In the world of copywriting and content creation, artificial intelligence is all anybody seems to want to talk about. My biggest peeve is the never-ending discussion about whether an em-dash indicates that something was written by AI.
Enough already! I literally might scream out loud the next time I see a blog or post talking about em-dashes and AI.
So this month I’m doing everyone (especially me) a favor: I won’t be talking about AI at all in my blog. Instead, I’m going to share some of the top writing tips I’ve learned over my 40-year (gulp) career as a professional writer.
Because yes, there are some of us who still write content ourselves instead of using ChatGPT to write for us. You’re welcome.
8 Writing Tips for Better Copywriting
Here are 8 writing tips that can help you create better blogs, articles or any other kind of marketing content you’re producing:
1. Write using the active voice. Passive writing is one of my biggest bugaboos as an editor because it severely weakens your copy. For example:
Passive voice: Our financial services are trusted by the leading companies in the industry.
Active voice: The leading companies in the industry trust our financial services.
Which sentence do you think is stronger?
It’s easy to slip into passive voice sometimes, especially when writing highly technical or complex copy. While there are some situations where the passive voice is OK, this is the exception, not the rule.
2. Write in first or second person. Writing in third person is similar to writing in the passive voice — it’s weak and ineffective. For example, I always write this blog in first and second person, directly from me (first person) to you (second person). Here’s an example of second vs. third person writing:
Second person: You can improve your writing by following these tips.
Third person: Individuals can improve their writing by following these tips.
See the difference?
3. Tighten your copy … and then tighten it some more. Good marketing copy is tight and concise. Remember: Less is usually more when it comes to copywriting.
After you’ve written a draft, go back and start whittling away unnecessary words and phrases. You should be able to cut a draft by at least 10 or 20 percent with some judicious tightening. Sometimes it can be hard to tighten your own writing so use an editor to tighten your copy if you need to.
4. Don’t use industry jargon. Different industries tend to have their own unique terms and phrases that creep into copy. I have my own list of cringe-worthy B2B jargon: synergies, best practices, deep dive, low-hanging fruit, drill down, pain point and push the envelope, to name just a few.
Arrgh, it was painful just typing those phrases! Try to stay away from overused jargon like this in your marketing communications and instead write with clear language normal people would use.
5. Read your copy out loud while writing. I was just talking to a fellow freelance writer about this last week. It’s amazing how reading copy out loud can help improve your rhythm and flow. Go ahead, give it a try — just make sure the people around you know what you’re doing so they don’t think you’re talking to ghosts!
6. Proofread your copy very carefully. In college journalism, if we had one single typo or misspelled word in a paper or assignment, we got an automatic F. No questions, no negotiation and no debate. And this was back when we wrote on a typewriter, not a computer with automatic spellcheck!
The internet and social media, not to mention texting, have lowered the bar considerably when it comes to proofreading. I’m continually amazed at how many typos and errors I see in “professional” material published online. Maybe I sound like your scolding English teacher from 9th grade, but I still believe that producing clean, error-free copy is important.
7. Write with simplicity and clarity. As a business-to-business writer specializing in financial services and fintech, I write about some pretty technical stuff. But that’s not an excuse for my copy to be unclear or too complex.
In fact, my biggest challenge is usually writing about complex topics in a clear, easy-to-understand way. Ask someone else who isn’t in your industry to critique your writing for simplicity and clarity. If they can’t easily understand what you’ve written, you’ve got some work to do.
8. Critique your copy visually.Your copy should be easy to read not only from a language standpoint, but also from a visual perspective. As noted copywriting expert David Garfinkel puts it, your copy needs to have “eye appeal.”
For example, shorten long paragraphs to make them look less intimidating. As a rule of thumb, I try not to write paragraphs longer than 2-3 sentences. Throw in short one- or two-line paragraphs here and there. And use subheads, bullets and numbered lists to break up long copy blocks into snackable bites that make it easy to skim.
Print out this list of writing tips and keep it handy to help you create better blogs, articles and other marketing content.