Letter Writing Tips

I received a nice card in the mail today and was so appreciative of it that I thought I’d just share a few letter writing tips to help you in your letter writing, both professionally and personally.

Letter Writing

Letters have enriched the lives of millions. Letters have been written to build up, keep in touch, inform, and encourage. Letter writing was once among the primary forms of communication, but it has quickly become a long-lost art form.

Letters can go places we cannot, carry warmth and personal expression in a way email cannot. Don’t wait until sickness, bad weather, or power outage limit your communication. Why not write a letter today? It will surely brighten the life of someone dear to you.

Content

Write as if you were talking to the recipient face-to-face. Write what you would have said if you could’ve visited him or her. You may wish to jot down a brief outline to ensure natural flow of subjects and coverage of each topic you wish to address. If you haven’t written to this addressee before (even if it is a dear friend) keep you letter short. You don’t want them to tire of reading it or feel overwhelmed by the thought of penning a lengthy reply.

Form

Your letter should look tidy. It should clearly state who you are. Always use a return address on the envelope. The purpose should be simple and directly stated at the outset. Each main thought should have its own paragraph. The style (casual or formal) should coincide with the relationship you have with the reader. Use an appropriate salutation and closing. The signature should be handwritten.

Take a moment to reread your letter. Give attention to proper spelling and grammar. Neatness counts! Paying attention to these details adds dignity to your letter and its message. Read the letter aloud. It may be hard to convey feeling in words if not carefully chosen. Does it sound friendly, kind, negative, or pessimistic? Does the letter represent you and what you stand for? Does it look and sound the way you wish?

Now, go ahead, send your letter. You just might make someone’s day!

For help with business letters, please call Fletcher Freelance at (715) 584-6773.

Protecting Your Intellectual Property

The types of property are real, personal, intellectual, and virtual. If you run your own business, write, invent, or perform for a living; your biggest asset is your intellectual property. How do you keep it safe? Intellectual property rights, patents, trademarks, and copyrights protect creative works. They also foster a competitive marketplace by encouraging disclosure of innovation (protection for a time, but also the community’s ability to build off others work).


Copyright

Items that are eligible for copyright must be original expression, works of authorship, in a fixed form. Works of authorship include literary works, musical, dramatic, pantomime/choreography, motion pictures, and architectural. You cannot copyright an idea, fact, statistic, formula, short phrase or title. Scenes a faire is a French term (scenes that must be done) that means you cannot copyright a plot. For example check out this attorney’s site.

Trademark

Trademarked items identify a source of goods or services. Titles that become a series may be able to receive a trademark. Trademarks are issued by the US Patent and Trademark Office. A trademark identifies a product and is used in branding among consumers. A trademark will not prevent a product from being copied. A word, name, symbol, or device may be trademarked to distinguish the goods of one manufacturer from another.

Patent

Patents are used to protect articles or processes that are useful. Patents are issued by the US Patent and Trademark Office and are enforceable only within the US. A patent gives the owner right to stop others from utilizing said product or process.

Trade Secret

A trade secret is simply a secret of value. A trade secret is only good as long as you keep your mouth shut.

In this litigious society it is worthwhile to investigate the intellectual property rights that can protect yourself, your business, and your creative works.

Note: When working with an outside source for content, logo creation, or other items considered intellectual property or creative works, be sure to ask about transfer of copyright.

Types of Links

Last week we discussed link building and quality inbound links. Even some lower quality links can help search engine ranking of your site. As a general rule of thumb, the higher authority of the site, the harder it is to get a link from them. These links take a lot of research, creativity, and negotiation to attain. These links are crucial for SEO, traffic, and branding. To see what is happening in your industry search for your top keyword phrases. Examine the top results. Find out who is linking to them.


The reverse is also true. Lower authority sites and links are easier to get. And we have to start somewhere. Directory listing is a good place to start. Listing will takes some time, but isn’t overly challenging. And it will help your SEO. One internet marketing blog recommends keeping directory links to 15% or fewer of your links.

Reciprocal links are link exchanges with other websites or blogs. These may require a little finesse and negotiation, but are only moderate level of difficulty. Reciprocals are especially helpful for getting new web pages crawled. Keep reciprocal links to 10% or less. Three-way links involve three websites that are similar (A links to B, B links to C, C links to A). Three-ways should be limited, but they do provide a moderate SEO value.

Sitewide links placed on every page of a site are not recommended. Text link brokers offer these, but Google frowns upon them.

Of very high value are one-way links. One-way links drive traffic and improve SEO. These coveted links pass on valuable link juice without a reciprocal link. Use your network of industry connections to build one-way links.

Not all sites have the same reputation, credibility, and authority. If you can get links from sites that end in .edu or .gov, these links will result in more SEO, traffic, and branding value. Links from these sites may be difficult to attain, but they are worth the effort. Start with your local colleges or governments and look for linking opportunities. Media links are also very desirable. If you can connect with a local radio, newspaper, or magazine – go for it. Again, look among your professional network. Can a journalist provide help?

Some links that are easier to attain include press release links, article links, and RSS links. You will drive traffic and gain some branding with online press release syndication. Articles of high quality will prove you to be a subject matter expert while improving traffic and branding. RSS links, when bloggers subscribe to your feed, may have some positive effect on traffic.

Get involved socially. In order to make your comments count. Get a globally recognized avatar at http://en.gravatar.com/. When you have a meaningful comment to add to another website or blog use your email address, which will then use your Gravatar, and include a link to your site. Note: some sites may not be set to “dofollow.” These won’t pass on any link juice.

Social media links are pretty easy to attain. When you get links from Facebook or other social media outlets you’re gaining SEO, traffic, and branding. Business is all about relationships. People like doing business with people they like. Leverage your connections to gain relevant links to your site.

By the way, find me on Facebook!
And link to FletcherFreelance.com (or anything on this blog you enjoy)!

What is Link Building?

The two secrets of Search Engine Optimization are (1) solid content and (2) quality inbound links. Quality content involves using the right words and providing value to the reader, a subject for another post.


What is a Quality Inbound Link?

According to Google Webmaster Central Blog, “Inbound links are links from pages on external sites linking back to your site. Inbound links can bring new users to your site, and when the links are merit-based and freely-volunteered as an editorial choice, they’re also one of the positive signals to Google about your site’s importance.”

A quality inbound link will have as many of the following attributes as possible.

A relevant inbound link will be given voluntarily. It means someone else found what you had to say useful. If you felt inclined to write an article about top marketing consultants and linked to FletcherFreelance.com, not only would I be flattered and appreciative, that link would make me look good in Google’s eyes. A relevant link will come from a webpage that carries a theme or topic related to your site.

Link sharing services or spammers offering link exchange may not be the way to go. All external links from the site need to be of high quality. There should be no links to unrelated sites (especially gambling or adult themed). Web crawlers prefer that there are less than 20-30 outbound links on the webpage where your link is (dilution). Look for websites with a good reputation. A PageRank should be 2-3 or higher. The website should be established, at least 2-3 years old.

Location. Location. Location. A link placed higher on the page and surrounded by relevant content will do more good than any other kind. Links should come from a variety of sources, not the same IP or website. Wording matters, too. The link should use proper anchor text. The link text should be intuitive, a keyword phrase (not “click here”). The webmaster also needs to allow links on the website to pass on “link juice.” It needs to be set in “dofollow” mode.

Watch for a future post on types of links. To jumpstart your link building campaign call Terra today! (715) 584-6773