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We’re bombarded with words all day, every day through emails, newsletters, reports, ads, articles, presentations, and much more. You can’t afford to allow your business communication to get lost in the crowd. You want to inspire your customers to buy and encourage your team to work harder. Here are a few ways to make your messages stand out.
Know your audience There’s an old saying in the advertising business: a message aimed at everyone often appeals to no one. In order to communicate effectively, you have to know who your readers are. Are they familiar with your content? Are they open to your message? Are they older or younger, where do they live, are they highly educated or not? Knowing your audience makes it easier for you to answer everyone’s most pressing question: “what’s in it for me?” Usually, this is whatever product or service you offer. Know your message Before you even begin typing a word, decide what you’re trying to achieve. Are you simply sharing information? Do you need to explain a difficult concept? Or are you trying to inspire your audience to take action? Most importantly: what is your core message? Try to approach it like a reporter When you’re very knowledgeable on a topic, it’s easier for you to overlook the obvious. Make sure that whatever you’re writing includes all of the information that’s needed to inform your audience. For example: imagine you’re sending out a newsletter announcing an event but then you don’t include the address. It’s a small mistake in theory, but it completely makes the message pointless. Don’t use buzzwords or cliches Too often business writing these days is riddled with cliches and overused buzzwords. For example: what business isn’t “service-oriented”? And if a business isn’t “solutions-focused,” what is it focused on otherwise? Creating unnecessary problems? Cliches are expressions that come out of nowhere yet seem to be everywhere, to the point that they’re essentially meaningless. How many times have we all heard about “low-hanging fruit,” “win-win situations,” or “pushing the envelope”? These expressions don’t inspire anyone, they’re likely to bore them actually. Keep things tight and concise Short sentences, short paragraphs, and short documents have a better chance of capturing readers’ attention. That’s incredibly true when it comes to emails and other electronic documents, as we read more slowly on screen than we do on paper. Cut down on the unnecessary language and keep things tight: Delete redundant adjectives. All innovations are new, all disasters are serious – there’s little need to qualify. Don’t disguise your verbs as verb/noun pairs. You don’t “make a decision” or “carry on an improvement.” You simply DECIDE or IMPROVE. Cut out washy phrases. Why bother saying: “we are in the process of upgrading our IT infrastructure” when it’s easier to say “we are upgrading our IT systems”? Leave the symbols and abbreviations for texting When you’re texting friends or family, it’s fine to go ahead and use things like: “&”, “etc.”, “i.e.”, or other shorthand. But if you’re writing to impress clients, employees, or potential investors, use full words. Plain and simple, it’s more professional. |