Are you talking to your customer?

One-to-one relationships are important in any business, and they're harder to achieve in cyberspace. Your writing style has a lot to do with your ability to form such relationships. If you write stilted, formal messages, you'll put readers off. But if you speak to readers as individuals, you'll invite personal relationships that are a foundation of repeat business.

When composing e-mail, brochures, or other online messages, use personal pronouns rather than third-person pronouns. Say "I" or "we" or "you" or "our" rather than "they" or "his" or "its." Using personal pronouns helps bring the reader (and the sale) that much closer.