In two weeks I’ll be guest lecturing at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). The topic will be web content writing (plus blogging and internal communications), and the audience will be (mainly) first year undergrads studying public relations. It’s a subject that I took in the very same degree 15 years ago.
I’ve been trying to compile a list of things that I’ll cover. How people read on the web, breaking content with headings and bullets, keeping sentences snappy and short etc. But I think the main thing that I’ll emphasise to the students is…
it ain’t about you, it’s always about them.
Whenever you are writing, you always need to keep your target reader in mind. You have such a short amount of time to get your message across, don’t waste it by focusing on your business instead of the customer.
What this means is that you should always focus on the benefits of your product or service, not just the features.
So instead of:
Our new iron has an automatic switch-off. (Just the feature is mentioned.)
Try:
Our new iron has an automatic switch-off, so there’s no need to worry if you can’t remember if you turned off the iron or not. (Both the feature and benefit is mentioned.)
It’s such a simple thing to remember, but it will make such an improvement to your content.
What are the benefits of your product?
If you ever need help identifying the benefits of your product or service, send me an email and I’ll give you a hand.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I love taking classes – too bad you can’t take any without enrolling in a degree program in UAE. I wish I was taking this one!
I’m writing a report for a client on a similar topic. If you’re looking for resource material I’d recommend Jakob Neilson’s studies. The website it horrible but it has excellent information based on studies he carried out.
Also a free e-book called Better Business Writing by Mathew Stibbe.
Oh and the new book by Donna Spencer (Rockable Press). How to Write Great Copy for the Web. Great book if you want to research from a newbie’s pov.
Hey, thanks for the tips!
I’m reading Letting go of the words at the moment. Truly excellent.
Cheers
Thanks Sally. “Benefits not Features”. This is an important one to remember. I wonder how it would look as a body tattoo?
Brad´s last blog ..Wordle your WordPress: Flash based tag cloud plugin
Oooo, I like that!
So simple, yet so so true and so often overlooked.
alastair simpson´s last blog ..Pitching UX for the first time
Cheers Alastair
I just had a look at your site. I’m guessing you have to focus on the benefits of UX too?
Couldn’t agree more. But then, you already know that! Good luck with the lecture, Sally.
Glenn Murray´s last blog ..Generic product descriptions can harm your search ranking. Google said it!
Of course, I’m preaching to the converted with you Glenn. By the way, love the discussion happening over on your blog at the moment. You’ve opened a can of worms!
Hey sally, yes focussing on the benefits is key! Having a sales background before moving into UX, I see to many excellent UX practitioners who focus on the beautiful features they use in design, when trying to sell the benefits of their work, which many managers just do not get. So I am trying to pass on some basic sales skills through my blog to help this. Copywriting and sales, to me have many similarities. I was inspired by Bill De Rouchey, who I saw speak at a conference last year. Really insightful how he used copy to deign humanity into products and also focus on the right trigger words.
Love the work on your site, would be really interested to see the output of the lecture you give at QUT.
Thanks, I’m going to look him up.
Cheers
Hi Sally
Glad to see you continuing to spread the word about effective writing. People seem to be so time poor these days that the principles of writing for the reader apply right across business writing. Sometimes if writers understood how many times their ebook, marketing material, blog post, article, etc ended up in the readers’ ‘too hard’ basket, they’d soon learn to apply the principles you advocate.
Keep up the excellent work!
Desolie
Thanks Desolie
What do you find is your biggest challenge when writing?
Cheers
Biggest copywriting challenge? The dialogue with the client before starting to write – capturing their voice and their enthusiasm for the project, so that I can use their words, not mine; making sure they have a clear picture of their readers so that I can use the right sort of language; helping them decide just what they really want to say.
I like to spend time with the client, preferably in their environment, so that I can pick up other clues about them.
And remembering that copywriting takes time.
But it’s a challenge I enjoy.