So what's the difference between business writing and effective business writing?

Business writing is just words on a page (or website, e-mail, etc.) coming from a business.

Effective business writing is also words on a page, but these are words that have asked the question: "What does my reader want?" And then they proceed to give the reader what he's after.

That, of course, is the theme for this website and is showcased under my article called "Business Writing Tip." But effective business writing -- the writing itself -- also involves the quality of the writing. Here are some of my key ingredients to really effective business writing:

• It's interesting. If you're writing about something your reader really wants, you're likely to nail the whole interest thing anyway. But there are interesting ways to tell things, and there are yawners. People like stories, facts, and statistics. They seldom enjoy technical manuals. Keep this general preference in mind.
• It's easy to understand. Unless you're selling to MENSA members or Scrabble enthusiasts, complicated words are more likely to deter readers than to encourage them. In most circumstances, use words that you'd use in everyday conversation to keep your reader with you.
• It's easy to read. This involves formatting, which I consider part of writing. Short paragraphs with spaces between them, SECTION HEADERS to help guide readers through the content, bullet points and highlights, and a logical order to the content all help people to breeze through a document rather than struggling through it.

Of course none of this negates the need for clean grammar and use of punctuation. Most people will forgive you on technical matters of language to a point, but don't push your luck on this or you may find people wondering if sloppy writing translates into low-grade products or services.

Remember, people DO judge books by their covers. Effective business writing is the cover to your entire business.