Tips for confident copywriting

Writing about your own business should be the easiest thing in the world. After all, you know it inside-out because it's what you do every day. So why is it that so often when we finally sit down to write that pesky copy for the website or other publicity materials, the pen hovers hesitantly and the mind goes blank?

1. However tempting it may be, don't put it off. Once you get started you will find this can be both enjoyable and valuable in terms of the future direction and growth of your business. When you start to put down what you do in writing, you get a clearer and more solid picture of your achievements and the direction you are going in. Sometime seeing what you do in 'black and white' can help you to distance yourself from what you do - and recognise your achievements.

1. Firstly, try to give yourself an adequate amount of time for the project. Spend perhaps half an hour initially just jotting down notes and thinking about what you want to achieve from the copy you are going to write. What is your target audience? It is quite distinct or do you need to keep your language quite general in order to appeal to a wide target audience? Jot down key words you want to get across.

3. Next, decide if you are going to write in the first person eg 'We' and 'I', or third person eg 'Jones-Taylor is an award-winning firm of Chartered Accountants based in Manchster. They specialise in...." If in doubt, look at a few different websites - particularly relating to your industry - to see which tone feels most appropriate.

4. Most of the time it is a good idea to strip out jargon and keep the language direct and tight. Go through each sentence and strip out unnecessary words and phrases. There are some exceptions to this, however. Do you work in a technical industry where certain terms will demonstrate your knowledge and appeal to target customers? In this instance you should use techical terms where they relate to products and services.

5. Once you have finished writing your copy, put it away for at least a day if time allows this. Then go back to it and proof-read carefully, making any necessary changes. If you have a good relationship with a client in your target audience, ask them to cast their eye over it. Once the final copy is finished, pat yourself on the back and keep a copy of the finished text handy to review and update as necessary regularly.

We offer copywriting consultancy and training courses - if you think you could be interested call Clarissa on 0161 918 6712 or email clarissa@paperplane-media.com.