Happy Monday! I’m sorry that I forgot my blog last week as I became so busy with other projects! I didn’t even realize that I had forgotten my weekly article! Anyway, next week I will not be posting either as my husband and I are taking our first adventure to Cape Cod. We are extremely excited as we are both desperately in need of a vacation! I hope that I will get some inspiration for my next story while we are there!

Speaking of stories, how are your stories coming along? Have you finished your first chapter yet? Don’t get discouraged if you haven’t. Today is the beginning of a new week and the beginning of new opportunities.

Here’s a writing prompt for this week:

You have taken a trip to the beach with your family or friends, and you fall asleep while sunbathing. When you wake up, everyone has disappeared. You are all alone. What happened to everyone, and how do you solve the mystery?

Now pick up your pen and start writing!

To your success,

Katie

Ahhh, spring has finally arrived! I don’t know about you, but winter was starting to get me down! Now that the sun is shining and flowers are growing, I feel excited about the possibilities for the second quarter of this year. Business seems to be picking up with the number of hours of daylight, and yet I still feel like I don’t have time to do everything I want to do!

How are you doing? Have you met any of your goals for the year yet? First quarter has already passed us by, and soon it will be the end of the year! What are your writing successes so far? If you haven’t been doing so, I must encourage you once again to be sure that you are submitting articles. This is such an important part of advertising, I just cannot emphasize it enough.

But besides marketing, what are you doing with your own writing? Have you written any short stories lately? How about poetry? I find that spring and fall are the best times to write poetry because the colors seem so vivid! Just look outside your window to feel inspired.

The most important thing to remember as a writer is to never stop writing. Even if you’re not feeling inspired, set aside an hour each day to just jot down your ideas. One of my favorite authors, Roald Dahl, used to do this. He would just sit in his favorite spot and write about whatever he was looking at in that moment. This may seem a little boring, but he is now renowned for characters such as Willy Wonka, Matilda, and James (and the Giant Peach).

Whatever your inspiration, keep writing! This world would not be very exciting at all if we all wrote about the same things! If you want to share your thoughts with me, please feel free to send me a sample. I would love to see what other writers are up to these days!

To your success,

Katie

The weekend has, unfortunately, come to an end, and Monday has brought with it April showers here in South Carolina. Of course, we are in desperate need of rain, but it makes for the worst driving conditions! On the upside, it makes for the perfect backdrop to sit down and write that elusive story. Since I lost my voice this weekend, writing is probably the best way for me to communicate anyway.

With Monday comes a fresh week and new opportunities to promote your business using your writing abilities. Have you designed that sales letter yet? How many press releases have you sent to newspapers and magazines? Get started today! You don’t want to lose this opportunity for “free” advertising.

If you’re still experiencing writer’s block, just sit back and take a deep breath. I’ll help you through it. First, what is your business? Are you selling a product, a service, or both? Jot down some ideas about what your product or service can offer to your potential clients. Describe your product or service in detail.

Second, choose your target market. Looking back at your description of your product or service, note ways that your services or product can benefit the clients you wish to obtain. Focus on the ways that your business can add benefits to their lives.

Third, explain yourself. Nobody wants to do business with someone who has no clue about their industry. Prove to your target market that you are an expert in your field. Do you hold a degree in this area? Have you worked for several years in this type of industry? People love to do business with someone they know, so make yourself known. Give them a little inside look into your life and why you would want to go into that type of a business.

Now that you have made notes about your business, join your thoughts and ideas into paragraphs and sentences. Make sure to doublecheck for spelling and grammar as these errors can make you look unprofessional. Remember that you don’t want a press release or sales letter that is too long. Try to keep it to just one page.

Stop putting it off! Go sell your ideas now!

To your success,

Katie