If you’re ever in a rut about creating messaging, head to the greeting card aisle in your favourite pharmacy or department store. There’s inspiration galore. And plenty of humour too.
Here are five communications lessons to be learned from greeting cards:
When you’re in the media, you get access to many, many letters that people write seeking help or action. They often share these letters with media in hopes of expanding publicity. Many letters are well done. But there are always a bunch filled with so much venom they’re almost toxic.
Over a long media career, I’ve seen many duds that are nothing more than people shouting via a letter.
The worst letters are the personal attack letters. Rarely do these ever accomplish anything. Well, except earn dollars for lawyers. Here are three simple questions to ask yourself the next time you need to write a letter to get the attention of a government official, politician, media, organization, etc:
First, let’s ditch a common complaint by some ‘writers’: Tightening copy is not about ‘dumbing down’ your content. You don’t write for yourself. You write for readers. So it’s your readers that matter. Bury your ego and those fancy shmancy words you like to use to impress. It’s time to make your writing simple. And, of course, more readable.
A slew of long sentences will make your copy difficult to read. Period. Tight copy and short sentences are techniques used by the best copywriters. Want to keep the attention of your readers? Think snappy. Think short. Think tight. Here are 10 tips to tighten your writing.
Seen any really bad headlines lately in media releases? Oh boy, some are awful. Excruciatingly awful. You can have the best copy in a media release, but if the headline sucks, well, your entire effort is going nowhere fast. Headlines are the enticement or obstacle for getting more of the story to your audience.
In the media business, press releases get thrown in the blue box faster than you can say “Read me, please!” You have 10 seconds or less to grab attention. Your headline either wins you attention, or fails you big time.
Here’s a five-point checklist for creating headlines that make your audience WANT to read the copy beneath!
Playwrights do it. Screenwriters do it. Novelists do it. You should be doing it. We’ve been so programmed to write and think like an English grammar instructor that often we’re reluctant to try a new approach. Yes, narrative writing requires more time and a willingness to invest in characters and scene-building, but the end result is worth it for your readers.
Have you been spending a fortune on paid advertising in newspapers or radio to publicize your organization or business? A client recently told me the tale of buying media ad space in a local marketplace to recruit volunteers. Guess how many volunteers stepped forward as a result of the ads? Zero.
This is not intended to be a debate about whether paid advertising works. But simply placing an ad and hoping you reach somebody is like trying to pin the tail on a donkey while blindfolded. And guess what, there’s nobody screaming, go left, go right to help you!
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Are your sentence lengths starting to feel bloated? Starting to feel like your writing is a steady diet of junk? Maybe it’s time you put your writing through a little physical fitness to trim the fat.
Here are three ways to put your writing through a workout routine. The best part about this routine? No monthly fees. No memberships. No cardio required. No sweat. Sounds like a breeze? Give it a try and measure your results.
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