THE OLD AND THE NEW: MAKING BUSINESS WRITING MORE EFFECTIVE

STEPHEN BUSH

10 EXAMPLES

UNIQUE AND ORIGINAL CONTENTPAYING ATTENTION TO THE OLD AND THE NEW

The New — Focus on truly unique content and place articles on one or two primary websites.

Suggested Strategy — Publish content that is genuinely unique.

The Old — Use article spinning to create multiple versions of the same content.

PAYING ATTENTION TO THE OLD AND THE NEWPROVIDE MORE INFORMATION INSTEAD OF LESS

The Old — Make written content “short and sweet” (250 to 400 words).

The New — Provide more details with longer explanations (often exceeding 750 words).

Suggested Strategy — Resist the temptation to over-simplify business writing.

PAYING ATTENTION TO THE OLD AND THE NEWREMEMBER NICHE AUDIENCES WITH WHITE PAPERS

The Old — Keep content generalized and write only for mass audiences.

The New — Always think of niche audiences with detailed content in white papers.

Suggested Strategy — Focus on white papers for products, services and topics of all kinds.

PAYING ATTENTION TO THE OLD AND THE NEWDO ADS IMPROVE THE READER’S UNDERSTANDING OF WRITTEN CONTENT?

The Old — The working assumption = Readers don’t mind relevant ads when reviewing content.

The New — Readers want to focus on compelling content that is not disrupted by ads.

Suggested Strategy — Think about minimizing advertising for maximum readership.

PAYING ATTENTION TO THE OLD AND THE NEWDON’T OVERLOOK THE IMPACT OF CUSTOMIZED TEXT IN IMAGES

The Old — Textual images and animated video/slide presentations are “too cute” to be effective.

The New — YouTube and SlideShare presentations work well in conjunction with textual images.

Suggested Strategy — Feature images that include customized text.

PAYING ATTENTION TO THE OLD AND THE NEWONE-PAGE PROPOSALS?

The Old — Business proposals only “work” if they are lengthy.

The New — The most effective business proposal often includes only one page.

Suggested Strategy — Learn how to prepare and present a one-page proposal.

PAYING ATTENTION TO THE OLD AND THE NEWMANY INTERNET PUBLISHERS HAVE ALREADY GONE OUT OF BUSINESS

The Old — The working assumption = Writing for big internet publishers provides maximum visibility and income.

The New — Business writing can be more effective on smaller websites.

Suggested Strategy — Pay less attention to “well-known” websites with little or no traffic generated by search engines.

PAYING ATTENTION TO THE OLD AND THE NEWUNSOLICITED BUSINESS PROPOSALS?

The Old — The working assumption = Business proposals are not used unless requested by a prospective client.

The New — Unsolicited business proposals can provide maximum impact and results.

Suggested Strategy — Make a concerted effort to use and perfect unsolicited business proposals.

PAYING ATTENTION TO THE OLD AND THE NEWWHAT IS YOUR PLAN B?

The Old — Adopting one business writing strategy and ignoring the possibility that it might not work.

The New — Applying contingency planning to business writing by constantly asking: What if something goes wrong?

Suggested Strategy — Always have a Plan B.

PAYING ATTENTION TO THE OLD AND THE NEWEFFECTIVE BUSINESS WRITING HAS MULTIPLE BENEFITS

The Old — The working assumption = High-quality business writing provides limited value for organizations.

The New — Business writing can help individuals and businesses eliminate multiple recurring problems.

Suggested Strategy — Review the different ways that business writing can help. Two examples: With lender negotiations and new business development.

“THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN COMMUNICATION IS TO HEAR WHAT ISN’T BEING SAID.” (PETER DRUCKER)

SOME BUSINESS WRITING ADVICE IN ONE SENTENCE

“Easy-to-read is hard to write.” (Pam Zollman) “Writing is the best way to talk without being interrupted.” (Jules Renard) “Good writing is clear thinking made visible.” (Bill Wheeler) “Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.” (Mark Twain) “Writing is seeing. It is paying attention.” (Kate DiCamillo)

AVOID THESE OLD AND INEFFECTIVE BUSINESS WRITING STRATEGIESAVOIDING MISTAKES

Poorly-written business communication in any context Too much promotion and not enough information Article spinning and duplicate content Website publishers with excessive advertising Unnecessary links Misleading claims Free press releases Overused stock photo images Not having a Plan B Repeating the same mistake over and over again

ALWAYS HAVE A PLAN BA FEW FINAL WORDS

AEX Commercial Financing Group

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