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Five Tips to Speed Your Writing in Microsoft Word

A Microsoft Word license comes as standard issue on many company computers these days, so chances are good it’s your go-to software for writing copy.

Whether you’re new to the software or you’ve been using it for a while, here are a few tips and reminders to save you some time as you write.

  1. Type anywhere. If you want to start your copy in the middle of the page, at the bottom, or just a few rows down, you don’t need to hit your keyboard’s “enter” key fifteen times to get there. All you have to do is point your mouse to where you want the text to start and then double-click. Word will move your cursor there and—voila—you’re ready to start typing.
  2. Save your styles. If you create a monthly or recurring document—such as a newsletter or report—saving your formatting as a custom style can save you time so you don’t have to search for the correct font type and size every time. Simply format the text how you want it to look, then go to the dropdown menu in “Styles” on the Home tab and select “Create a Style.” From here you can name the style and modify it for more detailed settings. Click “Modify,” and at the bottom of the window select “New documents based on this template.” It will then appear in your Styles menu to apply to future documents. You can also save table styles in a similar manner. After you insert a table into your document, you can modify an existing table style or create a new one from scratch by going to the Table Styles dropdown menu on the Table Tools “Design” tab.
  3. Know the difference between sharing and sending. Office 365 gives you several options for allowing external users to access your document. This can either be very helpful or very dangerous if you aren’t aware of the differences between them. We’ll focus on the three most easily confused options here.

When you click on “Share” on the File tab, the first option you’ll see is “Share with people.” This option allows you to give other individuals permission to either view or edit your document, depending on the permission you give them. This is not a stagnant copy—they are able to see the document that you have saved in your files, so they’ll be able to see any changes you make to it in the future. Only the individuals you give permission to will be able to access the document; any individuals they forward their document access links to won’t be able to access it.

The next option, “Email,” opens another world of options for sending the document. The first one, “Send as an attachment,” lets you send a stagnant copy of the document as an email attachment through Outlook. This is a separate copy from what you have saved in your files, so the individual you send it to will be able to see the document only as it looks at the point in time you send it. If you want them to see any changes you make to it in the future, you will need to either send them another copy as an attachment or share it in a different way.

The second choice under “Email” is “Send a Link.” This is very similar to “Share with people” with one notable difference. When you use this option, the individual receiving the access link can forward the link to someone else, who then also will have access to the document.

  1. Track changes and lock tracking. When you’re editing a document for someone else, “Track Changes” on the Review tab can be a very useful tool for letting them know what changes you made to the document.

If you’re having someone else edit your document, you can make sure that every change is accounted for with the “Lock Tracking” option in the Track Changes dropdown menu. This lets you select a password to be required in order to turn off Track Changes.

  1. Document comparison. If someone gets around “Locked Tracking,” or another scenario finds you needing to know the differences between two documents, the “Compare” option on the Review tab will be monumentally helpful.

The pop-up menu allows you to choose the level of detail that you want to compare. For example, if someone copied your text into a new document and changed it from there, you can uncheck the “Formatting” and “Headers and footers” boxes so you’re not bogged down reviewing changes you’re not interested in.

Half an hour this week.

Microsoft Word is rich in features to make your document and copy creation quicker and easier. If you use it often, take half an hour out of your week to explore the menu options—you may be surprised at what you find to speed up your tasks.

There’s a popular question in today’s business circles we might adapt to Christian radio.  It’s this. “What do Christian radio listeners ‘hire’ my radio ministry to do for them?”

One way to answer that question is to find out why people listen to Christian radio. The Finney Media Why Listen?® 2018 survey did just that. From the results, we can safely say this:

The destination for listeners is a station that fulfills their expectations.

In the Why Listen 2018 study, respondents rated the importance of possible reasons for listening using a simple scale.  This year we included in our survey I “want to worship God throughout the day” as a reason—and it resonated.  You can see that this is the number one reason across all Christian formatted radio why a listener stays tuned to your station or program.

Surprise #1 Reason—you help her worship God throughout the day!

The chart below expands on the reasons:

Several important findings emerge from these reasons for an expectation of listening:

Tier 1. The top three reasons listener tune to Christian radio are: Leading in worship, fostering spiritual growth and being encouraged. There is a significant gap in ratings between the top-rated reasons and the next category of items.
Tier 2. You will see a shift to the listener acquiring information with a secondary priority on protection from unhealthy influences.

It’s clear that a driving force for a listener is to engage in worshipful, emotionally connective, spiritually encouraging—relational—experiences with a supporting emphasis on intentional gleanings about God and the Bible.

What do these survey results mean for you as you pray, plan and act?

Strive for content that is highly interesting/relational to your listener. Work toward presenting it in a way that is Biblically bold, spiritually encouraging and widely accessible.

There’s more coming from the Why Listen2018 survey.  Stay tuned for the upcoming Momentum workshop on the Findex™, a Webinar coming in late September about notable changes in survey resultssince 2016 and a Why Listen white paper later this year.

And, if you couldn’t attend the recent Webinar, you’ll find theFirst Results powerpoint and a link to view the webinar recording HERE.

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How often do you grab your mobile phone and tap your navigation app to find directions to a new store or other location? You need to list your current location and destination. You’re asked whether you want to travel on main or secondary roads, drive on toll roads or not, want the shortest route or the fastest route and more.

You’ll want to know where the heavy traffic is, and you can request an alternative route. You can request to avoid construction zones.

Punch in your data and, voila, you have either printed, audio and or visual instructions. All you must do is drive. And, someday soon, your car will do that for you!

As a leader in Christian radio, you help your listeners navigate the ‘media map’.There are scores of highways and roads they can take to their destinations. They are looking for a radio station or stations like yours that match their reasons for listening and meet their expectations for content and connection. They want to access your programming in the most convenient ways to them.

The navigation software on your smart phone is built on a foundation of billions of bits of data (your location, highway numbers, etc.). Similarly, when making decisions about radio programming, knowing what your listeners say helps you make data-informed decisions in programming, promotion, donor development and other key areas. The days of going with your gutin programming and promotion or guessing about what listeners expect are over.

Finney Media completed its second, ground-breaking studyof why people listen to Christian radio stations and programs (Why Listen 2018). In early 2018, subscribers sent links to a carefully crafted online questionnaire to hundreds of thousands of listeners of Christian music and Spoken Word (teaching/talk radio stations and syndicated programs) stations and programs.

Tuesday, June 26, in a First Results Webinar, Chuck Finney will lay out the first key findings.  REGISTER HERE.  And, hang on for an eye-opening ride!

 

Read Part I in our Editing Series HERE.

Editing is a must in nearly every area of media. No matter what your job description is, chances are at some point you’ve had a co-worker, manager, or employee come to you and ask if you’ll read through and edit something he or she wrote. It’s good to have a working knowledge of how to edit and give feedback in a way that’s both constructive and efficient. So, whether you’ve never edited another person’s work or you do it all the time, here are helpful tips to make the process a little smoother:

  1. Ask the writer what kind of edit he or she is looking for.Just general feedback? Or a more detailed examination? Grammar and punctuation? A proofread only? This will help you use your time in a way that’s most advantageous to both of you by allowing you to focus on what the writer really needs.
  2. Read the whole thing as a unit. This is an important step for several reasons. First, it allows you to understand the piece as a whole and what the individual is trying to communicate. Secondly, you get a grasp of what kind of changes need to be made. Do a few sentences need to be moved around? Or does the entire thing need to be reworked? This can be hard to see if you’re stopping to make copious notes the first time you read it.
  3. Identify what you like about it.Whenever you’re in a situation that requires giving negative feedback, the “management sandwich” is a great technique to follow. If you’re not familiar, it involves giving the negative feedback (as the “meat” of the conversation) sandwiched between two pieces of positive feedback (as the “bread” on the front and back end). Getting critiqued in any area can be difficult to take, so building up the individual during this process can encourage the confidence he or she needs to tackle making those corrections.
  4. Track your changes. Rather than typing or writing out a list of corrections the writer needs to make, it’s helpful to make your changes and comments within the text itself. Either print out the piece and use a red pen to mark it up, or use an electronic software with a change tracking tool such as Microsoft Word.
  5. Be kind.Although honesty is essential in editing, try to word your comments in a way that keeps the writer’s feelings in mind. Instead of “this sentence is a mess,” try “I didn’t quite understand your point here.”
  6. Give ideas to improve.If you can, it’s helpful to give specific direction to the writer regarding what needs to be fixed. Instead of just pointing out what’s wrong (e.g., “You didn’t include all of the information”), try to tell them how they can do it right (e.g., “Be sure to add information about signing up and donating”).
  7. Don’t impose your voice.There is such a thing as too much editing. Remember that there’s often more than one way to say what the writer is trying to communicate, so just because it isn’t the way you would say it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the wrong way to do it. Of course, when the writer is needing to match a company brand, this doesn’t apply.

As with all skills, editing well takes practice. If it’s too much to remember all of these tips at once, pick one or two you can apply the next time you edit something. You’ll find that over time, they’ll become second nature to you.

Editing is an important skill in every media area. Whether you’re planning for on-air content, updating your station or ministry website, sending out funding letters or even internal and external communications and newsletters, you are writing!

Want to step up your game? Start with self-editing.

Let’s be clear that having to edit your work doesn’t mean you’re a bad writer! First writing drafts are rarely ready for print.  Professional authors go through several editing rounds before their works are released.

Editing is simply part of the process of developing what you want to say and how you want to say it in the best way.

Yes, ideally, it’s helpful to have someone else read your work and give you feedback. But learning to edit your own writing is a highly desirable skill for two reasons: First, no one else may be available to read what you wrote right now. If you’ve got a quick deadline and everyone’s busy, it’s up to you to make sure what you wrote is ready for your reader. Secondly, even if someone else is available and willing to read it for you, it’s helpful to make sure it’s as close to final as possible so he or she isn’t spending unnecessary time and effort on extensive edits.

But editing your own work is hard.

It’s not the most natural thing in the world for you to edit something you wrote. We are often blind to our own flaws. Additionally, it’s hard to get outside of your own head to determine whether what you wrote will make sense to someone else.

Unintentionally garbled communication is a problem that dates back to the Tower of Babel! If this sounds like you, here are tips to help you edit your own work.

  1. Walk Away. If you’re up against a tight deadline, this may not be possible. In that case, skip this tip and move on to the next one. But if you have the time, it can be helpful to give your mind a rest from what you wrote so you can come back and look at it with fresh eyes. This doesn’t have to involve a long span of time—a quick coffee break or chat with a co-worker at the water cooler is enough. And you don’t even have to literally walk away either. Simply working on something else for a short time will help you to switch gears before coming back to edit.
  2. Read it Aloud.The biggest obstacle in learning to edit your own work is learning to spot the flaws. Even seemingly obvious spelling errors can become invisible, since your brain knows what you meant to communicate and the brain fills in the gaps as you read. Reading your work out loud forces you to slow down and seeevery word as you say it. Additionally, hearing yourself say what you wrote will better let you hearany awkward phrasing or wording that could be improved.
  3. Use a thesaurus. If you find yourself using the same words over and over again, or if the words you’ve chosen aren’t quite conveying your meaning, go to thesaurus.com or some other synonym-finder to find just the right word.
  4. Use dynamic verbs.A good way to spruce up your writing is to replace common, stale verbs (like sit, walk, or say) with verbs that really describe the action (such as plop, saunter, or declare). Again, a thesaurus is your friend here.
  5. Avoid homophone mix-ups.Words like they’re, there, and their are easy to confuse with one another if you’re not paying attention, especially if you’re up against a tight deadline. If you already struggle with swapping similar sounds, keep a list handy of the problem words and which ones to use where. When you’re reading through your work, circle or highlight all the places you use a homophone, and then double check each one to make sure it’s in the right spot.
  6. Kill your darlings.This phrase may sound unnecessarily violent, but it’s popular in writing circles because it conveys an important concept. Many times you’ll find you’ve come up with a brilliant sentence, paragraph, or idea, only to later find that it just doesn’t fit with the final product. Cut it, even if it’s on a tweetable level. If you find yourself hovering over the delete button because it is just so good, cut and paste the selection into another document to save for another purpose.
  7. Know when to quit. Even though you want your communication to be as good as it can be, make sure to prioritize when it comes to how much time you spend editing. This may be easy for some people, but if you’re prone to perfectionism, it can be tempting to agonize over just the right phrasing and rewrite over and over. If this is you, ask yourself what the consequences will be if you use your writing as is. If the stakes are relatively low, set yourself a time limit and then stick to it.

These tips aren’t rigid rules for all editing. They’re meant to make things easier for you, so if one doesn’t work for you, skip it. Like most things in life, editing your own writing will take practice and patience before you become more comfortable with it, so give yourself grace as you develop this skill.

With folks on the go to the park, the pool and the back yard, your website will see more traction during the summer months.  It’s your welcoming summer porch, your home open to ministry.

Here are five fast (and inexpensive!) things you can do to make your digital home a welcoming place.

  1. Pray for your Website and your Digital Ministry

links to program partners and other outside content Do you cover your website and digital ministry in prayer? This is an area for your ministry where you may have staffers as well as maybe some contractors who are not believers (yet!).

  1. Make sure you have an opportunity for website visitors to “Listen Now” on everypage

Your live broadcast is still likely the heart of your ministry.  But with folks on the go, invite website visitors to “Listen Now” on the very top of your home page and at least once on every other page or in your header and footer, depending on how your site is organized.  Some media outlets will begin playing their live feed automatically when visitors come to their home page.  Visitors can listen to the live feed while otherwise engaging with your site, enabling you to reach them in a more in-depth way.  Also, as visitors leave your site, they may still leave the broadcast playing, further extending your ministry to them.

  1. Make sure your links to program partners and other outside content “Opens in a New Window”

Websites are great for giving people access to additional information by adding Hyperlinks. One typical example is to have links on your program guide to the ministries you are broadcasting.   While promoting our program partners and giving our listeners more information is helpful, we want to do that by opening a new website window rather than closing out of your website.  This enables the visitor to easily return to your site and to continue to engage with your ministry.

  1. Bring your Social Media into your website

Many broadcast ministries have very limited staff and time to keep their website presence fresh and interactive.  One easy way to keep the site current is to leverage your social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) which you are already populating.   By integrating these accounts on your website, the latest content always appears and there even can be some two-way communication with your audience based on efforts your staff / volunteers already are performing.  This also brings a regular presence of “story” into this part of your ministry, something as important for your website as for your on-air presence.

  1. Regularly review how your site works on mobile devices

Over 56% of website visits are now happening over mobile devices. While this percentage may be a little lower for US-based Christian broadcast ministries, we still can see the importance of having your website working well for those using a smartphone or other device.  There may be a little more investment here, but there are many “Mobile Responsive” tools and templates to get your site working well across all devices.

While you can’t share lemonade on your website (yet!), it is your home base for your Digital Ministry and a frequent summer presence.  Paying heed will keep your listener coming back for more this summer.

Review our Digital Coaching Offering online or email chuck@finneymedia.com to learn more about our services in this important ministry area.

 

 

 

 

The June 2018 Finney Fast Five reports that in multiple markets across North America, Contemporary Christian Music Radio listeners say the top songs they want from you are songs by…

Chris Tomlin.

Maybe you’ve wondered about worship music. So let us say it clearly. Worship scores very well in music test after music test. And as for specific songs, Chris Tomlin resonates over and over. Six of the top ten. Three of the top five.

Worship is big with listeners, and Chris Tomlin leads that like no one else right now.

Today’s Big Question from Today’s Big Headline: Does my music rotation reflect this listener desire?

In our SEO Blog Part One we talked about laying the groundwork for an SEO revamp. The goal … get more people to visit your website and cause them to fall in love with your station.

We discussed what it takes to be noticed; in the same way that God pursues us, you should pursue potential listeners. The goal … that they will fall in love with your station, because they have been blessed by it.

We talked about making your website genuine and personal. You can’t eliminate the competition, but you can set yourself apart.

PART TWO – THE HEADLINE! There’s an art to creating copy that is both persuasive and discoverable by search engines. Understanding how algorithm signals are located is important in your “ranking”. Understanding what makes great copy is the key to attracting your listeners. Marrying the two … well, that’s a skill … especially when it comes to your headline. The most important SEO element, in all cases, is the headline.

So before you create an SEO optimized headline, ask yourself this question FIRST: “What do potential listeners want?” (Choose one)

1. 24-7 Commercial-Free Christian Radio. All Your Favorite Music, Worship and Hymns OR

2. 101.5 FM, The Sonlight – Colorado’s Number One Christian Music Station

Now ask this question SECOND: “What do potential listeners search for?” (Choose one)

1. 24-7 Commercial-Free Christian Radio. All Your Favorite Music, Worship and Hymns OR

2. 101.5 FM, The Sonlight – Colorado’s Number One Christian Music Station

Are you having an “Ah-ha” moment right now?

Let’s approach it from another angle. Pretend you’re a new Christian, looking for some good, clean music. Go ahead and type in the Google search bar, “Christian Radio”. Here are the top search engine optimized headers in a Colorado location:

Listen to …… FM – Music on ChristianRadio.com! Listen to Christian radio in Colorado from the top Christian radio stations. Listen To Great Christian Music. Tune Into…

Enjoy free access….

These headlines remind us that there’s always room to grow. Here’s a few pointers:

1. Avoid the Old School: Starting with the call to action doesn’t work. Never start a relationship off with a demand. People are conditioned to say no. Plus … the seeker is already committed to listening, otherwise they wouldn’t be searching for a Christian radio station.

2. Great & Awesome: The words “great” and “awesome” aren’t good enough for savvy folks online most of the day. Everything is great … we all know that. Pizza is great, my teacher is great, makeup is great and my dog is great. God is great.

3. Bland & FREE: Enjoy instant access to free …” This works online. Fitting “Instant access” and “free” plus “Christian music” and “radio” all in one header is excellent, algorithmically speaking. If the searcher is already a Christian, it works.

4. Personally & Directly: Speak personally and directly to the seeker. This is the headline that isn’t “telling you what to do”. This headline simply addresses the seeker with an informative, compassionate, full sentence statement. People are looking for something positive. People are looking for encouragement. People are looking for LOVE.

5. It’s a feeling: When the listener feels like they’re being “cared for” rather than “catered to”, and when they get a sense of integrity and personable interaction from the station, they stay. Keep this in mind as you compose the headline of your SEO content. And here’s the deal breaker … 50 – 80% more people will see your headline than will actually read your descriptive body. So give them a warm, heartfelt introduction!

How about these? Here are some ideas to light up your brainstorming:

  • Uplifting, Inspiring, Solid Christian Music. Free online music for free people.
  • Joyful, Inspiring, Christian Family radio. Get free online music streaming 24-7.

WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? Think about it … how did God make Himself known to you? How did you feel when you were welcomed into the family of God? What continues to draw you to Him? The biblical answer is that He loved us first [1 John 4:19]. It is His kindness that leads us to repentance [Romans 2:4]. His favor is our desire. His beauty makes us stand in silence. His love … is better than life. **

Together we can share what we have already experienced—even in our SEO.

**From the song Kindness by Leslie Phillips

What’s on your mind?

Michael Stanier in his popular book The Coaching Habit suggests that questions, more than information, more than telling, more than directives, may take you further, faster and with more impact.

And according to A More Beautiful Question, Einstein, who began asking questions early and often, reckoned that if he had an hour to solve a problem and his life depended on it, he’d use 55 of those minutes making sure he was asking the right question.

Questions. Good ones can open up a conversation, take it to important places, find the long-term view, or move toward a powerful resolution.

And a question can keep a conversation open in someone’s heart all day long.

What questions rank at the top of this list? Here’s four to ponder.

  1. Why does this matter—what is the root challenge/problem?
  2. How can we make it bigger—or what if we don’t do anything?
  3. What would the solution be if I were someone younger/older/richer/poorer?
  4. If you say yes to this—to what will you say no?

Now, start your own collection…and discover for yourself what a difference an inquiring spirit brings to any conversation.

It’s said that Churchill read 5,000 books in his lifetime. Few would dispute that he was a gifted speaker. Most would suggest that there is a direct link between the content he continuously absorbed and his output. He’s a walking lesson for each of us as we prepare to talk, to minister, to connect on a near-daily basis—on our morning show or one on one encouraging a team member.

Here’s four practical ways you can begin today.

Save Key Website to Favorites. Radio show prep is easier than it has ever been, mostly due to online search being so very easy. There is powerful connective material to be found on these four sites, to get you started. Inspiremore.com sunnyskyz.com marcandangel.com huffintonpost.com/good-news

Keep track of others you find, and you’ll have an endless supply!

Ask Questions. Inspiration may not always flow – you may have to go after it. A few suggestions on questions to keep front of mind: What do surveys of listeners say? Coming soon: Finney Media Why Listen?® has ideas! What are your listeners talking about on social media? What are the books people are reading in Christian reading? See the Finney Fast Five on favorite books.

Outlining. No, not the kind we did in elementary school. But bullet points. Or circles of ideas. What exactly is it that your program or station wants to communicate? What do you want your listeners to take away from the 30-second break between songs? Listing these goals will help you focus and prioritize what airs and what doesn’t. A handy digital or paper journal is a personal treasure!

Personal Experience. Finally, personal experience ranks high as a great inspiration to your listeners. Never underestimate the power of stories – Jesus used them all the time, and the world has never been the same. Real life happens every week. Your struggle to forgive your sister, your joy at a recent wedding, and your grandchild’s efforts to speak clearly all provide powerful connective material.

How’s your inspiration quota? Take five and try one of these ideas this next week. We think you’ll be rewarded, and so will your listeners.

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