Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Top 6 Tips to Write a Powerful Business Proposal

Before you begin writing your business proposal, follow these six rules to improve your writing style and to organize your thoughts more effectively.

Tip 1. Identify your competitive strengths

Past studies at Yale University claim that many decision-makers and thought-leaders advise to curb the length of your written proposals to no more than 8 minutes of reading, irrespective of its importance.

This is a valuable competitive discriminator for the proposal, especially in the Executive Summary section. You must manage those 8 minutes to express your competitive strengths to the Assessment Review Team.

a) Think like your prospect.

b) Dissect your proposal into easy steps.

c) Communicate your competitive strengths in one sentence.

Tip 2. Structure your proposal correctly

Structure is a question of control. It helps you to determine the sequence in which you intend the reader to digest your words, sentences and paragraphs. It allows the reader to digest your information in the order of importance. And it allows you to move the reader from section to section.

Simple guide to create an effective structure:

a) Take into account your target reader.

b) Collect your ideas, thoughts and concepts on paper.

c) Consider the order of importance.

d) Write a first draft and a final draft.

Tip 3. Organize your proposal

The organization of a proposal is vital. It ensures that the reader can find the information and facts quickly; it also allows you to pass out specific sections or sheets of your proposal between the assessment team for review and examination.

Tip 4. Write everything clearly and concisely

When writing your proposal, always remember that your readers might not have a lot of time to read what you write, so consciously decide to write concisely and to the point. Avoid compressing too much information into your proposal because people will stop reading it before they reach the conclusion.

Tip 5. Make sure you answer the questions

A written proposal that neglects to answer pertinent questions is the worst mistake that you can make. It's quite simple to get caught in this trap. The assessment team will rely on you to respond to their questions, should your proposal fail to answer them. Make sure you read and study your completed proposal, in case this should happen, so you can answer any pending questions.

Quite often if you fail to proof thoroughly your proposal for any missing information, it will lack focus, cause problems with reading, and neglect to address the desires and needs of the assessment team.

Tip 6. Proofing and Correcting

All of us commit mistakes, and that's why you need to re-read and proof your proposal to weed out an unfortunate errors. Simple misspellings or typographical errors can cause confusion in a proposal. Take this step very seriously. You've worked very hard on your proposal, and you certainly do not want to ruin its overall purpose with simple writing errors.

Conclusion

Always remember that the reader interprets what you wrote, not what you've written, so make sure your proposal's message is clear and direct in meaning.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

How To Start A Successful Blog With Happy Readers

Blogging is the act of sharing thoughts and ideas with others in written form online. How do you start? Here are some tips to help you with the process.

1. Decide whether you want to be a serious blogger. By this I mean do you want to make a commitment to blogging? This is very important as you will spend time luring readers in and then leave them flat, and they won't return if you don't take it seriously. If you are unsure about this, try to start out slow. Blog just every once in a while and get used to writing in the blogging format. Some people blog only a paragraph, some add photos, some are more lengthy.

2. Decide what your blog will be about. Make it personal. Remember who is writing this blog; that is why readers will follow you. They are interested in what you have to offer or they wouldn't be reading it.

3. Decide if you wish to self-publish or use a blogging software. An example of self-publishing would be for you to host it on your web space. Then you would need a feed burner or e-mail program to let people know when there is a new post available. Or, alternately you can use a blogging software and there are many free versions available, such as WordPress or Blogger. Everybody has their favorite but I have found that a simple interface is Blogger's software and a more technical interface would be WordPress. You can also self-host with WordPress, although WordPress does offer a free version, where you do not need to have web space. The only drawback is that you cannot control what type of ads will be displayed along your blog when it is seen online.

4. Decide if you want your blog to make revenue. There are ad programs who will allow you to be an affiliate and your blog could make money as people click through on ads. Typically the business who is allowing you to be an affiliate will send you a revenue check each month or quarter, based on their criteria- how many click-throughs, how many sales resulted, etc.

5. Decide on a brand. Make your blog recognizable, by its logo, color scheme or headline. Make the font easy to read and always design to your weakest reader- one who has never read a blog before and might not know how.

6. Decide to promote. Once you are up and running, you will need to let people know you are out there! Advertise on social media networks, put it in your signature line on your e-mail, make a bumper sticker and put it on your car! No one can visit if they don't know you're there.

7. Decide to be nice. No one wants to read a blog where people's comments are insulted or denigrated. It is easy to want to strike out at a negative comment, but remember, this is how you learn.

8. Decide to offer great content. Remember 90 percent of your readers, just by nature, will be 'skimmers' and the other 10 percent will want to read everything you have. It is the nature of the blog to offer skimmers lots of options that are clear and easy to navigate. I always list a table of contents on each post so that readers can skim and then choose what they want to read without wading through the entire blog. Remember skimmers and waders alike like pretty pictures. Make sure your pictures are clear and not blurry.

9. Decide to stick with it. If you don't get a ton of readers right away, don't be discouraged. It takes time for people to find you. Just keep looking for ways to remind them.

10. Decide to have fun. I have learned so much since I started blogging. It is an experience in itself and you should have fun along the way!



Blogging is the act of sharing thoughts and ideas with others in written form online. How do you start? Here are some tips to help you with the process.

1. Decide whether you want to be a serious blogger. By this I mean do you want to make a commitment to blogging? This is very important as you will spend time luring readers in and then leave them flat, and they won't return if you don't take it seriously. If you are unsure about this, try to start out slow. Blog just every once in a while and get used to writing in the blogging format. Some people blog only a paragraph, some add photos, some are more lengthy.

2. Decide what your blog will be about. Make it personal. Remember who is writing this blog; that is why readers will follow you. They are interested in what you have to offer or they wouldn't be reading it.

3. Decide if you wish to self-publish or use a blogging software. An example of self-publishing would be for you to host it on your web space. Then you would need a feed burner or e-mail program to let people know when there is a new post available. Or, alternately you can use a blogging software and there are many free versions available, such as WordPress or Blogger. Everybody has their favorite but I have found that a simple interface is Blogger's software and a more technical interface would be WordPress. You can also self-host with WordPress, although WordPress does offer a free version, where you do not need to have web space. The only drawback is that you cannot control what type of ads will be displayed along your blog when it is seen online.

4. Decide if you want your blog to make revenue. There are ad programs who will allow you to be an affiliate and your blog could make money as people click through on ads. Typically the business who is allowing you to be an affiliate will send you a revenue check each month or quarter, based on their criteria- how many click-throughs, how many sales resulted, etc.

5. Decide on a brand. Make your blog recognizable, by its logo, color scheme or headline. Make the font easy to read and always design to your weakest reader- one who has never read a blog before and might not know how.

6. Decide to promote. Once you are up and running, you will need to let people know you are out there! Advertise on social media networks, put it in your signature line on your e-mail, make a bumper sticker and put it on your car! No one can visit if they don't know you're there.

7. Decide to be nice. No one wants to read a blog where people's comments are insulted or denigrated. It is easy to want to strike out at a negative comment, but remember, this is how you learn.

8. Decide to offer great content. Remember 90 percent of your readers, just by nature, will be 'skimmers' and the other 10 percent will want to read everything you have. It is the nature of the blog to offer skimmers lots of options that are clear and easy to navigate. I always list a table of contents on each post so that readers can skim and then choose what they want to read without wading through the entire blog. Remember skimmers and waders alike like pretty pictures. Make sure your pictures are clear and not blurry.

9. Decide to stick with it. If you don't get a ton of readers right away, don't be discouraged. It takes time for people to find you. Just keep looking for ways to remind them.

10. Decide to have fun. I have learned so much since I started blogging. It is an experience in itself and you should have fun along the way!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Tips on Finding the Most Suitable Van Rental for Your Relocation

Before you begin your search for the most suitable van to meet the requirements of your relocation it is absolutely vital that you the specifications of the vans available out there, with such a vast array of options for you to choose from to suit a whole plethora of varying needs. By planning ahead you can be sure to obtain a vehicle that will provide you with the necessary resources in which to make your move as stress free and efficient as possible. The best thing about hiring your own vehicle out for the purpose of moving homes is the fact that you can ensure the safe transit of your belongings at your own pace without having to worry about an hourly rate set by a removals company.

One of the most important aspects that should be taken into consideration is the amount of items that require moving as it would be a great inconvenience for you to have to run back and forth between properties. Likewise, there is no point in paying over the odds for a vehicle that is too large as you will end up with plenty of unused space once your belongings have been loaded. Either way you will be faced with an unnecessary expenditure whether in the form of petrol or paying for space that is not required.

By researching a number of rental companies before making a decision you will be able to get the best deal out there to suit your particular requirements. It is advisable for you to get quotes from the companies that seem to provide the most sufficient vehicles for such a purpose. With each company offering different types and sizes of vehicles you may find that some companies offer more affordable prices for the van that is most appropriate to your needs, so digging a little deeper could really pay off. In addition, it is also important that you read the small print before finalizing your decision to opt with a certain company to ensure that their insurance policy and services are more advantageous than the others you have previously looked at. By searching a company in the online marketplace you will be able to find out if they offer the correct services before you even ask for a quote.

Before leaving the company premises with the van you should always look at both the interior and exterior of the vehicle for any damage and due to the fact that even the tiniest scratch can result in a charge ensure that they are aware of this and it is detailed in the agreement. You do not want to be blamed for any damage to the vehicle that has been caused through no fault of your own.

Driving a van is a much different experience to that of driving a car, for this reason you should ensure that you are comfortable with the vehicle that you are hiring out while making your decision. They are likely to be very different in their dimensions and weight than the vehicle that you are used to, therefore it may be restricted to the spaces in which it is able to fit through. If you do not feel completely confident driving such a vehicle then a reputable car hire company will be more than happy to give you some tips and make sure you feel at ease before driving away.

Once you have selected you vehicle all you will have to do is make sure that your possessions are loaded properly, thus not to cause any damage during transit and you will be free to make the safe transition into your new home with the cost effective solution of a hire vehicle.