Regardless of your job title, you probably have to write something every day (email, memo, documentation).

Improve your writing instantly with my three top tips:

1. Read it out loud to see how it will “sound” to the reader. Fix anything that trips you up. (I call these hiccups.)

2. Examine each individual word. Can you delete it? If not, can you substitute a short, simple word? (One of my favorites is swapping “use” for “utilize.”)

3. Vary sentence length. Some should be short. Some long. Still other sentences should be longer, since they create a rhythm that’s more interesting to the reader.

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It’s nice to be back blogging, in part, because I enjoy sharing ideas but also because it means I have some breathing room in my schedule. Which leads me to what I want to share here: do you give yourself enough time to write?

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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Email is about much more than open and click-through rates; it’s the way we do business.

My guest blogger, Mike McKay, first described these strategies and examples for communicating clearly and effectively through email two years ago today. His well-appointed advice still applies to everyone who sends even one email a year. Read on for some great advice from this accomplished tech writer.

BACKGROUND:
Email is one of the most common forms of communication today, but is often ineffectual because of poor structure. It doesn’t matter if all of the information the audience needs is in there if it isn’t presented well. Some people get hundreds of emails every day, and need to be able to read, understand and get the information they require in a matter of seconds.

EXAMPLE 1:
Look at the poorly “designed” fictional email below. Hidden in the middle of the paragraph is “important information you need to know.” Sometimes the vital information is in the third or fourth paragraph of large, uninterrupted blocks of text.

Dear Reader,

Road construction near our East New York office location will continue through September or October, depending on the weather conditions. Fifth Street is closed between Central and Overview. North Blvd will be restricted to one lane of travel in each direction for road resurfacing. The South parking lot will be closed until the Fifth street construction is completed. Employees should consider using the West New York office for meetings, due to the increased traffic near the East office location. Please observe the new traffic patterns and signs, and drive carefully in the construction areas. Adjust your schedules to accommodate the expected increased commute time.

Warmest Regards,
Someone Who Should Know Better

HOW TO FIX IT:
Use the strategies below to improve your email communication skills.

Grouping – Put similar types of information together in a paragraph. Types of information could include: Background, Introduction, Action Required, New Policy, How To, What To, Where To, Who To and Important Information About.

Portion – Put information into small, manageable paragraphs. Large blocks of unbroken text turn off readers. Subdivide any large group of information. For example, the block of “How To” information in this section has been subdivided into four sub-groups; Grouping, Portion, Priority and Labels.

Priority – Put the important information up front. Highlight it, capitalize it, underline it, italicize it or make it bold if it can’t be in the first sentence. State the essence of the email right in the subject line. For example, “Subject: Important Notice – Meeting Location Changed.”

Labels – Label your paragraphs when communicating to a group with differing informational needs. For example, your audience in California may not need to know about road closures affecting the New York location. Labels offer readers cafeteria-style access to information. Labels are optional, depending on your audience. As always, consider your audience when communicating through email.

EXAMPLE 2:
Here’s the email from the first example, reworked using the strategies described above.

Subject: Important Notice – Parking and Meeting Changes for New York Offices

PURPOSE: This email describes the temporary changes to parking and meetings at the New York offices due to road construction.

CHANGES TO NY MEETINGS: Use the West NY office location for all meetings until further notice.

EAST NY OFFICE PARKING: Personnel at the East NY office must use the North parking lot until further notice. The South parking lot is closed until road construction on Fifth Street is complete.

WHAT TO EXPECT: Commute times will be longer. New traffic patterns and signs will be in place. Adjust your schedule accordingly, and drive carefully.

DURATION OF THESE CHANGES: Road construction affecting the East NY office is expected to be complete in September or October, depending on weather conditions.

ROAD CONSTRUCTION DETAILS: Fifth Street is closed between Central and Overview. North Blvd will be restricted to one lane of travel in each direction for road resurfacing.

Warmest Regards,
Effective Emailer

WANT TO LEARN MORE? Take a technical writing course. Look for offerings from your local college or take a web-based class. The Information Mapping folks have an online course specifically designed for email communications.

Mike McKay is an engineer, tech writer and instructor for a telecom gear maker. Send Mike an (effective, well designed) email at: cliomichmike@gmail.com.

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I recently had gastric bypass weight loss surgery. No kidding. I’m on a quest to lose over 100 pounds and remedy some potentially serious health problems.

As part of my new post-op lifestyle, I choose to eat a high-protein, low-carb, no-sugar diet. And to do that, I use whey protein powder and bariatric protein supplements.

I recently ordered some vanilla whey protein powder and was not only surprised to receive it within 2 days, but I also received a personalized email follow up exactly one week after my order.

The email confirmed that I’d made a smart choice (nice!) and offered both a helpful hint and a link to an article to help me get the best results (value add). This is one for my swipe file. Why?

Because the email was:

• Relevant
• Concise
• Conversational
• Personal
• Helpful

And, better yet, I’ve not been bombarded since with emails I didn’t opt into. A simple follow-up email based on your customer’s interaction with you will go a long way toward building relationship and loyalty. You can bet I’ll shop there again.

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