You are far from alone. Yet writing effectively in English need not be a mission impossible. With the following recommendations and practical tips, you can become a relative master at writing in the English language in next to no time.

Tip #1: Keep (or start) reading, reading, reading!

It is absolutely no secret that reading informs you in language better than almost any other medium. Think about your own mother tongue and the importance influence reading has on the ability to write. It is a fact that almost anyone who writes well is a keen reader, and this does not change when we are talking about reading and writing in another language.

There are those who will say that they don’t enjoy reading, but it is likely that they are only referring to the classic style – i.e., books. Of course, reading a book may not be everyone’s idea of a good time, but there are so many possibilities when it comes to reading that it is impossible for someone to say that they do not enjoy this activity. Consider newspapers, magazines, encyclopedias, online sites, blogs, audio books or even subtitles when watching movies or TV series. Every single one of those activities can be considered reading, and the subject matter is as wide as the ocean is deep. The trick here (and really it is no trick at all) is to read about what you are interested in, and that way, reading really is no chore at all.

So, how exactly does reading contribute to your ability to write?

It expands your vocabulary

It would be important to get some variation in your reading, just so you can expose yourself to the greatest possible breadth of vocabulary. Reading niche technical manuals will of course limit the number of new words you will encounter, so try something new from time to time, but once again keep it as closely linked to the things you enjoy as possible.

It allows you to start understanding new vocabulary simply from context

Never read with a dictionary next to you – not only will it slow your reading down, but you will quickly lose interest if you have to check every second word for meaning. However, using a dictionary will also deprive you of a very important, learnt skill, which is understanding the meaning of words simply from the context in which they are given to you. In this way, you are a language detective, and it promotes independence in your learning and understanding, which in turn leads to confidence.

It exposes you to different approaches to writing

No two people write in the same way, and reading from different types of sources will also help you to appreciate the many different styles that can be used when writing, not to mention what style in appropriate in a particular context. Take, for example, the vast difference in formal and informal English. A spoken dialogue shown through subtitles in a movie will of course differ greatly from an academic paper. Your appreciation and recognistion of all styles is an essential part of mastering the language.

Tip #2: Practice makes perfect!

People often look for a magic bullet – that is, the instant solution to all their problems. Apps which promise to help you master a new language in a matter of weeks do not help matters, as for most of us there really is no substitute for hard work and practice. For every Mozart, there are countless others who have reached the level they are at through dedication and repetition, and mastering the art of writing is no different.

Now, that is not to say that being able to write effectively in English is unobtainable in a relatively short period. Writing well in English can be achieved quickly through practice, practice and more practice. Just keep writing. It doesn’t even really matter what you write about: blogs, lists, instructions, a diary, copying song lyrics – everything helps. And ask a native speaker to have a look at what you have written just so you can get an idea of the common mistakes you are making and what you can do to improve. There really is no substitute for actually just doing it.

Tip #3: Use grammar-checking software

So, you have a great idea for an essay. It’s original, innovative, and well informed. The only problem? You feel your level of English is holding you back.

This need not be a problem any longer. Fortunately, we live in the technological age, and there are now a number of software products available on the market which can greatly assist in producing error-free English text. The Linguix.com writing assistant is a fine example of a product which can fine-tune your grammar and syntax to help you produce a piece of high quality English writing.

Innovative tools such as Linguix.com can greatly assist in producing outstanding text. It’s not about taking the easy option, it’s about taking the smart option.

And there you have it. With these great tips, there’s no longer any need to be afraid. Writing awesome English text is within reach.

The post How to Write A Perfect English Text If You Are Not A Native: 3 Practical Tips appeared first on Linguix Blog.

Cover Letter Dos

Before we get into specifics, always have in mind these absolute necessities:

• Do send a cover letter with any application, or any resume.
• Do make the cover letter specific to the job, position, and company you are sending it to.
• Do take as much time over writing a great cover letter as you would when producing a great resume.
• Do make it unique from your resume by really targeting one specific position in a specific company.
• Do have your research done on the company, and make it obvious in the cover letter.
• Do address your cover letter to a specific individual within the organization.
• Do make sure you grab the reader’s attention quickly with a great first paragraph.
• Do use dynamic, individual language, full of your personality.
• Do use examples of great templates to help you along the way, particularly with the layout.
• Do always focus on the question ‘Why you?’
• Do make every word necessary.
• Do make sure you individually sign each cover letter, so it never appears mass-produced.
• Do read over your cover letter more than once to spot any mistakes.
• Do keep it brief, and impactful.
• Do especially keep it brief if you are emailing it, and format it as well as possible.
• Do include a call to action, such as a request to call you for an interview.

Cover Letter Don’ts

Any of course, be aware of these cover letter faux pas:

• Don’t send out generic cover letters.
• Don’t fail to tailor each cover letter to the position and company you are applying to.
• Don’t use the usual, clichéd language, such as ‘I was very interested to see your advertisement’ or ‘I am a good communicator.’
• Don’t make your cover letter the same as your resume.
• Don’t write too much.
• Don’t sound negative.
• Don’t fail to include company-specific details which show a great level of research.
• Don’t just send a cover letter and wait. Chase up, call and show initiative and enthusiasm.

What needs to be included in a cover letter?

So, we’ve covered the dos and don’ts, now it’s time to think specifically about what your cover letter should include. No, must include.

First and foremost, your cover letter must be unique from your resume –do not simply include all the information that would form a standard resume. This is your chance to be role and company-specific, show you have detailed knowledge of the company you are applying for, state why you would be the best person for your job, and generally make a striking and memorable first impression. That said, there are still expectations of a standard cover letter, so be sure to include the following:

• Company name and specific company contact, including job title.
• Immediate information about the job you are applying for or interested in, and where you saw it advertised.
• Company specific information which shows good research and knowledge.
• Reasons why you would be a great fit for the company and that particular role.
• Your personal information, including all the essentials such as name, address, email, telephone number, etc.
• Your written (not printed) signature.

And when done, proofread! In fact, get someone else to check over it too as an alternative eye can often spot things you can’t. If you are emailing the cover letter, format it beautifully. If you are posting it, think how you can present it best, which usually means not folding it a hundred times! And finally, keep records of what you have sent, and who you have sent it to.

Structuring your cover letter

It may still seem like a daunting task, but by remembering the advice already given, and by following these recommendations, you can produce a first-class cover letter. First of all, let’s break it down into six easy chunks:

• Addressing
• Salutations
• Introduction
• Main body
• Final paragraph
• Closing

Addressing

The art of good letter writing has somewhat declined for obvious reasons, but most people from the older generation will clearly remember the skill of correct addressing from school. First, on the upper right-hand side of the page, detail your own name and full address, phone number and email address. Then, further down the page on the left-hand side, include the full name and full company address of who you are sending it to. Obviously, these points are invalid if you are sending your cover letter by email.

Salutations

Simply, this is how you greet the person you are writing to. We have mentioned previously that you must write to a specific person – good research can assist with this. Once you have this information, the salutation becomes simple:

• DearvMr. Johnson,
• Dear Dr. Johnson,
• Dear Ms. Johnson,

Don’t forget the comma, and leave a line before beginning the letter.

If you simply cannot discover the name of the person you are writing to, then the salutation becomes generic:

• Dear Sir or Madam
•  To Whom It May Concern
• Dear Hiring Manager
• Dear Human Resources/HR Manager

Introduction

Make the first sentence as impactful as possible, but within this opening salvo you also need to be clear about what position you are applying for or are interested in. Simply, why are you writing?

Main body

This is the most important paragraph in the entire cover letter. The others are necessary, and must receive careful attention, but it is here, in the main body of the cover letter, that you state your case, and this can make or break your application. Essential points to include are as follows:

• Why you for this position?
• Why you for this company?
• What specific skills and experience can you bring?

Include knowledge of the position and company that only thorough research could provide. And remember, this is not a repeat of what is in your resume.

Finishing paragraph

Here you state any call to action, and what you will do yourself. This basically entails asking for the opportunity to be interviewed (or demanding, but in the politest way possible), and stating your intention to follow up.

Closing

Once again there are generic closing remarks that can be added, and these do not differ greatly from any formal piece of writing. They can be listed as follows:

• Sincerely / Yours sincerely
• Regards / Kind regards / Best regards
• Thank you for your consideration / Thank you

Follow with a comma, leave a line, then add your complete name. After, sign individually, and do this with every cover letter you send. If possible, use a blue pen to distinguish the signature as authentic and different from the written text preceding it. For example:

Yours sincerely

Full name

And that’s it! That completes our step-by-step guide to writing an effective, impactful cover letter that will set you off on the right foot to obtaining your desired job. Remember to be unique, individual, and let your personality shine through. Give it the time and attention it deserves, make sure it is proofread with Linguix.ai, and you have a winning cover letter ready to be sent. Good luck!

The post Writing an Effective Cover Letter: An Essential Step-by-step Guide appeared first on Linguix Blog.

Don’t word count

A good writer treats the article as a whole and tries to tell a story. Having to keep in mind a required volume can kill creativity. If a company uses outsourced writers, linking their pay with the number of words is the worst thing to do. It prompts the writer to include empty information in the article to get more money.

Offline media has to consider the physical size of a newspaper. In terms of online media, blog posts and articles can be of any size, as there is nothing to limit it. Don’t worry that an article is too short, that doesn’t matter.  

Quite often, short articles consisting of a few paragraphs are read by thousands of people, while long reads that took weeks to prepare go completely under the radar.

“This-Has-Already-Been-Covered” policy leads to failure

It’s always tempting to be the first one to cover something. But most topics a company could elaborate on have been already covered by somebody else. This isn’t an excuse to sit and wait for huge breaking news that will explode on all blog platforms and attract the attention of the best media outlets.

Regular postings are an important component of successful content promotion. You can’t write something unique every time unless your company is a giant like Google or Facebook. This means that you’ll have to learn how to find something newsworthy in unexpected places, look at existing topics from a new angle and compile different opinions and postings in order to channel a debate in the right direction.

Nobody wants your boring corporate news

With a few rare exceptions, corporate news doesn’t interest anyone except for founders, team members and relatives. So don’t publish press statements about a couple of new functions or changing the color of your menu buttons.

However, an article about how your company collected and analyzed data on audience preferences in order to introduce these features, or how changing the color of a button improved conversion and sales, could be appealing.

Earn the right to advertise

This is the single most important point. Former Apple staff and marketing guru Guy Kawasaki says companies should earn the right to advertise their products. If you start a conversation with your audience using press releases about your success, ignoring the interests of the readers, their numbers will not increase.

And vice versa, if your business wins an audience with compelling content, and then offers information about its goods and services to loyal readers, it will score really good results.

The post Common Content Marketing Mistakes appeared first on Linguix Blog.

There is always a story to tell

First of all, don’t try to create perfect content. A common problem that unexperienced copywriters and content creators face is the tendency to be perfectionists — this is unnecessary in this context.

As far as the creation of corporate content is concerned, it’s worth saying that individuals usually view it as a business. This fact leads to such delusions as “quantity over quality,” “there is too much info on the web on this subject, let’s try something else,” or “we don’t have any news” and so on. At first, these arguments make some sense, but eventually, they only slow down content-making. As a result, companies waste a lot of time and resources, publications come out rarely, and it doesn’t help to increase the number of customers.

We have another suggestion: as soon as you have an idea for the content — put it into action. This will help you create a draft that can be modified, and then you can analyze the audience’s feedback. In any case, this will be a useful experiment.

There is no need to wait for a highlight or for a reason to write content. Don’t try to make ideal content, because it may be a real waste of time for you. If you don’t manage to reveal the topic by yourself — relax. Your competitors usually try to post more often than you, do not agonize over creating “the masterpiece” and feel free to use cliches.

The content must be useful for a reader

You should write about what you know. Also, write about things that really burn your heart. It means that even native advertising does not look like advertising.

In general, it means that corporate publications should be of some benefit to the readers. In business, this phenomenon is called “value added.” It is the answer to why people should buy this product or read this article. It is not very difficult to develop content that allows readers to solve their problems or to find answers. In fact, you have to be well-informed.

The first step to success: define your target audience

Before writing the text, try to define your reader. You need “to draw” your reader and be in his shoes. This approach will help you to understand what a person’s interests are. It’s the only way to create “added value”.

For example, there are a lot of articles for business leaders discussing content promotion through our partnering content agency’s blog. We usually deal with the content promotion. Our readers hire employees and make important decisions every day, so we try to answer all their questions concerning content marketing. For example, we tell them how to evaluate the effectiveness of the content.

Our second most important group of readers is marketers and editors engaged in content-making or in managing the process. We provide them with practical advice, statistics and frame their typical mistakes. These tips should be applied when creating content in any area.

Second step: make a plan of the text

The text needs to be logical and structured. The idea shouldn’t jump, and it is essential that the reader understands why he is given such information. This can be easily achieved by just making a plan before writing.

But don’t be too enthusiastic. Don’t go too deeply into details, draft a list of sections in simple shootouts and state the essential facts. This will help you to defeat “the fear of starting from scratch”. Quite often, the most challenging step in writing a text is to begin. But if you have a plan, the text appears by itself.

Check the facts and figures (experts involved)

If there are any facts or figures in the content, they must be checked. An error in the content of the company’s blog or the expert column can seriously affect business and spoil a company’s reputation.

It is therefore essential to check facts and figures, refer to the sources when quoting and give essential links, even if it is a translation from another language. This will help your readers to verify the original statements.

Try to involve experts, if possible. You need to stick to this approach as it helps to avoid problems after publication.

Don’t hesitate to edit

Don’t publish the text immediately after it is written. You will need some time to read it and do some editing. For example, the picture below shows a manuscript written by Fyodor Dostoevsky. As you can see, the author of «Crime and Punishment» did not hesitate to make changes. He added a lot of ideas by writing in the margins and crossing things out, and so on. Use this great writer’s approach as a role model on how to create content.

Besides, make some grammar corrections to facilitate language — Content Force is an excellent tool for solving this task.

Also, show the content to experts, managers or partners before it is published. And they can change a lot of things there. Be prepared to go through the whole piece one more time.

The importance of the heading and the lead

We live in the era of information overload. We are continually getting a significant amount of information. It is just impossible to read all the articles and references in social media feeds, so people have to choose. And the main factors affecting the choice of a reader are the heading and the lead.

Here are a few tips to create a high-quality heading:

• A proper title gives a reader a bright idea of the text and intrigues. A right heading is shocking and makes you click on the content.
• “How,” “why,” “why,” “what”, “when,” “what” — looks good in the heading, because given to understand that the text concerns some important things. Also, the heading should describe the action, and probably reveal some part of the intrigue.
• Eliminate odd words. The shorter, the better

It’s not over when the text Is finished

It’s not enough just to write good text. You have to find your readers. As for the media, this problem is already solved, because they usually have their audience. But the corporate blog is another case — you need to think of involving readers.

You should spend as much time on the content distribution as you do on its creation. In a perfect world, you should develop a micro-strategy of promotion for each piece of content.

To increase the media outreach, it is crucial to choose the publication time and actively spread the reference to the content in thematic communities (e.g., Hacker News, Growth Hackers) and social networks. Remember also to re-post on popular sites — sometimes a re-post from a corporate blog on Medium can bring more readers than the story would have at the website only.

The post How to Write Killer Professional Content appeared first on Linguix Blog.