The front cover and the opening words should address the key questions the reader will be asking themselves: What’s it about? Is it for me? What’s in it for me?
The real experts in any field talk about their subject in a clear and straightforward fashion, using simple analogies to put across complex ideas. And they respect that ability in others.
That’s why you should avoid using specialised language when you describe your offering. If there's a need for technical detail, reproduce it as a specification table at the end of the brochure, or as a separate data sheet.
Try and express product and service features and benefits in a human context. Use everyday English. It gets the reader to the point faster and reflects a friendly organisation.
There’s no merit in telling people exactly what they expect to hear. There must be an element of surprise and interest. Something involving. Perhaps a new twist to an old story, or a refreshingly new way of expressing an old idea?
Put each sentence under the microscope and check it out for clear and unambiguous meaning. In the process, cut out the words and phrases that give an illusion of meaning but often mean nothing.
Use short sentences and paragraphs. They're easier to understand and remember than long ones. Don’t attempt to convey more than one idea or make one major point in each sentence or paragraph.
Copy is more effective when you talk directly to the reader. Which is why you should address them in the first person.
Tell the reader what to do, rather than what not to do. That said, negative statements can be useful when you want to contradict what might be an incorrectly held assumption, or perhaps warn the reader that a certain course of action might be unwise.
If you follow the advice in the left hand column of this page, you should be able to produce high quality customer communications.
The question is, have you got the time, the inclination and the expertise?
Writing is all we do. We're dedicated to producing compelling copy that gets results.
Enough said.