Most business owners find it incredibly difficult to put down in words why they are so great to work with. Writing can be one of the most challenging skills to learn and master and it’s certainly not high on the list when you first start out.
All the focus in the first few months is around financing, cash flows, business planning and marketing strategy. But one of the most beneficial skills to have as a business owner is often the written word.
Contracting writing out to copywriters can be expensive and often time-consuming. So when small business owners decide to get on with the writing themselves, without thinking about how to write effectively, they are can be costing themselves dearly.
And writing copy for your brochure, your website and your blog all need different styles and approaches.
Let’s take them one by one.
Writing for your brochure. Your brochure and leaflets are going to be printed so design and layout can be just as important considerations as the words you write. Your headline needs to be eye-catching and stop readers in their tracks. This is the time to be selling, to be focusing on what problem the potential client has and how you can make it all better.
Your style has to be strong, punchy and to the point as you’ve usually got limited space. But you’ve also got to get all the facts in to enable your potential client to make a decision.
Writing for your website. Again, this is the time to be selling. But just because you may have unlimited space and pages, doesn’t mean you can ramble on aimlessly.
Strong headlines are essential. Use questions to stop your online visitor in their tracks quickly (you’ve got less than a second to make an impact!) And sharp, clear benefit-driven copy to outline how it is you may be the answer to your potential client’s problems.
People read differently on a screen than they do from print so use short sentences, 2 to 3 word paragraphs and bullet points where appropriate.
Writing for your blog. Whilst your brochure and website is there to sell your business, your blog is there is to build relationships. It is here you need to stop selling and focus on giving value, content and useful information.
Your blog is place to showcase your expertise, to share tips and ideas with your readers and build up a useful resource for potential clients to come back to again and again.
Your blog is one of the doorways to your business so welcome your readers and invite them to check out what is inside, linking relevant pages to your website where the selling can take place. If you try to sell hard at the doorstep, your potential client won’t think about crossing the threshold.
So when thinking about writing, consider the different platforms for your writing. Know when to sell and when to give value. And a blog is place where you will sell more but selling less!
What have you done differently in your brochure, website and blog copy writing?
I am a freelance content writer – very new to the profession actually. I haven’t done a lot of brochure and blog writing, which of course is soon going to be a huge part of my business. As of now, I keep the basics i.e. meta descriptions, meta keywords and meta titles in mind when writing for websites. Crisp, clear and concise words and phrases are essential components of any communication, be it business or personal. I try to keep sentences short, though I fail miserably sometimes. Yes, I do tend to over punctuate, as I am also in the habit of writing very long, meandering sentences, and it’s necessary to add the pauses for comprehension. I ensure that I vary the sentence structure and use passive voice sparingly – very important.
Last but not the least, rewriting your sentences is a great way to turn your writing into something that will stop online visitors in their tracks.
Anyways, thanks for the tips.
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Hi,
great article. I have question pertaining to it. When we have a blog ( as well as a website) and we invite comments, What is the most professional and appropriate way (biz wise of course) to respond to a commentor (especially a collegue who is unknown to us) who discredits your area of expertise because your opinion or knowledge base on a particular subject differs from theirs?
Thank you.
[Reply]
[...] This post is about what he calls a “farmer list,” meaning the chores you’ve gotta do every dayHow does the style of your writing need to differ between your blog, your brochure and your website? by Karen Skidmore This article is all about considering the different platforms for your writing. [...]