From pseudodictionary to unword, the web is replete with sites dedicated to made-up words. TV personalities and sitcoms are famous for them, too. (Think Rachael Ray’s “fantabulous” and Archie Bunker’s “groinocologist.”) Made-up words have no doubt helped define pop culture for the better part of the last few decades.

Using made-up words is especially fun among family and friends. Our favorite is “musharoni pizza,” short for half mushroom, half pepperoni. It came about purely by accident, but it stuck and is now a standard at our house most Friday nights.

But take heed: made-up words have little to no place in your web copy. Words like “customerization,” and “dimensionalize” are not so much clever as cute and do little in the way of optimizing search or helping customers understand who you are and what you have to offer.

And, while you’re at it, be wary of overused words such as “solutions” and “optimized.” Best way to do that is to speak to the benefit of the customer … not to yourself or your company.

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If I could recommend one good habit for anyone who does any kind of writing, it would be this: keep a swipe file.

Early in my career I worked for a regional publication. My first day on the job, I could barely contain my giddiness at actually being paid to sit and read their magazine. Oh, how I loved that job!

One of the best takeaways from my publishing experience was the concept of a swipe file. A swipe file is simply your own file of good writing and creative examples: tearsheets, quotes, headlines, photos, direct mail pieces … pretty much anything that will inspire you.

My own swipe file includes Kelly Benham’s rooster story, a sweepstakes entry from Mary Kay, a well-crafted profile piece of the Barefoot Contessa and a kick-ass autoresponder from an obscure e-commerce site.

Start your own file right now — either physical or electronic  (I use both) — and then add to it over time, making sure to weed out things that are dated or no longer to your liking.

Keeping and using a swipe file is a good way to overcome writer’s block and inspire a creative breakthrough. Sometimes reading a well-crafted sentence or seeing a sample of what you’re working toward is enough to get those creative juices flowing. And who doesn’t need that from time to time?

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Email is about much more than open and click-through rates; it’s the way we do business.

My guest blogger, Mike McKay, first described these strategies and examples for communicating clearly and effectively through email two years ago today. His well-appointed advice still applies to everyone who sends even one email a year. Read on for some great advice from this accomplished tech writer.

BACKGROUND:
Email is one of the most common forms of communication today, but is often ineffectual because of poor structure. It doesn’t matter if all of the information the audience needs is in there if it isn’t presented well. Some people get hundreds of emails every day, and need to be able to read, understand and get the information they require in a matter of seconds.

EXAMPLE 1:
Look at the poorly “designed” fictional email below. Hidden in the middle of the paragraph is “important information you need to know.” Sometimes the vital information is in the third or fourth paragraph of large, uninterrupted blocks of text.

Dear Reader,

Road construction near our East New York office location will continue through September or October, depending on the weather conditions. Fifth Street is closed between Central and Overview. North Blvd will be restricted to one lane of travel in each direction for road resurfacing. The South parking lot will be closed until the Fifth street construction is completed. Employees should consider using the West New York office for meetings, due to the increased traffic near the East office location. Please observe the new traffic patterns and signs, and drive carefully in the construction areas. Adjust your schedules to accommodate the expected increased commute time.

Warmest Regards,
Someone Who Should Know Better

HOW TO FIX IT:
Use the strategies below to improve your email communication skills.

Grouping – Put similar types of information together in a paragraph. Types of information could include: Background, Introduction, Action Required, New Policy, How To, What To, Where To, Who To and Important Information About.

Portion – Put information into small, manageable paragraphs. Large blocks of unbroken text turn off readers. Subdivide any large group of information. For example, the block of “How To” information in this section has been subdivided into four sub-groups; Grouping, Portion, Priority and Labels.

Priority – Put the important information up front. Highlight it, capitalize it, underline it, italicize it or make it bold if it can’t be in the first sentence. State the essence of the email right in the subject line. For example, “Subject: Important Notice – Meeting Location Changed.”

Labels – Label your paragraphs when communicating to a group with differing informational needs. For example, your audience in California may not need to know about road closures affecting the New York location. Labels offer readers cafeteria-style access to information. Labels are optional, depending on your audience. As always, consider your audience when communicating through email.

EXAMPLE 2:
Here’s the email from the first example, reworked using the strategies described above.

Subject: Important Notice – Parking and Meeting Changes for New York Offices

PURPOSE: This email describes the temporary changes to parking and meetings at the New York offices due to road construction.

CHANGES TO NY MEETINGS: Use the West NY office location for all meetings until further notice.

EAST NY OFFICE PARKING: Personnel at the East NY office must use the North parking lot until further notice. The South parking lot is closed until road construction on Fifth Street is complete.

WHAT TO EXPECT: Commute times will be longer. New traffic patterns and signs will be in place. Adjust your schedule accordingly, and drive carefully.

DURATION OF THESE CHANGES: Road construction affecting the East NY office is expected to be complete in September or October, depending on weather conditions.

ROAD CONSTRUCTION DETAILS: Fifth Street is closed between Central and Overview. North Blvd will be restricted to one lane of travel in each direction for road resurfacing.

Warmest Regards,
Effective Emailer

WANT TO LEARN MORE? Take a technical writing course. Look for offerings from your local college or take a web-based class. The Information Mapping folks have an online course specifically designed for email communications.

Mike McKay is an engineer, tech writer and instructor for a telecom gear maker. Send Mike an (effective, well designed) email at: cliomichmike@gmail.com.

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I consider it my job to help my clients understand their audience. I like to challenge them with thought provokers that I hope will forever change the way they communicate — or even think about communicating — with their audience.

Here’s the question I ask and the one I hope you’ll start asking yourself or your corporate writers:

“Is this what you want to say or is this what your audience wants to hear?”

Remember, it’s not their job to hear you, it’s your job to reach and connect with them.

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