Writing Tips at GarySpeer.com

I just wanted to say thanks to all who have expressed your concerns for my arm and wrist problems. I also wanted to say the stretching exercises, more “ergonomically correct” work area, and a change in my normal sleeping habits have been making a difference in the last two days. The soreness in my arm and wrist is going away.

My best advice for today to all of you out there would be to pay attention to posture and work circumstances when you’re on the computer. It really matters — so quit slouching, sit up straight, get busy, and write something today we’ll all be proud of.

Technorati Tags: ergonomics, personal news, good writing posture, writing tips at garyspeer.com

My manly “machismo” probably is driving this statement: Worrying about how and where I sit while writing on my computer has always seemed silly to me. “Real men” (and “real women”) can pound those keyboards anywhere and scoff at such silliness as “ergonomically correct” workstations or whatever.

Wow, I have changed that attitude completely in the last week.

Now I’m struggling with the way my chair’s adjusted, the way my laptop sits on the table — a table with an array of angles and heights that are adjustable — and the posture I use while I work. If I could afford it, I’d even run out this afternoon and get an expensive adjustable beds to try and sleep better most nights.

Why the sudden change? Why the new found appreciation for ergonomics?

You’ve probably guessed already what my problem is: I am suffering from some sort of Repetitive Strain Injury, apparently, though I’ve not seen a doctor for a formal diagnosis.

I am struggling to work more than two or three hours a day on my blogs, my writing, and my online activities. After two or three hours of steady work, my wrist begins to ache, my forearm joins in the throbbing, my bicep starts to twinge, and my shoulder even feels sore. It’s only happening in my right arm, the one which stretches most to hit the keyboard and the one which uses the mouse most.

I mention all this not to gain sympathy or indulge in self-pity. I mention this as a cautionary tale for all of you reading this. I have been typing/keyboarding pretty much full-time at one job or another and in my spare time for more years than most of you probably have been alive. (Okay, I’m maybe exaggerating there, but probably not by much. I’ve been making some sort of money from writing and editing in one way or another since 1973.) Based on all that, I never dreamed I would be smacked with this kind of physical problem now. Thought I had at least another 30-40 years of good typing left in me??

Be careful how you sit. Be careful how you hold your hands, your wrists, your shoulders, all of those things. Find a good chair, a good table/desk/stand for your computer. Take ergonomics seriously.

I do now.

Technorati Tags: keyboarding, ergonomics, Repetitive Strain Injury, writing tips at garyspeer.com

Copywriting, writing ad content for a website or an offline source, is something I’ve always wanted to be good at. I’ve always thought it looked easy. You take a product or service and write something about that product or service which would motivate people to buy. It sounds simple, doesn’t it?

Yet I personally have several hundreds of pages of copy on 30+ websites that has failed spectacularly to motivate anyone to buy the products and services I’m pushing.

So for those of you who are copywriters or wannabe copywriters, here’s a little assignment for you. I promise you this is not for a product or service I actually am trying to sell. I am not using this to get a “freebie” from you. I’m asking you to do this so that I and others here might learn from your expertise. Here’s the scenario and what I’d like you to do.

You’re working for a company which sells jewelry. The company has just introduced a high-ticket medical id bracelet. The bracelet itself simply contains the basic medical information you’d find in a plain, metal medical alert bracelet for $15-$20 — but it comes in a variety of precious metals with precious and semi-precious stone options.

You job is to write three paragraphs of ad copy for a web page which will both describe and “sell” the bracelets — which have a price range of $250-$600.

My “assignment” for you is NOT to write the ad copy but to answer this question:

What are the two most important factors you would consider in writing that ad copy?

In other words, don’t write ad copy, but tell me what you would do given the specifics of these high-end medical id bracelets that would guide you in writing the ad copy.

Is that clear enough? I invite you to leave comments and tell me your thinking and the process you would use. I hope we can get some discussion going here that will benefit all of us copywriters and copywriter wannabes.

Technorati Tags: writing ad copy, selling on the Internet, writing tips at garyspeer.com