Here’s a tip for getting inside the mind of your audience:

Go to where your customers are and silently observe. Watch what they do and how they do it. Read the emails they send customer service. Eavesdrop on their conversations with each other.

Refrain from making assumptions. Resist the urge to lead. Don’t ask questions (just this once). Simply watch and listen.

I promise you’ll come away with a new perspective about what their proverbial “pain points” are, but you’ll also have fresh insight into what motivates and excites them.

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Post tags: advice, audience, dialogue, great copy, hate to write, how to write, ideas, non writers, self-publishing, shortcuts, typing

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It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen.

And today is one of those days. Perhaps I’m feeling this way because I’ve just come off several high-energy, fast-turnaround projects that required a lot of focus and creativity.

The projects were grand, for sure, but they drained me in a way. At least temporarily.

So now it’s time to put something back. It’s time for me to get re-energized.

And, for me, the way to do that is to give into the laziness just a bit.

I ticked away at a couple of small projects earlier today, put my ‘out of office’ on and now I’m refueling my creative juices by NOT working, by NOT writing, by NOT honing my craft.

Instead, I’m baking pumpkin scones, doing some deep cleaning and going for a walk with my husband.

On a work day?!!??!!

Yep. And guilt free, I might add.

Because I know that when I take time (a day, a half day or even an hour) to refuel, I come back rested, refreshed and renewed. I come back with so much more to give physically, mentally and creatively.

I come back ready to write. And write well.

When’s the last time you were lazy in order to get more productive?

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Post tags: creative, creativity, laziness, pumpkin scones, time, writer, writing

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Just about everyone underestimates the amount of time needed to write well.

Sure, Stephen King or John Irving can bang out novel after novel after novel. But they are the exception, not the rule.

I believe that writing even a thoughtful email should take a certain amount of time. And certainly writing web copy requires more than a day or a week.

One of the projects I’ve been working on are some fast turnaround presentations for a major health care company. We typically have a week to distill the message, craft the story, create visuals and produce what is essentially a mini movie. It’s a very compressed timeframe. And while we’ve done a really good job, it could have been less painful for all involved if we had extended our project timeline just a bit.

Sometimes a project dictates a short timeframe. But most times, we self-impose time limits. Perhaps we do this because we don’t want to disappoint the client, the boss, the coworker. Perhaps we do this because we (or others) don’t value our contribution. Or perhaps we do this because we simply don’t know how much time something will take. (Trust me, it will invariably take longer than you think.)

Honestly? I’m a fast writer. Quite fast, in fact. But that doesn’t mean I don’t need a fair amount of prep time, which could include doing research, conducting interviews, brainstorming, noodling, whatever I need to in order to get as much information in me as possible. In fact, I believe I’m a fast writer because I do so much upfront work. It makes the writing process so much easier when I’m well prepared.

Let me encourage you to allow adequate lead time for all your writing.

I recommend keeping track of how long various writing projects take you. It’s a necessity for me to log my exact hours since I juggle multiple clients and projects at any given time. But the other important reason I do it is because it helps me more accurately estimate needed hours for similar, future projects.

It’s also good to build in at least part of a day so you can set your writing aside and come back fresh in the morning for one last round of revising and proofing.

And, lastly, I find it challenging to write for hours and hours on end. I prefer to chunk my writing time with breaks in between, which means I need to allow perhaps two days instead of one for a small project, or fours hours instead of two.

Do you agree that it takes time to write well? Do you allow yourself the time? Do you feel resistance when you do ask for extra time?

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Post tags: client, clients, copy, doing research, email, ideas, information, John Irving, lead time, Stephen King, story, timeframe, web, web copy, writer, writing, writing process, writing project

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For weeks now, I’ve been super busy with tons of exciting client engagements. (Yippee!) And in spite of my jam-packed schedule, I can’t help but mull blog ideas over in my head. Unfortunately, there’s simply not enough time to capture them on paper. I spend anywhere from 20 minutes (rarely) to an hour (typical) or more (often) on my blog posts. But even 20 minutes is tough to come by these days.

And I don’t want to short-change you, dear readers, on content.

Which is why I’m ‘fessing up here. I wanna blog and share great copy ideas. I just can’t right now.

Ouch. It hurts to say that. But I simply cannot give you my best with my current schedule. It will change.

But until then, please forgive me while I take a short hiatus. While you’re waiting, please feel free to visit my archives or shoot me a question that could become a future post.

P.S. I’m still microblogging on Twitter most work days so follow me for some quick-hit ideas that can instantly improve your writing and communication.

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