Businesses make five main mistakes with their copywriting: They use corporate language They don’t get to the point They use too many words They focus on themselves They focus on the features of their products So if your small business wants to do effective writing, you need to do these five things: Use simple, everyday language [...]
“So, the other day, we were going for a walk and … “ Who cares! Just get to the point! Whether you’re writing blogs, emails or website copy, just say what it is that you want to say. Concise is good. Verbose is bad. Get to the point. Don’t make it hard for people to consume [...]
Short sentences are sexy. Like that one. And the one before. Your content marketing should be full of short sentences, whether it’s written or video. There are two reasons why short sentences are sexy: They generally contain just one idea They generally use simple language Short sentences, in other words, are easy to understand. If you [...]
Next time you’re sending an email or proposal, keep an eye out for a couple of words that might irritate your clients. Those words are “I” and “we”. If your communications are full of those words, there’s a good chance you’re sending out marketing that is focused on you and your business rather than your client [...]
Here’s a fun game for you. The next time you’re writing a social media post, blog, email, ebook or any other piece of marketing, try to remove as many words as possible. The more words you remove, the more points you score. Here’s why this is such a good game: the more concise you can make [...]
What would you do if you were looking at a property listing and discovered it had BIRs and could be developed STCA? Would you go to the trouble of finding out that the real estate agent meant the property had built-in ‘robes (or wardrobes) and could be developed subject to council approval? Or would you think [...]
The next time you write an email, a social media post or a blog, pretend you’re writing for an audience of children. If you do that, you’ll make a point of using simple words and explaining things clearly – which is the best sort of writing you can do. But if you assume you’re writing for [...]
Marketing and communications tends to come in two different flavours. The first flavour is vague and verbose. The second is precise and concise. Most individuals and small businesses go for the first flavour. But you should choose the second. Your customers don’t want to read blogs, emails and proposals that are vague and verbose, because then [...]
How are spelling mistakes and grammatical errors still a thing? Before you publish any marketing copy, you should always run it through Microsoft Word, Grammarly or some other app. That way, any typos will be revealed. Typos may have been forgivable in a pre-digital age. But in the 21st century, there’s no excuse for mistakes that [...]
How many times have you started reading an email, blog or ebook … and made it all the way to the end … and had no idea what it was about? When that happens, it’s not your fault you weren’t smart enough, it’s the writer’s fault they weren’t clear enough. But be warned: a similar thing [...]
