Word Wise Blog: Writing Tips for Busy People
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Word Wise is for busy people who want to write more (or need to), but don't have a lot of time.
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Dec 15, 2018
The Strategic Plan: Write It Down, Get More Done
A strategic plan is written outline that maps where you are now, where you are going, and how you will get there.
Organizations both large and small create a strategic plan each year, as do high-capacity individuals. The most effective check and tweak their strategic plans quarterly.
Stop a sec and answer this question honestly: do you have a written strategic plan? That is, not one in your head but one with ...
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Dec 14, 2018
Top 10 Nonprofit Website Tips
You may be tempted to shrug off the need for nonprofit website basics because “everybody knows how to navigate online.”
Or any kind of website basics, for that matter - whether you are a small business, solopreneur, or executive director.
Or you may think the opposite is true – that you’ve got to “keep up with the Joneses” on your site with cutting edge graphics, while ignoring fundamental must-haves ...
Dec 13, 2018
God & Me! 3: Fun, Interactive Devotionals for Preteen Girls
My editor asked me to write a book of fun devotionals for girls at just the right time in my life.
My daughter had only recently emerged from her preteen years. I had seen her struggles in learning to know God and could tell she wanted to please God. She wanted to live His way. Yet she was making friends her own age, pulled between own uncertainties and her desire to be accepted by her peers.
Honestly, aren’t we all?
In writing this book I saw a fantastic opportunity to speak truth into the lives of preteen girls ...
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Dec 12, 2018
Business Plan vs. Strategic Planning: What's the Difference?
Strategic planning is a process that organizations use to help them grow. An effective strategic plan articulates where your nonprofit is now, where you want to go (and why), and how you’re going to get there.
Why have a strategic plan? Planning makes good business sense. When you don’t do it, you set yourself up for frustration and even failure. As businessman and consultant Harvey MacKay (b. 1932) said, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail" ...
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Dec 11, 2018
20 Interview Questions that Guarantee a Compelling Story
Good interview questions are not a mining expedition, but rather a conversation with a caring friend. People like telling their story, especially if you show empathy with them. When you ask and then listen, you build trust.
It’s the person behind the facts that makes a compelling story.
So when you ask interview questions that dig deeper, you’ll go beyond the facts to reveal personal struggle, conflict and victory.These kinds of real-life stories are a powerful tool.
Try these interview questions to help the storyteller reveal the heart and soul behind the tale ...
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Dec 10, 2018
Storytelling Tips: Getting Stories from Clients
A Word Wise reader wrote in with this question:
“How do I go about getting stories from clients? I understand that stories are powerful and that I need to use them whenever I can.
But sometimes, a small business owner or a nonprofit provide very little information or examples (even when I ask the right questions).”
For the record, I've run into this problem more than once.
The good news is there are a few ways you can get around it ,,,
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Dec 09, 2018
Where to Look for Ideas for Devotionals
Ideas for devotionals can come from any incident, person, situation, comment, example, anecdote, quote, statistic, fact, mannerism, activity, happening … anything that grabs your attention.
“Ideas are all around you.” I heard that statement a lot when I first started writing. It both encouraged me and intimidated me.
It encouraged me because it was comforting. If ideas are all around everyone, that means ideas are all around me, too. But I was intimidated.
Just because ideas were all around me did not mean that I could capture them ...
Dec 08, 2018
The Reminder: It's Smart to Write an Email to Remind Readers to Respond
Why write an email to your readers solely for the purpose of prompting them to take action, especially after you’ve sent them an invitation or an appeal?
Because they want reminders.
Two leading factors influence readers to take action, according to a survey from software fundraising company Classy ...
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Dec 07, 2018
Email Etiquette Quiz: True or False?
How is your email etiquette? Manners count … even online.
More business communications are conducted electronically every day and every week. Even if you’re an old hand at using electronic mail, a review never hurts. You may even sharpen your netiquette skills.
Take this quiz to check your email know-how.
Dec 06, 2018
Quick Writing Tip: Start a Sentence With a Subject. Here's Why ...
Start a sentence with the subject. Reason? You want your writing to be easy to read.
Clean writing is easier to read than cluttered writing. And my guess is that like me, you want to make it easy for your readers to read what you write ...
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Dec 05, 2018
Use a Year-End Online Appeal: 6 Simple Writing Tips
A year-end online appeal is cheap and simple to send.
With December 31 as biggest electronic giving day of the year (according to some gurus), a year-end online appeal at the eleventh hour makes sense.
You can leverage the year-end online rush when you create an email campaign (or short series) to send between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. All you need is ...
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Dec 04, 2018
Persuasive Writing Tip: Just Ask a Simple Question
“Write about benefits, not features.” You hear this persuasive writing tip all the time. But what does it mean?
When you think of emphasizing benefits – showing advantages – and writing to persuade in the same sentence, you may feel like me and squirm with the thought of sounding like a used-car salesman. So you can slip easily into the default of writing about features – facts and information.
Try a different approach ...
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Dec 03, 2018
Email Campaigns: They're Worth The Work. Here's Why.
Email campaigns and other nonprofit emails are a powerful tool in getting the word out about your cause and your needs.
Case in point: in the days following Hurricane Katrina, my email inbox was flooded with messages from dozens of nonprofit organizations. Each campaign explained how their nonprofit set up shelters or distributed water, food, and supplies to victims. I read stories of heroic rescues. Charities requested emergency support.
Like me, supporters across the nation were inundated with powerful Katrina messages. Soon nonprofit organizations nationwide reported record giving. More than half came from online donations ...
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Dec 02, 2018
Copywriting Wisdom: Make It Simple, Memorable, Fun to Read ...
"Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read."Leo Burnett, (1891-1971), American advertising executive known for emphasizing simplicity and product benefits ...
And more inspiring wisdom about copywriting from the masters.
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Dec 01, 2018
Writing a Powerful Call To Action: Motivating or Manipulative?
Tapping into emotions is the key to writing a powerful ask.
“Emotions are the fire of human motivation,” says top copywriter Gary Bencivenga. “They’re the combustible force that secretly drives most decisions to buy.”
But is it manipulative for the Christian writer to tap into emotions in order to motivate a reader to take action?
Continue reading "Writing a Powerful Call To Action: Motivating or Manipulative?"
Nov 30, 2018
3 Different Resume Formats: Which Should You Use?
These days, job seekers choose from three main types of resume writing formats to showcase their qualifications and apply for job openings: chronological, functional and combination.
Human resource professionals report that 99% of all resumes fall into one of these top categories. While there are other formats, most are variations of these three.
Each of the resume writing formats is appropriate in a different situation or for a different person ...
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Nov 29, 2018
Gift Idea - God & Me 3! Award-Winning Children's Devotional for Girls Ages 6-9
When my editor asked me to write a book of fun children devotionals for girls ages 6-9, I saw a perfect opportunity to help young ladies understand that God is their friend.
They can get close to Jesus by using the special lessons Jesus taught His friends, the disciples. That’s why I build the devotionals around the ...
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Nov 28, 2018
12 Templates for Writing Benefits
These 12 tips for writing winning Asks follow a simple fill-in-the-blank format you can use to write an important part of a call to action: the benefits of your product, service, or cause.
They’re helpful because they give you a model to use to explain benefits to your reader.
Nov 27, 2018
On Giving Tuesday, Here's How to Write the Perfect Thank You Letter
Today is Giving Tuesday, the national day of giving.
If you're on the receiving end of gifts, do you know how to write the perfect thank you letter?
Plan yours with care and thought, making sure it accomplishes these 3 things ...
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Nov 26, 2018
"Don't Miss The Story!" 3 Tips for Collecting and Using Anecdotes
Using anecdotes breathes life into your content. Readers are energized when they hear how your organization makes a difference in the lives of people you serve.
But you know what happens when the deadline for your next article or newsletter looms ...
You have to trudge through all kinds of phone calls and dead ends to find an exciting anecdote to include as the centerpiece ...
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Nov 25, 2018
Practical Tips for Using Illustrations in Devotionals
Here are some practical writing tips for using illustrations in devotionals.
Using Illustrations: FAQs
Q. What is a devotional illustration?The illustration is one of three parts of a devotional: scripture, illustration, and takeaway. It is the devotional’s main body, sandwiched in between the scripture and the takeaway.
Q. What does it do?The illustration connects the devo’s spiritual truth – its point – to a real-life situation. It does the “heavy lifting” in the devotional ...
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Nov 24, 2018
Persuasive Writing Tip: How to Target Benefits over Features
“Write about benefits, not features.” You hear this persuasive writing tip all the time. But what does it mean?
When you think of emphasizing benefits – showing advantages – and writing to persuade in the same sentence, you may feel like me and squirm with the thought of sounding like a used-car salesman. So you can slip easily into the default of writing about features – facts and information.
Try a different approach. Just ask a simple question ...
Continue reading "Persuasive Writing Tip: How to Target Benefits over Features"
Nov 24, 2018
An Easy (an Fun) Way to Catalog Your Family History
I don’t write many personal letters anymore, even though I did during my childhood and young adult years. These days I send emails, texts, thank you notes, and an annual Christmas letter.
When Christmas letters became popular, I turned up my nose at them. I thought they were too impersonal.
But life as a working mom and wife with two children became busy ...
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Nov 23, 2018
Quick Persuasive Writing Tip: Just Ask This ONE Question
"Write about benefits, not features.” You hear this persuasive writing tip all the time. But what does it mean?
When you think of emphasizing benefits – showing advantages – and writing to persuade in the same sentence, you may feel like me and squirm with the thought of sounding like a used-car salesman. So you can slip easily into the default of writing about features – facts and information.
Try a different approach: just ask a simple question ...
Continue reading "Quick Persuasive Writing Tip: Just Ask This ONE Question"
Nov 22, 2018
What I Learned about Writing Thank You Letters from a 5-Year-Old
We can learn a lot about writing thank you letters from kids.
The other day, my 5-year-old neighbor peeked through the bushes, saw me in the driveway, and popped over. She handed me a beautiful hand made card.
Did I mention that she recently had a birthday?
On the front of the card ...
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