The previous post discussed the value of saying, “Thank you.” But it’s possible to overdo it especially when it comes to e-mail. “Here’s your weekly report.” “Thank you,” said the reply. Add up all the thank you e-mails for things like that and it makes for a cluttered inbox. Sometimes a thank you e-mail has … Read more
Children enjoy receiving recognition — whether it be at school, in a sport, in a hobby or a comment from Mom and Dad about something positive they did. I’ve always believed that for every negative thing a parent says, she must say 10 positive things. Unfortunately, the reverse is true for adults. As we grow … Read more
Freelance Folder has an insightful interview with SJ Yee, a freelance writer from Singapore. Yee’s answers will help those interested in writing know what to expect and how it’s different working as a freelancer as opposed for a corporation or publication. I like Yee’s 10 things to do when becoming a freelance writer – I’ve … Read more
Marcia Yudkin’s Marketing Minute newsletter references Jakob Nielsen’s research that says shoppers leave 10 percent of the time because the site didn’t provide enough information. She discusses how some sites don’t make it clear whether the product is a CD, book or download. Funny thing is that I experienced this recently. I was looking up … Read more
I fill out too many surveys, but I like to help. Usually they ask opinions on a Web site, product, application, service and so on. I noticed an ugly pattern in that many don’t have a “Back” link. Sometimes surveys don’t like it when you use the Back button on the browser because of data … Read more
Freelance Folder lists things to consider when you’re freelancing on the side and trying to decide whether to go full-time. I started freelancing in 2000 at the height of the dot com boom. Initially, I aimed to work in Web design, but it didn’t take long to discover I had no eye or talent for … Read more
I referenced Yuwanda Black’s article in a past blog entry in which she shares her experience as a freelance writer, so I was honored when I saw an e-mail from her in my inbox. Sometimes when I link to others, they drop me a note thanking me — so I wasn’t completely surprised. However, she … Read more
Some sites use flags to represent a language thinking visitors will click the flag that represents their language to view the site in that language. Well, do you use Mexico’s flag or Spain’s flag to represent Spanish? I don’t recall seeing a site using both flags. What about English? Some sites use the British flag … Read more
We Americans like to do things different. Who knows why. Most countries have adopted the metric system and list the date, month and year when formatting a date as in 24 July 2007. This causes confusion especially in the first two weeks of a month. Since my book, Brilliant Outlook Pocketbook, targeted the UK audience, … Read more
Tom Johnson offers a great writing tip especially for tech writers and others who write instructions. This method also works well with Web content and forms. Watching people use a Web site, a product, a service — anything is a superb way to get insight on how others use the product or service. Those involved … Read more