Louis & Louis

Go on, do it. Write your friend a letter

Letter…now, where have you heard that word before? Ah, I know, the letter existed many years ago before the internet, right? It may sound like I’m messing around, but let’s face it, many people don’t even write by hand anymore. Letters? They’re just not on the average persons agenda, sadly.

But it doesn’t have to be like that. Just the other day, in fact, I decided to change things and do things differently. I was in a shop looking at these Big Posters when I got a text from my friend whose birthday was coming up the following day. I replied and then got a short text back and wondered why I’d bothered with my elaborate one! It was then that I selected my poster and bought it and then left the shop with the idea of writing letters to friends in the hope that they would return the favour. So far two have and I tell you…it’s pretty cool actually walking to the door and being handed over a proper real letter with handwriting in it! I love that.

Here are my tips for writing the best letter you possible can.

…as you get to turn that puppy over and there’s just something very cool about that.

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Having Fun Learning Pottery and Ceramics

Some time ago I took a pottery class just to see what it was like and if I could be any good at it. To my surprise it was so interesting that I ended up taking an advanced class that included ceramics. Now let me be the first to say making pottery and ceramics is a fun, rewarding hobby. However, many people are hesitant to try it because they think it will be difficult to do.

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Putting a Price on Life

I’ve heard %u2018life insurance'being mentioned in the past but I’ve never paid much attention to it or given it much thought, it seemed to be something that parents or you know,.. proper grown ups do. Then suddenly the other day when one of those annoying life insurance adverts popped up on my screen, it dawned on me that I actually was one of those %u2018proper grown ups'now and albeit not a parent I still really should get myself covered

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Can anyone be a freelance writer?

As a freelance writer, I can tell you from experience that one of the questions freelance writers get asked the most is: could I be a freelance writer? This is almost always followed up by a statement along the lines of I’m sure it’s not that hard or It has to be easier than what I am doing right now…(that second one really irritates me actually).

Well, here’s a news-flash for you: it’s really very hard to make money by being a good freelance writer. And no, not everyone can do it. Like anything, there are a few specific character traits which one should have when diving head-first into this profession.

These are as follows and are, generally speaking, non-negotiable.

There’s a hell of a lot of rejection in this business, and the fledgling freelance writer is in line for a fair share of it!

1) You need to be diligent. It’s no good moaning when you miss your deadline either, because most editors do not suffer fools gladly.

2) You need to be able to write at anything at any time. That’s to say that if someone emails you one morning asking the question How do you feel about writing for skins compression uk ? You need to be able to say, with confidence, Yes, that’s not a problem. My skills are excellent. The following things are all skills you should have in your arsenal.

3) An unbelievable amount of patience. I mean supernatural amounts…for customers who test you constantly.

4) An ability to bounce back. There’s a hell of a lot of rejection in this business, and the fledgling freelance writer is in line for a fair share of it!

5) The ability to write anywhere at any time. Freelance writing is a job, like anything. It’s not about being in the mood or being in the right frame of mind. In the freelance writer’s world these two things are entirely mythical: they do not happen to them.

6) Finally: you need to be able to take instruction and listen. One of the most crucial – if not the most crucial – attributes of a freelance writer is adaptability. If you lack this then you are going to struggle to go from writing about football to writing about pets (something which happens constantly as your work-schedule takes you back and forward and every which place in-between).

7) OK, now this here is really the finally: a freelance writer must be as good a writer as a business person. In order to actually make a living from this kind of work, you need to have your finger on the pulse of emails, marketing, the latest media trends and also the money side of things of course. Where would you be without that?

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How to write a press release

Press releases are mythical things, aren’t they? Every so often someone asks me how to write one and I shudder and come over all cold. Not again, I think, I can’t be bothered to explain the whole tired process another flipping time!

So here, right now, is my guide on how to write a press release. It may not be the most conclusive guide in the world, and it may have a few holes in it, but trust me: it’s done me proud on a number of occasions and should work a treat for you if you follow it to the letter!

Mine them for info about what they want included; for example, what other products might be relevant

1. Who is your client? Let us assume that it is Red Diesel Kent . Now then, this company want you to write about their new fuel they have coming out for tractors. That’s really all they have given you, along with the bare facts, so the next step is to…

2. Ask questions. A lot of them. Mine them for info about what they want included; for example, what other products might be relevant to the target audience? Things like that. This ensures that later on they don’t say “but you didn’t ask me any questions” which is probably one of the most irritating things one human being can say to another.

3. Now, before you go ahead with a rough draft, you need to KNOW YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE and what style to write in. Should it be casual or formal? Fun or to-the-point? Whatever the case, don’t start until you have more than enough information. It saves asking questions later.

4. Now you need to know the structure. Without structure, the whole thing will look amateurish and people will laugh. Basic press release structure is this: an opening paragraph summarising what it is about. A main body of text explaining the benefits and the history and how it came about. Get to the point quickly on this. Make sure any keywords are also added and then…

5. Close with another brief summary – with maybe a couple of additional points that the reader hasn’t read yet. This will ensure that all the facts are there, and that the copy is very readable. All this should mean the press release works effectively and does its job.

6. Lastly, but not least, make sure you do a spell-check both manually AND with the computer. You’d be surprised how much it affects the final outcome…and more importantly: can you afford to give people an excuse not to use you?

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Promoting yourself

So you are an acomplished writer? you can spell, your grammar is spot and you are brimming with ideas for your next article, novel or blog post. Great.

No use being a really great writer if no one actually reads your work though is there? To be really great and get people reading you also need to promote yourself. Whether you choose to promote yourself online, in shop windows, in the local newspapers of with little silver rings complete with More

Blogging to your hearts online content

Writing is one of the loneliest things to do in the world, which makes you wonder why on earth anyone decides to do it? There are many different answers to the question but the one that comes top is that writers just like every other person in the world, want to be heard. In the modern era, writing is also becoming less lonely.

Blogging is now the best way to get people to read what you’re writing quickly. It’s simple, More

Get Out There

Being writers, we know how tough the competition is. But let us let you into a secret, if we may: the competition of quality isn’t always that high; it’s more about how many people are out there doing the same thing – now that’s what makes things really difficult.

So today we thought we’d share what we’ve learned about promotion. What follows are a few tips and hints which will help you get your name out there and jobs coming More

Writing as someone else

Writing is weird. When you write as someone else you leave your personality behind, or most of it, and assume the thoughts and identity of someone who you might completely disagree with. That, of course, is also the most tempting thing about writing as someone else. You can get away from who you are for a while, and you can explore ideas and concepts which you wouldn’t normally be happy – or comfortable – about going anywhere near.

For me, More

How Do You Write?

A kind person – lots of sarcasm intended right there – told me the other day that my writing was a scrambled mess of words. That I went about writing in a really odd way. At first I felt slightly offended, then I read my first draft again and saw precisely what they meant…

It got me down for a bit, but, like Alan Partridge, I bounced back!

Now what I come to realise is this: there is no right More