Business writing: how to write to communicate and connect

Writing is a fundamental skill in business.  But it terrifies many business people. 

Why?

They're afraid of the blank page.
They're afraid of grammar and punctuation which they believe are there to expose their weaknesses.
In short they're afraid of getting it wrong.

Let's look at what we're trying to achieve when we write.

Whether we're writing for business or we're would be novelists, our aim is to make some connection with our reader.  That's it plain and simple.  Because without that connection the reader won't turn the page.

That's essential in business isn't it.  And even if they won't turn the page, i.e. on a website, you still want them to keep reading.  Because and let's be honest here, you want in the short or long term to sell them something.

What motivates most business people is not merely the desire to make money, but to offer something you're passionate about.  Something that will help people lead happier, more fulfilled, healthier, richer lives.

That's why passion is the key to connecting.

Imagine you want to buy something.  Who are you more likely to buy from?  Someone who just mumbles and mutters and shows no enthusiasm.  Or someone who looks you in the eyes and tells you honestly what the product can, and as important, can't do.

So you need to drill down to the reasons you want to pass on this product or service.  What do you believe about it that you can transmit in what you say or write?

Be proud of what you're offering.  Be passionate about how it can help people.  Always write as if you're speaking directly to one person at a time because only one will read it at a time.

When you write from that core of belief, your writing will sing and connect with those it can help.

Let me know what's happened to you when you've written from your core beliefs instead of writing from the surface.

How to write for your website

How do you construct text for your website pages?(from How to write effective web copy) www.writerslittlebook.co.uk for more details

Before you write a word of text you need to decide what pages you want and the purpose of each page.

Pages shouldn’t be there because everybody else has them. Each of your web pages needs to work hard for you.

KEY POINT - Remember each page is a sales person who should work for you 24/7.

If you already have a website this maybe is the place to say you should get your head around using the analytics for your site. These will tell you how visitors arrive at your site, which pages they go to, how long they stay there and how many bail out without doing anything. The current phrase is “sticky”. That is to create pages that keep your visitor involved and on the site.

Not having a website really isn’t an option these days but you need to understand its position as a major part of your selling strategy. You need to work with a website developer who will explain all the technical underpinning of a site in plain English to help you with writing the text.

There are two variables you need to consider for each page.
your live animate visitor
your inanimate search engine visitor

Each of these visitors has to be satisfied and each has different needs.

For the inanimate visitor you need to identify the most appropriate keywords to use. For your live visitor you need to delve into the psychology of why they've visited your site and what they hope to gain from the visit.

Writng effective words for the web

This is an excerpt from my digital download book called "How to write effective web copy." More details at www.writerslittlebook.co.uk

If you have to write for your website, maybe for your book, then here's a simple way to start off finding what are the most important points to include in your text.

WEBSITE WRITING EXERCISE

Sit down and write out all the questions people have asked you about your business over the last few months.

Now answer them, clearly and in simple terms.

Then discard your frequently asked questions page and instead write your website based on the questions.

If there are constantly similar questions that come up when you’re out networking, or explaining your business to people, then that’s what’s important for your website to focus on.

They will be the core pages of your site. How you arrange the information within your site will depend on how you want your visitor to access the information.