As a business owner, you know that good writing is essential to your business. It’s the way that you communicate with your customers, your employees, and even with your investors.
You have two choices when it comes to writing for your business, 1-Do it Yourself or, 2-Pay Someone.
Choosing the, “Do it Yourself,” option is a good choice IF you like writing AND you have LOTS of time to invest. Why? You need time to research, plan, write, edit, rewrite, and edit again.........and again.......and again!
Sounds like fun, right? No? Ok, maybe it only sounds fun to writers like me.
If you DO want to tackle your writing project, then there are a few tips you’ll want to follow to make the most out of this essential marketing tool.
5 Tips to Better Writing for Your Business
TIP #1 - PLAN
You will save a lot of time and stress by taking the time to brainstorm and organize your thoughts before putting pen to paper- or fingers to keyboard, as the case may be.
You need to know 3 important things:
1- WHAT message do you need to convey?
2- WHO are you talking to?
3- HOW are you going to tell them?
Answering those questions will save you a lot of time in the long run AND make your project more effective!
TIP #2 - RESEARCH
Now that you’ve made a plan, it’s time to do some research. You need to know everything about everything before you get started.
Start by answering the usual WH-Questions, but don’t stop there. Keep looking at your project from every angle until you know the best way to present your product or service to your customer.
TIP #3- KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Understanding your customers is the key to speaking to them in your writing.
You’ll need to collect the demographics AND psychographics of your customer base. You need to know not just how old they are and where they live, but also what they do and why they do it.
Next, use all of that information to build an “ideal customer” to speak to in your writing. That way, everything you say will feel personal and direct rather than forced or fake.
No one wants that!
TIP #4 - KNOW YOR MEDIUM
This is an often overlooked part of the writing process by the average business owner. {Sorry, but it’s true!}
The medium you are using to communicate affects how the message should be delivered for maximum effect.
The writing required for a 3-second banner ad is totally different than the writing for a blog post or a piece of direct mail.
You may need to add, change, or delete words depending on the delivery system.
Make the most of what you are using by writing specifically for it!
TIP #5 - EDIT
You know that you need to edit before you publish…right?
But, when I say edit, I don’t just mean look for spelling and grammar errors, I mean that you should take a STRONG liking to the backspace and delete keys. They are now your best friends!
Be ruthless and show no mercy! Take away all of the fluff that does NOT enhance your reader’s experience or entice them to click or buy.
Your customers will thank you.
I’ll thank you.
Your business will thank you!
And that’s what this is all about - writing better for your business so that it can grow!
So, are you excited to get started? Yes! Go for it!
No? Not excited? Feeling overwhelmed?
Let me know about your project and I can help.
I’m only a conversation away!
P.S. Stay tuned for next week's post, "5 Copywriting Mistakes that Business Owners Should Avoid!"
Happy Writing!
Liza Fewell, Copywriter
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