By Annelize V
The simple answer is no. Although most professionals have the basic skills to read and write, it doesn’t mean they have the skills to choose the right words to communicate their message successfully.
As an experienced content writer, editor and marketing professional within the United Kingdom and South African financial services industries, I know a thing or two about copywriting.
Why Do You Need a Writing Specialist?
You need a writing specialist to help you find the right words.
The Most Common Mistake
Over 20 years of being in this business, I’ve seen many people make the same mistake: using too many words.
For some strange reason most people have this fear that they will leave out crucial information, and in turn, throw so many words at their target audience that the whole message becomes simply too long to read.
This is especially true within the corporate world where the writer is being briefed to create a certain message that then needs to be signed off by multiple stakeholders and essentially becomes a camel put together by a committee, hardly recognisable from the first draft. Yet the committee is happy that everybody’s input has been incorporated, while the people who it’s directed to simply ignore it because it’s too long.
The irony: you’ve included everything for nothing.
Too Many Words Too Little Time
Most people are time-poor. They are running around like headless chickens just to keep afloat. On top of that they are bombarded with a million messages every day. So what makes you think that they have the time to read your 3-pager explaining your product? TLDR (too long didn’t read)!
As a freelance writing professional, my work affords me the flexibility to structure my own time. However, most people don’t have this luxury if they are working for an employer. Let’s be real: If the headline doesn’t pique your interest, you’re not going to read it.
If you are working regular office hours, your time is even more limited. And I’m sure you don’t read more than half the stuff that gets thrown at you. Am I right? So what can we do?
Less Is More
Like with many things in life, less words is definitely more, but it needs to be the right words.
Many years ago I attended a workshop focussing on writing plain English. And that’s exactly what I’ve been striving for since. Your clients, customers or employees are only going to understand your message if it’s clear and simple.
Ultimately, your message is a call to action. However, nobody is going to do what you ask if they don’t even understand your message. It’s hard enough to change people’s behaviour and impossible if they don’t even understand what you want them to do.
Keep your message:
clear
simple, and
repeat it across various communication channels to reinforce it.
Drown Out the Noise
We live in a constant state of sensory overload with so many messages competing for our attention every day.
To stand out, your message has to be customised for its intended recipients.
And that’s why good writing is a superpower. Anybody can string a few sentences together, but only a skilled writer can find the right words.
Work with Annelize V
“Solving niche challenges founders face”.
Illustrator: Lisa Williams (Instagram: @artist_llw)