Michelle Finerty
For over a decade, Michelle has been writing professionally in numerous capacities within the legal, financial services, information technology, international education, small business and services arenas. Her degree in International Business from the University of Colorado afforded her the opportunity to work and live overseas.
A number of the jobs Michelle has held allowed her to develop and hone her skills translating American English to and from its other regional forms including British, Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand—a far trickier task than it at first appears. As a result, she is an expert in cross-cultural communication, technical writing, e-newsletter writing, and proofreading in many of the major English forms.
An entrepreneur at heart with a solid business background, Michelle has developed a client base as a full-time freelance writer. She is also the owner of a small business providing yoga instruction and developing the messaging and marketing for her business. She understands firsthand the challenges of earning and keeping a client base, as well as the importance of staying true to your core business values—and can translate that into powerful messaging.
In her spare time Michelle likes to travel, hike, meditate, and frolic with her family.
Keeping the New Year Inspiration Flowing
Jan 23, 2012 in ViewpointsTags: News Flash
As we approach the end of January, some of the New Year resolutions that were so inspiring at the beginning of the month may be getting brushed aside in the hustle and bustle of a typical work day. So, how do we return to those resolutions and keep the inspiration flowing through the year?
Here are some techniques I use to keep motivated and stay on track:
- Divide your business goals between short and long term
Nothing is more overwhelming than having a huge to-do list, so when the list gets too large, it’s time to divide and conquer. Place the smaller goals first in order to build the steps to attain the bigger goals.
- Stay realistic
After putting your list together, make sure it is something you have the ability to accomplish. Realistic goals may not seem so exciting, but the amount of success will be far greater in the end.
- Picture the end result in your mind
Gurus from all walks of life cite this as a secret to success. Being able to focus on your end result not only puts your energy in that place, but also reminds you of the what, why, and how of your business.
For further reading, Gleb Reys offers 5 great ideas in his article entitled How to Stay Motivated over at Lifehack.org.
With these ideas in mind, as well as tuning into your own personal motivators, you should see results start to take root and grow!
Keeping Track of Content Ideas
Jan 9, 2012 in The Art of CopywritingTags: Marketing and Sales Copywriting, Web Copywriting
The new year is a great time to set goals and get organized. If one of the goals for your business is to keep track of website content or newsletter ideas, an Excel spreadsheet may be the best option for ease of use, access, and storage.
As stated in my newsletter series, your ideas should be relevant to your client base, connect with them, and motivate them to move to the next level of service. So it’s a good idea for you to include these as checklist items on your spreadsheet.
Below I have included a spreadsheet that I find useful to keep track of my ideas. Feel free to download this and adapt it to suit your business needs.
>> Download our sample idea tracker (Excel, 9KB)
Conclusion of the Series, Staying in Touch with Customers Using Emails and E-newsletters
Dec 19, 2011 in Writing ServicesTags: Marketing and Sales Copywriting
Part 6 in Michelle Finerty’s series:
Staying in Touch with Customers Using Emails and E-newsletters
Part 6 — Conclusion
As we draw to the end of the year, we also come to the end of our e-newsletter series. Here are some key points to keep in mind when writing your e-newsletter.
- Be you. Make a strong first impression, make a connection, and let your brand identity shine through.
- Be relevant. Think about what emails you read most. They are probably relevant, real, and fun to read.
- Be concise. Get your point across in 75-150 words and have a memorable subject line or e-newsletter name.
- Build a relationship. Remember email relationships are like all relationships in life. They take time to build and involve creativity, flexibility, and room for growth.
Email can be a powerful business tool when you give it your personal touch. Utilize the practices you have learned in this series to create a successful e-newsletter to convey your message and build your customer base.
>> Read part 1, Writing a Successful E-newsletter
>> Read part 2, Selecting E-newsletter Topics
>> Read part 3, The Difference Between Emails and E-newsletters
>> Read part 4, Obtaining Customer Email Address for E-newsletters
>> Read part 5, How to Gauge Customer Response to E-newsletters