• Ten Search Engines Powered by Twitter from Search Engine Guide, shows that even your Tweets matter to SEO.
• 80 Ways to Use twitter as a Small Business Owner by Lisa Barone has some good tips for getting the most out of your TwitterTime.
• Dragon Slaying 101: How to Use Heroic Language to Battle Boring Copy by Ali Hale made me smile and made a good point, even the most boring drivel can be perked up by a little creative copy.
• In Creative Block #1: I’m Not Creative , Mark McGuinness tells us, ” Forget about ‘Being Creative’- Start Creating“
• Find something to blog about with 100+ SMB Blogging Ideas to Kick Start 2010 by Lisa Barone
• The Launch Coach tells us to stop fussing and start doing business in The Big Secret to Success? Run with What You Have.
• “You can write blog posts from now until doomsday, and if no one reads them, you might as well be picking your nose.” from Jonathan Morrow at Copybloggger.

and… last but not least, I found a nice little video from Chris Lumpkin about landing pages:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvzGBNPrvUk&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, yes, I do write landing page content.

photo credit: Joie Arai

Don your ten gallons and dust off (or de-mud) your favorite cowboy boots partner, cause we’ve got a song for you. I’m not actually brave enough to post an audio for a country music song on this blog, just the printed lyrics.  My brother would harass me endlessly about being a “hilljack” if I resorted to country music, but I have to admit, some of the songs are true works of art, even if they are an aquired taste.

No Honor Among Thieves, by Toby Keith

This world’s a jungle there ain’t no justice
Laws of nature rule this land
Better hide your horses, bury your whiskey
Hold your woman any way you can

Cause there ain’t no right or wrong, nothing’s carved in stone
It ain’t cheating if you don’t get caught
Jokers laugh and losers grieve
Cause out here, there’s no honor among thieves

That woman you’ve been loving, she was another man’s
You stole her heart while his back was turned
On every corner there’s an outlaw waiting
Who wants to teach you what you never learned

Cause there ain’t no right or wrong, nothing’s carved in stone
It ain’t cheating if you don’t get caught
Jokers laugh and losers grieve
Cause out here there’s no honor among thieves

This world’s a jungle there ain’t no justice
Laws of nature rule this land
So don’t go crying when her love goes flying to
The thieving arms of another man

There ain’t no right or wrong, nothing’s carved in stone
It ain’t cheating if you don’t get caught
Love’s a deck of cards read them and weep
Cause out here there’s no honor among thieves

Yeah
There ain’t no right or wrong
Nothing’s carved in stone

“There ain’t no right or wrong, nothing’s carved in stone.” The only rule is there are no rules, all’s fair in love and war (and business), there’s no honor among thieves…. right? Life’s just a free ride, do whatever it takes, look out for number one, make your own dreams come true. It’s the American way.

I know, 50% of my home health patients were on Medicaid and loving it. (The poor suckers paying insurance premiums and copays generally didn’t qualify for home health, it’s too expensive.) I’ve seen people turn down paying jobs because it would interfere with their ability to collect welfare or disability. Working for a living didn’t line up with their current lifestyle of choice. Things were pretty cozy for them, there was no motivation for change- no reason to think about anyone but themselves.

Then, I would return to the nursing office where the company wanted to know where I’d been and why I wasn’t done sooner. “What do you mean you can’t change a five-layer compression dressing on bilateral legs, do a head to toe assessment, and fill a med tray in 30 minutes! You don’t need to actually care about the patient, don’t ask how they are doing! Just do the skills and get out! We don’t make money unless you see more patients in a day and chart every move you make, for Pete’s sake! What? Do you think healthcare is actually about caring? It’s about money, baby!”

So I quit. I wasn’t trained to treat “clients” like a herd of cattle, I was trained to treat “patients”. I’m not programmed that way and it felt dirty, wrong. I started freelancing after two months of catching up on sleep and family time. It felt good.

Out in the Cold, Cruel Online World

Contrary to popular belief, I’m not as naive as I look. I didn’t expect the Internet business world to be much different from corporate America. If anything, it’s worse. Don’t believe me? Let me illustrate:

• *Business professionals take your money and fail to keep their promises
• *Bloggers present an image online that doesn’t jive with their real-life personas
• *Clients fail to pay for work completed, and fail to answer the phone and emails
• *You pay for services, only to find that instead of booking an hour, you get 40 minutes and a promise to finish later (that never materializes)
• *Other bloggers steal your work, without asking, and don’t care if you find out, because what are you going to do? Tell his mom?
• *PLR writers scrape your posts (they “re-write” your original content to pass plagiarism checks, but fail to give the original author credit- or payment) and junk bloggs steal your hard work through automated feed aggregators
• *Your online friends and co-workers ignore you when there’s a Bigger Fish to talk to or a shiny bauble to chase, but never fail to ask when they need a favor
• *Branding becomes more important the relationships
• *Bloggers act like chickens fighting for a pecking order behind the scenes, but smile sweetly in the comment’s section of your favorite blog
• *Folks get on Twitter to self-promote, but never stop to read Tweets of their “friends and followers”. Plus they never fail to announce when they hit a new milestone in followers (as if anyone really cares when they don’t take time to build relationships)
• *Social media turns ugly over inflated egos and misunderstandings
• *Everyone and their brother wants to sell you the latest secret, the newest product, or the all-time best information product available- at a discounted price for the next week, 3 days, two hours.

The Internet is filled with outlaws and bandits hiding behind fluffy avatars and professionally designed headers. They’ll steal your money and your heart without a second thought. They’re only taking care of business.

But every once and awhile, a new kid moves into town. He mostly looks like everyone else, but there’s something different about him. He actually cares about what he does. He cares about his clients- and the little guy. He teaches others what he knows, with the knowledge that those protegees will someday steal his business. He gives away freebie services and goods for struggling businesses and long standing clients. He stays up late to answer just one more email from a fellow blogger.

Does he write any better than the average bear? Nope, but he writes with heart. His passion for helping others and producing a quality experience for his clients drives him to read one more book, write one more email, and pray for another five minutes to keep from feeling disenchanted with the failings of old friends.

You can be that new kid.

Online business is rough, it’s ruthless, and it will eat you alive if you let it. The difference between you and that other guy is honor, integrity, passion… caring. Money comes and goes, but a broken relationship will haunt you for the rest of your life. Don’t buy into the standards of the rest of the world. Create your own set of standards and make a difference. Honor among thieves exists if even one person cares enough to do business differently.

Are you that person?

Recently, Dave Fowler shared his struggles over balancing an enriching home life with making money online. As Dave so eloquently illustrates, eking out a living on the Net is harder than most people think. It takes hard work, dedication, and hours upon hours of staring at a computer screen while the world goes on around you. It’s tough.

I put in more hours working from home than I ever did when I worked as a nurse. But that doesn’t mean that I’m crazy for choosing this lifestyle. It fits my needs for this stage in my life, and I’m having a great time. I’ve met some terrific people, I’ve learned new skills, and I get to set my own rules. It’s kinda like building your own treehouse when you were little. You create the floor plan, decorate it in your favorite colors, and decide who gets to climb the ladder to play.

Dave announced last week that he will be leaving Blogopolis. He’s returning to the land of corporate business, or in his case, public service. He wants to take his last few weeks to make up for lost time with his family.

While I am sad to see him go, I am glad he is doing what’s right for him. I wanted to take this opportunity to say thanks to Dave for all the laughs and entertainment he’s churned out over the last year or so. He’s brightened many days for me and for countless others. I hope he finds a few minutes here and there, in between throwing bad guys into jail, to drop in and Tweet or comment on a few blogs. The absence of his unique sense of humor will make the Internet a little duller.

Here’s to you Dave. Thanks for gracing us with your wit and charm. And if I ever make across the Big Pond, look for me and plate of cookies on your doorstep.

Remember that steaming hot cup of coffee you got with the email subscription button? Gone. My favorite books list? Gone, too.

It seems I broke the executable php widget somehow. And yes, I tried uninstalling it from my server and reinstalling a fresh copy, but I still get error messages. Alas, I must be php widget free for awhile until some coding night in shining armor comes to slay the “error on line 155″ dragon and sets the Blue Duck free.

I emailed Harry and he found a double “http” in my code (can you say DUH?), and was very patient and helpful with all my squawking. (Thank you Mr. McLeod. Your generosity is not unrecognized.) I saw James on Twitter and told him I broke the blog, and he wasn’t the least bit surprised. I think he was amazed it took me so long. Well, Sir James, I fully intent to restore the Duck to its original splendor, and I promise to experiment only on my other blogs from now on. The Blue Duck and it’s amazing Men with Pens design will remain pristine.

I guess my days of poking it with a stick before I read the owner’s manual are over. It’s time for a crash course in coding.

This led me to a string of useless ponderings. I was wondering why coders can’t use regular words in their script? Words that actually can be edited for error by the average person? All those abbreviations just beg for typos! Writing a page of code must be exhausting!

They should make a special keyboard for coders with little “http//:” and “a href=” buttons! It would make a coder’s life easier and keep people (like me) from breaking things with simple typos.

So, your Coming Soon sequel is delayed by technical difficulties today. (Plus, I am waiting on a little surprise in my inbox to go with it.)

As an aside to this rambling useless post, I just received a New Year’s pile of SEO goodies to pour over. Once I have digested the contents, I’ll begin a new SEO series for all you serious website owners.

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. everyone. I’m off to Circuit City, or what remains of it, to find out where to take my Toshiba for repairs since the blasted Circuit City people are bankrupt! (I feel the need to insert an “I have a dream” pun here, but that seems tasteless, and I have more respect for Dr, King than that.)

So have a cup of coffee, and head over to Everyday Thoughts from Life for a little storytelling fun for today compliments of Sal and Jess.

1. Visit Chuck Westbrook’s blog.
2. Leave a comment.
3. Subscribe to his feed.

Sound too easy? It’s not. It’s the power of the Internet, baby! Bloggers are joining together to help spread the word about new blogs with quality content. Every two weeks, a new blog will be featured and everyone visits the site, reads the posts, and hopefully sticks around if they like what they see.

This is an opportunity to significantly increase your readership, so dust off the good china, make your favorite cookies, and put your best content forward. I’m pleased with my readership for such a relatively new blog, but there’s always room at the table for those who are hungry. I’m excited to discover some terrific bloggers, make new friends, and grow through the experience. See ‘ya in my feed reader.

What Reputable SEO Execs Know

A good SEO company knows that quality counts. Building relationships with customers is important. And your business must be trustworthy to survive. (With the current economy concerns, many disreputable online companies will be closing their websites. Consumers want to hire a company they can trust. They are being more careful how they spend each dime.)

Busting Myths

“Outsmart the Search Engines with Keyword Saturation”

Many get rich quick bloggers claim to be able to outsmart search engines. While this may have been possible 6-12 months ago, search engines are getting smarter by the day. Google employs a whole team of geniuses who work night and day to improve algorithms and improve the validity of SERPS. If your website contains quality, relevant content search engines will value your website over keyword stuffed websites.

“Long Posts Increase Relevance”

When I first started writing SEO content creation projects, it was commonplace to write single articles of 1200-1600 words. Those articles were great for improving search engine ranking, but were awful for attracting regular traffic. No one reads a five page article online, no one. Web surfers are fickle with their time. They expect immediate gratification. They begin to skim the second a post loses their attention. Online content is more effective in bite-sized chunks of 200-400 words.

“Article Banks Draw Traffic”

Providing a smorgasbord of information for readers may seem like a good idea, and many bloggers claim to have made money using article banks and content carnivals. Consider this, the last time you needed quick information from the Net (good quality content and trusted facts) where did you point your Web browser? The number one answer is Wikipedia.

The chances are slim that you browsed through 800 pages of content topics on some website that ranked 150 on a SERPS. On-topic content is best. If your company sells pink flip flops, blog about flip flops, sandals, pedicures, and foot fetishes if you like, but don’t blog about snow shoes, hiking boots, or fan socks just because those keywords are ranking high this month.

Tomorrow’s post concludes this Blogging for Dollars mini-series. (Sorry, there’s no free iPod or tales of a sordid love triangle.) Read one, read two, or read them all~ Blogging for Dollars provides solid information for the serious professional blogger.

The Way of the Web

Websites that proclaim they make millions of dollars from a blog that is painful to read, is either lying or has very loose business ethics. But the sad fact is that websites who claim to make tons of money do get tons of traffic from poor souls looking for a better way to earn a paycheck. (Or not earn a paycheck, but collect one anyway.)

Blogging for Dollars

I’ve been blogging nearly exclusively for SEO companies for a couple of years now. (I could tell you which ones, but then they’d send out a team to waterboard you and your family in retaliation. ) What I know about SEO and marketing is from on-the-job experience. I’ve taken a few classes, read dozens of books, and had hands on training by SEO executives. I work for reputable companies that have been in business for many years and take pride in a job well done.

Can you use Black Hat SEO to increase traffic? Sure. Can you choke your blog full of flashy ads and affiliate programs to bring in a few extra bucks every week? Of course. The real question is, should you deceive the average Joe to line your own pockets.

Tune in tomorrow for Part Two of Blogging for Dollars.

She weaves sarcasm, humor, solid advice, poignant personal experiences, and marketing genius into one big ball of blogging greatness. Naomi’s blog immediately caught my attention the very first time I visited, and I’ve been returning to her classroom daily since then. Her humor and honesty is refreshing. If you haven’t visited Itty Biz, stop in and prepare to laugh your way though some solid marketing teaching and street-smart advice.

Enough of my jabber, on to Naomi’s interview.

What writing habits do you practice daily?

Well, I blog between three and five days a week, and I’ve always got a couple of books on the go. At this point, most of my writing is what I’m professionally obligated to do. Not much time for Morning Pages anymore, although they were nice while the lasted.

What is your process for improving your writing?

If I feel like I’m starting to lose my voice, I read Dooce. Preferably the really old posts. Also Amalah and The Bloggess. If I feel like something sucks, I cut 35%. I read stuff out loud to make sure I’m not repeating words. (“Bunch”, “stuff”, “bazillion” and “shit” in every conceivable part of speech are big culprits.) I refuse to write when I’m tired because I’ve finally learned that whatever I come up with when I’m sleepy sucks and I have to redo it the next day anyway.

What books or blog posts have influenced the mechanics and heart of your writing the most?

Heart, yes. Mechanics, no. I have absolutely zero time for mechanics. If I die under the wheels of a bus tomorrow, I don’t want to have spent today worrying about my grammar.

There are the usual suspects – Writing Down the Bones, The Artist’s Way, Bird by Bird — but those are obvious. I really liked Making a Literary Life: Advice for Writers and Other Dreamers by Carolyn See. (No! A book about writing novels by a person who’s actually written novels? Say it ain’t so!)

Also, if you want to write fiction of any genre, there are two fantastic and totally underutilized resources that come to mind. JA Konrath’s website, and the community and lessons at eHarlequin.com. (Romance editors are vicious when it comes to things like characterization, so if you can learn to please them, you can pretty much please anyone.)

“If I die under the wheels of a bus tomorrow, I don’t want to have spent today worrying about my grammar.” That ’bout says it all.

Thanks Naomi for letting us pick your brain. You’ve given me enough information and resources to occupy my brain for the next month.

Up to bat next week is Leo Babauta, of Zen Habits. Mr. Babauta will provide us with his insight on how he improves his writing. You won’t want to miss it.

(Just a note, while the books listed in Naomi’s interview are linked to Amazon for your convenience, these are not affiliate links. Feel free to click away.)

I am greatly disturbed by the number of websites I find that tout Content is Not King, become a millionaire in 3 months, or 10 SEO rules to get #1 ranking in all three search engines. My first reaction is offense.

That an author would write such drivel, expecting me to swallow it hook, line, and sinker, is like a slap in the face. I have a brain and I’m not afraid to use it. I don’t buy things from late-night infomercials, and I see through the poorly-veiled garbage you are peddling Mr.  or Ms. Get Rich Quick.

My second reaction is very near to disgust. At the risk of sounding old-fashioned, what ever happened to a job worth doing is a job well done? These “high paid” bloggers clog the Internet with their poorly written, painful to read, no nutritional value content. They are the reason when you search for desired information, you leave disgusted because all you find are penis enlargement ads, porn advertisements, the same article reprinted in 20 ways, and two unique sentences about the term you were searching for to begin with! (OK, that borders on a rant.)

The Pork Rinds and Cotton Candy

These bloggers claim that anyone can write their own website content. They preach spelling, grammar, and even information are unimportant, as long as you include the right keywords, market your blog, and buy their latest product teaching you how to make buckets of money and retire to some tropical island, all before your 21st birthday. The truly sad thing is that these bloggers seem to have collected a loyal following of Kool Aid drinkers who hang off their every word.

Can you play the system and get higher page ranking, more traffic, and your own gang of worshipers? Evidently so. Does that mean you should? Well, that depends on your values. If you value a job well done, desire to contribute to society, or take pride in your work, the answer is a resounding NO.

If you’re looking to grab the next shiny bauble dangling in front of your eyes, or make a quick dollar with no plan for tomorrow, sure, go for it. Add “blogger” to your long list of failed occupations and move on with your life. When you’re serious about building a business that offers a valuable service or product to the public, go visit websites like Men with Pens, Copyblogger, Zen Habits, Remarkablogger, or Freelance Folder.

Bad Advice

This rant post began after I read a blog that recommended submitting your articles to a service that “spins” that article and submits it to several directories to market your content. I asked the author to clarify if he defined “spin” as rewriting  the same content in 5 different ways and posting all of this duplicate content in various nooks of the Net.

His reply was immediately defensive, and confirmed that spin does indeed mean to produce duplicate content disguised with synonyms. He name dropped “John Reese” as an proponent to support his recommendation. Who is John Reese, I wondered and why should I listen to him, or you Mr. Thomas?

(I ran an Internet search for John Reese, and Google returned several links to websites that spoke unfavorably about Mr. Reese’s marketing methods and products. It appears that Mr. Reese is in Internet marketing. I am not saying Mr. Reese is anything but an honest business man trying to make a buck on the Net, neither do I ever intend to purchase his products.)

Balance is Best

What ever happened to balance? You cannot sacrifice quality content for the sake of marketing, nor can you create quality content and expect it to reach your intended audience without marketing.

Are You Improving the Internet, or Trashing it for Everyone Else?

Churning out duplicate content is not an acceptable marketing technique in my book. When you are looking for information, do you want to find 10 websites that say the exact same thing only in different words, or do you want to find 10 differing viewpoint and facts on the same topic? Duplicate content is a lot like junk mail, read it once and there’s no need to open any more just because the envelope is pink or yellow, or has smiley faces on it.

The Solution

If you are going to use this technique, at least rewrite your own content, then add something of value that was not included in the original. Your readers can’t live on cotton candy and pork rinds, they need meat and potatoes. Business ethics apply to online business, too.

Your words matter. Raise your business to the next level. Create responsible content; words with value, not just fluff.

My Apology

To make up for my whining rant disagreeableness, here’s Chuckie singing Meatloaf.  I am sorry for being a downer today, but I feel it is too important to leave unsaid.

“I would do anything for reader love, but I won’t do that.”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_imAA0rkxT0[/youtube]

I am constantly looking to improve my writing, and have been struggling with attaining just the right amount of crisp, clean prose while maintaining punch and a flowing cadence. This is my ever-elusive goal. Frustrated by my bang-head-against-wall approach lately, I had a late night/early morning conversation with James Chartrand of Men with Pens yesterday about the issue. (I asked James for help because that’s kind of guy he is. He’s passionate about his profession, cares deeply for others, and is an all-around nice guy. But don’t spread it around that I said that!)

The Wheels Start to Turn

During our email conversation, I began thinking about what other professional writers do to evolve their writing. How do they achieve their writing goals? What motivates them to excel in their craft?

Harebrained Ideas Always Begin After Midnight

So late last night, I came up with a harebrained idea: I would interview top bloggers with distinctive writing styles that others emulate. Whom did I contact? Well, that’s the crazy part. I emailed bloggers like Sean Platt, Darren Rowse, Susan Johnston, Sonia Simone, Bob Younce, and Tom Chandler. Then, a crazy thing happened- they agreed to my interview! (I emailed a few other interesting surprise personalities, too!)

Let the Brain Picking Begin!

I am champing at the bit to read these exceptional writers’ answers! Keep an eye out in the next few days as the responses to my mini-interviews come in as the bloggers’ schedules allow. I will post them, unedited, giving you a chance to pick the brains of top bloggers in the online copywriting and freelance industries.

Does this sound like fun to you? If you would like to see responses from a particular blogging favorite, drop us a line and we’ll see what we can do!

Let the brain picking begin!

Big is Beautiful!

“Big is Beautiful!” may work for plus-sized underwear ads, but it fails miserably in the world of online writing. Clear, concise writing is best. You have 500 words or less to take your reader on a journey with a destination of your choosing.

The Challenge

Your goal is to transport readers from point A to point B in a manner that inspires them to continue following your lead.  Most readers aren’t that picky, they’ll follow nearly anyone that piques their interest for a short time; the challenge is to keep their interest.

Step Three: Cutting the Fat

Cutting the fat is a painful process for many writers. Laboring over a creation only to trash your beloved words in a pile on the floor is unnatural. However, the trimmed up product is often a creation more beautiful and valuable than the first draft.

The Trimming Process

Cutting the fact begins with eliminating or revising any confusion in your writing.

• Take out any parts that do not move the reader toward the destination. If it is not related to your topic, get rid of it.
• Organize your thoughts to create a logical flow. (We mentioned these first two steps in Focus and Keep it Flowing.)
• Break up long paragraphs into smaller chunks of related information. This creates a little more white space and is easier on the eyes. It also allows readers to scan for information quickly before they decide to invest the time it takes to read an entire post.
• Replace flowery prose with powerful descriptions. Long-winded descriptions are nice for poetry and story telling, but are not a good fit for most online content.

Step Four: Choosing Words Carefully

If you are a writer, you already know that word choice can make all the difference. All writers have a love for words, and sometimes we have a difficult time choosing which words to romance for a post. One way to select the right words for a post begins with determining your tone for the piece. Let’s say you are writing a sample blog post for a website that sells lightning rods. What emotions underlie your post on lightning storms? Are you conveying wonder, fear, fascination, or fast and hard clinical facts?

Once you identify the tone of your writing, brainstorm words that express your thoughts and evoke the emotions behind your tone. For example, words such as sizzling, singeing, ear-splitting, ground shaking, hair raising, and white hot invoke images of a lightening storm that convey power and fascination. In contrast, charring, electrified, scorched, random, split-second, and life threatening convey an attitude of fear.

Once you have a word bank to draw from, you can replace dull or incongruent words with selections from your brainstorming list.

Focus, flow, and lean writing are essential elements of clearer writing.  Next up in the Clearer Writing series: Originality. Stay tuned to learn how marching to the beat of a different drummer can be a good thing.

Beginning Your Journey

We’ve all experienced a similar situation with a poorly plotted movie or book, or when someone spills the beans and tells you that the bomber is really the main character suffering from multiple personality disorder, right after you read the first chapter of Three by Ted Dekker. (Oops! If you haven’t read the story, it’s still well worth the read.) To continue with our Clearer Writing Steps, this same principal of logical flow holds true for your writing.

Your writing must have a destination (focus), but it also must have a means to get to that destination. Every article, blog post, or story is a journey. There are no short cuts and you must know where you are going. In order to write clearly, your writing must follow a logical flow.

Step Two:Keep It Flowing

Just as in the movies, your writing needs to have a clear cut beginning, middle, and end. Your beginning should captivate the reader’s attention and compel them to keep reading. Attention spans are short on the Web, and if your opening is dull, your readers move on.

Introduce Your Destination

Introducing your writing should ease the reader into the point you are trying to make, and if possible, present some kind of tension. This tension can be in the form of two opposing view points, a controversial statement, or a question posed to the reader. Tension is not an essential element for every piece, but it does help draw your readers in and keep them hanging on until the end.

Writing the Body: Digging Into Meat and Potatoes

The body of your article is the meat and potatoes of your writing. This area presents facts supporting your argument, informs the reader, or tells your tale. The body should be streamlined, just like a trip on the highway. This means every point should carry your reader closer to the destination. The scenic route may be great for a country drive, but it is not pleasant in writing. No one wants to read a meandering, winding story with no real destination.

Each paragraph has its own theme or point to make. Sentences should be short, as should each paragraph. Online content is not the same as a college thesis. Each idea should flow logically from one idea to the next, with transitioning sentences where necessary. Break the flow and you lose your reader.

Wrapping It Up: The Fortune Cookie of Writing

Clear writing also includes a conclusion. This does not mean that you can copy and paste your opening paragraph at the end of the piece. Repetitive facts are boring and not worth the time it takes to read them. One way to create a nice wrap up is to read each paragraph of your body and ask yourself what four words summarize each paragraph. I call this this the fortune cookie method. Each paragraph is condensed into a short and sweet Chinese proverb to be listed in your conclusion.

Keeping your writing flowing from beginning to end helps make your posts pleasant instead of painful to read. For clearer writing, hug the curves, check the map often, and put up a few roadsigns along the course to help others find their way.