Live Cheap Dream Big

Living the dream on a shoestring budget

Month: June 2020

Novel Update: Scenes 1-3

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On June 23, 2020

In Dream Big, Fiction

I joined Jeff Goins 500 Words a Day challenge on Monday. The goal is to write 500 words a day for 31 days. Just writing, no editing. I only discovered this challenge a few days ago but it has been going on for several years already. When a good thing starts it’s hard to stop it!

I use Scrivener for writing novels, and there is a handy tool that tracks my writing progress each day. Yesterday it showed about 1,000 words written. I probably deleted that many too! Anyway, I can say I made progress and met the challenge of 500 words.

I’m not sure how this will play out, as my novel is in the second draft stage. A lot of my work is editing and rewriting. I can write 500 words every day even if it isn’t exactly according to the challenge. One thing that the challenge does is motivate me to work on the novel every day. I have not been doing that for the last year, even though I want to finish this story and move on to the next story in the series.

When I wrote the first draft of Live Cheap Dream Big, I was really focused on the 50,000 word count to meet the NaNoWriMo challenge. I did well with the first half of the story and then it went off at such a crazy tangent that I gave up in disgust. I did meet the NaNoWriMo challenge though!

This book sat in a corner for several years. When I dusted it off and reread it, I decided it still had potential. I spent a few days considering how I could salvage the initial story and eventually it landed in the corner again.

Elsie taps me on the shoulder every now and then asking if I’m ready to try again. Yesterday I was. I have the first two scenes edited. Yay! The first pass through the novel this time is to pull the story line together. Once I have that done I will go through it again to polish it. Then, hopefully, it will be ready for a professional editor to take a crack at it.

Excerpt From Live Cheap, Dream Big

This is a short excerpt from the novel. Post in the comments and let me know what you think. Be constructive and kind please!

Scene Three

Today I move on to the third scene.

Scene three originated from a short story I wrote about an actual event. I added it to the novel about a year ago. It’s written in first person. Today I will rewrite it, so it becomes Elsie’s experience. I hope it will be as effective as it was originally.

I’m blogging about this novel partly to keep me motivated and not let my fears and doubts get in the way of finishing.

I also want to track my progress as I go, so I can repeat the process with the next novel in this series. Repetition makes learning new skills easier. Repetition also shows me where I can improve and maybe the next novel won’t take quite so long.

Finally, I’m blogging about the novel so that anyone following my progress will see that it doesn’t require perfection along the way to reach your dreams.

If you’re struggling to bring your creative dreams to life, pop over to my Facebook group. It’s an informal mastermind/accountability group for people who create.  

30 Day Blog Challenge

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On June 20, 2020

In Dream Big, Live Cheap

Today is Day 30 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge to create and publish a blog. I did it!

I signed up for this challenge because 1) it was free, and 2) I wanted to set up a blog for my retirement lifestyle. Specifically, I want to blog about my journey as a novel writer and as a quilter.

If you have thought about publishing a blog but just didn’t know how to go about it, I recommend taking this challenge. Go here for more details.

While the challenge is free, there is a cost to set up a blog. I set aside $500 for hosting and Constant Contact for the first year, but it can be done with less. The costs are lower if you commit to a longer contract for your hosting. This is good if you want to help yourself commit!

The 30 Day Blog Challenge community offers a Pro membership. There are new courses being added all the time. If you want to continue your journey in this community, plan for that cost as well.

The information in the challenge is solid. The course includes WordPress training as well as blog training – you’ll know how and what and why to do each step.

The support and feedback are excellent. It’s a bit scary to publish a personal blog but having the encouragement with each post I published gave me the motivation to keep going. Each time I had a technical question (I had a few!) I received help and more information within 24 hours.

My Results

Over 30 days I have a theme uploaded and customized, and I have learned more about WordPress. I have published 13 posts and created several pages. Now my task is to go back and edit those posts and pages to further refine the purpose of my blog.

I made valuable connections that will last past the 30-day challenge. In my Covid 19 self isolation lifestyle this is big deal!

I have an account with Constant Contact again. I was a Constant Contact Partner before I retired, and now I will be again. I have missed working with this system! If you have ever considered using Constant Contact, let me know. I’m happy to show you what it’s all about – and help you get a great deal too.

I have a rough plan to take me through to the end of the year. I have specific weekly, monthly, and annual goals – and an action plan to go with it. This is familiar from when I had my business – but I haven’t done this kind of planning since retiring my business.

Best of all, I have proof that I can quite easily commit to publishing regularly. I did it for the past 30 days, I can do it for the next 30 days, and the next. My takeaway is that I need small bite-sized goals and a chunk of non-negotiable writing time.

My Next Challenge

On Monday I am starting a new challenge to write 500 words a day on my novel. This challenge goes for 31 days, and at the end I will share how it went too.

It seems fitting that I do this challenge next, as the novel I’m rewriting now was first written in the NaNoWriMo challenge of 50,000 words in 30 days. I like a good challenge!

Why Challenges Work

Getting a head start on the technology is valuable. Knowing what to do and having the instructions for how to do it makes the work so much easier. There is less pressure when the options have been laid out for you. Fewer opportunities to second guess or allow doubts to stop you in your tracks.

Having someone on your side is powerful. Knowing that your efforts will be seen and encouraged takes a little bit of fear away. It’s ok to screw up today – you’ll get it right tomorrow. The 30 Day Challenge provides this kind of support.

Many people don’t have strong supporters and encouragement. Or they can’t trust them to be 100% unbiased. I highly recommend being part of a mastermind group to pick up where this challenge ends.

A mastermind group is 100% focused on your success as defined by you within the group. When done well, the group isn’t sidetracked by personal life events unless it is affecting your goals. You can get my Guide To Creating Your Mastermind Group by subscribing to my newsletter – the sign-up is on the right of this screen.

I am creating a private Facebook Group to provide a supportive and encouraging place for creative makers – hobbyists as well as business owners. It’s my version of an informal mastermind/accountability group. If you are interested in learning more about my group, get in touch with me.

Are you ready to take a challenge? If you want to publish a blog, check out the 30 Day Blog Challenge.

It’s a Sad Day

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On June 19, 2020

In Dream Big, Thinking Out Loud

I was hit with all kinds of doubts and fears this past week. I knew I was on the wrong track. I felt powerless. I had built up momentum on this track, I didn’t know how to shift that momentum to the right track.

My solution was to have a Sad Day.

What’s a Sad Day?

It’s not an acronym. It’s not a gimmick. It’s not a series of actions or exercises that magically make everything turn out right. It’s simply a day that I can feel sad.

Feeling our feelings is hard.

For people who have experienced trauma (isn’t that everyone?) allowing ourselves to fully feel any feeling can be terrifying. It can feel like a loss of control that will lead to complete destruction of the safe environment we’ve created. Feeling sadness can open the floodgates to overwhelming grief, anger, or depression.

Society still, even with all the progress we’ve made, tries to keep us from feeling our feelings. Or talking about them.

We try to push our feelings aside so we can examine them at a more convenient time. When that convenient time comes it’s often too late to process those feelings or act on them.

We pretend those feelings don’t exist. We think that if we admit to being sad, we are automatically labeled as depressed. Or manic because the day before we were overjoyed because something good happened.

I didn’t do any of those things this time. I decided to just have a Sad Day and let those feelings happen.

I gave myself permission to take the day off from being a happy responsible adult. I didn’t do the housecleaning or cooking or hobbies that I normally would do. I didn’t do anything productive that I normally would do.

Fortunately, I have a super supportive husband who understands Sad Days. When I told him I was taking a Sad Day, he picked up the slack where it was necessary. He knows I will do the same for him.

I wrote in my journal. I watched some Netflix. I wandered around doing nothing. I reveled in my sadness. I embraced my sadness. I listened to my sadness.

Sadness Has A Message For You

My sadness had a big message for me. In creating this blog, I followed a path laid out by others. I highly recommend learning by following an example, as it is a fast way to learn without distractions. But I forgot an important step. I didn’t pay enough attention to what I genuinely wanted to create.

My goal with this blog is to stay motivated as I write my novel. A second goal is to earn income. The recommended way to earn income quickly is to provide services. I agree with this recommendation…but it is not the ONLY way to earn income.

Copywriting and coaching services are great services and I can definitely provide them. In fact, up until 2018 that is what I provided. My Sad Day was a wake-up call that I had just recreated what I had retired in 2018 because it was not serving my purpose any more. Oops.

My Sad Day extended into the next day. I needed a little bit more time to fully integrate the message that I need to clearly define semi-retirement. There was a lot to discover after nearly 30 days on this right-turned-wrong track.

My husband, being the awesome man he is, started to nudge me along. It took him three tries to get me outside. Being outside almost always improves my mood! He built a fire in the firepit and we sat in front of the fire. He listened while I shared my discoveries. We talked about our goals as a retired couple, and how this blog/my novel fits into our shared lifestyle.

And then I went back to work. I started to re-define the blog purpose.

  • Not services.
  • Information and research – for my novel and for others.
  • Motivation – for myself and for others.
  • Recommendations for creative makers, to help them live the life they dream of.

Knowing my purpose makes it easier to identify my opportunities. How can I earn an income if the majority of my time is spent on writing and researching?

I can easily make recommendations for services or products that I have tested and researched. That’s affiliate marketing at its best. (At its worst, affiliates promote things they have no knowledge of, just to get a commission.)

I can easily use my research to write and sell ebooks that will be of value to others. I’m doing the work anyway, why not make it available? If it helps someone else to find their purpose, or to create a more successful business, that will be a bonus for me.

Today I am back on track. I have a plan to rewrite a few parts of my blog. I have my motivation back. It doesn’t feel daunting to do my daily goal. It feels exciting to move forward again.

We all need Sad Days. They give us insights into our own behaviours. They provide new opportunities to live our dreams.

The next time a Sad Day taps at your soul, stop and listen for the message. Find someone you can talk to once you hear the message. Sharing your discoveries can shine a light on new opportunities.

Let me know in the comments how you handle a Sad Day.

Why I Make Myself Obsolete

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On June 12, 2020

In Marketing

Before I semi-retired I specialized in email marketing. I helped clients create newsletter content plans that worked across all their marketing channels. I created their templates. I wrote content for them.

Then I made myself obsolete. I showed them how to handle it on their own.

Knowledge Is Power

There are two sides to this statement. One side says keep all your knowledge to yourself, so you can be essential and more in demand. This point of view is restrictive, based on fear and scarcity.

The other side says sharing your knowledge is more powerful. This point of view is expansive, based on trust and abundance.

You can guess which side I’m on. I believe knowledge is far more powerful when it can be used. When I can share some of my knowledge and help someone else be more successful, the net value of that knowledge increases.

Knowledge kept secret is about as useful as a fabric stash that is never used. That fabric is pretty on the shelf but has no other purpose. Take it out and make a quilt with it, and you have created so much more than just a pretty thing. You have something that can wrap a person with love and warmth.

Knowledge Has Value

The more you know, the more you can do. I became an expert in ezines because I was curious and interested. The more I knew, the more I wanted to learn. The more I knew, the more I was perceived as an expert. The more I was perceived as an expert, the more people asked me questions that I was able to answer.

Here’s the big takeaway. The more I shared, the more I learned! No matter how much I “gave away”, I always gained a little too. I gained a stronger understanding of how my knowledge could be used. I could see where people were likely to struggle – it wasn’t always where I had struggled! That gave me new opportunities.

Knowledge from an expert has a higher perceived value. An expert knows the right way AND the wrong way to do things. Knowing how to void pitfalls is definitely valuable!

Why Did I Share All That Information?

I think it is essential for a business owner to know how to do everything. Knowledge sets you up for more success later. A business owner who knows how every part of the business works can focus on the most important areas.

My clients were able to do their own newsletters for as long as it made sense for them to handle that marketing task. Once their businesses grew larger, they had a solid system that they could easily turn over to someone else. Plus, they had a clearly defined process that made it easy to get a new hire up to speed.

My willingness to show clients how to do their own ezines led to more success for me. As they became more successful, partly due to their awesome ezines, I was an obvious choice to take over their ezines – and other admin tasks.

Sharing my “how to” knowledge placed me firmly in the position of expert. Helping my clients – and even people who would never become clients – placed me front and center whenever they had an opportunity to share a referral.

Obsolescence is a Good Thing!

By teaching others to do the first stage work, I cleared the way for me to do the next stage. The people who feel they need to hoard or protect their knowledge miss out. They are less open to learning from non-experts. They miss out on essential perspectives. They eventually hit a ceiling once they have learned everything within their reach. Then they get stuck because they don’t know how to expand their reach.

How can you make yourself obsolete?

If you’re ready to move to a different stage of work, I encourage you to give this question some serious thought!

Why You Need Templates

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On June 8, 2020

In Admin, Live Cheap, Marketing

Systems are the backbone of administrating a business. I consider it a win any time I can automate a system. That’s why I love templates and forms.

What takes needless time? Needless decisions!

You remove a bit of decision making each time you use a template. Even though you may not be aware of it, those seconds and minutes add up. Tiny decisions add stress and waste time…did I put this information in the first paragraph or the second paragraph last time? Should the date be in YMD format or MDY format?

Cut yourself some slack! It’s easy to present yourself with a consistent professional image just by using a template.

How Microsoft Word Templates Work

Since I do the majority of my work using Word, my templates are built using Word. It’s helpful to understand how Word templates work

DOC versus DOT

A Word document will have a filename of xyzfilename.doc. The DOC extension means that it is a Word document and you can edit that document easily. When you save it, you pick the folder. When you want to edit the document, you go to that folder and open the document.

A Word template will have a filename of xyzfilename.dot. The DOT extension means that it is a Word template, and it will automatically be saved in the Custom Templates folder. You can choose a different location but I advise against that.

“Edit” Versus “Create New”

When you want to edit a template, you go to the Custom Templates folder and right click on the filename. Choose OPEN. Make your edits, save and close it.

When you want to create a new document based on the template, it’s a different process. Click on File, New, New from Template, and the list of all your custom templates will appear. Click on your template, and a COPY of that template is loaded into a document with a DOC extension.

This is the critical difference between a document and a template. Each time you open a document, the document is loaded and you can edit, save, etc. When you use a template, you are loading the pattern into a blank document. You can make all the changes you want in that document and the template stays exactly the same.

Other Types of Templates

Templates are really just patterns that can be reused. They are like paper sewing patterns and digital embroidery files.

How a paper pattern works: You put the paper pattern for a top on fabric, cut it out, put the paper pattern back in the envelope, and sew the fabric. If you decide to change the sleeves for this top, you make those adjustments in your fabric – not the paper pattern. If you decide you want to make this adjustment again, you trace a copy of the sleeve pattern, make the adjustments to the copy, and put the copy into the pattern envelope for next time.

How a digital embroidery file works: You load the embroidery file on to your embroidery machine, thread the machine with your chosen colors (which may or may not be what the file has recommended), and start sewing. If you decide you want to make a change to that design, you load the file into special software, make a copy of the file, and edit the design. The new design is saved with a different name and the original file remains the same.

Just as sewing patterns and digital embroidery files make it easy to get a consistent design, they also save a boatload of time. Imagine if you had to create a new pattern every time you sewed a top. Imagine if you had to create a consistent quilting pattern from scratch with every row – a pantograph or digital design makes it so much easier and faster!

Are you convinced yet? If you have ever used a pattern of any kind, you will definitely enjoy using Word templates.

Template Ideas To Save You Time

Did I mention I love templates? If you need ideas about templates than can save you time, download my Template Ideas To Save You Time. Let me know what you think!

P.S. If you want to know when I have a new guide or report available, head on over to the subscribe button.

Do You Need a Mastermind Group?

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On June 7, 2020

In Live Cheap, Marketing, Resources

What is a mastermind group?

  • Imagine meeting a group of people who freely share ideas, techniques, and resources to help you succeed.
  • Imagine a group of people who cheer you on as you work towards your goals.
  • Imagine a group of people who support you when your idea fails, and who help you re-imagine an idea that will succeed.

That’s the essence of a mastermind group. A small group of people who are invested in your success, and who depend on you to do the same for them.

I have been a member of several mastermind groups. Without exception, I have succeeded – and exceeded – in my goals more easily than if I had done it all on my own.

There is safety in numbers. There is also more opportunity. The image on this post shows how animals gather in a group. Each animal looks in a different direction, on the lookout for dangers as well as opportunities.

When people gather with a common constructive goal, the results have been proven. People are more successful.

Mastermind groups are successful for businesses, but they are also used for all types of groups.

Want to Join a Mastermind Group?

I created a private Facebook group that will be an informal mastermind group. Hop on over and check it out.

You can get my Guide to Creating a Mastermind Group as a free welcome gift when you subscribe to my email list. On the right side of your screen you’ll see where you can enter you name and email. Make sure you click the option to receive my email updates. Your guide will be on its way to you immediately by email. Use it to create your own mastermind group tailored specifically to your goals.

I belong to a fiber art group that meets twice a month. I have increased my skills and artistic expression as a result. I have been encouraged to try new techniques – and even when my results are laughable, they see and validate my progress.

Why I Love Mastermind Groups

This is a paper pieced house that is intended to become a wall hanging (the pattern is from https://www.quilterscache.com/). It started as a project with my fiber art group, but it turned out to be a major learning opportunity for me.

I was new to paper piecing. I printed the patterns at the wrong sizes – so the pieces didn’t fit together. Eventually I started over with this project. Then I lost it. It is somewhere in my quilting studio, but who knows when I will find it again!

My point is that I never would have pushed on with this project if it hadn’t been for my fiber art group. They encouraged me even when they saw my mismatched sizes – and provided tips for how to print patterns correctly. Now they remind me to keep looking for it so I can finish it.

Regardless of your goals, having a cheering section is going to make your work a lot more fun.

How To Design A Quilt Studio

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On June 7, 2020

In Dream Big, Fiction

I’m taking a break from marketing today. Instead here is a glimpse into the work that is going on behind the scenes with Live Cheap, Dream Big.

Elsie, the main character, is researching studio spaces. There are a ton of questions she needs to answer before she can create a design for a stand-alone studio.

  • What activities will she be doing there – long arm quilting, hand quilting, embroidery, fabric painting, teaching?
  • How many people will need to be accommodated for each activity?
  • Will she have machines available to rent to her customers? Where will she get them?
  • What kind of layout is needed to accommodate each activity?

My Writing Goal

My next writing goal is to start designing Elsie’s quilting studio. The first step is to outline the space and equipment she needs for the work she will do. I have a much longer list of questions than what I’ve shared here!

A little over a year ago my husband and I renovated the basement to make my sewing studio space. We worked within the space we had, but Elsie will be be building her studio from the ground up. She has the freedom to create whatever layout she wants. She can make it larger or smaller if she wants. So many choices!

Analysis Paralysis

Sometimes too many choices mean decisions are more difficult to make. Between indecision and big ideas causing scope creep, Elsie and Bert have a lot to discuss. Elsie will need to draw on some good resources to stay on track.

Is it extreme to approach this as if I am building a quilting studio in real life? Maybe. But I know how I felt when I read a novel about a woman who did all her garage sale shopping on a Monday. Cheated. Lied to. Betrayed even.

That author obviously did not do the research because any self-respecting garage saler knows that garage sales go from Thursday to Sunday (occasionally with an early start on Wednesday). Never on a Monday. Such a small detail, but the author lost me on that tiny detail. Years later I remember this small error – but I forget everything else about the book and author.

Harsh, I know. But also true.

Every detail is important.

It’s why I am starting over with this book. When I wrote the first draft, I was a newbie quilter. If I had tried to publish it, it would have been a flop. Any self-respecting quilter would know I didn’t have a clue about quilting!

Now I am more experienced. I know quilters who are professional long arm quilters. I know quilters who run stores. There is a new wealth of knowledge and details available to me now – and it all matters.

Asking Experts For Help

Elsie will talk to other professional quilters and business owners. She may even join a business mastermind. As a newbie business owner, she has a lot to learn – and her own experience will be valuable to other people.

When I am ready to have the next draft of Live Cheap, Dream Big reviewed, I will ask a few of those quilters to read it. They will spot any issues like my garage sale example. When the book is published, Elsie will be as real a person to readers as she is to me.

I’d love to hear about your experiences. If you’re a professional quilter, do you have tips for Elsie’s studio? If you’re a reader, has an author lost you because of a small detail like the garage sale error?

My Thoughts On Racism

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On June 2, 2020

In Resources, Thinking Out Loud

I am horrified by what is happening in the U.S. The level of racism and hatred and violence is increasing. I’m sickened but can’t stop watching. I’m triggered but still can’t stop watching.

I kept wanting to share anti-racist memes on Facebook. Something kept stopping me. It felt like an easy pass – “I posted this, so I’ve done my part now”. I felt I needed to go deeper. I started wondering what I can do PERSONALLY in day to day life. How can I be sure I’m not accidentally saying or doing the wrong things?

“Oh, it’s not that bad in Canada” you say? That is the worst argument ever for ignoring this. It is happening here too and eventually will escalate if we don’t stop it now. Most Canadians have friends or family in the U.S. and Canada. We have influence, even if it is a small influence.

I believe we are ALL human beings regardless of our appearance. Regardless of any other label that gets attached to a person. Personally, I hate labels. I feel that they divide us even more.

I understand that special interest groups are formed to provide a stronger voice, to fight for inclusion and equality – but I so wish they were not necessary. Wouldn’t it be a better world if special interest groups formed to share and celebrate their common characteristics, rather than huddling together for survival and safety?

I believe everyone deserves to be treated with respect and compassion. The only place we should be judged is in court as a direct result of our actions – and there is a (usually peaceful) process for that.

What CAN I do personally?

It’s easier to see why people react the way they do when we understand their story. Being on the receiving side of racism is traumatic. I can’t even begin to understand what that is like. What’s happening now is yet another full-on cultural trauma that will be felt for generations.

Examining my own white privilege and biases is eye opening. Admitting I need to change is scary. It triggers a few of my own trauma reactions. But I am not letting that stop me.

There is so much healing needed – for the entire country, both U.S. and Canada. I encourage you to have these discussions with your family and your friends.

My husband and I had a good discussion about this yesterday. We talked about what is happening in the U.S. We examined a few of our biases. We talked about how we can change our biases by learning about different cultures to understand their beliefs. We will continue to discuss it and we both want to do our part to change it.

I can challenge the family member who talks trash about people because of their appearance or their culture. I already do that. What do they know about that person’s experience or culture? Can I share what I have learned? I need to learn more, and I need to pay attention to when my biases pop up. We all have them.

I can refuse to engage in conversations or actions that insult and harm another human being. Speak up, say I am not willing to be a part of this, walk away, or challenge their point of view. I already do that, although not as well as I would like. The need to be included in a group is sometimes stronger than my moral compass.

What can you do?

Can you think of a time when you didn’t speak up on someone’s behalf – and wish you had?

Will you refuse to take on clients who are racist? And how will you screen them, so you KNOW their values?

Will you refuse to hire people – employees or businesses – who don’t value equality? How do we even do this? I admit, it is an extra step when we need to hire a company to fix the furnace or paint the ceilings. I think it is worth it, even though I’m not sure how to go about it. Is it as simple as checking their website to read their inclusion policies?

We can ALL step up

We ALL need to do something. Even if it is a small thing. Because those small things add up. And we can change this. I keep thinking about what I can do personally in my self isolation bubble.

Memes have their place but the ones I see right now fire people up without giving them an outlet for big emotions. Instead of sharing memes on Facebook, I think I would rather share resources that can help us take right actions.

Today’s resource

Rachel Ricketts’ website. It landed in my email today so I am checking it out. I read this checklist today. I see there are things I can work on. Check it out and see what you find.

What can you do? What WILL you do? Post in the comments if you know of a good resource or have ideas to share.

Four Ways to Use “Less Is More” Editing

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On June 1, 2020

In Marketing

Writing good content is not easy. Just getting started can be tough!

The key to good content is what you do once you get words on paper (or computer). Good editing can turn a lackluster disorganized jumble into a shiny jewel of brilliance. At the very least, aim for a passable post that people are more likely to read.

Editing is when you cut the words that don’t work. When I edit my blog posts I cut about half the words before I publish!

How does “less is more” relate to good content?

Fewer words = more readers willing to read your message

Your readers want to read your message. Don’t make them work harder than necessary. Practice making your titles and headlines short, to the point, and descriptive. People who skim will get your message. If you spark their interest, they will read further for more detail.

Shorter sentences = easier to understand

Long sentences are more difficult to understand, especially when a reader is in a hurry. A sentence should have only one idea, or one topic, or one call to action.

Here’s an exaggerated sample of what not to do:

The reason for using short sentences is because they are easier to understand and that will help you to get your message across because when your readers understand what you have to offer to them, they can be more successful in their businesses, and when they work with you, they will appreciate the knowledge or products that you have to offer.

Phew! Try reading THAT out loud! Too many words, too many ideas. I would edit that to read:

Short sentences are easier to understand. Short sentences help your readers understand your services. Clients appreciate your expertise when they understand what you can do for them.

Remember that headings and titles are an excellent method to get your main points across. You can then expand on each point with several short sentences.

Repetitive words = distractions

Cut repetitive words like what, so, and, if, and because. Ever listen to a teenager? Every second word is “like”! If you don’t talk with that teen often, “like” can be a huge distraction. We all have word habits, and that’s ok when we are talking casually. Writing is a different story.

When you are editing your writing, look for extra words. Try deleting each word in a sentence, one at a time, to see if it changes the meaning. I have a habit of starting a sentence with the word “so”. I also have a habit of writing “I think”. When I edit, I do a search for those things and delete almost all of them. My writing is immediately better.

Filler words obscure your message. It’s ok to have more sentences, and it’s ok to vary your sentence length. A few longer sentences will give balance and prevent your piece from feeling choppy. Word count is not the goal of effective content (unless you have restricted space).

More white space = more relaxed reader

White space is your friend. It gives the eyes a rest. Leave a space between paragraphs. Split up paragraphs if they are more than a few lines. Readers will be more likely to read on if they don’t have to work too hard.

Anyone who says writing is easy probably hasn’t done enough editing.

Bonnie Taylor Wachowicz

It IS easy to put a lot of words on a page. It’s not so easy to choose which ones to publish.

Writing good content is important because your message is important. These tips will help you stay on point and connect more easily with your readers.

 P.S. I cut “so” out of this post in about 8 places. What are your favorite extra words?

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