Writing Skills Matter
How many errors can you find in the following?
"At the risk of your not reading the rest of this article with great care, let me assure you that I am about to reveal to you something that is vitally important to you. It is so important that the success of your website and business truly depends upon your thorough understanding of this critical point. With this insight, you will gain a tremendous advantage over all others on the Web, and in particular, over your competition."
Are There Any Grammatical Or Spelling Errors?
No, not a one. But it sure stinks. Yet we see this kind of writing all over the Web. It doesn't work because it's windy, muddy, jumbled, and hyped without a purpose that can be defined.
The opening line is strange, almost an invitation to skip this article. The wrap vaguely implies some advantage over your competition is available, but the reader is not likely to be sufficiently convinced to continue.
Further, there are points at which the reader may stumble, things that don't ring true, and loads of ambiguity, all of which detract from the creditability of the writer.
Unnecessary Words Destroy
Apart from other problems in the above, there are just plain too many words. While the best solution might be to rewrite this from scratch, let's take a shot at salvation. We'll begin with finding words that can be cut. And combinations that can be replaced with fewer words.
An Aside About Adverbs And Adjectives
"That is very beautiful," is a correct sentence.
"That is beautiful," is stronger.
Why? For one, "very" is a weak word. While often used in chatting with a friend, it is not specific. It doesn't say much. For another, the second form is shorter. All things being equal, short is best.
How about, "That is profoundly beautiful?"
"Profoundly" is still not specific. In this case, it may confuse. Is it saying something about the reason for the beauty? The nature of that beauty? Or something else entirely? Likely it is saying more about the writer than the object.
If there is something about the object that is profound or it is beautiful in a profound way, there's little point in saying so. The viewer will see this. Or will not. If not, your saying it's so will fall on deaf ears.
One way to improve any writing is to consider each adverb and adjective as a candidate for deletion.
Using A Large Ax
Seek to delete non-helpful phrases and replace multiple words with fewer. For example, the following says nothing: "At the risk of your not reading the rest of this article with great care, let me assure you that ...." Scrap it. With this phrase and most adverbs and adjectives gone, we have:
"I am about to reveal to you something that is important to you. It is so important that the success of your website and business depends up upon your understanding of this point. With this insight, you will gain a tremendous advantage over all others on the Web, and over your competition."
Better, maybe. But still windy, muddy.
Another Try
"I am about to reveal to you something important. The success of your business depends upon your understanding this point. It will give you a tremendous advantage over your competition."
Better?
Well, at least it's shorter. A drop from 79 words to 30 helps some. But what does the paragraph say? What is the author talking about? What stands out in my mind is the hype. Many flee upon first encounter with such stuff.
A Sales Pitch?
Some open a sales pitch in this fashion, although this is not nearly strong enough. I will leave handling such copy in a sales presentation to another time.
If we take this as the beginning of an informative article, the best move is to scrap it. Open with the "secret," then explain, persuading at every step.
Two Options
Suppose the "secret" I had in mind was that writing skills matter. Here are two possible rewrites of the above.
"The success of your business depends upon your writing skills. Here's why."
"Improved writing skills can boost your advantage over your competition. The following time-tested ideas work."
Neither of the above is exciting. But each clearly defines the content to follow. The first suggests that in business, writing skills matter. The second, that improved writing skills can help you beat the competition.
More important, the focus is on the reader. Put "I believe" in front of the first sentence in each paragraph, and it will weaken the copy. It shoves yourself into the face of the reader.
There are many who can write in the first person effectively, but for most it's best to omit or at least severely limit the use of personal pronouns. That is, try to do without "I," "me," "mine," "my," and so forth. Readers, just as website visitors, want to know what's in it for them. They don't give a hoot about you, the writer. Hopefully they will before finishing the article, but they do not initially.
As with the headline on a web page or in an advertisement, begin with one that grabs attention, but also accurately sets the stage for what follows.
Two Winning Ways To Start
All writers have their own formulas, their own tricks of the trade. But here are two approaches that are used effectively by many to ...
* Get a good start.
* Cling to it.
* Wrap effectively.
Outline
Don't panic. There's no need for that outline you may have been required to produce before beginning that monster term paper. All you need is a brief sequence of incomplete statements to keep you on track. Here's what I might have typed hastily before beginning this article.
* Give some typical web junk.
* Improve the junk
* Adverbs and adjectives
* Replace two words with one
* And whatever.
* Suggest outlining
* Writing fast
* Wrap: Writing skills matter.
There is nothing complicated in the above. It is only an ordering of thoughts clashing in my mind as I sat down to write this piece. Time required? Two minutes.
Just Write It
Sit down and start typing just as fast as you can. Say anything and everything that comes to mind. Ignore spelling, rules of grammar, or any of the basics. Just get it said. As quickly as possible.
Start somewhere, explain something as to a friend who doesn't know the topic, then wrap it.
Comparing The Two Approaches
Both have merit. The outline helps you stay on track so that when you finish, there is less editing to do. But the just-write-it approach gives an added bonus. Spontaneity.
You're not following a plan. You are just trying to make a point. When you finish a first draft, you will have more editing to do. Stuff will need to be moved around. Some of it rewritten. And much of it scrapped.
Both schemes work. If you have not tried one or the other, give it a shot. It may be exactly what you need to produce better copy.
Writing Skills Matter
Nearly everything you communicate to your website visitors is accomplished with words. You may be a really super neat person, the life of every party you attend, or a dynamic public speaker. But you have only words with which to convey your message to your website visitors. The way in which you string those words together matters.
At all cost avoid windy and muddy. Edit and rewrite until the piece flows from top to bottom without a hitch. Continue to seek better results today than you settled for yesterday. Keep at it, and you'll find your writing skills improving regardless how good they are now.