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[G117]Get Closer To God

by Andrew Morris, And

Gone are the days when few of us had a voice. Today, with the Internet, blogs and other news gathering sites, we can quickly and easily become published feature writers, although getting paid for it is another matter. The good news is that having your blog featured on Feedburner, or your article on the front page of Digg or Netscape will generate so much traffic and word of mouth that paying for the same advertising would be akin to buying commercial time on the Super Bowl, and beyond the reach of most.

A feature article can be about anything at all, but it helps if it is newsworthy. I have written an article or two about my dog, and while it brought personal fulfillment, it did not generate much traffic. In the newspaper field (and true also on the Internet) the headline "Dog Bites Man" garners little attention since it is an everyday occurrence, while the title "Man Bites Dog" makes us all sit up and take notice.

If you are going to write a feature article on anything, give it a unique perspective, and do not copy and paste something you read. That would be plagiarism, and the search engines tend to ignore what they identify as duplicate content.

Case studies are often provide very good feature articles examples, especially if the study concerns something or someone that could affect all our lives or the economy. When Alan Greenspan, head of the Federal Reserve of the United States from 1987 to 2006, made a statement people around the World took note. Was it because he was a great writer? Rather it was because what he said affected the lives of millions, billions around the world.

Choose what you want to write about, write it well, but be certain you have an audience. If someone can read your feature article, and find it improves their life or teaches them something they did not know before, you have the very real possibility of achieving "above the fold" placement.

A proven successful feature article model is the "How To" article. Some examples are:

"How To Lose Weight and Keep It Off"

"How To Make So Much Money Even Your Mother-in-Law Will Think You Are Made Of Gold"

"How To Live To One Hundred and Remain Healthy and Fit"

When Winston Churchill uttered the famous words, "Never, never, never give up" he was talking about World War II. But the same holds true in getting your first featured article published. Never give up: if your article is rejected, revise it, write another one, or submit it to somewhere new. Rejection is part of life, and certainly part of any writer's life.

Know your market. This sounds simplistic, but it is crucial. Do not submit your articles to publications or websites about dogs if your article is about cats. Despite your talent, your work must fit the market where it is submitted or publication will be an elusive dream.

If you are a writer, then you have the potential within to be a feature writer. Research, refine, then listen if you get a rejection notice: often those editors will guide you toward ultimate success.

Then why is it, that so few businesses make an effort to get closer to customers in general and best customers specifically?

While the answers may be varied, some common reasons can be offered that may shed some light on the customer business relationship process.

- Some companies fear their best customers will reject their attempts to get closer.

This is a common problem (especially with many smaller businesses). Some companies' fear their attempts will seem like a bother to their customers to the point that the customer will tell them to take a hike.

However, if a company does not abuse the relationship (and not try to push every product on every customer at every touch point) there is a good chance they will not be rejected.

The secret is to keep the communication relevant and valuable to the customer. A good start could be forwarding some information that may be of interest to the customer without trying to sell anything to them. Customers will feel better about a communication that centers on their needs rather then about a product or service that is of no interest to them.

- Too busy putting out fires

This can happen with any size business. The owners or managers have to constantly “Pull a rabbit out of their hat” (at least in their own minds) in order to keep things going and avert disaster.

While every business has emergencies, often the severity of a situation is overblown. Sometimes key decision makers must delegate responsibility to subordinates so they can take time for what is important – Customers.

- Falling in love with the product

This is the worst reason to neglect customers and usually happens when a company has experienced success with a product or service. Either the product or service was truly creative or the timing was perfect. As a result, the company feels that the product is so good that it will sell itself, and people will continue to beat a path to their door.

Nothing is perfect or cannot be improved. Often a competitor will take a successful concept, make a small change a steal a market.

The best thing about a successful product or service is that customers will want to talk to you about improvements.

- Do not have time to find out who their best customers are

This is the second worst reason. Every business should know who their best customers are. This should be done immediately in any business, and A-list should be accessible to anyone who may talk to a customer.

There are horror stories about customer service blunders where a top customer is forced to unnecessarily wait for an answer to an inquiry or make a purchase. Sometimes the result can be disastrous! Know everything you can about your top customers and when they make contact treat them as if they are important to you.

- Loss of focus

Businesses change over time. Sometimes products are dropped, businesses change hands, upper management is replaced or online services replace face-to-face contact.

Unfortunately, growth can often squelch the passion that existed in the early days of an organization. Many times a certain level of success is reached and then the business is put on automatic pilot and people work very hard to keep the status quo.

This is never a good thing and cannot succeed long term. “New Blood” must be transfused to keep a business relevant and enthusiastic to its customers. Once customers become secondary, the end will not be far off.

Article Source : best writing skills

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Both Andrew Morris & Chuck Wallin are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Andrew Morris has sinced written about articles on various topics from Careers and Job Hunting, Adware and Writing. Andrew Morris helps you improve your article writing skills and find hidden sources of income generation by .... Andrew Morris's top article generates over 74000 views. Bookmark Andrew Morris to your Favourites.

Chuck Wallin has sinced written about articles on various topics from Marketing, web development and Real Estate. . Chuck Wallin's top article generates over 4400 views. Bookmark Chuck Wallin to your Favourites.