Personal and business writing are two completely different things. Potential customers are going to look at your content as an indication of how you conduct yourself as a company. It’s the first impression you make, and we don’t need to explain how important those are.
If you’ve never written in a professional setting before, you’re understandably nervous. “What expensive course will I have to take?” The answer is: none! Everything you need to know is right here.
We’re going to show you right now how to create content that’s ready to go on your website.
1. Learn SEO
The search results list is a competitive place. If you want to show up at the top, you need to know the art of search engine optimization or SEO.
Done correctly, you can launch your content straight to the first page. Without SEO, you stand little chance of ranking. This is why so many writers with amazing content get minimal traffic.
You might be worried because you don’t know about SEO or have never heard of it. That’s completely fine. You can catch up with an SEO course in no time.
2. Choice of Words Matters
It’s not what you say but how you say it.
In professional writing, you need to choose an appropriate tone. Blogs on lighthearted topics can be chatty and informal. Sales content needs to be more formal, concise, and to the point.
Even when you want to sound formal, it’s essential to avoid going to the other extreme and sounding pompous, which can seem pretentious and even comical.
Imagine you’re at a gathering with people you want to impress – who are they? What tone will connect with them? Use this as a model for how you write.
3. Use a Clear Tone
Now is not the time for sarcasm or subtlety.
You cannot clarify your meaning with voice inflection over text. This means while a sentence might be witty if interpreted the way you mean it, it could also be confusing or, worse, insulting if interpreted another way. Then the entire meaning of your message has been corrupted, and you could drive away potential customers as a result.
In text communication, you need to be direct and literal.
4. Make Sentences Concise
Long, flowery sentences may work with creative writing or personal blogs, but they’re disastrous for sales content. It can come across as rambling, and your intended message can get lost in the shuffle. Plus, people just don’t have the time to decode long passages.
A rule for many professional writers is to never let a sentence be more than twenty words. When there’s a limit, it forces your ultimate message to come through.
5. Proofread, Proofread, Proofread
There’s nothing more unprofessional than having a typo on a business page. It creates a distrust for you in potential customers.
Their thought will be, “If they can’t detect and correct a typo, what will stop my order from being handled with the same neglect?” And you can’t blame them because your website’s content is the only thing they have to go by to know anything about you.
Do not post anything until it has been thoroughly checked over for any spelling and grammatical mistakes. Run it through a spelling checker and give it a thorough check with your own eyes.
Writing Like a Pro
The way you write represents not only who you are but your company as a whole. That’s why it’s so important to do it just right.
Your content needs to be personal. It needs to grab and retain the reader’s attention. It needs to hit the sweet spot – now you know how.