Keep Your Audience In Mind

Remember, you’re offering an employer your services, so what can you do that will help them? include any skills that will be relevant to them as a company. For example, if it’s a job in a sales capacity, tell them about the sales skills you developed in a previous role. Keep your audience’s interests in mind and they’ll be more likely to consider you.

Be Concise

In a CV and application letter, you don’t have time to be verbose. Recruiters get thousands of applicants sometimes, and they’ve got to thin them out quickly. If you take too long to get to the point, then your application letter will be disregarded. The same goes for your CV. Keep it as short as you can, only including the relevant points.

Back Up Your Claims

In your application letter, you’ll be trying to show the reader why you’re the best person for the job. Let’s say you’re applying for a sales role. You may say, ‘I enjoy selling aggressively.’ You can then back that up with a fact, such as you got the highest sales figures in your department in a given month. Show the reader that you’re the best, and give them the evidence that backs this up.

Writing Your Application Letter

Your application letter is the first impression you’ll give a recruiter, so make it a good one. Here’s some tips to make it impressive:

• Write a letter for every job you apply for, and make it unique to the job you’re applying for.
• Find the person who you need to address the letter to. Avoid ‘Sir or Madam’, as it’s not specific.
• State the job title and where you saw the advert.
• Write about why you’re qualified for the job, and point to sections of your CV to provide evidence.

Writing Your CV

Your CV will be the evidence to back up what you’ve written in your application letter. Here’s how you can make yours attractive to employers.

• Format your CV well. Use lots of white space, and headings to direct the reader’s attention to important sections.
• Edit your CV to suit the job you’re applying to.
• Try a functional CV, where you list your skills, rather than your jobs, in detail.
• List facts in reverse chronological order, with the most recent ones first.

These tips will help you create an application letter and CV that will help land you an interview. It’s all about tailoring the application to the job you’re applying for. It can take a little work, but it can really pay off in the long run.

The post How To Write Your Application Letter And CV appeared first on Write My X.

1. Adobe RoboHelp

Adobe are already well known for creating products that those in IT use all the time. RoboHelp is a product that’s perfect for tech writing. It’s designed to create responsive HTML-5 documents that can be delivered to users across the globe, helping them understand and use technology with ease.

If you use this product, you can take advantage of features such as thumbnail saving, search features, and more. It makes it a lot easier to create tech documents that anyone can use.

2. Microsoft Visio

You may already be using Microsoft products in your day to day job, but you want to use Visio when it comes to diagramming. This tool makes diagrams a breeze, helping you make complex diagrams easily understandable and easy to follow.

There’s templates included, so you can take a lot of the work out of creating diagrams. Just select a template, start inputting the details, and away you go. Before you know it, you’ll have all the work done in no time at all.

3. LightShot

Sometimes you’ll need to take screenshots in order to show the reader what they should be seeing on screen. However, you don’t want to be taking a full screenshot of your screen in order to show them what you need them to see. That’s where LightShot comes in.

This software helps you take customisable screenshots at the click of a button. When you hit the ‘prt Src’ key, you’ll be given a window on your screen that you can move around, until it frames the part of your screen you want it to screenshot. Then, just click ‘save’, and you’ll have the perfect screen shot for your needs.

4. Libre Office

There’s plenty of office software suites out there, but if you’re a technical writer, then Libre Office is the one for you. It features all the programs you would expect from an office program, including a text editor, spreadsheets, publishing software, and more.

What makes it stand out above the others is that it’s an open source software, and completely free to download. That means it will cost you nothing to download, and you’ll get free updates whenever it’s amended. As an open source project, programmers are always looking to make it better.

5. MediaWiki

One effective way of presenting information to your readers is by putting it all into a wiki. This can help readers search to find the information they need quickly, and present it in a simple and easy to understand manner. There’s a reason why so many companies are now turning to wikis to present their information.

MediaWiki is one of the best wiki creators out there. Again, this software is open source and anyone can use it. You can sign up and start creating new pages for your product in a matter of minutes. All you’ll have to do is present your customers with the link to give them everything they need.

6. UltraEdit

This is the text editor to end all text editors. It comes with a hefty price tag at $99, but it’s well worth it if you’re a tech writer. It’s perfect for coding, and can be customised to look and work just how you want it to. There’s lots of features you can take advantage of, including a search function, list editing, and more.

What’s great about this is with your UltraEdit key, you’ll get UltraCompare too free. This tool can help you compare multiple files at once, and has a lot of unique features of its own.

7. Notepad++

Notepad++ is an interesting program, as it’s designed to protect the environment by making your PC use less power. How does it do this? By being designed to be as efficient as possible. It’s programmed in C++, which results in a higher execution speed and smaller file size.

The app itself is highly useful for tech writers, as you can write simple text or code, directly in the program. This program is free and open source, so again anyone can use it and take advantage of any future updates.

8. WhatFix

This tool takes a totally different approach to tech writing than some of the other tools on this list. Most writers would go with longer documents, but they can be user unfriendly. Instead, this tool uses ‘bubbles’ to arrange and display information. All the user has to do is click the bubble that’s relevant to them, and they’ll get the directions that they need.

As well as this, there’s a real time walkthrough feature that you should take advantage of. It walks your user through a process in real time, helping them understanding the tech and minimising the input needed from you as the writer or IT support.

9. WordPress

If you want to display your text as a website or blog, then WordPress is where you want to go. It’s the hosting platform for millions of sites all over the world, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s customisable, thanks to the plugins feature. All you have to do is find the right plugins for your needs, and you can create a site that’s perfect for your needs.

You can also take advantage of themes too, to make your documents look inviting and easy to read. This can all be accessed for free, so sign up and play around with the features, until you find something that you like.

10. Prezi

If you want to create animated videos that will give your users the information you need, you do have a lot of choice when it comes to the software you use. However, Prezi has become popular with a lot of tech writers, and for good reason.

The tool works somewhat like a slideshow creator, but instead of making you stick to separate slides, you can include everything all on the same canvas. You can then zoom in and out and move around it at will, making it easier to get your message across.

11. Google Drive

When it comes to text editing, Google Drive is a tool that many writers are turning to. This is because it’s much easier for many people just to turn to their phones when they’re looking to read an online document. Creating documents in Drive can help you make them available to users right away, and you can make edits as and when you need to.

The best part of it is that Google Drive features a full suite of features, including everything you’d expect to see in any office tools suite. That means that you can create everything through this app, keeping everything together in one place.

12. Madcap Flare

This tech writing tool gives you everything you need in one screen, so you can keep track of all the information you have as you write. If you’re someone who likes to keep everything to hand, then this is the tool for you.

The ribbon toolbar makes it easy for you to access common tasks as you write, and the content explorer helps you grab that vital file whenever you need it. You can also ‘dock’ documents in the toolbar, so you have them to hand but they’re not in the way until you need them.

13. Snagit

If you need to get screen capture of a process, this tool is one of the easiest ones out there to use. With this you can quickly grab your screen, edit the footage, and then include it in your documentation.

You can make the choice to either capture the whole screen, or just a portion of it. This software makes it easy to pick exactly what you want to snap footage of and use in your presentations. Once you have the footage, you can edit it all within the same software. When you’re up against the deadline, having this all within one program can save a lot of time.

14. Adobe Photoshop

If you need to create or edit images for your writing, then there’s a lot to be said for Adobe Photoshop. It’s possibly the most famous photo editing software out there, and for good reason. You can create almost anything with it, with the right know how.

For tech writers, it can be the best way to create diagrams and other technical drawings. If it’s easier to show it in a picture than write about it, this can be the best way of creating that image. It can take some time to get used to, but with so many tutorials online you can get to grips with it fairly easily.

15. Webstorm

If you want to write in Javascript, then this is the tool that you want to use. It’s designed to help you code with ease, with all the features that are available to you. For example, the debugger tool can help you fix any bugs you find on the fly, and unit testing, which helps you go from writing to testing right away.

This tool is used by many well known companies, such as BMW, Yahoo, and Soundcloud. When it’s trusted so many big names, you can see that it’s a tool you’ve got to try out for yourself. Before long, you could be coding more efficiently than you ever have before.

There you have it. These tools are all approved by tech writers for making their work easier, smoother, and all round better for the consumer. Give them all a try, and see which ones suit you and your work style. You’ll soon find a small group of tools that you won’t know what to do without.

The post The Best Tech Writing Tools And Software For You To Use appeared first on Write My X.

Purpose

The greatest distinction between copywriting and content writing lies in its purpose. Copywriting is selling your personas on your brand; content writing is subtly telling them about it while delivering valuable content.2

Copywriting is the art of selling people on an idea, brand or ideology. The best copywriting fuses the products and ideology of a brand together to create branding. Copywriting is advertorial in nature as its intent is to pitch customers to use a brand’s products and/or services.

Content writing is the art of creating content. It needs to either inform, educate or entertain; it needs to have a clear purpose and/or reason behind the piece; it needs to represent the brand’s voice; it needs to be a good read/watch/listen. The best content writing is focused on the quality of the editorial, no matter if it comes from a brand or a publisher. For brands (and some data-driven publishers), content writing aligns with strategic business and marketing goals to attract audiences and potential customers.

Here’s one way to look at the two: content writing passes the information along to your audience while copywriting reveals what your brand is all about.1

The two, of course, do share similarities. For one thing: goals. Both copywriting and content writing ultimately seek to convert a reader into a sale or a lead. Another similarity: they both need to be well-written. What is well-written for one differs from the other, but quality writing, for whatever purposes, engages readers to keep reading.

Bottom line: The ultimate objective of copywriting is to sell an idea whereas the ultimate objective of content writing aims to create valuable content to help the audience understand your brand and generate interest.1

The Job

A truism: copywriters write copy and content writers write content. If you’re confused at what this means, then you should know all shall be explained. Another distinction between copywriting and content writing lies in the job description.

A copywriter is a professional whose job is dedicated to producing copy, which is usually, but not always, short form. This can come in many forms (see below), but the general idea is that a copywriter writes marketing material for a living. It is their trade, craft, skill—whatever you want to call it.

Now, a content writer can be anyone. She is not necessarily a professional writer, but someone who produces content. Thanks to the democratization of the internet, anyone can write now, including professionals, executives, authors, bloggers, software engineers, CEOs, brands, etc. Of course, the best content writers understand the craft of content writing, but it may not be their trade.

Bottom line: A copywriter is a professional who writes marketing copy; a content writer can be anyone producing content.

Types of Writing

A copywriter writes marketing material, a content writer writes content—but what kinds of marketing material and content? This is the last major distinction between the two.

Traditionally, copywriting was limited to advertising in the days of yester-yore (again, see Mad Men). But the internet changed the scope of what copywriters can write for beyond witty slogans. Today, the list includes, but is not limited to:

• Ads, online and off
• Slogans and taglines
• Web page content
• SEO content
• Email campaigns
• Television or radio commercial promotional and advertising scripts
• Video scripts
• Press releases
• Whitepapers
• Catalogs
• Billboards
• Brochures
• Postcards
• Sales letters
• Direct mail letters
• Jingle lyrics
• Social media

Copywriters today see plenty of overlap with content writers and technical writers, but remember: the point is to sell you an idea as part of a marketing campaign.

Likewise, content writing has plenty of opportunities to write different kinds of content, including, but not limited to:

• Articles
• Blog posts
• Newspaper pieces
• Magazine features
• White papers
• Email newsletters
• E-books
• Books
• Print magazines
• Social media
• Podcasts
• Television
• Film
• Radio

Yep—even TV and film is considered content these days, just a different kind. (But that’s another story.)

What you really need to know is that brands of all kinds need copywriting and content writing to stay fresh, so there’s plenty of opportunities for writers out there to try their hands at both. It’s just a matter of seeing which one you have a knack for and sticking with that one.

The post Copywriting vs. Content Writing: What’s the Difference? appeared first on Write My X.

Too often, business professionals underestimate the impact of glaring grammatical errors in the workplace. Because much of your business writing is permanent, it has a greater impact on your professional image than do your spoken words.

Below, we’ve listed the six business writing errors that most commonly cause big problems in the workplace.

1. Writing in the passive voice

Business professionals often favor the passive voice to avoid assigning blame or accountability. However, relying too heavily on the passive voice can make your writing confusing. You can eliminate the passive voice and write more succinctly by including actors for the verbs in your sentences. For instance, instead of “The case was filed on time,” write “HR filed the case on time.”

2. Using male pronouns exclusively

You may have done it without even realizing it, but you can end up alienating readers if you use male pronouns exclusively. You can avoid sexism and bias by using “he or she,” in your writing or by casting sentences in the plural with “they.” Alternatively, you can switch back and forth between male and female pronouns from paragraph to paragraph.

3. Mixing up homophones

When it comes to words you may have learned in the second grade, readers can be quite critical. Take special care not to mix up the common homophones below:

• Your, you’re
• Its, it’s
• To, two, too
• Their, there, they’re
• Except, accept
• Complement, compliment
• Affect, effect

4. Failing to capitalize and punctuate properly

While it might be acceptable in a text message, failing to capitalize and punctuate properly in workplace communication can make you look careless and lazy.

Check out the following unprofessional sentence:

i will call u after lunch will u be free

Now compare it to this one, with correct grammar and punctuation:

I’ll call you after lunch. Will you be free?

5. Using excessive punctuation

Multiple exclamation points (!!!) and question marks (???) can send the wrong message, as can entire words in uppercase. In almost all workplace writing, using these devices is inappropriate, even if you’re trying to convey excitement or urgency.

6. Failing to proofread

Before sending out an email, publishing a document, or sharing a memo, be sure to proofread it carefully. You should always have another set of eyes proofread important pieces of writing before you submit them.

The post Business Writing Errors That Cause Big Problems appeared first on Write My X.

Maybe you’re passionate about a topic that you want to share with the world.

Maybe you want to build an online business and you heard that blogging is one of the best ways to get started. Whatever your reasoning is, I’m here to help you.

On this page, I will show you how to start a blog in 3 simple steps.

Step 1: Get Your Domain Name and Hosting

The first thing you will need is to get a domain name and hosting. In simple terms, you need to get your very own www.yourdomain.com (i.e. www.becomealogger.com) and you need a place to store your blog (your hosting).

Step 2: Install WordPress

WordPress is the system I recommend for creating your blog. It’s great because it’s relatively simple to setup. You can literally set it up with a few clicks. Watch this video and you will see how easy it is to do.

Step 3: Install a WordPress Theme

Now that you have WordPress installed, it’s time to make it look pretty. How do you do that? By installing a WordPress Theme. There are MANY free WordPress themes out there. In this video, I show you how to install a nice theme.

The post How to Start a Blog in 3 Simple Steps appeared first on Write My X.

Note The Key Terms

The first thing to do is go through the essay topic with your highlighter, and start looking for key terms. These will tell you how to structure and approach your essay. Here’s a few you should look out for:

• Argue: This is asking you to take a stand on a topic. What do you think, and can you back it up with evidence? Consider other possible viewpoints too.
• Compare: Look for the differences and similarities between the two subjects you’ve been given.
• Analyse: This wants you to really get to grips with the subject, and look for relationships that may not be obvious. For example, what events lead to the start of World War 1? Some of them aren’t as obvious as they appear.
• Evaluate: As well as analysing, you’ll be asked to apply a judgement to your findings. Remember, you’ll need evidence to back up your ideas.

Talk To A Professor

If you’re struggling to understand your topic, try talking to a professor. They’ll often set aside time to talk to students, so plan a time to meet with them, and explain to them what you know about the topic, and where the gaps are. They’ll help you fill those gaps in, and get started on writing your essay.

Generate Ideas

To get started, try generating some ideas. Look at how others have written about the topic at hand. Have there ever been any controversies? Do most writers give the theories credence, or are they mostly questioned in print? These will give you clues as to how to approach your own essay. Of course, you can go against popular opinion if you have the evidence to back you up.

Create A Thesis Statement

Before starting to write, try putting together a thesis statement. This should show the direction in which your essay will go, and what you think about the topic at hand. Don’t worry too much about sticking to it. If you find good evidence later on that goes against your thesis statement, don’t be afraid to rewrite it. After all, you won’t be including it in the final essay, it’s just to help you stay on track.

Write For Your Audience

Think about the reader of your essay. You’re looking to convince them that your view is the correct one, when it comes to your essay topic. How are you going to convince them of this? If they’ll hold a different view to you, you’ll need to have a lot of research to back up the points you’re making.

These tips will help you get to grips with that essay topic, and really write an essay that will get you top grades. Give yourself the time to plan and research, and you’ll get there.

The post How To Understand Essay Topics appeared first on Write My X.

Don’t worry, writer’s block happens to everyone. This guide will help you push past the block and get that essay started. Here’s what you need to do.

Why Can’t You Start The Essay?

First of all, you need to figure out what’s stopping you from writing your essay. You’ll need to ask yourself a few questions, to work out what’s going on.

• Do you not understand the assignment? This is the most common reason writers can’t get started on their essay. Don’t be afraid to ask questions in class, and talk to your tutor. Look at the assignment itself, and pick out the keywords. What are the most important points in it? For example, look for words like ‘analyse’, ‘compare and contrast’ or ‘discuss’, as they’ll show you what you need to do.
• Have you done the right amount of research? Doing too little or even too much research can leave you stumped. If you feel you don’t know enough, try reading further into the topic and saving any documents that could be useful. If you’ve done too much, burrow down through all the information to find the points that are important to the task at hand.
• Are you worried about how you sound? Many students feel they don’t sound ‘smart’ enough in their essays. Your professors aren’t looking for ‘smart’ sounding essays, they’re looking for ones that take a point and argue it well. Remember, there’s often not a ‘right’ answer. You just need to pick your viewpoint, and back up your ideas with solid facts.
• Are you too stressed to write? Every student reaches a point where they’re too stressed to continue. Take a quick break from working, and come back to the essay with a fresh mind. If you ensure you set aside time for study and breaks, you can take a lot of pressure off yourself.

How To Get That Essay Started

Now that you know what’s stopping you from writing, you’ll need to start getting some ideas down on paper. Here are some useful tips to help you out.

Don’t worry about the first draft: If the fear of getting it wrong is stopping you, remember this is only a first draft. You can use this opportunity to jot down all of your ideas, and then revise it later. Remember, no one’s going to see the draft unless you want them to.

You don’t have to start at the beginning: Stuck with the introduction? Then skip it. Start writing the sections that you can work with, and then come back to it. There’s no reason why you have to write your essay in order.

Put together a plan: A good way of un-sticking yourself is to write out a rough plan. If you have to compare two things, for example, you can start with the introduction, where you introduce both concepts. Then you can cover the benefits and drawbacks of both, then bring them both together at the end in your conclusion.

Remember an essay should be an argument: Nine times out of ten, your essay is supposed to be proving something. A list of observations on a topic is not enough to create a good essay. Pick your point, and make sure you argue your case. Also make sure that you have the evidence to back up your argument.

Start writing early: Even if you don’t feel you’re ready to write, start working on your essay as soon as you can. The earlier you start, the more time you give yourself to really get to grips with the topic. You’ll find you feel a lot less stressed too, as you’re not dealing with so much in a short space of time.

As you can see, there is a way out of writer’s block. Use these tips to work out what’s stopping you, and then get started on that essay. You’ll soon have an essay that you’ll be proud to submit.

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