The Importance of Being Polished

In this wonderful world of website writing, too much concentration is placed on quantity over quality. The instantaneous nature of the Internet makes us writers feel a false sense of rush. Constant communication, whizzing emails, and punctuated publishing schedules can make any writer dizzy to the point of writing disaster!

It is imperative the art of writing is not forsaken for the function of writing; for the writer the function is producing income. Being a polished writer takes a disciplined approach to editing of all writing pieces. Most successful online writers are adept at instantly spotting spelling mistakes, and grammatical goofs. How many use editing time to improve clarity, word choice, and structure?

It can be difficult to see more value in a writing piece over and above the price tag or advertising revenue it will bring in. Spending more than an hour or two of writing time on $30 article isn’t cost effective. However, taking an extra 15 minutes on those $30 articles is what lands you the $50 per article contracts, and then the $100 per article contracts, etc.

Working at Walt Disney World, I learned a valuable business lesson. Walt Disney was adamant about preserving the guest’s magical experience. If Little Johnny drops an ice cream cone, as a cast member it was my responsibility to walk Little Johnny to the nearest ice cream vendor, explain the situation, and give Little Johnny a new ice cream cone gratis. The Walt Disney World Company realizes most families spend thousands of dollars on their Disney vacations. Why quibble over squeezing an extra $3.50 from Mom and Dad because Little Johnny is screaming over a dropped ice cream cone, when they could keep everyone happy and make sure the family will return another year?

Writers need to realize you only get one chance to impress the client. Most online writers will tell you, quality clients are repeat buyers. If you under deliver in any way, you lose a chance at future income. In many ways, the small time investment writers expend to truly make an article pop, will save large amounts of time on self-promotion to bring in new business. Not only will you have a happy customer willing to commission more writing projects, but also a happy customer who refers your writing service to all of her friends and colleagues. That, is worth much more than an extra 15 minutes on low budget writing projects.

Always Smiling,

Elizabeth Ann West