Q. Will you teach me how to write better?

A. Sure! Here’s how to write better, in six simple steps:

1. Write regularly in a journal or blog to practice articulating your thoughts and ideas.
2. Write like you speak, using a conversational tone. Stuck? Record and transcribe your message, which will give you an editable first draft.
3. Determine your goal. What do you want to tell readers and why? What do you want them to think, feel, know or do after reading what you wrote? Put your answers to these questions in order and you have your writing outline.
4. Write a beginning, middle and an end, following my Hook, Line and Sinker method. To do this, simply pique readers’ interest at the beginning of your copy, tell them the features and benefits of your solution in the middle, and include a call to action at the end. Stuck? Finish this sentence and you have your opening: “I’m writing to tell you that ______.” (Just be sure to delete the “I’m writing to tell you that” part.)
5. Edit. Shorten and simplify what you wrote, keeping in mind that, when it comes to copy, less is more.
6. Proofread. Run your spelling and grammar checks. Then proofread what you wrote on paper to ensure it makes sense. Have others proofread your writing as well. Your copy should be error free. Read The Elements of Style (4th Edition) to brush up on your grammar skills, or have an editor proofread your writing for you.

For more copywriting inspiration, check out:

• “A Short Guide to Writing Good Copy,” by Kelton Reid, Director of Marketing for Copyblogger Media’s StudioPress division. In his article, he quotes Albert Einstein, who said: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” So true.
• “How to Write Copy” by Copywriter Damon Verial. It’s clear when reading this free, nine-part series that Damon has studied, learned from, and applied copywriting best practices from the masters — making him a copywriting master, too.
• Peruse writings from those I’ve listed in “A List of Copywriting Masters to Learn From.”

Melanie Lundheim of Good Copy Fast has more than 30,000 hours of business-writing experience. Her clear, concise style helps increase the chances that what she writes gets read.