Smart business people recognise the value of good communicators.
If your organisation doesn’t value communication, you may be wondering why people don’t get what you do.
Poor communication at all levels of an organisation can be the cause of:
Confused customers
Disillusioned staff
Unclear goals
Bad products/services.
If your team doesn’t include any talented writers, consider using a freelance copywriter to boost [...]
If your copy is a load of balls your bounce rate* will be sky-high. Bad copy can affect your bounce rate in a number of ways:
Your visitors may have been expecting something different to what you are offering. Unclear copy can attract the wrong kind of visitor.
Poor grammar or spelling [...]
Writers don’t have to read every classic. You can read anything, but you must read something.
If you don’t read you will never understand how writing works, or how it can fail.
Be adventurous with your reading. Avoid re-reading the same few books.
Reading a variety of styles and sources will strengthen your writing, improve your vocabulary and [...]
Is your copy full of “we”?
If you find lots of “we”, “us” or “our” in your copy, it’s a sure sign that it’s self-centred, and not focussed on your customer.
You should have copy littered with “you” and “yours”. These words generally indicate that your copy is aimed in the right direction (your customer’s!).
Click here for [...]
It can be hard to hand over your writing to someone. New writers often get very shy about their work, and nervous of what people will think.
But it’s important to get started with the process of finding readers.
Your first readers may be family, then friends, or anyone who will take the time. But whoever these [...]
Grammar and spelling are a writer’s tools. Just as a plumber must understand and own a set of tools, writers must have a good grasp of grammar.
If grammar troubles you, I recommend reading Strunk and White’s Elements of Style. It’s a classic (and very short) book on using English well.
Once you get writing, ask another [...]
Blogging has revolutionised the way organisations communicate with their clients and peers.
CEOs are blogging about their work. Organisations are opening up, creating greater transparency in their dealings with customers.
Anyone in business that wants to blog must understand that the key to a blog’s appeal is honesty.
Readers accept that the CEO may need an editor, but [...]
Don’t hide behind your website. Too many businesses barricade themselves behind a chunky website, giving visitors no easy way to get in touch.
What are they afraid of?
Whenever I struggle to find a telephone number, postal address or email address on a website, I immediately begin to think the owners have something to hide.
If your business [...]
Your imagination will not feed itself.
If you want to write, you’ll need ideas to fuel your writing.
If you fill your brain with lots of interesting stuff, interesting stuff will come spilling out.
Consider your inputs as imagination fuel. What kind of things are you exposed to? Do you have a life filled with routine? If you’ve [...]
“Instead of stretching minds, worlds - including the world of words - are being shrunk to fit them.”
So writes Lynsey Hanley in the Guardian.
Lynsey’s article discusses society’s growing inarticulacy, and the way in which our education system is designed to suit capabilities rather than challenge them.
This got me thinking because copywriters are taught to use [...]
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