As easy as writing sales copy might seem – let’s face it, it’s what we do every day and we are supposed to know how to get it right (within reason) – I recently got reminded that things are not always that easy for us, the craftsmen of words.

Up until early last year I hadn’t written a single word for a hotel. Sure, I had some knowledge about hotel sales copy but it came mostly from studying hotel websites while booking our holidays and playing smart alec, thinking I could write it better.

Real life likes to play tricks on us and my writing skills and confidence were put to the test when I landed a job as an SEO and main writer for a large chain of serviced apartments in the UK.

There are certain things I learned about the industry that helped me overcome the initial bump on the road. Today I want to share them with you.

No warm ups. Period!

I have a tendency to use warm ups in my posts. I am sure you noticed that in this article as well. In many cases, warm ups work like a charm. However, when it comes to holiday makers, your readers have hardly any time at all to go through your copy and might not even get past the warm up.

Insight – write for people who:

- Have a very limited time to do their research.
- Expect to see nothing more than a list of things that are included in their booking.
- Need to remember your copy and offer past the research stage to come back and buy.

Friendly Tone is a Way to Go

Nothing works worse when you are trying to sell a hotel than a dry, professional tone. The tone of your copy has to reflect the cushy atmosphere of the holiday accommodation that you are selling. A friendly tone is the way to go in this case. However, the difficulty is that most people look for nothing more than a list of things they get with their booking plus some location info and a price.

Keywords Do Not Always Work The Way You’d Expect Them To

Writing a copy for a hotel is a constant battle between satisfying both research and sales stages of the process. On one end, your copy needs to inspire your readers while they still check out many different hotels so that they remember yours and will come back to make a booking. On the other hand, you want them to book straight away and must write copy to inspire them to do that too.

The best way to achieve success with both is by using the right keywords. However, these work in a quite specific way in the hotel industry.

Insight – hotel keywords characteristics:

- Holiday makers usually use plural keywords during their research.
- Short tail keywords are mainly used for research and have a low conversion rate.
- You will get better conversion rates on long tail, low traffic keywords.

It was a steep learning curve, but I made it through and I am now enjoying  great success at work. I hope these tips will help you do the same.

Pawel Grabowski works as an SEO Specialist and web content writer for a leading serviced apartments provider in the UK. He is also the author of “The Smart Business Guide to Winning New Work“, the best beginners’ guide to selling and brining new clients in. Connect with Pawel on Google+.

Image: Bernard Gagnon via Wikimedia Commons

I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to welcome Cathy Miller as a guest writer on Get Paid to Write Online. Her Simply Stated Business blog is one of my must-reads and you’re in for a treat as Cathy describes her writing journey.

There’s a freshness about a clean sheet of paper. It’s like newly fallen snow, silently waiting for the season’s first snow angel. For someone who spent most of her life creating snow angels on paper, the online world was a new universe. My name is Cathy Miller and I am an old business writer.

The Journey Online

The year 2008 signaled the winter of my discontent. After 30+ years in Corporate America, I packed up my pen and paper and headed online. Up to that point, I was free of all social media platforms.

• Twitter was something gossipy girls did
• And Facebook sounded like a student’s fate during finals

I started my own business writing company. Fortunately, there is still plenty for an old business writer to do. But, I have never been one for labels. Give me one and I’ll probably write all over it. I knew if I wanted to compete in  this new world, I’d better find out about this online stuff.

Comedy Central

My first peek at online jobs had me looking for the hidden camera. Surely, this was some kind of joke.

• Ads for $5 per post
• Blogs devoted to Loosing Weight
• Rants about spam

To be fair, I never liked the taste of spam either, but why was everyone getting so worked up over it? Suddenly, the print world was looking pretty good.

Back to School

Believe it when they tell you, you are never too old to learn. Eventually, I found my way to the sunny side of online. Talented professionals, like Sharon Hurley Hall, showed me you can Get Paid to Write Onlineand still afford to eat. Your only limits are what you make them. There were lessons to learn – blogging and ghosting and WordPress – oh my. For all of its newness, the online world offered much of what I loved about the old world.

• The power of the written word
• Helping others express their dreams
• The rewards of communication

How could I not fall in love with a place where keeping it simple scores?

Lessons Learned

A Different Style

My last corporate boss told me that one thing she liked about my writing was its short sentences. I think I just blew that theory. Is it any wonder that my style took to online writing? Okay, don’t go running to my early blog posts. It did take me a while to adapt. A combination of my writing style and baby boomer eyes was a natural for the online world.

• Bulleted lists
• Bold headings
• Short sentences

Love it!

Calling All Writers

There is a tremendous need for good writers – emphasis on good. Think about it. The opportunities for writing online are endless.

• Web pages, press releases
• Professional bios
• Articles for online magazines
• Ghostwriting and blogging
• eBooks, newsletters
• Sales pages, ad copy, and much more

Why shouldn’t an old business writer join the fun?

Online and Loving It

You can make a good living online. You can also mix print and online writing and survive – no, thrive. In the end, it’s all about communication, and it doesn’t matter if you are new to the business or a 30+ year veteran. Emily Dickinson (someone even older than me) put it this way –

We turn not older with years, but newer every day.

Go online and enjoy the journey.

Cathy Miller is a freelance business writer with over 30 years of professional writing experience from small businesses to Fortune 500 customers. Cathy started her own business in 2008, providing all forms of online and print business writing. Cathy has a business writing blog at Simply stated business, a health care blog at Simply stated health care and her personal blog, millercathy: A Baby Boomer’s Second Life.   

Happy New Year! I haven’t made any new year’s resolutions this year. They just don’t work for me. Instead of focusing change on a single date and period in the year, I’ve found that true change finds its own level. It happens when you are ready to take the steps to make it work – and that can be at any time of year.

That doesn’t mean that I don’t have plans and goals. I most certainly do. Last year’s goals included broadening my client list, which I achieved, and it remains on my list for this year. As planned I increased the number of clients in my local area, though I still haven’t done any local marketing to speak of. I didn’t make as much progress with ebooks as I intended, so I want to rectify that this year, and also reissue my most popular ebook, Getting Started in Blogging, for the Nook platform.

This year’s list looks pretty much like last year’s, though I am considering a couple of new moves like:

• unsubscribing from all email newsletters and mailing lists and seeing if I miss any of them (with the exception of one I pay for which I know is valuable)
• closing all the accounts for online tools which I no longer use
• shifting business interaction from my Facebook page to Google+ (I don’t know if my 300+ fans would be upset or whether they would move with me)
• sticking rigidly to a four day work week (I have tried this before, with limited success)

This last one will be the key to making all my other goals work and avoiding burnout, so it’s the one I’m going to focus on first. To make it work, I’ll need to structure my client load carefully and be more efficient on those four days. Wish me luck – and I’ll let you know how it goes!

One of the issues writers always struggle with is what to charge for their writing. Here’s how I advised a friend recently. She was contacted by someone asking her to guest post for a set fee and wanted to know how to respond to them, as the money didn’t seem huge but she wanted to build up the paid blogging side of her business.

Here was my initial advice on average rates for writing blog posts:

What you can charge for posts depends on your profile and their budget. Small blogs may only pay $15-20 a post, while corporate/big blogs may be anywhere upwards of $50.  So the fee offered (about $30) sits right in the middle. (I also know bloggers who don’t do posts for less than $100-$150 apiece for corporate clients. )

Then I suggested that another consideration should be the work involved in writing the post:

If it’s a topic you’re expert in and you can write without thinking about it too much, then that would be ok (just) for a short post (400-500 words). If you have to write a longer, more detailed post and provide images, upload it yourself and so on, then you could ask for a bit more if you think they want it badly enough.

I followed this up with thinking about how the job sat with her personal productivity:

One way I work out a rate is to think of my hourly rate and halve it because I can easily write two 500 word posts in an hour, if it’s a topic I know inside out. (Update: but most people would expect you to take an hour to write a post and more time for associated tasks, so keep this in mind as well.)

Finally, I provided a short script for a response that left room for a future price increase:

You could also respond positively to the offer and make it clear that you will do it for $30 as an introductory rate, but would want more if it turns into something regular.

I always believe in leaving room for negotiation.

New writers, would this work for you? Experienced writers, what other advice would you add?

Writer Jenn Miller and family hang out with some camels

I first met fellow writer and travel aficionado Jenn Miller when we worked together at the Location Independent group of sites. Now, she’s written a book (with co-author Keri Wellman) about traveling with kids, titled Bottles to Backpacks:  The Gypsy Mama’s Guide to Real Travel with Kids. I asked Jenn about the book and her writing.

Jenn, tell us a bit about yourself.

I was born into a nomadic family and have been traveling my whole life, but it wasn’t until four years ago that we sold our house and most of our stuff and hit the road full time. We’re on an open ended world tour with our kids for the purpose of combining education and adventure. I’m a freelance writer for the homeschool and travel markets and I enjoy inspiring and equipping others to live their dreams, with their kids.

What’s the book all about and why did you write it?

Bottles to Backpacks: The Gypsy Mama’s Guide to REAL Travel With Kids is a collaborative project with my friend, Keri Wellman. We’ve attempted to go beyond the usual “travel with kids” books that assume a short vacation, to a certain type of place, with a certain age group and answer the many “how” related questions about long term travel with kids. There’s a big difference between taking a two week resort vacation over spring break with two kids and setting off for a three month summer break adventure riding chicken buses in Central America, or seeing the great museums of Europe. Our book certainly applies to the first, but what we really aim to do is equip the families who dream of something bigger with their kids.

Whether you’re setting out with your first newborn on a two week trip to Grandma’s, or planning to take a year off to backpack with your school aged kids, or are preparing your teen for her first solo trip, this book will give you the “boots-on-the-ground” information you need to make that dream a reality.

Did you have any challenges when researching and writing this book? How did you overcome them?

There are always challenges with any collaborative project. Working between two continents across three time zones wasn’t always easy! Keri and I have the great benefit of having four children each as our “guinea pigs” and we’ve both traveled for a living for quite some time now. At the end of our book we’ve got a section in which lots of different parents weigh in on their travel secrets and experiences with their kids. One of the challenges was finding a diverse group of families and compiling their experiences in a way that we hope will be encouraging and helpful to other families of various sizes and travel backgrounds. The only real secret to overcoming the difficulties we encountered was taking our time. This book has been almost a year in the making. It was not a rush job. We didn’t want to just “get it out the door” to have done it. We have really worked at getting it right, making it thorough and providing the depth that is missing in so many of the travel guides on the market for families.

What’s your writing process?

That depends a lot on what I’m writing. In this case, we spent several months mapping the project and carefully working and reworking the contents of the book and the direction we wanted to take it. Keri and I write well together, so that part of the project was a lot of fun. We enjoyed waking up in the morning and seeing what the other person had uploaded during the night, since we were working on different continents! The editing, as always, was the hard part. We went through a very long editing process at the end, about three months worth, with several families acting as “the review board” for various drafts. The result is a very polished, thorough, easy to access compendium of information on all aspects of travel with babies through teenagers.

Who or what is your best source of inspiration or advice when writing?

There’s no one answer to that. I read widely and am continually studying the style and mechanics of the authors I admire (or those I don’t, particularly) to improve my own work. Most of the inspiration I find is in the world around me. I’m dedicated to living in each moment and absorbing the sensory experience of living, which I then attempt to translate into words. When I get stuck, I have several “editors” who will move me forward. They aren’t famous writers, they’re just folks who know me and who aren’t afraid to tell me the truth and get out the red pen when necessary. At least half of what I write is for no one but me. Writing is my therapy and a barometer of my mental health. When it ceases to be that, when I’m pushing to “produce” for someone or something else it ceases to be a living thing. The best advice I’ve been given about my writing is simply to keep writing. Sometimes pages and pages of “junk” has to be gotten through before the good stuff emerges.

Tell us one thing about yourself that you haven’t yet revealed in an interview.

Ha! Okay: I once jumped out of a cake at a bachelor party! It was a joke and our poor friend nearly died of relief when it was “just me”. That’s not something I’ve written about or something that has come up in an interview yet! I don’t know any other home schooling mothers of four who’ve done that. One of the things I like best about myself is that I’m often not what people expect I will be.

Have you started another book?

Not yet. I’ve got several ideas up my sleeve. We’d like to continue the Gypsy Mama concept and create a series of resources for families who want to travel together. I’ve got another idea that is completely outside the family and travel realms that is about how life is never what you expect and coming to grips with the reality that the fairytale doesn’t exist. I don’t know if I have the courage to write that one just yet. In the meantime, I’m writing for the blogs and magazines that I contribute to and working to balance the screen time which that requires with plenty of time in the real world with my four kids as we head to Asia this spring.

Anything to add?

Thanks so much for the opportunity to talk about my writing and the new book! I really appreciate you contributing to the compendium of travel advice from “real travelers” at the end of our book and sharing it with your readers.

To find out more about Bottles to Backpacks:  The Gypsy Mama’s Guide to Real Travel with Kids, check out these product information pages.

You'll need more than a lightbulb moment to make creativity count.

There’s more to being creative than creativity. When I was told that this month’s Word Carnival topic was going to be creativity I rejoiced. After all, who would know better than a writer or other creative professional about this stuff that fuels our lives and businesses?

I think there are lots of aspects to creativity but there are two that I want to focus on in particular.

Idea Generation for Writers

The first is the creative muse – coming up with ideas. This is one area that I personally have no problem with. (Watch out, tenuous link with favorite movie Love Actually coming up.) Like Christmas, ideas are all around. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

Just in case you have trouble coming up with ideas, here’s my list of the places and ways in which they occur to me.

• I get ideas were sitting at my desk writing about something for a client. It’s amazing how when you’re writing about one topic ideas on another will spring into mind trying to distract you.
• I get ideas when I talk to other people, just in conversation about random things.
• I get ideas from social media when I see what people share and discuss on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.
• I get ideas from my daughter who has just turned nine, is also a writer (not yet published but watch this space) and like many children has a unique perspective on the issues that adults worry about.
• I get ideas from everything I read. And I don’t just mean reading about writing, but crime fiction, biographies and more.
• On the rare occasions when I don’t have an idea a change of scene will often produce one.

Capturing Inspiration and Creativity

OK, so if ideas aren’t the problem, sometimes the issue is capturing them. As writers we probably walk around with a notebook or recording device (heck, your phone probably has one), so there’s no excuse for losing track of an idea. Then you need to write them down (though, as you will see, that doesn’t always lead to anything measurable). Some people use tools like Evernote or Springpad to do this online. It doesn’t matter how you do it, just that you do it.

Obstacles to Creativity

However as I said before there is another component to creativity – and that’s actually getting off your backside and doing something with the ideas you have – making a product. What good is it to be creative unless you actually create?

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you will know that I have no problem being creative on behalf of my clients. That’s what they pay me for. Often their work comes first. No matter how many times I try to achieve a balance at some point I end up letting my stuff take a backseat to client priorities. What does that mean in practical terms? It means that all the creativity that is bubbling in my brain (I mean seriously, I have at least three ideas files and a couple of online notebooks full of stuff that I know will be great if I could ever get around to doing it) is wasted.

From Writing Ideas to Action

So how do you get from creative ideas to creative action? That’s something that I’ve been working on over the last year or so. And so far my answer is: one step at a time.

Having too many ideas that you want to accomplish can be just as paralysing as none at all. The trick is to pick the idea that resonates most with you, plan it out and do it. Then pick the next best one and do that – one step at a time.

Your idea could be something small, like creating a video (check), something larger like writing an e-book (check) or something even larger like creating a course (still working on that one). I’ve found that if you want to get something done and move that creativity out of your brain and turn it into something useful, you have to plan it.

You don’t have to get fancy with the planning. Some people like whiteboards and paper. Others like mindmapping. I like an online list tool called Workflowy which is great for outlining, storing information snippets and general planning. It has drag and drop too, which is useful for when things change.

When you plan, you have a list of steps you can check off, but some people need even more. They need accountability. This is where it’s time to phone a friend, set some milestones and check in periodically. This will help you to actually accomplish something. Or you can crack your own whip and set reminders in your calendar to email you with a list of what you have to accomplish for your project that day. Or you can join a mastermind group and commit to achieving certain goals every time you meet.

Creativity – A Summary

To be creative and make something of your creativity, you need to:

• have ideas
• capture them
• avoid the obstacles
• pick a project
• plan it
• carry out your plan, one step at a time
• rinse and repeat

How do you harness creativity? What gets in the way for you?

(Image: olga.belobaba)

When you work online, the temptation is to only promote there, but a business leaflet can help you market your services both online and offline. Here’s more advice from Kes of Printed.com.

How to Write a Compelling Business Leaflet

A well-crafted business leaflet is a powerful marketing tool. Bad business leaflets are worth less than nothing and turn people away. How can you get it right?

If you have a company or service to promote then you may well have thought about putting together a leaflet to show people what you can offer. The problem is that whilst you will have seen plenty of such leaflets around before, you will also know that a lot of them are badly produced and do not achieve their intended aims. Although some of the faults might be obvious, it’s still difficult to create a really effective leaflet. If yours is going to rise above the rest, you can’t afford to take chances.

Learn from others’ mistakes

One of the first steps in the process of designing a really killer leaflet is to check out the competition. You will have seen leaflets all over the place, including the ones that probably come through your front door on a daily basis. Some of these leaflets will be terrible, some reasonable, but few are ever outstanding. To start with, collect a range of leaflets from different companies and try to get a sense of what makes them good or bad.

It should go without saying that immaculate spelling, punctuation and grammar are mandatory. Such mistakes make you look unprofessional and can often be enough to send your leaflet straight into the bin. Beyond that, take a look at the text and layout. Is all the necessary information there? Is there too much – do the leaflets look crowded or busy? What about the use of colour and images – do they help or hinder the message?

Less is more

There’s a real art to crafting good leaflets, because it’s such a limited medium. That can be one of the pitfalls, too: the temptation can be to cram two sides of A4 or A5 with every piece of information you can. In reality, it’s far better to be spare. Your leaflets need to be readable – easy both on the eye and on the mind. The language should be clear and straightforward, and any pictures or styling should add to this rather than distract from the leaflets’ text. At the same time, leaflets that are dull or lack clarity will end up in the recycling. Check through the pile of leaflets you collected and try to gauge whether this was a factor in your assessment of them. People see so many leaflets that a badly laid-out one probably won’t get read at all.

Fix a problem

Beyond these basic principles, your leaflet needs to answer a question. Leaflets that describe what a company does or some wonderful new product have missed the point. Customers won’t be impressed enough to buy something just on the basis of it being amazing: it has to be something they actually need.

In many ways, leaflets aren’t about your company at all. Primarily they are about the customer. They have to engage with the reader’s needs, and present a solution to a problem that the customer has. Writing about a fantastic new carpet cleaner might make a sale, but you stand a far better chance if you tap into an existing concern. Replacing old carpets is expensive and time-consuming, but what if your product can breathe a new lease of life into them and avoid the trouble of a refit? People will be much more likely to look twice.

And finally…

Don’t forget to include clear contact details at the end of your leaflet. To finish, it helps to leave your reader with a strong prompt, reminding them of why they would want to call or visit your website and encouraging them to do so. ‘To rid your cat of fleas, visit…’ ‘To receive a 25 per cent discount, call before the end of the month…’ Otherwise, your leaflets simply present potential customers with some tantalising information but leave them waiting for a resolution.

This article was supplied by Printed.com, the new home of The Digital Print Partnership, a supplier of quality digital print and an accredited member of the Direct Marketing Association. (Image: KaCey97007)

Where I come from, we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. We have the turkey, feasting and holiday trimmings a bit later in the year. Yet, it never hurts to be thankful. I believe in having an attitude of gratitude. As well as being thankful for relatively good health and the ability to make a living doing what I love, I am grateful for a whole bunch of people who have inspired or supported me (sometimes both) since I started blogging.

George Angus is part of the Get Paid to Write Online community. I swear he shares practically everything that’s written on this blog and stops by my Facebook page to like it too. Thanks, George.

Fellow writers who have inspired me with their professionalism, skill and willingness to give good, no-nonsense advice include Deb Ng, Anne Wayman, Lori Widmer, Cathy Miller, James Chartrand, Laura Spencer, Jenn Mattern  … I could go on forever. My list of writers on Twitter has about 250 members and my Google+ circle has about the same.

Dana Prince is my writing BFF. We’ve blogged together, worked together, commiserated and laughed together about the writing life. If I listed all the ways that Dana’s been wonderful, we’d be here all day!

Dan Smith writes great articles here on Get Paid to Write Online that get people talking. Dan and I met when I asked him to review this blog on one of his old projects, and we’ve been in contact ever since. I’m grateful for his good humour and expertise.

Ileane, Vernessa and Gail are newer friends, but I’ve had a great time interacting with them, more so in the past year. That also goes for Tea, Nicole, Michelle, Clare and Annie. Thanks for some great conversations and sharing, ladies. Oh, and there’s one gent, too – DiTesco, who has been helping me troubleshoot Google+ authorship issues. And I mustn’t forget Lea and Andy who inspire with their lifestyle and their products. And of course Harleena, whom I met on Google+ and have been talking to ever since.

Last, but definitely not least, Mitchell Allen and Rebecca Leaman, blogging buddies from way back when and all-around good people. So glad to know you!

Now, this type of list being what it is, there’s bound to be someone I’ve forgotten – Murphy’s Law always rules at times like this. So let me say that if you have:

• contributed a post to my blog or commented on my blog
• sent me an email saying you liked something I wrote
• given me a great testimonial
• talked to me on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Google+
• shared my stuff with your networks
• provided a helping hand or a cheerful word when I needed it
• chatted to me on one of the forums I belong to – and there aren’t many of those

then I appreciate you too! Happy Thanksgiving!

(Image: Neilwill)

Sites that go up in smoke represent opportunities for new writers.

As incredible as it seems, copywriters are more in demand in today’s economy than ever before. In our digital age the need for fresh copy resurges every time a search engine changes its algorithm and valuable web rankings are lost. While this is a headache for the webmasters with the pages that suddenly go up in smoke, it can be a boon to recent college graduates looking to enter the world of copywriting.

College graduates in this position are both at an advantage and a disadvantage. The advantage is they possess a wealth of education that can be brought to bear in working for their clients. The disadvantage is the graduate might have a firm grasp of how to produce academic writing but might not be as skilled in the art of writing commercial or web copy. Writing for online marketing isn’t the same as a PhD dissertation, and fresh graduates may have to make quite a few stylistic adjustments.

How to Write Copy

Writing copy requires the ability to reach out to the potential customer, and that means it must be engaging and interesting. Since much copywriting work is now found online, new copywriters need to understand exactly what works and what doesn’t. For example, writing copy for a small business owner’s web page will not require the same skill sets as writing for someone’s blog. In most cases, the static page requirements will be more professional in nature, while the blog may be relative informal but require a nuanced grasp of voice in order to reach the most readers.

The first thing a new copywriter needs to do is learn to identify the right voice for each job. This can prove difficult since the voices some copywriters are most skilled at using are ones they aren’t always comfortable revealing. In other words, some copywriters can use coarse, crude language and gain a wide audience, but these same copywriters wouldn’t want friends and family to read this voice.

Find Your Voice

Thankfully, most people have a conversational voice they can use both publicly and privately. This informal voice works best on blogs and on websites with an informal and contemporary feel. When this voice is achieved, new copywriters should consider establishing their own blogs to showcase their ability through regular writing. In this way, these blogs work as portfolios for potential clients.

Next, copywriters should offer services at reduced rates in order to start building up a larger online presence and add work for clients to their portfolios.

Writing Opportunities for Graduates

Writing copy offers a world of opportunities for new college graduates. The more clever and intriguing the copy is, the more likely it is that attention and business will begin to present themselves. Copywriters who win professional recognition will find their experience becomes quite well-regarded.

Armed with an approachable style and portfolios to showcase skills, new copywriters can approach potential clients with appealing offers. As with any other new venture, the first few approaches might not bear fruit immediately, but the key is perseverance. It might take a dozen “no’s” to reach the first “yes,” but when that time comes it feels absolutely incredible.

Elaine Hirsch is kind of a jack-of-all-interests, from education and history to medicine and videogames. This makes it difficult to choose just one life path, so she is currently working as a writer for various education-related sites and writing about all these things instead. (Image: mason bryant)

Writers – How To Overcome Anxiety, Boost Your Energy And Improve Your Concentration Skills

As a writer or creative artist, your most important asset is your health.

Have you ever had days when no matter how hard you try, the words don’t flow and everything you write seems wooden and false?

In today’s post I would like to offer you three simple healthy habits you can use to overcome writer’s block and improve your concentration skills, especially on days when your energy is low and you struggle to concentrate and complete your assignments.

Given the hectic pace of life, it can be difficult to always be creative and inspired. When you write you want your words to be remembered, honored and hopefully inspire your reader.

So what can you do to ensure your words always achieve the results you require? Is there a secret formula you can tap into that allows you to always be creative and inspired?

I don’t believe there is a golden formula but I do believe it is possible to adopt certain habits which help you to become a healthier, more focused writer.

1. Healthy Writer’s Habit #1- Hydrate Your Body – Drink More Water

No one can run on empty. Just like a car requires a regular service and petrol to run, so does your body. Constantly burning the candle at both ends to meet deadlines leaves you feeling empty, demoralized and tired.

Water has the ability to hydrate and nourish your brain. Your brain consists of 85% water therefore drinking water helps to naturally lift your energy. Aim to drink at least 5 glasses of water a day. A good tip is to have a bottle of water on your desk and take regular sips throughout the day; this simple habit instantly improves your concentration skills and boosts your energy levels so you feel more alert and focused.

Healthy Writer’s Habit#2 – Breathe

If your mind is full of clutter and you find it difficult to focus and write, a few rounds of yogic breathing exercises instantly leaves your mind feeling calm and clear. On a basic level, breathing allows you to draw in oxygen into your body and eliminates toxins and bacteria which prevent your body functioning correctly. The slower and deeper you breathe, the more you allow oxygen to enter and flow through your body. This expands your lung capacity and makes you feel brighter and more alert.

Here is a simple breathing practice you can try when you feel your energy levels slipping.

1. Sit comfortably, gently cradle your belly with your hands and allow your fingertips to lightly touch each other.

2. Close your eyes and spend a few moments to tune into your everyday breath. Don’t try to control your breath just be aware of how you are breathing.

3. Slowly take a full steady breath in though your nose for a count of four and breathe out for a count of four. Continue to breathe in and out through your nose and as you do so notice your belly and hands rise and fall with each breath.

4. Repeat this pattern of breathing 5-10 rounds. As you do so, notice your thoughts slow down as your body lets go of tension.

5. Slowly open your eyes and be aware of how much calmer and quieter you feel.

2. Healthy Writer’s Habit#3 – Relax Your Eyes

This is my favorite tip to reduce anxiety and calm your mind. As a writer, you spend a lot of time staring at a computer screen; this can lead to eye strain and in some cases headaches. To reduce eye strain and improve concentrations try this simple eye exercise.

Palming Exercise

1. Flap and loosely shake your hands for 30 seconds. Keep your shoulders lowered and jaw soft.

2. Next rub your palms vigorously together until your palms generate heat as they warm up.

3. Rest your elbows on the table. Close your eyes and cover your hands over your eyes with your fingertips pointing up towards your hairline and heels of your palm touching your cheeks.

4. Hold your hands in this position for about 30 seconds. Remember to breathe deeply as you rest in this position.

5. Slowly release your hands from face and rest your hands on your lap. Sit still for a few more moments and be aware of your calm and clear you now feel.

On days when you feel overwhelmed and anxious make sure you keep your body and brain hydrated, practice a few rounds of breathing exercises and rest your eyes by practicing the palming exercise.

Together these simple yogic practices help to revitalize and reenergize your system so you can continue to focus on your work with minimal effort and stress.

If you want to learn more simple yoga practices to calm stressful situations and feel relaxed check out my other posts at The Next Goal.

If you enjoyed this article feel free to share the love and link back to it from your own blog. Take care and thank you.

Mother, blogger, yoga teacher and author Ntathu Allen strives to encourage others to weave moments of calm and rest into their busy life so you have the energy to have more fun time with your family and be positive and productive at work. (Image: Bindaas Madhavi)