American English vs British English: Which Is Your Pick?

Recently I got a mail from a friend who wanted some information regarding the British style of writing. He was in the process of drafting an article for a UK based magazine and had to stick to their style of writing. Though I consider myself as no expert here but whatever information and knowledge I had on it I shared it with him. This made me realise that why not share the same information here too. I am sure that there are many people out there with the same issue at hand. It becomes all the more important when we have to decide which one of these to use for drafting content of our websites.

When trying to differentiate the British English from the American English, there are a few aspects where they differ. Let us start with the spellings.

Most of us are aware that there are certain words which the American and the British spell differently.
British English ; American English
centre ; center
theatre ; theater
colour ; color
catalogue ; catalog
programme ; program
neighbour ; neighbor

The next point differentiating them would be the vocabulary. There are some words and terms that are either used only in British or American English.
British English ; American English
lift ; elevator
boot ; trunk
autumn ; fall
litter ; garbage
crossroad ; crossing
trousers ; pants

Then we have plurals. There are a number of nouns that don’t have a plural form in British English while they do have a plural form in American English.
British English ; American English
types of accommodation ; accommodation
types of food ; foods
a lot of fruit ; many foods
strands of hair ; hairs

The next big difference which creeps is the way that the British use their grammar. It includes how they use their “present perfects” and “adverbs” in their sentence formations.

So which version of these two languages should one use on their website?

• If you wish your website to cater to a local population then the best way ahead would be to use the English language variant used there. This will make the readers there to accept your style of writing much easily.
  
• This means that if you have a US based website then you should use American English and likewise for a UK based website the best pick would be British English.

But what do you do if you wish your website to be viewed as a website catering to the international clientele?

The solution for this would depend on your main target audience. If your prospective clients are primarily from Europe then the website content should be written in British English. On the other hand if you wish to target the American and Asian community, then the preferred pick would be American English.

Whatever be your pick regarding the variant of the English language the golden rule to follow is to stick to any one form of the language and stick to it while drafting the content of the entire website.

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Business Cards - Ayes or Noes?

For quite some time now I have been contemplating on the idea of having business cards designed for myself. The point which has kept me off till now is to decide whether I want it or I need it.

As a freelancer web content writer a big chunk of my business came online via referrals. This in a way negated any need of having a business card for my line of work. Therefore it was the “want” which was the over powering emotion here. The justification of the “need” came with some careful analysis.

I realized that a business card is the perfect brand identity that my freelance work could need. It would sum up my work and details on a small piece of paper what I would otherwise have to spend 2 minutes describing. In a world where business is driven by contacts, my business card would be the perfect leave-behind-imprint for my freelancing work.

In my line of work I have seen that good work can come from unexpected avenues too. So you never know that the person standing ahead of you in a queue on the coffee shop might be on the lookout for a writer himself. A business card given to him then and there might just land you your next project!

Since most of my work come as referrals from my old clients I feel that it is a good idea if I would go ahead and leave some business card with my clients who can then on inquiry from others regarding my work pass on my card to them. A pretty neat way of getting referrals huh!

Ok. So the business cards are final then. The next task would be to look around for designs and ideas for the same. Seems like a long way ahead here.. !!

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Let People Honor Your Talent

Freelancing can be tough. With the market full of people selling their writing skills it can prove out to be a challenge for anyone wanting to establish themselves full time in this field. The scope available for freelancing is huge but so are the number of people who wish to try and attempt their skills at it. If you wish to make creative freelancing as your full time profession then you need to be all the more cautious because the work available in the market is shared between full time and part time freelancers.

So how can you make your mark? What sets you apart from the others? What can you do so that you can put forward a better impression to your clients than others? How can you convince your clients that you are the best that they can get for their project? It is not tough. I wish to take up my case on the same..

1. Work on your Identity and increase your visibility. It is always a good idea to have a website for yourself. Not only does this make you look professional but at the same goes a long way in projecting your seriousness in this profession. You need not shell out big bucks to get this done. There are available several templates online which can get this done for you for practically free. A simple website with honest, well written content is what your website should portray! You should also make your presence felt through various professional networking websites on the internet.

If you still just have a resume to provide it is a good idea to have it as a PDF file. An impression here goes a long way. If you really wish to spread the word around you could go about and splurge a little and get yourself some visiting cards made.

2. It is a very good habit to be easily accessible to your clients. Provide them with your contact details where you can be contacted easily. Though you can mention them the timings when you can be contacted so that your life does not feel intruded. Try and be quick when responding back to emails as clients like to be in touch with quick and responsive professionals.

3. I also think that it is a good idea to try and make a personal connect with your client and try and interact with him as a friend. By this it is not meant that you drop your professional guard. There is a thin line separating professional behavior and getting personal. Clients will like when you try and go the extra yard and talk about their project as their own with genuine inputs. believe me, IT WORKS!

4. Put together an elaborate portfolio of all your work along with the feedback from your previous clients to showcase to all your potential future connects. This will help the client to bridge the trust bridge and help him in developing confidence in your work and talent. If you have your website make sure that you integrate these items in it and highlight them prominently.

5. Watch your price negotiation timing. Do not start negotiating on the price at the first go. Doing so will project an image that it is only money that you are after. Project an image that you are doing this work of freelance writing for the sheer love of writing. Put forward a price looking at what the project is all about and once quoted stand by it. If you lower your price too often it will do no good to your serious professional image of a web content writer.

What ever be your strategy, the bottom line remains that you have to make your client believe that you have what he wants. You have to justify your talent as well your price and at the same time bring on an image that there is no one better than you available. Believe me, with a few tips this is completely achievable!

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