How to consolidate your professional reputation: Part 1

Susan Pierotti, Creative Text Solutions Think of a car – your car – and how it sounds when it is running well. It hums, it purrs, it roars, it grunts. You know when something is not right when it sounds different. So you take your car for a service and you’re told that it needs a new spark plug. Do you say ’No thanks, just the grease and oil change again’? If you don’t change the spark plug, the car eventually will stop working. Language is like a car [caption id="attachment_228" align="alignright" width="150"] Change those spark plugs![/caption] Your use of language is like looking after a car. When people think of using language, they think of speaking. We first use language when we are babies less than a year old. Our brains are programmed to formulate grammar, make verbs agree with nouns (I sit, he sits), form plurals and other highly complex language tasks – all before we are two years old! Then after about four years of spoken language, we learn to write it down. Perhaps because of the four-year gap, many people are hesitant about their writing abilities. But if you’re in business, you need to upgrade them, like renewing the spark plugs. Your content can affect your reputation Did you know that people judge a website in under six seconds? They rapidly peruse the layout, the graphics, the general style, before moving on to the next site. Unfortunately if there is a spelling mistake on a business site, they will not only move on but will judge the business as unprofessional. Don’t let that website be yours! According to Charles Duncombe, an online entrepreneur and director for the Just Say Please group, sales drop by half when there is a spelling mistake. The reason why writing correctly is so important is because 99% of all online efforts at selling is executed in the written word. (Go to http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/20/116116.html to read the full article.) [caption id="attachment_227" align="alignleft" width="150"] A consummate professional has good writing skills[/caption] Yes, you can write! By upgrading your written skills, people will see you as a consummate professional, one who is articulate and who takes the time to put thoughts down in a clear  and precise manner. However, not everybody is confident or has the time to learn the art of better business writing. Don’t despair – delegate the written work to a writing specialist! Working with a reliable 'virtual' proofreader or copy editor to partner with your business will  increase your personal and business exposure, ultimately increasing sales. Creative Text Solutions is a writing business for all your writing needs. My job is to make you sound great! I can offer help with blogs and articles, LinkedIn profiles  and CVs, and can reword your web content. I would be delighted to help you with yours. Please contact me at info@creativetext.com.au for further information.