impr writing for business success!

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Writing for

Business SuccessWebinar: December 11, 2014

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“My task, which I am trying to achieve

is, by the power of the written word, to

make you hear, to make you feel – it is,

before all, to make you see.”

- Joseph Conrad

• 15+ years of experience in sales, marketing and product development

• Managing Partner at another PR firm. During this time, company’s

growth propelled the firm to be considered one of the leading PR &

Marketing communication companies in the industry

• Clarity in messages, increased brand awareness in the market and

overall success

• Director of Marketing Communications and Public Relations for Telx,

Product Marketing as well as Channel Marketing Manager for Telstra

International, Director of IP Services and Director of Business

Development and Marketing for Band-X

• Bachelor of Arts degree in Writing and Literature from SUNY Potsdam

where she also studied voice performance at Crane School of Music

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Ilissa Miller, Founder and CEO

• Accomplished writer with a solid professional foundation in sales and

marketing

• Accountable for press releases, white papers, research documents,

reports, proposals and corporate literature

• Senior Writer for Harvard Oaks Enterprises, Inc.

• B.A. in Journalism as well as dual minors in both Spanish and Political

Science from Illinois State University

• Local Resume Writer Certification, National Resume Writers’

Association

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Joanna Styczen,

Technical Writing Director

Webinar Goals

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• Plan and research

• Craft a powerful outline

• Identify & convey key messages

• Understand tone and voice

• Effectively write for a niche

audience/market

• Use proper spelling &

grammar

The goal of this webinar is

to help you improve your

business writing skills by

teaching you how to:

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Planning & Research

Planning & Research Topic, Market, Audience

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• Who is your target audience?

• How well do you know your subject matter?

• What are the key market trends (news / reports,

etc.)

• Identify / collect facts and figures (data sells!)

• Research the company / products / services,

including competitor offerings

• Identify key messages you want to convey –

suggest no more than three (and prioritize)

• If touting a product / solution, ensure you

research and identify the strengths and

weaknesses of the solution (so you can

emphasize and avoid appropriately)

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Understanding Tone & Voice

How to Find Your Voice &

Hone Your Tone

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Answering these simple questions can help you define the voice and tone to

leverage in your writing:

• What is the purpose of what you’re writing?

• What do you want to communicate about

your company's brand?

• Do you want to inform, entertain, or motivate

readers to take action?

• Who is your target audience?

• What mood would you like to set with your piece?

Source: Grammar Girl

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Identifying & Conveying

Key Messages

Crafting Key Messages


• Identify your ideal target customer

What’s their profile?

Who are you trying to reach?

• Create a brand vocabulary

Words and key phrases

Employee and customer descriptions

Adjectives

• Develop a key messaging document

Overall messaging

Financial position of the company

Focus – services / geography

Why your company?

Latest News

Hot Industry Issues

Company facts / figures

Key milestones / awards

Product / Service Availability

Crafting Key Messages, continued


• Other Items to Consider:

Repetition is key

Competitor messaging

Supporting messages

Evidence and stats

Avoid industry jargon

Don’t confuse your audience


Creating an Effective Outline

• What information is required to include and will be weighted

heavily?

• What additional information is beneficial to include?

• Identify who will be quoted and key area(s) of expertise

• Find key statistics theories, images, plot points, or personal

reflections to support your piece (these depend on the

nature of your work)

• Keep a separate FAQ of information that may need to be

addressed outside of the document(s)

Get Organized Create Your Outline


Traditional Outline


‘Topic’ and ‘Sentence’ Outlines

Introduction

• Background

• Thesis statement

Body

• First major category of support

Supporting detail

Supporting detail

• Second major category of support

Supporting detail

Supporting detail

• Third major category of support

Supporting detail

Supporting detail

Conclusion

• Restate the thesis

• Review major categories of support

• Provide the answer, solution, or final option

Source: Gallaudet University


Writing Style

• The Six Principals of Technical Writing

Active voice

Grammar & punctuation

Understand your audience

Short sentences for easier comprehension

More formal and devoid of any emotion

• Persuasive Writing Arguments

While more emotional and marketing-focused, persuasive writing does require proving your point

via facts and figures, examples, narratives, testimony and definition.

State your argument, then support it with one or more facts, logic, expert opinions, statistics

or specific customer case studies.

• Aristotle’s "ingredients for persuasion”: Logos, Pathos & Ethos Logos— "The data is perfectly clear: this investment has consistently turned a profit year-

over-year, even in spite of market declines in other areas.”

Pathos— "There’s no price that can be placed on peace of mind. Our advanced security

systems will protect the well-being of your family so that you can sleep soundly at night.”

Ethos— "As a doctor, I am qualified to tell you that this course of treatment will likely

generate the best results."

Technical vs. Persuasive Writing



Tricks and Tips:

• Niche, complex and fast-paced industries are evolving everyday

• Spell out acronyms first. Ex: Software-defined Networking (SDN) is an approach to

computer networking that allows network admins to manage network services through

abstraction of lower-level functionality. SDN is an emerging architecture that is dynamic…

• Search for similar projects and identify common industry ‘speak’, tone and voice

• Identify in-house, go-to experts

• Technical people want technical information

• Include specific case studies and testimonials

Writing for a Specific Industry


Grammar & Spelling Tips

To show possession by one owner, add an apostrophe and the letter ‘s’ to the owner.

Example: Michael’s.

To show possession by more than one owner, add an apostrophe after the letter s if you’re dealing

with a regular plural word.

Example: ladies’.

To show ownership for an irregular plural, add an apostrophe and then the letter ‘s’.

Example: Children’s, geese’s.

If two people own something together, use only one apostrophe.

Example: Larry and Ella’s wedding.

If two people own things separately, as individuals, use two apostrophes.

Example: Larry’s and Ella’s new shoes.


Apostrophes

• Misplaced Modifiers

For clear, logical sentences, aim modifiers so that they strike as close

to the intended targets as possible.


Misplaced Modifiers

The example above suggests that a gold man owns a

watch.

How can we correct this?

Now it is the watch that is gold.

Avoid missing commas

In a series

Example: Jane needed to buy milk, eggs, cheese, and butter.

Also note, the comma before the word ‘and’ is optional.

After an introductory element

Example: In the novel Twilight, Bella lives in Forks.

In a compound sentence

Example: The recipe sounded simple, but Julie burnt the cookies.


Commas

Source: http://www.etsu.edu/

http://www.etsu.edu/

Avoid the lack of subject-verb agreement

Examples:

The ugly duckling hates the mirrored room. (duckling-singular subject, hates –singular verb)

Hedge clippers are always a thoughtful gift. (clippers-plural subject, are-plural verb)

Two subjects joined by ‘and’ take a plural verb.

Example:

Bill and Caroline have 16 children. (Bill and Caroline- plural subject, have-plural verb)

Avoid using double negatives

Example:

No class exercises cannot replace training in the laboratory.

Class exercises cannot replace training in the laboratory.


Things to Avoid

✔

Avoid the use of run-on sentences

A run-on sentence is a sentence that is made of two sentences that could stand alone.

Example:

The computer printouts are ready to be taken to the laboratory and please deliver them promptly.

The computer printouts are ready to be taken to the laboratory. Please deliver them promptly.

Avoid redundancy

Keep it short and sweet; eliminate repetitious expressions.

Examples:

The book was a free gift.

The book was free. or The book was a gift.

The most common redundancies:

(absolutely) essential; (careful) scrutiny; (close) proximity; and eradicate (completely)


Things to Avoid, contd.

✔

✔


Things to Avoid, contd.

Avoid unnecessary verb tense shifts

Example:

When Bob died, it affects his whole family.

When Bob died, it affected his whole family.

Avoid the use of slang, jargon, and clichés

- like the plague

Avoid the wrong prepositions

Example: I was standing in the middle of the street and I was standing on the middle of the street mean two

different things.

✔

Grammarly (paid service)

http://www.grammarly.com/

WhiteSmoke (paid service)

http://www.whitesmoke.com/

Modern Language Association (MLA) Formatting and Style Guide (free)

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

American Psychological Association (APA) Style Website (free)

http://www.apastyle.org/

GrammarBase (free) - grammar / spell-checker and corrector.

http://www.grammarbase.com/

Title Capitalization - Automatically capitalizes correct words in titles.

http://titlecapitalization.com/ (free)

Hemingway App - Helps you avoid run-on sentences and keeps your writing clear.

http://www.hemingwayapp.com/ (free)


Helpful Grammar / Spelling

Resources


“I’m always pretending that I’m sitting

across from somebody. I’m telling them

a story, and I don’t want them to get up

until it’s finished.”

- James Patterson

Thank You!

Questions?

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