Writing for Results
Good writing displays real professionalism to coworkers, clients and prospects. Good writing saves time (which is, of course, money) because it isn’t misunderstood and doesn’t need to be repeated. Best of all, good writing is persuasive.
Take it from Donna Baier Stein, the author of “Write on Target: the Direct Copywriter’s Handbook”:
From tongue, pen, or computer screen … written in jest, anger, supplication, love … words entertain, stab, coax, restore. And even in this age of high technology and low attention span, words are one of your most vital marketing tools.
Commentators in the middle swath of the 20th century lamented the day that people would no longer read or write. They predicted the telephone and television would render those endeavors obsolete. Their worry now seems quaint.
The internet age brought back the written word, and perhaps made it more important than ever. Indeed, in 2007, Robert Half International, one of the world's largest specialized staffing firms, listed copywriting as one of most “in demand” jobs. As more businesses move to the internet to generate revenue, compelling copy becomes a necessity.
But good writing isn’t simply for web sites or glossy marketing collateral—it’s for every single day. To quote Baier Stein, “Response is the goal of every word you write.”
I’m not just talking about converting a prospect with a snazzy turn of phrase. Rather, every piece of communication should be written with care, with an eye toward generating a desired response. Keep in mind, though, the desired response varies with the context. (I’m not suggesting you pepper your every e-mail with salesy hyperbole.)
So what is good writing and how does one ensure it generates a response?
In most contexts, good writing is—wait for it—simple. Gone are the days when you could write convoluted and wordy sentences and wow everyone with your smarts. Nowadays, people will just think you’re a jerk or trying to hide something. Writing is a form of communication; once it enters the realm of braggadocio, it loses its true purpose.
Good writing has personality. “If you can’t put your heart into your text as you write, the words may march along quite nicely, filling up the screen, looking as if they are hard at work, but turning inwardly feeble, bland, lacking in oomph,” say Jonathan and Lisa Price in “Hot Text: Web Writing That Works.”
The sad thing is, many people posses an allegiance to a false professionalism—a professionalism that says anything with flair is unprofessional. The new marketing model rejects such silliness. The authors of “Hot Text” quote marketer Christopher Locke:
In marketing, just as in government, professionalism tends to hew unimaginately to its own timid orthodoxy. It does not provide leadership, enthusiasm, or the kind of impassioned personal engagement that has come to be called gonzo. [From Gonzo Marketing: Winning Through Worst Practices]
Not only is lively language more fun to read, it’s easier to comprehend. (That’s why the go-to reading primer for kids has been Dr. Seuss’ “The Cat in the Hat” for over half a century.) But that doesn’t mead fun language is a juvenile thing.
In every context, for every reader, conversational writing is more effective than staid prose. People of all ages and inclinations prick up their ears when they hear conversation, and they tune out when they hear wordy exposition. Kathy Sierra, who formerly authored the blog Creating Passionate Users, which in its heyday was one of the most widely read blogs, writes and edits manuals for computer programmers. Sierra is a vocal proponent of conversational copy:
The tip we give our authors is this: when you're writing, paste up a couple pictures of real people, and imagine you're talking to them as opposed to writing for some abstract notion of "reader". Most importantly, ignore the advice your high school writing teacher gave you--that you must never "write the way you talk." Because from the brain's point of view, it is far better to write the way you talk. In fact, while it doesn't make for great writing to, say, print a transcript of a real conversation, that would still give you better learning material than something you wrote using passive, third-person voice in a formal tone.
The great thing is, provided you’re a half-way fluent speaker, you don’t have to be a Bill Shakespeare in order to be an effective writer. You don’t have to start diagramming sentences and dropping big words like disestablishmentarianism (which means god knows what). All you have to do is listen to how you talk—and then transcribe it. From there, simply make sure you're not making an egregious errors (check out Copyblogger author Brian Clark's post "5 Common Mistakes that Make You Look Dumb").
OK, maybe it’s not that easy in practice, but the larger point is this: Skip the phony professionalism and embrace your own humanity. You’ll have more success—in the form of reader response—in your writing if you speak from your heart.
Related articles:
Use Copywriting to Convert Customers
Touchpoint Marketing: Making a Lasting Impression
