In each of my business relationships, I expect that mutual respect and trust be essential ingredients in my association with the other individual. If one or both traits do not exist, then the relationship shouldn’t proceed any further.

So, what do you do when you have an uncomfortable or odd feeling about working for someone, but you can’t put your finger on it? Should you continue the business relationship or move on?

I really cannot answer these questions for you, but I have learned that in my many years of working for or with people that it is simply fine just to move on. In other words, if I believe that a business relationship is not mutually satisfying, than it is okay to end it. There are plenty of employers out there and plenty of other projects to work on. The same can be said about the other person: if you leave them or they drop you, they will find someone else.

In my opinion, you need not have a specific or tangible reason either. Sometimes you have a gut reaction to a particular project while other times there may be something about the project that simply goes against your principles or just doesn’t sit well with you. No matter, simply end the business relationship and move on.

How you end the relationship is up to you. If you want to leave a door open, telling the person that you are busy with other projects is fine. If you want to shut the door, you can tell them specifically why you no longer want to work for this person.

In all cases, season your words with kindness, but don’t waffle and certainly don’t tell lies. You can’t worry about what others think about you; to do so is a waste of time and will certainly impact your ability to develop new and solid business relationships down the line.

Come on, admit it: Whether you’re a professional writer or not we all draw a blank when we want to write an ezine article.

I’ve found an answer to that dilemma that will get you writing in no time so that you can publish your ezine article and begin to receive that new wave of subscribers you’ve been hoping for. Here’s how to get the lead out if you draw a blank:

1. Write your action steps first.

Forget about the catchy headline and attractive lead paragraph for now. There’s no use in cleverly leading a reader into an article that has no real value to them. So start where you build your credibility, right in the action steps. Of course you want to identify your subject and then tell them how to make their lives easier. For instance, plumbers are always going to have to fix pipes, it’s the nature of their business. If you have an ezine to others in the plumbing industry, write about a new technique in the industry on sealing pipes or preparing them for the winter, etc.

2. Save the best for last.

There’s something called takeaway or take-home that should be in every one of your articles. It’s your last chance to tell your audience, “I know my stuff.” Try to put that key piece of information in the last paragraph of your article and you’ll want it to be something your reader can do as soon as he or she finishes reading your article. If you’re writing to accounts payable clerks, you’d tell them ways to get each department to get approvals on all purchase orders before submitting them. A/P clerks would just eat that up. It’s their number one gripe. Bottom line: Give your audience something they can do immediately at the very end of your article. They’ll remember your name and become devotees for life- hanging from your every word.

3. Get excited about the benefits.

After you’ve taken care of the credibility building portion of your article, you have to draw the reader in and whet their appetite for all this great information. By the way, if you write the action steps and take-home first, this part will be easier because you’ll be so excited about the information you’ll see the benefits of it. And that’s what writing lead paragraphs and headlines is all about: benefits to your readers.

Your final take-home advice

No matter what you do, when you’re writing to an ezine audience, always include an “About the Author” blurb (some call this a sig file, short for signature file) and a plug for anything new you’re into. To do this, determine what you want the reader to do after he or she is finished reading. Do you want the to subscribe to your ezine? Buy your new ebook? Or just visit or site? Whatever the benefit to you is, identify it before you write your “About the Author” section. And you can write this at any time because it’s separate from the article and you can use the same “About the Author” blurb for multiple articles. As a matter of fact, you could write one right now. Check out the one I’m using at the bottom of this article.

(c) 2003-2005 Lisa Sparks

Come on, admit it: Whether you’re a professional writer or not we all draw a blank when we want to write an ezine article.

I’ve found an answer to that dilemma that will get you writing in no time so that you can publish your ezine article and begin to receive that new wave of subscribers you’ve been hoping for. Here’s how to get the lead out if you draw a blank:

1. Write your action steps first.

Forget about the catchy headline and attractive lead paragraph for now. There’s no use in cleverly leading a reader into an article that has no real value to them. So start where you build your credibility, right in the action steps. Of course you want to identify your subject and then tell them how to make their lives easier. For instance, plumbers are always going to have to fix pipes, it’s the nature of their business. If you have an ezine to others in the plumbing industry, write about a new technique in the industry on sealing pipes or preparing them for the winter, etc.

2. Save the best for last.

There’s something called takeaway or take-home that should be in every one of your articles. It’s your last chance to tell your audience, “I know my stuff.” Try to put that key piece of information in the last paragraph of your article and you’ll want it to be something your reader can do as soon as he or she finishes reading your article. If you’re writing to accounts payable clerks, you’d tell them ways to get each department to get approvals on all purchase orders before submitting them. A/P clerks would just eat that up. It’s their number one gripe. Bottom line: Give your audience something they can do immediately at the very end of your article. They’ll remember your name and become devotees for life- hanging from your every word.

3. Get excited about the benefits.

After you’ve taken care of the credibility building portion of your article, you have to draw the reader in and whet their appetite for all this great information. By the way, if you write the action steps and take-home first, this part will be easier because you’ll be so excited about the information you’ll see the benefits of it. And that’s what writing lead paragraphs and headlines is all about: benefits to your readers.

Your final take-home advice

No matter what you do, when you’re writing to an ezine audience, always include an “About the Author” blurb (some call this a sig file, short for signature file) and a plug for anything new you’re into. To do this, determine what you want the reader to do after he or she is finished reading. Do you want the to subscribe to your ezine? Buy your new ebook? Or just visit or site? Whatever the benefit to you is, identify it before you write your “About the Author” section. And you can write this at any time because it’s separate from the article and you can use the same “About the Author” blurb for multiple articles. As a matter of fact, you could write one right now. Check out the one I’m using at the bottom of this article.

(c) 2003-2005 Lisa Sparks