5 Quick tips for better promotional writing
5 Quick tips for better promotional writing
You’ve rearranged your desk, made your third cup of tea, finally got that mark off the window that’s been bothering you. What’s next? Quick look at Facebook again?
Anything to avoid staring slack-jawed at that BLINKING CURSOR.
Whether it’s a tweet, a blog, an email or a good old-fashioned report, we all write promotional copy on a daily basis. Sometimes it’s easy and we hardly realise we’re doing it. Sometimes it’s a frustrating and painfully slow process. Inevitably, the closer the deadline and the more that is at stake, the more we feel intimidated by the blank page.
These five quick tips are not new or ground-breaking but they are designed to help jump-start your brain when the pressure is on:
1. Less is More
Less is more. Use plenty of full stops. You will sound more direct. You will sound more confident. This will make people want to keep reading.
There is often a tendency to utilise as many long words as possible in just one sentence in order to make ourselves sound more authoritative for fear that if we leave out some details that will appeal to someone, somewhere, they will stop reading and we will ultimately lose them forever...
Long sentences are really hard to read. If people like what they read and want more detail they will call you.
2. Keep it Simple
People are busy. Simple makes things easier for them. Don’t make them work harder than they have to.
Avoid over-using jargon. If you do use jargon, be sure your target audience will understand it. If you confuse people too much you’ll lose their interest.
Just as many people will use ten words where five would do, many people will ‘hide behind’ jargon in the hope that it will make them sound more authoritative. It may do, but it may also make them sound less human. Whatever industry we are in, we humans like to work with other humans.
3. Ask questions
Why? Because it creates a dialogue. The reader becomes an engaged, active part of a conversation rather than feeling ‘talked at’.
A couple of well-placed questions are good:
What would you like to ask your target market? What would get your clients thinking?
A constant stream of questions and answers could begin to sound like panto season. And do we want that? Do we? No.
4. Avoid clichés
“We get it right.”
“We care about our customers.”
And a whole load of other stuff that should really go without saying.
What is it about your service that is unique? How do you get it right? How do your customers know you care about them?
Don’t be afraid to put some personality into it. Ideally, we want to work with people we like and trust. How can we start to like and trust each other if we don't know each other?
5. Don’t sweat it
Get some words on the page. You can go back afterwards and refine them. Work in a different setting. Put some music on. Go for a walk and a think.
Still struggling? You could be too close to it. Could you be using your time doing something more productive? An experienced copywriter may be able to save you a lot of time, a lot of headaches and a lot of hassle. If I can help or just advise please call me on 07973 304253.
To recap, the next time you are faced with a scary blank page:
1. Less is more
Rather than thinking ‘I need to fill this page with words’, think ‘how short can I make this and still convey what I want to say?’
2. Keep it simple
How can you convey your message in a way that can be easily and universally understood?
3. Ask questions
What do you want the person reading this to think? What question do you need to ask to get them on that train of thought?
4. Avoid clichés
What makes you unique? How do you show your customers that you care about them?
5. Don’t sweat it
Just get some words on the page and go back to them later. Read my blog on writer’s block or simply give me a call on 07973 304253 and I’ll write it for you.