7. Dictionary and Thesaurus. The ones that come with word processor are not sufficient. Get yourself some good old fashioned books, or a dictionary hesaurus on CD.

8. Company style guide. Some companies are very strict about their internal or external communications. They may have rules about style (different accepted spellings, for example) so that everybody who reads your company's literature or correspondence receives a consistent message about your company. You may lose credibility with your readers if everything sounds like it came from XYZ Corporation, except letter you are writing.

9. The right atmosphere. If your office doesn't cut it, find a better place. The library may work. A conference room might provide more space for you to pace as you're dictating your masterpiece. If you're writing about your company's manufacturing plant, it might help you to actually be there while you're writing.

10. Writing is rewriting. Remember that nobody, even Shakespeare, gets it on first try. Your first draft is exactly that - a rough copy, a sketch. Think of it as equivalent of a doodle when artists paint. They don't start with canvas - and neither should you. Unlike many other jobs, in writing, it's okay to make mistakes as you go along. Your final draft will be vastly different from few sentence fragments you begin with.

Using checklist items will set you up for a successful writing session. Have on hand as many of these items as you can each and every time you sit down to write something -- whether it's a letter to your customers or an annual report. By keeping all tools you need in one place, your writing session will go smoother and will be easier on your stress level than without them.

Remember to use bold and italics to emphasize important pieces of information. Avoid underlining, though, so your readers don't confuse underlined words with linked text.

Use inverted pyramid. Journalists have long been aware of need to catch readers' attention immediately. Like newspaper readers, web surfers are also pressed for time and want to get story right away.

The first paragraph should contain most important information and tell what rest of site/page/story is about. That way, readers can scan beginning to get gist of story.

Start with a short conclusion; gradually get into full story and provide more details below or on another page.

Proofread. There is no better way to make your company look incompetent than to have mistakes all over your site. I've seen it over and over and over again. Proof read time and time again, and then let someone else take a look at it too. Your spell-checker is not enough! It helps to print out all pages and edit hard copy, since reading off screen is tedious.

Don't be afraid to be entertaining. Fortunately, we've gotten smarter over last several years since plopping your company brochure onto screen went out of style. Nowadays, web surfers want to be entertained. Use humor. Use personality. Use a conversational style. The web is no place for flat, boring, unenergetic cure-for-insomnia stuff. Be enthusiastic about your product -- if you're into it, your customers will be, too! Confidence shows!