Legal and Business Writing Consultant : Lori Herz : Write For Clients : Professional Writing and Online Content Consulting

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I’m planning to regularly round up writing and communications tips I’ve culled from my feeds and daily Web work.

To start off with a theme of sorts, I found a few recent tip sheets organized around the number 5.

First up are Five Tips for Writing Great Web Content brought to us by the Daily Writing Tips blog. They stress the importance of using a clear, jargon-free and conversational writing style.

Next, internet marketing strategist Lee Odden offers Five Tips for Content Distribution Networks. One of the best ways for service professionals to gain visibility on the Web and elsewhere is to produce written content that addresses the needs, interests or problems of the people you work with and want to work with.

But, as Odden points out, production is just one part of the equation. You also need to make the content readily available for consumption. Odden identifies several main distribution routes, including:

• Blogs

• E-Newsletters

• News Organizations

• Social Networking Sites

Next, Brian Clark of Copyblogger sets out Five Steps to a Truly Unique Blog. The two steps that stand out for me are:

• Identify the Difference

• Maintain Your Credibility

Taken together, they point up that your business writing (and your readers) will usually benefit from your unique perspective if it’s anchored in your authenticity instead of “false confidence or arrogance.”

Rounding out this roundup is a comprehensive listing of 150 Resources to Help You Write Better (yes, it’s a mid-span “5” tipped by Raymond Ward at the (new) legal writer blog ). Among other material, this roster comprises online:

• Almanacs

• Citation Guides

• Dictionaries

• News Media Resources