words that work
Mr Clegg will leave his own conference early to deputise for Mr Cameron, whose wife Samantha is due to give birth next month, at a United Nations meeting in New York.Now I don’t know about you, but when I read that, I immediately had visions of of Sam Cam with her feet in stirrups in front of the UN General Assembly. See what I mean? Read it aloud, and you’ll avoid problems of delivery. 2. Break it up Most people skim, and pick up the sense of the copy. So make it easy for them. Break up your text with headings, bullets, bold and underline. Summarise the main points in boxes. Repeat your message. Repeat your call to action. Include. Enough. White. Space. …so that copy can ‘breathe’ and not overwhelm the reader. Break up ideas into paragraphs. Break up the paragraphs into sentences, and vary the length of the sentences. Some short. Some much longer, just for variety, and so that it all flows better. Writing has a rhythm. So learn to dance with it. 3. Break the rules How many times have you heard that a sentence can’t finish with a preposition? You know what? Yes, it can. Would you say products in which we specialise or products we specialise in? Now you know that the first version is probably more correct. And you’re right – it is. But it sounds stilted, formal and pedantic. Are you any of those things? Do you think your target market would respond to somebody who was ? Of course not. So be yourself, and write how you talk. And if that means breaking ‘rules’ (never begin a sentence with and, never use contractions, don’t use informal words or slang, don’t split an infinitive) then go ahead. Break. And watch the magic. 4. Kill your darlings This is a phrase from classic writing guide The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. Your darlings are those phrases you’ve laboured over lovingly. You’ve crafted them, tweaked them, reworked them, polished them. You’ve watched them grow and develop, and are justifiably proud of them. You’ve obeyed rule number 1 (read them aloud) and you’re still pleased with them. Just a little too pleased, in fact. Every time you read them, you smile to yourself. And that’s an early warning sign. It could be a clever pun. Or a particularly long, obscure or high-flown word. Maybe it’s humorous alliteration or words that mirror each other. Perhaps it’s a clever-clever tagline, or a Latin-inspired name that hides its meaning to all but the most over-educated. Kill it. Before it kills your business. Simple language works best. Because it’s simple, direct, and doesn’t get in the way – like the best newsreaders, whose sober dress sense doesn’t detract from what they’re saying. 5. Plan, write. In that order. Copy is not like a letter. You don’t sit down at a blank sheet of paper and pour your heart out as you would to your granny or your dear old Aunt Joan who’s sent you a fiver for your birthday. Copy should be structured, focused and concise. It should have a clear aim, and tell a simple story. And throwing words on the page won’t achieve that. So plan first. You can use MindMaps or bullet points, or just scribbles on a piece of scrap paper. If you don’t know how to begin, then start at the end. Why are you writing this? You want somebody to buy? To make an appointment? To call? To set up a demo? Fine. That’s the end. Now work backwards. What’s the thing that will clinch that decision? Good. That’s your killer argument. Now work back to the detail – not too much, but enough to build to the killer argument. Now back a step to the intro paragraph. Now back a step to the headline. And you’re done. Plan it forward. Plan it backwards. But whatever you do, plan it. Then write. It’s the only way it works. Find out more: