WOMEN MEAN BUSINESS - Blog

Business writing - top tips for your website or brochure copy!

This article lists 16 top copy writing tips and also includes a system you can use to get unstuck with a new piece of writing.

• Write in short words, in short sentences in short paragraphs! I was taught this when I was training as a journalist and it is especially important for websites where people will be skim reading.
• On your website, consider putting the first line of text in each paragraph in bold – this makes it really easy for the skim readers to grasp your most important ideas.
• Write as if you are speaking to just one person. Imagine your ideal target client or your ideal current client and address your ideas as if to that one person.
• Make sure that your copy is mainly about your target audience and what they are looking for. Too many websites are all about the website owner and not enough about the prospective clients and their wants and issues.  Most people are tuned in to radio WIIFM – "What's in it for me?"
• Remember to talk about benefits and results rather than processes and features. For instance – what results and changes can clients expect if they work with you?
• Don't use jargon. Use simple direct language and keep the use of acronyms to a minimum. Acronyms like RSPB, NHS, etc should always be written out in full the first time you use them.
• Have a "call to action". What do you want the reader to do as a result of reading your copy? Do you want them to sign up for your news letter, buy a product or enroll in a course? You'd be surprised how many people forget this vital element.
• Always, always get your copy double proofed by at least one other person who has not been involved in producing the content. We see what we expect to see, especially if we are checking copy we have written ourselves. If you don't spot typos and other errors, it can lead to embarrassing mistakes and expensive reprints.
• If you find writing lively copy challenging, try getting a friend to record an interview with you and transcribe the best bits. Some people become overly formal as soon as they approach written, rather than spoken communication.
• If you really want your copy to count and make an impact, do your market research. What does your target market want? Do a short survey and ask them directly.
• Don't be invisible or anonymous on your website. Have a background piece on you plus a good photo. Present the human face of your business. But remember to make your website home page about the potential client or customer.
• Don't wait until you think everything is finished and perfect to publish your website. Remember you can always make changes and add new pages as you go.
• Use case studies and client testimonials in your brochure or website. Third party endorsements can be very powerful. Ideally, get agreement to use the full name and even website for your testimonials.
• Think about why someone would do business with you. What makes you and your service unique or special?
• Make a collection of websites and brochures that you like – and ones that you don't! Analyse the elements that work. What do you think makes them successful. Emulate the elements you like in your own copy, but don't plagiarise their copy.
• Remember too that a picture is worth 1,000 words. It is much easier today to add images and colour to your web pages, yet there are still some mighty drab websites out there.

Finally, here's a system you can use to get started:

• Do a brain dump – just write down every idea that comes to you and don't edit or criticise at this stage.
• Use post-its, 5x4 cards or lists of headings to capture your ideas your ideas. Or try mind mapping.
• Order your ideas into relevant sections. If you feel stuck for an introduction, jump in anywhere. Cutting and pasting later will help you.
• Write a complete first draft.
• Let it sit for a few days.
• Revisit and make any changes/additions.
• Get an objective, informed opinion from a few people that you trust.
• Get it proof read and edited – if not by a professional, then by someone unfamiliar with the text.
• Finalise it and let it go out into the world! You can always change the website page or change the copy in your next print run.

More about writing for your business

 (c) Shona Partridge 2008-2009

 

Keep an ideas notebook

As entrepreneurs and small business owners we often have more ideas than we can currently implement. Sometimes we get so creative and spark so many ideas that it can be downright distracting! I've heard this described as "bright shiny object syndrome". It can mean that we don't take serious action on one project before we're off chasing the next exciting idea.

What I have found incredibly useful is to keep an ideas notebook. You may prefer to open a file on your computer.  Another alternative is to always carry a digital recorder. As long as you have somewhere to capture these potentially million dollar ideas before they evaporate! I also recommend carrying a notebook and pen with you everywhere you go. A brilliant idea may strike you while you're out running or grocery shopping. There's no guarantee you'll remember the idea by the time you get home.

Also, keep a notebook and pen (or your digital recorder) by your bedside. I've had to get up in the middle of the night and rush into my office to capture ideas before now, so now I always make sure my trusty notebook is to hand. Thoughts that may seem clear immediately after waking in the night have a disturbing habit of evaporating by morning.

Write everything down, no matter how "out of the box" the idea may seem to you. It might not make sense to you now, but in a month or two it could be just the idea you need for a new venture. This is one of the great things about capturing your ideas in writing. If you date your entries you can look back and see patterns developing. You can see things at a glance but on a recording you have to listen to each item to get the overview.

When the ideas are safely captured in your notebook they stop taking up space in your brain and there's room for new fabulous ideas as there's less "interference". You've written things down so your subconscious doesn't have to keep trying to remember things.

I can practically guarantee that you'll end up with more ideas than you can possibly use in one lifetime! That's half the fun of being an entrepreneur! But with your trusty ideas notebook you'll be in a position to review all your ideas and start to prioritize the best ones.

(c) Shona Partridge, Women Mean Business 2009

www.womenmeanbusiness.co.uk

Back to blogging

I've been enjoying some time off including last week's Bank Holiday and my eighth Wedding Anniversary. I can't believe I've been married that long - just a wee bit longer than I've been running my own business.

Now I'm ready to get back into some serious work and some more writing, so the blog posts will be ramped up again. Writing has become even more important to my business this year. I'm lucky, I love to write and I've even taught creative writing. I believe writing is one of the most effective and cheapest ways to boost your business.  If you'd like to learn more about how writing can help your business click on this link.

Email etiquette - beware of the pitfalls!

Over the past few days I have been shocked at how many of my contacts have sent out round robin emails displaying the email address of everyone on their list! This is a complete NO NO! If you want to keep people on your list and be taken seriously as someone who respects others' privacy, you simply cannot send out emails this way.  Sorry if I'm doing the equivalent of shouting in this post, but it really is that important. It is a breach of privacy at the very least. And don't forget data protection regulations. If you've been doing this don't worry - I've seen large public institutions doing it!

All you need to do to avoid this, is to use the BCC feature in your email field. Instead of CCing everyone on your list when you want to send out a round robin - just choose the BCC field instead. I mean how hard is that? Of coures if no-one tells you how to do this, how would you know? However, if you want to keep people on your list, make sure you use the BCC field. All this means is that everyone still gets the message, but they don't get everyone else's email contact details. Phew! OK - lecture over!

Twitter overwhelm - how many posts is too many?

Like many other small business owners, I've been grabbed by the Twitter phenomenon. However, I'm not going to tweet 20 times a day thank you! Twitter does have it's place in my marketing and PR arsenal, but not at the top of my list. I can see how addictive it might be, but personally, as a writer, I prefer to invest my time in creating more content - 140 characters is a tad on the short side for me!

You can call me old fashioned but I prefer blogging, Facebook and even the good old e-zine newsletter as ways of keeping in touch and sharing information. Maybe part of the disconnect with Twitter for me is that anyone can add you to their list. When I first joined, my contact details were hoovered up by dozens of complete strangers. Fine if you want to grow your contacts list with no interaction....I just like to have some kind of connection with the people on my lists.

Recent statistics show that around 90% of tweets are being posted by only 10% of Twitter members. I know these people are getting great value out of the profile building possibilities of Twitter - it just doesn't feel like something I want to spend a lot of time on. I'd much rather be creating content for programmes and writing feature length articles and blog posts.

I will continue to Tweet as part of my marketing mix - sometimes it can be quite fun - but I'd much rather you read my blog!

Keep an Ideas Notebook

As entrepreneurs and small business owners we often have more ideas than we can currently implement. Sometimes we get so creative and spark so many ideas that it can be downright distracting! I've heard this described as "bright shiny object syndrome". It can mean that we don't take serious action on one project before we're off chasing the next exciting idea.

What I have found incredibly useful is to keep an ideas notebook. You may prefer to open a file on your computer.  Another alternative is to always carry a digital recorder. As long as you have somewhere to capture these potentially million dollar ideas before they evaporate! I also recommend carrying a notebook and pen with you everywhere you go. A brilliant idea may strike you while you're out running or grocery shopping. There's no guarantee you'll remember the idea by the time you get home.

Also, keep a notebook and pen (or your digital recorder) by your bedside. I've had to get up in the middle of the night and rush into my office to capture ideas before now, so now I always make sure my trusty notebook is to hand. Thoughts that may seem clear immediately after waking in the night have a disturbing habit of evaporating by morning.

Write everything down, no matter how "out of the box" the idea may seem to you. It might not make sense to you now, but in a month or two it could be just the idea you need for a new venture. This is one of the great things about capturing your ideas in writing. If you date your entries you can look back and see patterns developing. You can see things at a glance but on a recording you have to listen to each item to get the overview.

When the ideas are safely captured in your notebook they stop taking up space in your brain and there's room for new fabulous ideas as there's less "interference". You've written things down so your subconscious doesn't have to keep trying to remember things.

I can practically guarantee that you'll end up with more ideas than you can possibly use in one lifetime! That's half the fun of being an entrepreneur! But with your trusty ideas notebook you'll be in a position to review all your ideas and start to prioritize the best ones.

The blog's got a new design

Regular readers will have noticed I've revamped the blog design. What with all the new info I was adding in the side panels the previous design was getting a bit too crowded!

There's now a sign up box for my freebies and newsletter, links to my articles on e-zine articles, links to my Women Mean Business website and to my Facebook and Twitter accounts.

I'm a huge fan of Typepad. In fact I'm moving my PR website  over to Typepad in the next week or two. I'm a bit of a control freak and being on Typepad means I can make instant changes without waiting for my webmaster to do it! Well, maybe not a control freak - but patience is not one of my primary virtues!

BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL, with pen and ink

I've been planning a series of short articles on working effectively from a home based office. One of the topics on my top ten tips list was to be about closing the office door at the end of the day. Oh dear...

Well, I was about to start getting ready for bed last night when a thought struck me that I could use in this series.My computer was shut down so I picked up good old pen and paper. Inspiration decided to strike and - I kid you not - I scribbled  seven closely written A4 pages in 90 minutes. OK so I got a touch of writer's cramp and not enough sleep, but tons of copy I can use in all sorts of ways.

This reinforces what I am always going on about to anyone who will listen! If you write with a pen and paper you have a far more direct link to your creative subconscious. Something else interesting I noticed (well, I think it's interesting!) when I write the old fashioned way I am less formal than when I type my articles from scratch. See what you think. Instead of automatically sitting at the computer, next time you have something to write have a go with handwriting your ideas first.

HOW NOT TO WRITE!

I have just been reading an article on-line and was staggered to see the first sentence had more than 70 words! Excuse me while I have a bit of a rant!

The trouble with this kind of writing is that you are likely to lose your reader if they have to go back and read your sentences again.

You can check out more writing tips on this blog, but if nothing else read your work aloud and see if it sounds structured and clear.  Nowadays people are more likely to skim read and that's impossible to do when you have long rambling sentences. When I trained as a journalist we were taught to use "short words, in short sentences, in short paragraphs."  Of course it's good to vary the length of your sentences and paragraphs, but more than 35-40 words in any one sentence is probably too long. OK. I'll get down from my soap box now!

I have just been reading an article on-line and was staggered to see the first sentence had more than 70 words! Excuse me while I have a bit of a rant!

The trouble with this kind of writing is that you are likely to lose your reader if they have to go back and read your sentences again.

You can check out more writing tips on this blog, but if nothing else read your work aloud and see if it sounds structured and clear.  Nowadays people are more likely to skim read and that's impossible to do when you have long rambling sentences. When I trained as a journalist we were taught to use "short words, in short sentences, in short paragraphs."  Of course it's good to vary the length of your sentences and paragraphs, but more than 35-40 words in any one sentence is probably too long. OK. I'll get down from my soap box now!

TOP TIPS FOR WRITING EFFECTIVE COPY FOR BROCHURES AND WEBSITES

 

 

By Shona Partridge

This article lists 16 top copy writing tips and also includes a system you can use to get unstuck with a new piece of writing.

 

• Write in short words, in short sentences in short paragraphs! I was taught this when I was training as a journalist and it is especially important for websites where people will be skim reading.
• On your website, consider putting the first line of text in each paragraph in bold – this makes it really easy for the skim readers to grasp your most important ideas.
• Write as if you are speaking to just one person. Imagine your ideal target client or your ideal current client and address your ideas as if to that one person.
• Make sure that your copy is mainly about your target audience and what they are looking for. Too many websites are all about the website owner and not enough about the prospective clients and their wants and issues.  Most people are tuned in to radio WIIFM – "What's in it for me?"
• Remember to talk about benefits and results rather than processes and features. For instance – what results and changes can clients expect if they work with you?
• Don't use jargon. Use simple direct language and keep the use of acronyms to a minimum. Acronyms like RSPB, NHS, etc should always be written out in full the first time you use them.
• Have a "call to action". What do you want the reader to do as a result of reading your copy? Do you want them to sign up for your news letter, buy a product or enrol in a course? You'd be surprised how many people forget this vital element.
• Always, always get your copy double proofed by at least one other person who has not been involved in producing the content. We see what we expect to see, especially if we are checking copy we have written ourselves. If you don't spot typos and other errors, it can lead to embarrassing mistakes and expensive reprints.
• If you find writing lively copy challenging, try getting a friend to record an interview with you and transcribe the best bits. Some people become overly formal as soon as they approach written, rather than spoken communication.
• If you really want your copy to count and make an impact, do your market research. What does your target market want? Do a short survey and ask them directly.
• Don't be invisible or anonymous on your website. Have a background piece on you plus a good photo. Present the human face of your business. But remember to make your website home page about the potential client or customer.
• Don't wait until you think everything is finished and perfect to publish your website. Remember you can always make changes and add new pages as you go.
• Use case studies and client testimonials in your brochure or website. Third party endorsements can be very powerful. Ideally, get agreement to use the full name and even website for your testimonials.
• Think about why someone would do business with you. What makes you and your service unique or special?
• Make a collection of websites and brochures that you like – and ones that you don't! Analyse the elements that work. What do you think makes them successful. Emulate the elements you like in your own copy, but don't plagiarise their copy.
• Remember too that a picture is worth 1,000 words. It is much easier today to add images and colour to your web pages, yet there are still some mighty drab websites out there.
  
  
  Finally, here's a system you can use to get started. 
• Do a brain dump – just write down every idea that comes to you and don't edit or criticise at this stage.
• Use post-its, 5x4 cards or lists of headings to capture your ideas your ideas. Or try mind mapping.
• Order your ideas into relevant sections. If you feel stuck for an introduction, jump in anywhere. Cutting and pasting later will help you.
• Write a complete first draft.
• Let it sit for a few days.
• Revisit and make any changes/additions.
• Get an objective, informed opinion from a few people that you trust.
• Get it proof read and edited – if not by a professional, then by someone unfamiliar with the text.
• Finalise it and let it go out into the world! You can always change the website page or change the copy in your next print run.