Vitago

When you write, you are selling something. It may be an idea, your friendship or a product.

Clear writing helps you save time and eliminate waste. A clean message means your projects can be done right the first time. Your employees, vendors and other contacts will have a better idea of how to serve you.

No matter the reason you are writing… no matter the format… these tips will help you communicate better through your writing.

Use a selling headline

People are bombarded by thousands of messages per day. 5 times more people will see your headline than read the rest of your message. Make sure your headline starts selling right away.

Coming up with a good headline is 80% of the fight. Headlines let the viewer know if this is something they should invest in reading. Your headline is the gatekeeper between your message and the masses. It will either pull people through or send them away.

To pull people through, show them a clear benefit… promise them a reward for investing in your content.

Sometimes a headline is called the title. In email, the subject. Don’t let a different name fool you! Whatever it is called, the headline is always the most important part of the writing.

When it comes to writing the main content, keep the following in mind (you may want to use it as a checklist):

• Emphasize what is most important to the reader - Put the reader first, especially above your own ego. One of the most powerful words for persuasion is “you”.
• Write directly to your reader - Always write to the person you are trying to reach. If you are writing for a crowd define the “ideal person” and write to them.
• Put the most important ideas first - Organized information is easier to read and helps with understanding. The further along the reader gets the more likely they will get distracted.
• Describe benefits, not features - What rewards do the features offer? Write about those.
• Be direct - Say what you mean to say.
• Be specific - If you have firm numbers or real life examples use them. Specifics show what the reader can expect make your pitch believable.
• Be simple - Less is more. Less words. Less syllables. Smart people are not insulted by simplicity. Uneducated people may not understand complex writing.
• Don’t be cute or clever - People don’t like it. They may not “get it”. It does not sell.
• Be straightforward - People respect the truth. Brands have been built on negative aspects of their products because the manufacturer was honest about them. Spinning or hiding the obvious makes you look deceitful and stupid.
• Avoid negatives - Turn the phrase to make a positive: “no sugar” should be “sugar free”.
• Eliminate jargon - The industry terms you use may not have meaning to your readers or they may carry a different meaning altogether! If you must use jargon be sure to explain it up front.

Communicating ideas and information is more important than everything else. Your writing may seem dull to you but your readers will respond if they can easily grasp the information. The more usable the information is, the more it will be applied.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 30th, 2007 at 1:03 am and is filed under Communicating. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.