Droning on and on without engaging in any kind give-and-take dialogue is absolutely awful for the person on the receiving end.

That’s what I like so much about Twitter. The microblogging site lets you “talk” but forces you to do so in short snippets of 140 characters or less.

I recently conducted an informal survey of people who follow me and found that most think using Twitter has helping them communicate more concisely (and hence effectively).

Now, mind you, long prose certainly has it’s place. But in business writing I see so much extraneous copy that it drowns the core message. Get to the core message quickly. Put it first. Your reader will thank you and be more likely to take the appropriate action.

If you’re not on Twitter, sign up for a free account. Follow a few people (me included) and start paring down your dialogue. I promise you’ll be the life of the next party you go to.

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Post tags: blog, blogging, business, business writing, copy, core message, dialogue, Twitter, writing

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With each passing January, I realize just how long I’ve been writing. I say it’s been 20+ years but it’s really been a lifetime.
 
At the age of 3, I became a self-proclaimed writer by scribbling “mmmm” on a piece of paper. At the age of 10, I submitted a handwritten short story to (and got my first rejection from) our local newspaper’s Sunday magazine. In college, I wrote resumes and bad, angst-filled poetry. At my first real job, I wrote anything and everything from TV scripts to commercials to taglines to correspondence.
 
And then there were the days of typing and mimeographing midterms for my college work-study program where I earned the nickname “Machine Gun” for my super-fast typing skills; the days of the literal cut-and-paste style of editing at a regional magazine; and the days of interviewing a little-known Tim Zagat about the Zagat Survey’s move to something strange, new and wonderful called the World Wide Web.
 
Suffice it to say, I’ve seen a lot of changes in the way we prepare the written word for consumption.
 
Yet, some things never change …

• Always create copy for your intended audience.
• Make your copy informative and interesting to read.
• Create well-organized, easy-to-follow sentences and paragraphs using language that’s easily understood.

And some things do change (thankfully) …

• It’s perfectly acceptable to end a sentence in a preposition.
• Fragments are okay. Even desired. Honest.
• It’s best to write the way we speak. Yuh huh.

So let me venture a few predictions — trends, really — that should, from my perspective, impact or change copy and the approach to it in 2009.
 
Consumer-Generated Content Expands
Look for more companies to open the way for both B2C and B2B audiences to participate in real dialogue with them. Watch for more brands to use Twitter to generate conversation starters — conversations that will find their way into the copy strategy behind television commercials, print ads and web content.
 
Video Content Surges
The popularity of video as entertainment will give way to video as critical communication tool. In the early months and years, however, video content strategy will be overlooked or under-resourced by everyone but the most savvy marketers.
 
The Value of Original Content Rises
Consumers will continue to demand fresh, thought-provoking content, which will require an investment in resources and a commitment to quality where copy is concerned. If consumers don’t get it? They’ll be extremely vocal about finding it elsewhere or creating it themselves.
 
Content Aggregation Grows
Content aggregation sites like Alltop.com will drive businesses to use human content aggregation to better organize their own content in ways that are more meaningful to audiences.
 
Mobile Content Extends Its Reach
Demand for mobile content delivery will become more urgent — which means more companies need to make their web sites and blogs phone-friendly.
 
SEO & Content Get Happily Married
Companies will become zealous about balancing the need for optimizing online copy for search with the need to publish copy that’s relevant and interesting to audiences.
 
Total Team Education Becomes High Priority
Companies will happily invest in expert-led training workshops and resources, especially as it relates to social media and Web 2.0 strategies.
 
Partnerships Form, Storm, Norm & Perform
Collaboration between companies and outside resources, such as web copy experts, communication strategists and online media buyers, will grow exponentially as companies realize the bottom line benefit of niche-based strategic planning.
 
Agree or disagree with my predictions? Post a comment to voice your opinion.

© JanO for , 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 2009 predictions, b2c, consumer generated content, conversation starters, copy strategy, copywriting, creative, freelance writing, get great copy, how to write, information age, marketing, mobile marketing, online content, SEO, solutions, strategies, success, web 2.0, web copy, zagat survey

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