wikipedia entry on you or your business isn’t going to directly sell widgets or get you your next commissioned painti...
May 15, 2009 READ MORE
Killer Tips for Streamlining Your Copy, Part 1
As any writer knows, getting that first draft down on paper is only half the battle. Whether you’re writing web copy, a sales email, or a journalistic article, chances are, you and your editing team will go through a few rounds of tweaking and fine-tuning before your work is really done. So, I’ve decided to do a little mini-series to share some of my favorite writing a...
May 8, 2009 READ MORE
Most Stupidest Grammatical Mistakes
Hopefully you’ve already met the New Year refreshed and invigorated – and you’re still on top of those resolutions. I suggest adding another resolution to the list: No more absolutely embarrassing, lowest of the low, flat-out dumb grammatical mistakes. Grammar certainly isn’t for everyone (non-essential relative clauses? Gross.). But some rules – especially the ...
January 7, 2009 READ MORE
PR campaigns can be the difference between successful and unsuccessful ventures – and they’re the lifeblood for getting your company’s stories into the public eye. We’ve previously posted a blog about how to write a press release, but where do you go from there? There are a couple of different strategies out there for cultivating a PR buzz both in print and online...
July 25, 2008 READ MORE
Copyblogger’s “Four Ways to Target Online Buyers with the Right Words” has a great analysis/advice section for marketing to an eco-friendly, socially conscious audience (among other types of consumers). Green is the new black, and it seems a lot of businesses are trying to revamp their marketing efforts to promote a more “green” brand. But some of these com...
June 12, 2008 READ MORE
Four Online Marketing Tips to Ride out Recession – and they Won’t Cost You Anything
Recession, or no recession? I’m no economist, but even the experts can’t decide if we’re in one, beginning one, ending one, or if the economy’s just a little slow. The R-word strikes fear and anxiety in the heart of everyone – doesn’t matter if you’re CEO of a major corporation or self-employed entrepreneur. In a blog post titled “How to Market in a Recess...
June 10, 2008 READ MORE
If you don’t know what you’re doing, then writing an effective press release can be easier said than done. But follow a few simple guidelines, and you’ll be on your way to successful promotion and publication. Listed below, you will find three steps to creating a first-class press release. 1. Know the purpose of your press release. A press release serves to market y...
June 6, 2008 READ MORE
Writing solid pay per click ads
Like writing compelling website copy, there is an art to writing pay per click (PPC) ads. What are PPC ads? They’re the links labeled as “sponsored” that pop up near the top of your search engine results. Basically, individuals and companies have paid money to be listed at the top of those search results. Not to be confused with straight search engine optimization, h...
June 5, 2008 READ MORE
How to Gain Credibility on the Web
Our economy is changing – we buy things now from people we never have met (and never will meet). Websites like eBay and Amazon use a customer rating system to add credibility to sellers, but independent websites don’t offer the same peace of mind to visitors. So, how can you inject some credibility into your website to help differentiate you from the phoneys? A few tri...
May 23, 2008 READ MORE
There’s tons of cool stuff available for writers on the web these days – some of which you may not even know existed. Listed below are a few of my favorites to help you think, organize, create, manage, and most importantly, write. Photo by deglispiriti Buzzword: This is a free online word processor from Adobe. It runs just like any other word processor - just t...
May 20, 2008 READ MORE
Draw More Traffic to Your Website
Question: How do I draw more traffic to my website? Answer: Write and publish articles online. Not only will pull more traffic to your website, but you gain credibility by establishing yourself as an expert in your field. For example, if you are trying to attract people to a website promoting your Kickboxing Academy, then you would write articles like How to Throw a Punc...
May 20, 2008 READ MORE
Web Writing: It’s Ok to be Redundant
Websites need to be written to accommodate a wide audience of readers – the on-the-go information gobblers, the meticulous fact verifiers, the image-minded visual learners, and the web savvy personalities who love interactive tools. This is why demonstrating important information on the same page so that it accommodates many different learners is actually a good thing. ...
May 20, 2008 READ MORE
Not ending sentences with prepositions is an antiquated rule of which we want to get rid.
That was annoying, right? I’m not normally one for change, but I am all for the evolution of grammar rules. We don’t all need to talk like our third-grade English teachers. Most of the outdated rules have gone the way of the dinosaur, but there are a few stragglers. One in particular that keeps lingering is the rule against ending sentences with prepositions. The tit...
May 20, 2008 READ MORE
Change-ups: Not just for baseball anymore
Varying sentence length in your writing sets a lot more than the tone or rhythm. It allows you to set up and emphasize points. Consider this: Many people consider New York a place they’d rather visit than reside in because of its reputation as being the city that never sleeps. New York, however, is a vibrant city divided into boroughs that are all cities within themsel...
May 15, 2008 READ MORE
Don’t sell the car. Sell the Nissan.
Imagine you walk into an auto dealership, and the salesman walks up to you and says "Hey, we got these great cars! They can take you from home to work much faster than a bicycle, and did you know that almost everyone in the US owns at least one?" You'd look at him like he was nuts. You don't want to be sold on the benefits of a car. You want to know why his cars are bette...
November 1, 2007 READ MORE
How to Get the Best Copywriter for Your Dollar
I sympathize with anyone who has to shop for copywriters. We come in such a wide variety of skill levels, prices, and personalities that it's almost impossible to compare apples to apples. You, as the customer, obviously want to get the most bang for your buck. You figure that the dirt cheap copywriters ($35 a page for example) are probably not that good. You can weed tho...
April 9, 2007 READ MORE
