I started tweeting ‘free daily edits’ for a laugh. To my surprise and delight, they generated enormous interest. To help you honour audience members who care about good English, here are my top tips to date:

1. [ ] = Delete. Ditch redundant words [in order] to clarify your message [in order] to take and hold reader attention.
2. Change 'revert back' to 'revert'. It's a tautology.
3. Next time you write something, remove every 'that'. I guarantee [that] you won't put more than 25% back!
4. However vital they may seem, corporate words like Client, Company, Project and Team rarely need capital letters.
5. You're = You are. Your means ownership. Avoid 'Thanks for you're email' and you'll be ahead of the pack!
6. Change 'utilisation' (or 'utilization') to 'use'. One syllable good, five syllables BAD!

Enjoy!

In my experience, yes.

I know this for sure, because one prospect contacted me and said:

You don’t know me, but I’ve been following your blog for some time. And, having seen what you’ve written about various topics, and how you interact with your readers, I’ve formed the opinion that we can do business together.

She was right.

And it sure beat the crap out of me cold-calling her.

Such explicit blogging-for-business wins are rare.

To the intense frustration of old-school marketing types, it’s very hard to calculate return on investment for social media.

I strive to make readers stay long and read much.

That said, if I want to:

• expand a point without labouring it or
• refer to a more authoritative source,

I happily link out to the most relevant page – wherever it is.

Don’t worry. Readers who feel valued, respected, educated and entertained will return to your content no matter how many links you offer.

But while they appreciate links, they don’t like being booted out of what they’re reading.

This derails their train of thought.

Us and them.

I was recently asked two excellent blogging questions:

How personal should a business blog be?

In my view, the more personal the better.

People love reading stories.

People love observing other people.

Give them stories about people and you can’t go wrong!

So, if you’re launching a new pfoofer valve, don’t crap on about its features and benefits.

Tell us about Norm, who nearly blew his head off during your exhaustive testing process (but is now enjoying a full recovery).

Readers will be transfixed.

A glance at the web shows common sense sure ain’t common.

So, should you tailor your online content to suit the great unwashed?

Not in my views.

Elitist View

I firmly believe in taking the high road.

Why squabble with starlings, when you can soar with eagles?

Pitch your brand high and your prices will follow.

You’ll have fewer customers, but they’ll be a joy.

Unlike the other crowd.

When I started this post, I thought I’d just cover basic Twitter etiquette (e.g. who to follow, how to list, behaviours to avoid). Then I realised Twitter ‘truths’ were far more important than Twitter ‘tips’. It seems impossible such a simple (and apparently frivolous) application could impart wisdom, but there it is. So here I go.

Be yourself.

Genuine humans thrive in Twitter. Fakers, flooders and floggers (though infuriating) do get smacked down in due course. This isn’t obvious to the casual observer, who understandably concludes Twitter is crap.

Yet when you open yourself to a community and reveal true elements of your life and loves, everyone enjoys the exchange.

Being yourself is also easier than maintaining a fake persona. As Mark Twain said: ‘When you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything’.

This is a guest post from Paul Hassing from The Feisty Empire . It's a follow up to my interview with him from last week. After reading the interview back again I thought there were a ton of questions that were begging to be asked so I figured I would just start with one: What are some tips for people starting to write for the web?

1. Know your audience & speak to them.

Online readers give you far less time to get their attention. If you don’t immediately tell them something interesting and relevant, they’re gone. Cut the waffle and cut to the chase. Or you’ll simply be a traffic sign to your competitor’s better-written site.

2. Use short words, sentences & paragraphs.

Big text blocks are hard to read online, especially if they’re justified (i.e. not left aligned). Use short words in short sentences. Keep your paragraphs under six lines. Read your copy aloud to find and kill every redundant word.