{"id":6247,"date":"2023-06-09T10:56:26","date_gmt":"2023-06-09T10:56:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forest-1041a2.ingress-bonde.ewp.live\/the-most-important-business-writing-skills-for-freelancers-to-improve-today\/"},"modified":"2023-06-09T10:56:26","modified_gmt":"2023-06-09T10:56:26","slug":"the-most-important-business-writing-skills-for-freelancers-to-improve-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/the-most-important-business-writing-skills-for-freelancers-to-improve-today\/","title":{"rendered":"The most important business writing skills for freelancers to improve today"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_68_1 ez-toc-wrap-center counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >On this page<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/the-most-important-business-writing-skills-for-freelancers-to-improve-today\/#Brevity\" title=\"Brevity\">Brevity<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/the-most-important-business-writing-skills-for-freelancers-to-improve-today\/#Using_The_Active_Voice\" title=\"Using The Active Voice\">Using The Active Voice<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/the-most-important-business-writing-skills-for-freelancers-to-improve-today\/#100_Accuracy_100_Of_The_Time\" title=\"100% Accuracy, 100% Of The Time\">100% Accuracy, 100% Of The Time<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/the-most-important-business-writing-skills-for-freelancers-to-improve-today\/#Consider_The_Screen\" title=\"Consider The Screen\">Consider The Screen<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/the-most-important-business-writing-skills-for-freelancers-to-improve-today\/#The_Call_to_Action\" title=\"The Call to Action\">The Call to Action<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><img src=&quot;https:\/\/benrmatthews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/The-most-important-writing-business-writing-skills-for-freelancers-to-improve-today.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;The most important business writing skills for freelancers to improve today&quot; width=&quot;1500&quot; height=&quot;1000&quot; class=&quot;aligncenter size-full wp-image-3600&quot; \/><\/p>\n<p>What do graphic designers, web developers, writers, management consultants, accountants, and others have in common? First, many of them lend their skills to others as freelancers in their respective fields. In addition to this, they do much of their communication via writing.<\/p>\n<p>Because the self-employed often complete their freelance work remotely, they rely on emails and texting to communicate quite frequently. Those are just two examples. Ultimately, a freelancer must be an excellent business writer, no matter what they do to earn a living.<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few important business writing skills that freelancers should master.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Brevity\"><\/span><strong>Brevity<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If there\u2019s one mistake that\u2019s common among business writers, it\u2019s a lack of brevity. Emails, memos, and blog posts that don\u2019t get to the point turn readers off. The last thing you want is for clients or potential clients to dread reading what you\u2019ve written.<\/p>\n<p>To stay on track, define a single purpose for each piece of writing. In other words, ask yourself what you are trying to accomplish. Then eliminate everything that doesn\u2019t contribute to that.<\/p>\n<p>Paula Williams is a hiring manager at Top Australia Writers. She says:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cAs the primary contact person for freelance writers I receive a lot of pitches. Honestly, if one goes on for more than a few paragraphs, I discard it. If a freelancer can\u2019t get to the point with me, how will they manage a client?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Using_The_Active_Voice\"><\/span><strong>Using The Active Voice<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>There are a few problems with the passive voice. You\u2019ll use more words to say the same thing. It\u2019s also a bit insipid. Here\u2019s an example:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Passive:<\/strong> The project needs to be completed by the designer before I can write the code.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Active:<\/strong> I need the designer to complete the project before I can write the code.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here\u2019s a great rule to remember. People do things. Objects do not. For example, someone completes a project. A project is not \u2018completed\u2019 by someone.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"100_Accuracy_100_Of_The_Time\"><\/span><strong>100% Accuracy, 100% Of The Time<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>As a freelancer, your writing can attract clients. If it isn\u2019t accurate, your words lose their impact. Whether you are writing up a project update for a client, preparing a blog post for your website, or reaching out to a potential client, you have to avoid mistakes.<\/p>\n<p>Always double check your work. Eliminate factual inaccuracies, and back your claims with solid proof.<\/p>\n<p>Then, take steps to avoid spelling and grammatical errors. Fortunately, there are a variety of resources that can help. Take a look at these tools to help:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>White Smoke<\/li>\n<li>Grammarly<\/li>\n<li>Canada-Writers<\/li>\n<li>Language Tool.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<img src=&quot;https:\/\/benrmatthews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Take-a-look-at-White-Smoke-Grammarly-Canada-Writers-and-Language-Tool.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Business writing tools to take a look at include White Smoke, Grammarly, Canada-Writers, and Language Tool&quot; width=&quot;1920&quot; height=&quot;1386&quot; class=&quot;size-full wp-image-3601&quot; \/>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Consider_The_Screen\"><\/span><strong>Consider The Screen<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>James Daily is a freelance content manager and the founder of the Brainished blog. He emphasizes that \u201cpeople don\u2019t focus on screen size enough. Remember, we aren\u2019t writing novels. We\u2019re communicating with busy professionals, many who are on mobile devices.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When writing, keep small screens and short attention spans in mind. Don\u2019t publish \u2018walls of text\u2019 and then expect a positive response. Break down content. Use bullet points to highlight the important stuff. Finally, read your content from your smartphone. If you can\u2019t stand to look at it, it\u2019s time to fix it.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Call_to_Action\"><\/span><strong>The Call to Action<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>You may have heard the term \u2018call to action\u2019 in reference to marketing. Truthfully, everything you write should have a call to action.<\/p>\n<p>Think like your readers. What is it that you want them to do when they have finished with your writing.<\/p>\n<p>Do you want them to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Respond to your email<\/li>\n<li>Click on a link to your website<\/li>\n<li>Say yes or no to a meeting invitation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>According to Amanda Sparks, a freelance marketing pro and author of Top Down Writer:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cSo many people fail to write things that are persuasive, or clear. All too often, it\u2019s because they don\u2019t close with a clear call to action.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Never assume that readers will \u2018get it\u2019. Spell it out.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>What do you think are the most important business writing skills for freelancers to improve today? 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First, many of them lend their skills to others as freelancers in their respective fields. In addition to this, they do much of their communication via writing. Because the self-employed often complete their freelance work remotely, they rely on emails [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6247"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6247\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}