Ms. Smarty Pants Know It All

I’ve been on the road for the last two weeks on behalf of a client. Since she is a member of the Priority Club, I stayed at a couple of Holiday Inn Express hotels along the way.

I’m very impressed with this chain. I don’t remember Holiday Inns being this nice.

It seems like every hotel (at least all the random ones in the numerous states through which I traveled) has been completely redone.

The rooms are clean and well designed. The front desk personnel were all very nice. And the free breakfast offerings (bagels and pastries, cereal, yogurt, hot cinnamon rolls, eggs, sausage, bacon, biscuits and gravy) are certainly added values.

There is usually a pool and a workout room. Always, there’s free wifi. I also appreciated the free coffee and tea in the rooms—along with the mini-fridge. No microwave though. I found that strange.

Anyways—Good job, Holiday Inn Express people. I think you’ve made some good choices here.

At $99 a night (rate I received regularly), these hotels are higher than their competitors next door, but if you’re looking for a clean, comfortable, and reassuring place to sleep, they are a good bargain.

Tags: Recommendations, Starting a Business, Travel by Ms. SP
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Tomorrow, my company officially starts year two. Amazing.

Tags: Life, Starting a Business by Ms. SP
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The complete title of this book is Persuading on Paper: The Complete Guide to Writing Copy that Pulls in Business. It’s rare when a book actually lives up to its title. This book does and is a very well done overview to writing effective business copy.

If you’re getting a book like this, I’m going to assume that you think you can write to a certain extent. If you are looking for Writing 101 help, this is not for you.

This book gives the whys and whats of flyers, sales, letters, ads, etc. The author tells about each piece’s purpose and how readers tend to interact with it.

But beyond the technical aspects of creating copy for these formats, this book also provides coaching on how to figure out your audience and on how to find an appropriate voice in your communications.

A point from the book that I really need to keep in mind is that describing a service or product is not as compelling as explaining how it will solve a customer’s specific problems. That’s a good tip for me because I don’t think I would have believed in the principle had I not read her examples.

I think the advice and guidelines from Marcia Yudkin are solid and authentic. I believe the points inside will help me successfully revise my existing materials.

Even if I decide to work with a copywriter to complete my projects, I’ll have a better sense of what to ask for and what to look for.

It doesn’t have much to say about writing for electronic media, but then again, electronic copy is not “on paper.” This is a book that delivers on its title.

Tags: Books, Starting a Business by Ms. SP
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