Writing Well: Small Business Workshop Series with Amy Lee Bell, Wednesdays, May 1-June 5

“The one easy way to become worth 50 percent more than you are now — at least — is to hone your communication skills — both written and verbal.” - Warren Buffett

In partnership with the Bourbon Economic Development Group, Crescenza Studio is pleased to offer a six-week workshop series: Writing Well: Small Business Workshop.

Wednesdays, 4:45pm CST, May 1st-June 5th

(We have a Thursday evening workshop series as well. If Thursdays are better for you, or if our Wednesday workshop fills up, you may register for our Thursday series instead. Thursday participants will not have the option to meet in person.) 

After purchasing this class, you will receive downloadable instructions via email.

Length: 6 weekly sessions, 75-90 minutes each

Wednesday Location Options:

• Bourbon American Legion Auxiliary--249 College Street, Bourbon, MO (Bring a laptop if you have one.)
• Virtual attendance via Zoom (Workshops will be cast live from Bourbon, MO.)

There is no registration deadline, but the Wednesday series is limited to twelve participants!

Writing is an essential part of business operation! Join our small group as we tackle some of the concepts that will make the biggest difference in your skill level! You'll receive expert guidance and plenty of hands-on experience in this fun, interactive 6-week workshop.

We will emphasize quality over quantity of concepts, so we may not get to everything. If attendees are interested in more hands-on writing practice after the workshop series is over, we plan to offer virtual monthly workshops as extension activities.

Each attendee should download the free app: IEW Writing Tools Lite.

Projected Writing Well: Small Business Workshop Syllabus

Session 1: Icebreaker and Introduction to Writing Strategies

75-90 minutes

1. Welcome and Introductions (~10 mins). 
2. Icebreaker: TBA (~15 mins). 
3. Introduction to Writing Strategies: Organizing your thoughts with an outline (~20 mins). 
4. Hands-on Activity: Crafting Attention-Grabbing Introductions and Hooks (~20 mins). 
5. Q&A and Optional Homework Assignment: Write a short blurb about your business for the next class. Add a hook (~10 mins). 

Session 2: Harnessing ChatGPT for Effective Business Writing

75-90 minutes

1. Review Homework Blurbs (~15 mins). 
2. Lecture: Utilizing ChatGPT Literacy & Manipulation (~15 mins). 
3. Hands-on Activity: Crafting Business Blurbs and Hooks with ChatGPT (~5 mins). 
4. Hands-on Writing: Sentence Openers (~20 mins). 
5. Group Analysis: Improving GPT-generated Blurbs (~10 mins). 
6. Q&A and Optional Homework Assignment: Refine your business blurb (~10 mins). 

Session 3: Elevating Your Writing Through Word Choice

75-90 minutes

1. Recap and Feedback on Homework Blurbs (~15 mins). 
2. Lecture: Word Choice Improvements and Writing Tools (~15 mins). 
3. Group Activity: Outlining a content calendar for your business (~25 mins). 
4. Hands-on Writing: Crafting Concise and Engaging Sentences (~15 mins). 
5. Q&A and Optional Homework Assignment: Apply word choice and/or sentence opener improvements to an existing paragraph from your website or social media page (~5 mins). 

Session 4: Effective Brainstorming for Business

75-90 minutes

1. Quick Review of Previous Homework (~10 mins). 
2. Lecture: Business-Related Brainstorming Methods--overview of Medici, Six Thinking Hats, Reverse Thinking, etc. (~10 mins).
3. Group Exercise: Develop Business Ideas Using Brainstorming Techniques (~40 mins). 
4. Hands-on Writing: SWOT Analysis for Individual Businesses (~10 mins). 
5. Q&A and Optional Homework Assignment: Outline a content calendar for your business (~5 mins). 

Session 5: Crafting Compelling Content for Business Growth

75-90 minutes

1. Review Content Calendar Homework (~10 mins). 
2. Lecture: The Importance of Content Marketing + Strategies (~20 mins). 
3. Group Discussion: Applying Content Marketing in Different Industries (~10 mins). 
4. Hands-on Activity: Crafting a Blog Post Outline (~30 mins). 
5. Q&A and Optional Homework Assignment: Write a draft of your business blog post (~5 mins). 

Session 6: Putting It All Together for Local Impact

75-90 minutes

1. Review Blog Post Drafts (~15 mins). 
2. Group Discussion or Clarifying Activities (~20 mins). 
3. Hands-on Writing: Finalize Blurb with Local Tourism in Mind (~15 mins). 
4. Group Activity: Crafting an Elevator Pitch for Local Tourism (~20 mins). 
5. Q&A and Closing Remarks: (~5 mins).

Amy Lee Bell is a registered writing instructor through the Institute for Excellence in Writing. You can visit her instructor page here.

If a participant is unable to complete the series for some reason, they will still have access to our weekly class recordings. :)