Linda Dessau’s Style Guide for Coaches Who Write

Welcome to the sixth stop of the official blog tour for Linda Dessau’s new book, The Customizable Style Guide for Coaches Who Write. Linda not only edited my book Does This Blogsite Make My Wallet Look Fat? she gave me guidance and fabulous suggestions for my book that were both spot on and funny!

Linda and I have had numerous conversataions about writing and encouraging other coaches to write and write well. I like to encourage coaches to write because I know first hand that coaches who write do attract more clients, make more money and attract more speaking assignments.

Why you should make room for this book beside your computer:

I wasn’t always a big fan of writing. Back in 2004 when I started to build my coaching business, I attended a business building workshop specifically for coaches. We were encouraged to write newsletters as a way to keep in touch and build a trusting relationship with those who were interested in what we offered and what we had to say. I remember thinking to myself “Well that’s a good idea for those who like to write. I hate writing that’s why I studied math and computer science!”

A few months later, I hired that coach and he said to me “Sandra your first step in starting a coaching business is to start a newsletter.” I stubbornly replied “No, I don’t think you know me well enough to say that. English was one of my weakest subjects in high school. I am not a writer.” “Sandra, if you trust me you will send me a draft of your newsletter by Friday.” I trusted him and I never looked back. I’ve been writing my newsletter for over 3 years now. I’ve also written a few blogs, magazine articles, e-books and had a book published. So if I, the anti-writer, have changed my ways, then anyone can. Thanks to Linda’s style guide your writing process will not be as painful or filled with resistance as my journey was.

How this book makes your life easier as a coach:

In Linda’s book she covers six main benefits of using a style guide. They are:

• Confidence.
• Consistency
• Credibility
• Speed
• Readability
• Efficiency

A style guide will increase your confidence so that you keep writing. Keep your writing style and formatting consistent so you don’t hurt the eyes of your readers, (this has happened to me!) It will build your credibility as a coach and an expert in your area of expertise. As with any guide, a style guide will also speed up your writing and increase your efficiency. What good would an article for your target market be if it was too difficult to read or written for a 7-year-old? A style guide will gear your writing to the audience who will read it.
I’m a big fan of resources and tools. Give me a website were I can look something up quickly and move on with my work and I’m a happy writer! Linda has done a fabulous job researching a number of fabulous tools and giving us her top picks in this book.

What made me smile from ear to ear when I read this book:

There are two chapters in this book that I think will make a huge difference for any coach who uses the internet to promote their business (I’m a bit biased, but the internet is the best tool to promote your business and usually for free!). These two chapters are “Writing for the Web” and “Writing Emails”. You will thank Linda for including these chapters!

How to make your life easier:

This book is not just a style guide, it includes business tips, inspiration and some virtual hand holding. Buy this book and keep it by your computer, but only if you like to make your life easier!

More on this book:

Learn more great things about Linda’s cool new book by visiting her site ForCoachesWhoWrite.com or follow the other bloggers on her blog book tour. Tomorrow the blog tour continues with Laura West at her blog Cafe Entrepreneur.

If you like this post, please consider buying me a coffee.

Written by Sandra De Freitas

Check out our other blog:
WordPressBlogsites.com