Learn writing skills, key ingredients and get tips necessary to be able to help hook your audience and maintain their interest.

Welcome to another edition of Hospitality Property School.

I am your instructor, Gerry MacPherson and today, I am excited to be sharing a guest post from professional content writer, Bev Moss-Reilly aka “The Word Specialist”.

Today, Bev is going to be looking at the writing of content.

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I am going to read her post exactly as she sent it to us.

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So, without further ado, here is

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Reading between the lines

Written by Bev Moss-Reilly -The Word Specialist

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When I was kindly invited to write about “the writing of content”, I had to think hard about how I could possibly convey my message, as writing is a passion that runs through my veins. It’s my blood type! So how can one teach about writing and serve up tips to “want to be writers” when you are not sure whether they have the element of passion or not!

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One certainly needs to be armed with an excellent vocabulary, as well as correct language skills, encompassing proper grammar, syntax, punctuation, spelling, tenses and sentence construction. However, one can’t be taught passion or how to have a fertile imagination. They are the two key ingredients for a perfectly fulfilling and successful writing career.

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J.K. Rowling, world renown author of The Harry Potter series of books, would never have been able to write several successful books had she been devoid of a unique and phenomenal imagination. Save to say that the film production company had the ability to interpret and convey her stories with bespoke cinematography and skill. Her descriptive writing provided them with artistic interpretation.

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As a self-made millionaire, Rowling wrote her first book in a small coffee shop in Glasgow. What motivated and inspired her is unknown, but she wrote with passion, and it was evident how it flowed through the ink of her pen, just as it was passionately running through her veins. She had the ability to paint a picture and evoke an imagination within millions of readers. This was clearly palpable.

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Without hooking a reader with an enchanting title and a compelling introduction, the blog or article is lost, and the reader has moved on.

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There are different styles of writing relevant to the various requirements of the content to be shared. Thus, besides a writer having their own natural inherent style, the way that one may compile a newsletter, for example, is very different to the way that one would write a novel, a blog or a review. Beside being a matter of fact and fiction, the tone and style differs.

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While the content and intention is different for each piece of writing, the writer naturally finds his groove or comfort zone. Many may diversify, especially in the field of business and social media. That however, is lateral diversification.

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However, my personal belief is to do what one does best, and one’s niche naturally evolves.

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Become a specialist in one’s field and be clear where you want to pitch yourself, be it in the marketplace to garner business, or as a favourite pass time.

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Start with a plan and a framework.

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If one’s intention is to be known, and have one’s name exposed and one’s writing published, it is important to represent oneself in a professional manner whereby one’s language skills are accurate. Furthermore, one needs to be able to capture and maintain the attention and imagination of the reader and to hold it. Keep it short and do not cushion the content in a way that the essence is lost in translation, especially if it is not creative content.

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Write with a voice relevant to the brand, when marketing for a company. Know and understand their ethos. Research, enquire and ask the questions.

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Adapt one’s language to the audience who the piece is geared at. Be sure that content is relevant.

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If one is required to convey facts about a topic, be sure to research adequately and remain factual. If enlisted by a client, follow the brief accurately.

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Creative writing is completely different and allows the writer to employ his talent and descriptively share an imaginative piece that will captivate the reader.

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As much as the introduction must hook the reader and the body of the piece maintain their interest, a conclusion should pull the piece together and draw it to a close.

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Depending upon the needs of the client, if one has been enlisted to write, and if relevant, pictures capture attention as well as layout, and may be used to complement the article or blog.

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Always check work for errors before submitting it. It represents you and the name of your business.

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As with most services, one is only as good as the last piece of writing that has been published. One only has one chance to create an impression and the last piece seen, leaves the flavour of what the audience will chew on and digest.

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Be it business or pleasure, create a groove which feels comfortable and stays there. Market oneself in a way that one maintains one’s speciality. Write about what interests you so that you write it with passion. The reader can detect whether passion is lacking. If the writer doesn’t display genuine interest in the subject, this is evident to the reader and his interest is lost.

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There are many subtleties in conveying a message through content, be it creative novels, articles, blogs or business letters and reviews.

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If one wants one’s audience to grasp the full understanding, be sure that when they read between the lines, the message is not lost! Do not leave room for misinterpretation. Know the audience and write to them.

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Reread it several times to be sure that it would grip you as the reader. If not, rewrite!

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Drafts may be written repeatedly before finalizing what you may then be proud to release.

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Be different, be unique and make yourself known for your own bespoke style.

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Before you leave I would like to invite you to an inside video tour of the “Hospitality Property School Group” Membership Site.

You can get immediate access at:

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KeystoneHospitalityDevelopment.com/KHDC103

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If you have questions or feedback you can leave them in the comments section of the show notes.

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You can find them at:

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KeystoneHospitalityDevelopment.com/KHDC104

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That’s it for this session of hospitality property school.

We appreciate your comments and if you have topic ideas, feel free to reach out to use on

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Facebook at facebook.com/keystonehdc

On Twitter at @KeystoneHDC

Or email at

info@keystonehospitalitydevelopment.com

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So, as always, let’s work together to put heads in your beds.

Until next time, have a fun day.

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