Words That Work

I’ve been a freelance copywriter for many years and during my involvement with lots of industries, I believe quite a few have very similar copywriting problems.

1. Using fewer words will make messages more effective.
2. Using more commonly used words to make the message clearer.
3. Being more conscious about what the reader/customer wants to know rather than what the writer wants to tell them.
4. Researching markets and where appropriate, asking for feedback.

Your written communication will be the most effective when it takes up the smallest space using the least number of words and can be read in the shortest possible time.

If you use industry jargon your message will not be clear to the average person, always write the message for the least knowledgeable not the most. This is even more important if you’re writing instructional material, always be plain, concise and never use four words when one will do.

Even though you may have been writing on and off for many years, remember writing is a perishable skill, use it often or it will be harder to write and take longer the next time you put fingers to keyboard.

Here are a few tips:

1. Keep your language simple and definitely no jargon.
2. Write with an active voice and not passive, you will use fewer words.
3. Don’t write long sentences with lots of commas, break the sentence up and use more full stops; it will make the message clearer.
4. Keep paragraphs short to make copy more readable. Big solid blocks of text are confronting to most people.
5. Read your copy aloud at least once, you will hear if there are any mistakes or the copy doesn’t flow properly.

Hope these tips have been helpful

Have a good look at my other tips; hope they help you become a more effective communicator.