Elements Of Style In Business

Elements of style in business are your own creative weapons in the fight for clients. Make no mistake, the online world is a large place with many dark undercurrents. Competition is alive, even if you don’t think so. In business you are the master of your own ship – nobody else will steer the ship for you. Unless you arm yourself with elements of style, you will be forgotten, never to be found in cyberspace.

1. A strong website

Your website is often the first point of contact with prospective clients. Unless your website clearly showcases your personality, your creativity and your style, customers will be hard pushed to make the mental connection often needed to align their needs with your services.

A strong USP is a must to tell people what you are all about and how you can help them – so they don’t run off to the guy around the corner.

You can pretty up a website all you like but if you lack a clear USP it is highly likely people will just leave and go to your competition instead. Despite having said this, it is important that your website is nice on the eye. The color scheme of your site is more important than you think! Colors deliver emotions!

The design should be straight forward, easy to navigate with your most important assets easy to spot. If you want to promote yourself as a published print or digital author, I suggest you place your prose in a prominent location – easy to spot for your website visitors. If you suck at web design, hire a pro. It will be well worth your investment.

2. Your business attire

Your business elements of style should consist of proper email communication, excellent reliability and strong copy to have clients eat out of the palm of your hands. Each of these style elements are as important as the next if you want a steady stream of ready-to-buy customers.

Proper email communication: I’m still amazed at how many freelancers fail to communicate in a decent manner in their email communications. To make matters worse, many lack a decent email signature that points people to their prospective online profiles. I also see a lack in professionalism while communicating by email. If you want work from me, PLEASE start out by looking at how you formulate your emails. I can’t stress this enough.

If your first point of contact with a possible client is by email you better make sure the copy rocks!

Excellent reliability: Reliability and accountability is everything if you intend to become a fully-booked freelancers. Your clients need to KNOW that they can rely on you, no matter what. When I see how certain freelancers treat their business, I quickly realize that they will never make it to the next level – they are simply tottering along for the ride, hoping for some leftover crumbs of the successful. Well, I’ve got news for you – you’ll never become what you wish for if you are not prepared to treat your business like A BUSINESS instead of treating it like a hobby!

Strong copy: Strong copy isn’t necessary top quality copy. You can earn a killer income as an average writer and many do so right now. If you still believe that grammar is the most important part of a highly successful freelance writing business then I’ve got news for you. Yes, grammar is somewhat important, but it isn’t everything.

To write strong copy is to combine facts with style while injecting your own personality. Then you present in a way that appeals to your readers. That’s it! Did you hope for more? Even a 12-year old can write strong copy. To write exquisite copy is to help people with their problems, offering them solutions that appeal to them, without making them feel as if they have been marketed to.

If you can master those aspects of style for your business, then I can almost guarantee you will see incredible success.

3. Marketing

The last element of business style is marketing. I admit openly that I suck at selling. Selling yourself is like trying to whore your conscience to the devil. It simply doesn’t work. Marketing, contrary to popular belief is not beating down doors to find new clients -it is more so a subtle approach to branding your online identity. Be everywhere, get recognized.

If people see your name appear on every popular industry blog, website, forum and social networking site their perception of you rises – heck, you could suck so bad at what you do and people still think the world of you because they believe you to be an important person – otherwise why you you be so ever present?

Association with famous people is another great way to market yourself. Many freelancers do this VERY successfully right now. Just look around you. Study the masters and copy what they are doing. It works. No need to re-invent the wheel!

4. Uniqueness

The last element of style in business is the importance to stay unique – be yourself. If you copy the cool guy next door, chances are that people will just laugh at you. Find your own strong core and build on it.

Are you good at networking? Do you excel at design? Are you a great teacher? Regardless what you find within yourself, take it and make it your USP.

Now tell me, what are YOUR elements of style in your business?

Monika

Image credit: topgold