Proofreading: The President Will Thank You for It

Writing stories worthy of newspaper print is actually quite challenging and journalists deserve much more credit than they get. Capturing an audience’s attention takes real skill and journalistic flair but, if all else fails, our budding reporters have the option to forgo a proofreading service and make headlines for completely different reasons. This particular gem proves that sometimes just one small letter really can make all the difference.

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14 Quick Tips on Business Writing That Can Make You a Copywriting Stud

No wonder you’re looking for tips on business writing. There’s a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. You need to produce copy that sells your products and services, presents your company in a professional manner, builds relationships with your customer base and attracts traffic to your website and blog—all at the same time. Where do … Read more

29 Expert Tips on Writing Website Copy That Gets Real Results

Online articles for online businessesWriting website copy involves a number of major skills. You need to understand the psychology of your target customers and have the writing ability to appeal to that psychology, you need to be able to answer all your customer’s questions and present your site in a method that is easy to understand and intuitive, and you need to interest and engage visitors to your site, all while simultaneously presenting your copy in a manner that appeals to the search engines. It is no mean feat!

This week we asked a group of 29 seasoned experts what their top tips were for writing website copy that gets real results. We asked:

What’s your top tip for writing copy that talks to your site visitor and gets the results you are looking for?

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Free SEO Template and Checklist

 

Picture of the Free SEO TemplateIf you need a little help to get your head around search engine optimization (SEO) and writing copy that meets Google’s requirements, our free SEO template is exactly what you need.

Let’s get one thing straight right from the start: writing search engine optimized copy is NOT rocket science. While you may come across many companies promising to use their secret knowledge of the Google ranking algorithms to make your rankings soar, the basic truth is that writing website copy that appeals to the search engines and meets their criteria is actually very simple. So simple, in fact, that we have broken down all the steps in order to produce a free SEO template and checklist that can guide you through the process of optimizing a page on your site. Click on the link below to download it.

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5 Things Angry Birds can Teach You About Writing English Well

writing english well with angry birdsUnless you’ve been lost on a desert island somewhere for the last 12 months, you can’t fail to have heard about Angry Birds, an animated game about disgruntled birds retaliating against malevolent egg-stealing pigs.

On face value, Angry Birds may seem like a complete and utter waste of time, albeit a fun one. However, if you pay close attention, you may find that you can actually learn something as you furiously battle to gain custody of those eggs.

After a great deal of research and analysis (i.e., hours spent playing every single version of Angry Birds that Rovio have to offer), I realized that these pig-bludgeoning birds and evil little livestock can actually teach us a great deal about writing English well.

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Grammar and Spelling Tips for Business Signs, Menus and Cards

Business sign grammar and spellingWhen you print a sign, menu, card, or other written document for your business, you should pay attention to the grammar and spelling contained within your communication. Well-written marketing material may not necessarily impress customers, but error-riddled writing that has not been checked by a professional proofreading and editing service can certainly make would-be buyers go somewhere else.

These tips will help you to attract buyers and give your customers the best possible impression of your business.

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10 Methods to Improve Indexing For Your Website

website editing to improve indexingImprove indexing rates for your site by following our hints and tips for improving your attractiveness to search engines like Google.

How to Improve Indexing

One of the most popular discussions that you will see in the Google forums revolve around indexing and many people complain that their new content isn’t appearing online.  It would be ideal if Google visited your site on a daily basis and content was instantly available in search engine rankings, but this will only ever happen if, and when, Google recognizes how great your site it.

While you cannot forcibly improve indexing and Google’s crawl rate, there are some things you can do to get Google to visit your site more often.  Before you look at the steps I have outlined below, make sure your site is actually indexed by Google.  If not, you’ll need to visit Google and add it.

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Sentence Corrector

Picture of cover letter for resumesAre you looking for a sentence corrector?

Composing perfect English is not always easy, even for native English speakers. Regardless of how advanced your grasp of written English is, it is totally normal for people to make simple errors when writing documents. However, the majority of readers tend to have very little sympathy for people who do make mistakes and it can often seriously detract from your credibility—especially if you are applying for a job, trying to win new business, writing an essay or dissertation, or communicating important instructions.

Vappingo’s sentence corrector service is specifically designed to proofread and edit sentences and short paragraphs in order to ensure that they do not contain any grammar, vocabulary, punctuation or spelling mistakes.

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Can Not or Cannot

Failing to proofread essay leads to a confused teacherNumerous articles on the Internet attempt to answer the question of whether you should use can not or cannot in your written English and many sources claim that the two are interchangeable and mean exactly the same.

It appears that even the Washington State University language site supports this view. When discussing whether you can use can not or cannot interchangeably they state:

“These two spellings are largely interchangeable.”

Now I am going to do something crazy and disagree with the Washington State University: you should never use Can not or cannot interchangeably because they mean two completely different things.

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Writing Amazing Introductory Sales Letters. 20 Tips Direct From the Experts.

Picture of a man struggling to write a sales letterHow do you initiate conversation with someone new at a party?

If you are ultra confident, you may just wade straight in there, patting your target on the back and telling them in no uncertain terms why they need to know you. However, quite often the most effective way is to simply hold out your hand and quietly introduce yourself.

The same analogy is just as relevant when introducing yourselves to your customers. Introductory sales letters offer you an important opportunity to present your products or services to your target customers and tell them what your business can do for them. Introductory sales letters often constitute your best opportunity to make a great first impression and it is crucial that you get them right.

Last week I asked 20 business experts to share their opinions on what constitutes great sales letters. I asked:

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Idiomatic Phrases in English: 19 of The Best

According to the Free Dictionary, there are an estimated 25000 idiomatic phrases in English (idioms). Although we don’t have time to cover them all, we’ve handpicked a selection of some of the most common idioms you will hear from English speakers. To help you to get to grips with these strange idiomatic phrases, we have tried to provide some of the background histories to them, explaining their origins and what they actually mean.


 

a piece of cake / easy as pie

Picture shows a piece of cakeFig. an activity or task that is very easy to complete successfully.

If something is referred to as being a piece of cake or easy as pie, it is very easy to accomplish.

Both phrases originate in America in the 19th Century. During this time cake and pie were synonymous with ease, and eating them was associated with a pleasant experience.

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Sentence Fixer by Humans, For Humans

Do you need a sentence fixer?

Writing correct English can make a significant difference to how you are perceived as a viable business, professional or job candidate. While many people have a good grasp of written English, they regularly make simple mistakes that undermine their credibility.

Vappingo’s sentence fixer service is specifically designed to check sentences and short paragraphs for grammar, vocabulary, and structural integrity, and to quickly correct any mistakes.

How our sentence checking services can help you:

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10 Business Writing Tips Direct From The Experts

Image of a pen on written business materialEvery single business on this planet is dependent upon the written word to woo customers and win sales.

However, it’s a shocking fact of life that the majority of business owners and entrepreneurs have very little writing experience. Despite this, the same business owners go full steam ahead and write their own customer materials and communications, rarely stopping to consider whether or not their writing actually makes sense and is powerful enough to encourage their customers to take action.

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What are Abstract Nouns?

Abstract nouns are nouns that name a person, place or thing that you cannot detect using any of the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch or taste. In other words, abstract nouns refer to something that it is completely impossible to interact with. More commonly they are used to describe emotions or ideas.

The angry bird loved breaking through stuff. It filled him with pride to see disaster in his wake.

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What are Concrete Nouns?

Concrete nouns are naming words that are used for something that you can physically touch, see, smell, hear or taste. In other words, they are physical things that can be perceived by at least one of the senses.

If you can experience something using at least one of your senses, then it is a concrete noun.

The ugly troll simply loved the taste of snot. Unfortunately, his love of snot had severely impacted his love life.

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Proofreader’s Checklist: A Tightrope Walker’s Guide to Proofreading

Proofreader checklist can be like walking a tightropeProofreading need not be boring… check out our proofreader’s checklist with a twist!

If you can’t afford professional native English proofreading services and instead opt to step out onto a grammatical tightrope and proofread your own work, you should do so with care. It is often very difficult to proofread your own writing because you are very familiar with its content, and you know what it should say. Sadly, what your written communications should say, does not always mirror what they actually do say. If you’re an ESL student, or grammar and punctuation aren’t exactly your forte, you will find proofreading an extremely difficult and time-consuming process.

If you really must insist on proofreading your own work then break the task up into manageable chunks, making sure that you approach each element in a methodical manner. Our proofreader’s checklist contains a list of steps that you can progress through in order to ensure that your draft is proofread fully.

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Online English Check. From Just $0.020 USD Per Word!

Business proofreading for all business typesIf you’re searching for an online English check then stop here; you’ve found exactly what you need. Vappingo’s online editing and proofreading services provide a quick and easy English checking service from just 0.020 USD per word! You may have been searching for grammar software or an automated service… to use these would be a big mistake and won’t give you the best results. Software can’t tell you how to fix mistakes and won’t be able to assist you to express yourself using the best possible choice of words: WE CAN!

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