MacroBlog

In this modern era of the Interwebs, every business is a publishing business. As a result, instead of being clustered exclusively at magazines and newspapers, writers are finding their way into into a variety of companies, whose owners are finding a need for writing ability that didn’t exist ten years ago.

If you run a business, you may already know people who write well and are versatile. Sure, they have talent with words– they didn’t get to be pros without getting their point across clearly in a style appropriate to the audience, all while avoiding grammatical and punctuation errors.

But what about their other skills, such as the ability to research a topic quickly and thoroughly? Suppose you find a writer who also knows his or her way around the Web and social media? Now you have someone who can affect a company’s bottom line in all sorts of ways, with powerful, polished writing that resonates with customers, staff, suppliers, business partners, and the world. Here are five points to ponder:

1. Professional writing applies not just to websites, marketing and advertising, but to business letters, conference summaries, internal documents, knowledge bases, even articles for submission to publications. Published articles in industry trade journals are a wonderful way to complement your marketing strategy, raise awareness of your brand and increase your company’s prestige in the minds of customers. All the above will have a positive effect on revenue.

2. Website content management – Are there errors, bad links, and outdated information on your company website because nobody updates it regularly? Is your site being optimized to attract search traffic, and organized to serve visitors efficiently? Is there any reason for people to read what’s on your site? Time after time, usability studies show that if you build a clean, compelling website, you’ll have a competitive advantage.

3. Search engine optimization and marketing (SEO and SEM) – Do you have anyone in charge of these areas? A writer’s skills figure heavily in these word-based disciplines. Hiring a writer to manage them could make a big difference in leads, conversions, and sales.

4. Social media marketing – Agencies can help get you started, but who inside your company is paying daily attention? Knowing what’s being said online about your business is important to protect your business reputation. You can’t fake this or hand it off to outsiders. Learn by interacting with customers, both happy and unhappy. If nobody at all is mentioning your business online, it’s the perfect time to step in and take control of your online image!

5. Effective email campaigns – Here too, an internal staff person who can write professional copy, hire graphic designers, set up and manage mailing lists, administer and track results can be more effective– and cost-effective– than an outside agency.

The list of potential uses for a writer goes on and on. How about powerfully written request for testimonial letters? Use of testimonials on websites and other marketing media can greatly increase the odds of acquiring a new customer. What about customer surveys? Even small companies can benefit from regularly polling their customers and analyzing responses.

Now that I’ve advocated the idea, where can you find such a person? You’re reading one of his blog posts right now. How’s that for a call to action?

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Siegrist's Mill Covered Bridge on Sunday, 9/11/11

On Sunday morning, after the water had gone back down from Tropical Storm Lee flooding, I rode around on my bike taking pics with my phone cam. First, I wanted to see what was left of the Siegrist’s Mill covered bridge, built in 1885 and swept off its foundations several days ago.

Second, I wanted to ride down Pinkerton Road along the creek and see the damage to the stone bridge. I’ve now posted three photos from that scene.

In one of the panoramic shots, a beautiful inset marble slab shows the date of the bridge, the contractor’s name, and the names of the county commissioners.

The stone bridge on Pinkerton is still passable on foot or by bike. Obviously the road is badly damaged.

This bridge was 128 years old when damaged by Tropical Storm Lee.

Another view of the approach.

Good things come in multiples of three.

In the wrong hands, this hot-rod handheld Sears trimmer could be, uh, harmful. Especially with the lawyer-approved safety switch removed. Hey, I was looking at it and it broke, OK?

What could be called a shocking transformation started innocently enough: the battery died. I liked the trimmer, but a new 6-volt battery cost about $30, which is most of what I paid for the whole thing. Since I already own two extra trimming heads and I like how the hedge clipper attachment works, I didn’t want to give up on it, but neither did I want to fork over $30 for another wimpy NiMH that would just croak in a couple years.

An epiphany ran through me like an electric eel on Ex-Lax. I realized I had a spare 18-volt battery for my Ryobi drill! And I don’t have to pay a plugged nickel for it. After the initial euphoria, however, I approached the first test with trepidation. One doesn’t lightly TRIPLE the voltage to a motor and expect good things.

But it works. Oh, yeah. This high-rpm tool flat annihilates grass. I’ve trimmed around the house three times this summer, and it hasn’t overheated or exploded yet. Perhaps that’s because I’ve learned to use it in short bursts, like a machine gun.

You say you want video of this thing in action? That can be arranged. Y’all leave me a comment below.