W T M T Y I

A technique I’ve used for years to help turn features into benefits, WTMTYI is an abbreviation for “what that means to you is…”. For every feature your product has, think “what that means to you is…” and complete sentence. You’ll have a benefit. “This quality vehicle has a turbo-charged six that generates 280 horsepower (and what that means to you is) You’ll have plenty of power to maneuver in traffic and enough acceleration to feel comfortable motoring onto expressway, and that’s important, don’t you think?”

--Quality over quantity It’s not how much you say, it is how well you say it. Less is better. After you first write your text, go back and make it tighter. Then do it again. The rationale for doing this is two-fold: reading a computer screen is harder than reading from paper and, with one hand on mouse, your visitor is prone to use it as soon as he or she feels least bit bored.

–-Appeal to emotion rather than logic Most purchases are made on an emotional level. Remember, people buy what they WANT, not what they NEED. They buy because of how product or service will make them FEEL. That’s emotion, not logic. Your text, then, should make them want product, not insist that they need it. We need food, water, clothing and shelter. Everything else is a want.

--Don’t use hype If they’re smart enough to navigate web, assume they’re smart enough to see through hype (and they’ve likely seen enough of it). If your product or service is worthy, it doesn’t need hype. Besides, to make repeat or referral sales, you want to deliver more than you’ve promised. You can’t do that if you’ve promised world.

--Avoid incorporating incomprehensible vernacular to persuade your constituents to purchase (Don’t use big words to sell) Don’t reach for Thesaurus in an attempt to impress your visitor. Text should be easy to read. It should flow. Don’t use a large word when a smaller one will do. Please, whatever you do, never write like a lawyer or guys who write user’s manuals.

--Use proper grammar Few things will hurt your credibility as will grammar and punctuation mistakes. You’ve been to pages containing misuse of language. What was your impression? Not professional, perhaps? No, you don’t have to be an English professor. Here’s what you can do:

-Use a spell check program. Let it do work for you. -Have a friend proof-read your site. Have several friends proof-read it. If you don’t have any qualified friends, pay a professional to help you (that’s cost of having no literate friends). -When in doubt, simplify.

There are numerous sources of additional help on website selling. One of top sources is http://www.sitesell.com/ operated by Ken Evoy, M.D.

Yet when you speak to them, you will be talking about fly fishing. Regardless of other interests, they will be interested in topic or they will not be on your site. They want to know which is best fly rod, and why. Where fish are hiding. And more about ways to hook one of these elusive creatures.

What matters is presenting information your target wants in a way in which they can easily grasp it. Against this need, rules of proper English matter hardly at all.

Ways To Make It Happen

A good point at which to begin task of improving writing skills is to study way in which newspaper articles are written. Give it some time, and you'll see all is written simply. You may even discover that reading level is about 8th grade.

Why? Not because people are poor readers. Editors want people to find it easy to read their content. This improves chance that they will. Both of these characteristics of news copy are perfect for your website. Targeted, simple, easy to read page content should be goal on every site.

Search on "writing tutorials" and you'll find a bunch. And you may find some quite helpful. But forget trying to remember all rules. Focus on ideas that will improve your writing. On my site, click on Topics in navigation bar to left. Then on Writing Skills. There are some good ideas and references here for approaching this task.

How To Make It Happen

In end, though, there is no better way to improve your writing skills than to write. Edit, rewrite, and smooth as possible. Then write something else. If you consistently seek to do a better job with your next writing task, you will find improvement almost immediately.

One good starting point is your email. Write each reply carefully. Always reread and edit. Then seek to make your next reply stronger. While practice will not bring perfection, it will bring continuing improvement.

What Does "I Can't Write" Mean?

You may be fearful of putting your thoughts in front of others. You may not want to accept corresponding risk of criticism. You may somehow feel you are not "good enough." That what you have to offer is of little importance.

If you have concerns such as these, attempting to start a business online or offline is a bad idea. They will severely limit your success, far more than your writing skills level.

Often, however, such a statement means only that you are uncomfortable putting your thoughts into words on paper. Not many enjoyed their English classes in school. Or predictable assignment: "How I Spent My Summer Vacation." If your resistance to writing amounts to things of this sort, a bit of practice is all you need. It is not a giant leap from speaking effectively to your target to writing to them.

The two examples mentioned above of people who felt their writing skills were not sufficient are representative of many. In very short order, either of these two men could be writing effectively. Not a novel, mind you. But content directed at a specific target such as fisherman. You can do same.