Archive for the ‘business writing’ Category

Sure.  Not all business communication is a piece of marketing.  You may not think of an account control letter or appointment reminder as needing a deft copywriter’s touch.

But consider why you’re putting the message out there in the first place.  You want the reader to DO SOMETHING.  That means you need to provide some compelling reason why they should.

That’s the best reason to use a copywriter.  Because they write business communication that propels readers into action.

Copywriters structure your communication and choose words or language to motivate.  Some of the key elements business writers use include:

• Sure fire winners
  Some words and phrases just work better.  Even everyday business writing can harnesses emotive language for better results.  Take the proven performer, How to, for example.
  Account activation … or How to activate your account

• The right offer
  Yep.  What’s in it for me … again.  Any business writing can be couched in the context of a reader benefit:
  Now you can forget about those dirty floors.  Your Clean-A-Carpet booking is confirmed.

• Call to action
  Every business letter has a purpose.  If your business writing is up to speed, this can also be an opportunity.
  Finished a job?  Get referrals.

Spur the reader on to act.  That’s the purpose of nearly every piece of business communication you will ever publish.  Well written communication not improves your message quality and response level.  It’s good business practice.

3 take away tips

1. The purpose of most business communication is to get the reader to act.
2. Even everyday business communication can benefit from a copywriter’s touch.
3. Well written communication reflects positively on you and your business.

Me or you focus

Read through your content critically.  Is it saturated with the pronoun We?  Does Our make a frequent appearance?  If the answer is yes, there’s a good chance your copywriting has missed its audience focus.

Readers find second person, conversational content more engaging.  Talk with your reader, not at them.  Change ‘We’ and ‘Our’ for ‘You’ and ‘Your’ right through the content to alter its emphasis.

Make it easy

Content formatting has a huge impact on what gets read.  We’re not talking about design here.  The fact is, most readers browse through headings, bullets and break-out text before taking on the whole article.

To make it simple for readers to find the information they’re after, your copywriting should include:

• Bullets – used judiciously to highlight really important points
• Headings – to give a clear indication what readers can expect

How well is your content laid out?

Is it believable

There’s plenty of marketing content out there brimming with empty claims like:

We’re the best”

So what sets your business apart?  Proof.  If your copy is just telling readers how great you are, time to present some facts:

In a recent survey, 9 out of 10 customers said they’d recommend us to family and friends”

No such data?  No problem.  There’s a raft of studies and research available online you can quote or refer to.  Connect with a genuine selling benefit to add real strength.

Sell the benefits

Buying decisions are emotional, because prospects are looking to fulfil a need.  They will make a buying decision to feel happier, safer, smarter, beautiful etc.  To be effective, your copywriting needs to present benefits in response to key motivators.  Does yours?

If your content is feature heavy, it’s much less likely to be persuasive.  Features and facts are what people use to justify their decision after the purchase.  If your copywriting gets into product nitty gritty without offering a positive, outcome focus, you’re selling features instead of benefits.

Call to action

Even the most engaged and motivated reader can be left dangling (and precariously close to checking out the competition) if you don’t ask them to act.  A call to action is an essential ingredient in every piece of marketing communication.  Yours especially.

3 take away tips

1. As per marketing 101, create content with an audience focus.
2. Your content layout has almost as much impact as what it says.
3. Buying decisions are emotional so sell benefits over features.

There’s been quite a few posts lately setting us straight on business writing.   Two I’ve seen this week are Three people who should not be writing your content and 10 Things Never to Tell Sales Prospects.  The fact is, most businesses need an internal level of writing expertise.  It’s simply not feasible to send every client letter out for copywriting.

At the same time, the simplest things are often what lets business writing down.  Spelling and grammatical errors that could easily be eliminated by proof reading.  Or simply using the wrong word.

Here, in no particular order, are 10 business writing bloopers where spell check won’t help …

Whether / Weather

Weather is today’s temperature and the chance of rain.
Whether is a choice between two or more options.

Compliment / Complement

A compliment is a nice thing someone says about you.
Complement is when one thing completes another.

Check / Cheque

Check is what you do to make certain the door is locked.
A cheque is what you write to pay someone money.

Accept / Except

Accept is when you willingly take something like a gift, or a ride home.
Except means not included, like when you don’t eat the red smarties.

Assure / Ensure

Assure is a promise or undertaking you make to others.
Ensure is making certain about something.

Principal / Principle

Principal means most important, so the main point you’d like to make.
Principle is an ethic or code of conduct you observe.

Affect / Effect

Affect is when you cause something else to happen.
Effect is the end result.

Diffuse / Defuse

Diffuse means spreading out, like what the cover over your fluorescent light does.
Defuse is what they do with bombs … or when you take the heat out of an argument.

Discreet / Discrete

Discreet means showing good judgement, especially in the way you do things.
Discrete means something completely separate, individual or distinct.

Premier / Premiere

Premier is a person or thing of the highest rank and importance.
Premiere means the very first public showing or performance.

While I’m at it, here’s a couple of little words that trip a lot of business writers up:

• Criteria
• Data

Guess what?  Both of these are actually plural.  If you ever need to refer to either in their singular form, use:

• Criterion
• Datum

Every piece of writing you or your organisation produce is out there speaking for the business.  So don’t write double Dutch.  Keep your professional reputation intact and banish the bloopers.

3 take away tips

1. Most businesses need some form of internal writing expertise.
2. Proof reading business communication can reduce writing errors.
3. All business writing can reflect on your professional reputation.

Sure, I’ve had a copy for a while, but only just sat down to watch that epic movie Invictus.  It’s set in South Africa during the time Nelson Mandella was released from prison and elected president.  I honestly thought it was going to be start-to-finish Rugby.  That, frankly, is the reason for leaving it so long before taking a look.

Uniting his people

In fact, throughout the whole movie, Mandella is looking for opportunities to bring the people of South Africa together.  You see, with the passing of Apartheid and his own elevation, the country was split.  Factions from every side were pulling in different directions.  Its newly elected president recognised there would be no moving forward until South Africa was unified.

It’s a powerful message, and one that applies to business communication also.  Why?  I’m glad you asked.

Most business marketing needs to communicate multiple benefits.  All too often, that translates through the copywriting as multiple messages.  In fact, successful business marketing unifies those benefits with one big idea.  Just like Mandella bringing his country together under one flag.

What’s the big idea

The other day, I was talking about writing Straplines (or slogans, tag-lines … name your poison).  They’re a great example of one big idea.  But why is the big idea so important?

At this point we need to face some facts.  Your marketing communication is written for prospects to read (or at least it should be).  Will they do that?  Probably not … at least, not in its entirety.  In the immortal words of that great adman Howard Gossage:

Nobody reads ads.  People read what interests them.
Sometimes, it’s an ad.

The same is true of your advertising, brochure, web content … the list goes on.  And it’s what makes the one big idea so important.  Whatever marketing communication you put in front of them, readers are skimming for what’s of interest to them.  Yes, they’ll:

• flick through your prospectus without reading all the pages
• browse your website in unpredictable ways
• read the headings and bullets but not much else

Now, if all your copywriting directs readers to your one big idea, what to give them?  Something to hold on to.  As the people of South Africa also found, that’s a powerful thing and a potent motivator.

3 take away tips

1. Take care that multiple benefits don’t emerge as multiple messages.
2. Remember that people read what interests and benefits them.
3. Unify marketing communication under one dominant selling message.