Most people who write for a living will tell you that getting it right takes about 10% actual writing time and 90% research. Knowing what to write before you write it and for whom may seem like an obvious place to start, but when you’re under pressure to meet a business writing deadline, the obvious can disappear. It shouldn’t, though, because even when you’re up against the clock, the entire process of writing your content will be easier if you put down your pen, sit away from the keyboard, and consider it first.
“An important first task when planning a written assignment is to think carefully about its purpose.” (1). Start by identifying your reader, considering these three simple questions:
* Who is my reader? * Will they read this? * What value is being created? (two)
If, for example, your brief is to write a 1,000-word ‘business-to-consumer’ brochure on a new range of motorized mobility scooters, the language, tone and style of your article should not be aimed at the young audience. Sound too obvious? Look in any newspaper, magazine, or website and you’ll soon find countless examples of product ads that seem to be incongruously targeting a completely irrelevant market. This explains the irritation or amusement you feel when you see a TV commercial that is not directed at you. When this happens, the audience immediately feels disconnected and the intended message of the content is left up in the air. It is one of the main reasons why sales copy and ads fail.
In our example, after you’ve identified your main ‘mobility scooter’ readers as seniors, then you have a very compelling reason why they’ll want to read about your new products. But it is a competitive market and scooters will not sell themselves. So the next part of the process is to ask yourself, ‘What’s in it for my intended readers? What benefits will our products bring to these readers over those of our competitors? And how do I communicate this to them in a language that they value?’
Consider the benefits, not just the features
This is when the “analysis” stage of the research process begins: when you go back to your product and lay out all the features it offers to your target reader, listing the corresponding benefits. Think about all that your product can do and how this will help the reader, how it will create value for them within the content that you are about to write.
If at this stage you need to clarify certain product features or specifications, or identify a more general theme that reinforces your point, go online and Google your key themes, read the relevant details that will place your claims in an authoritative context. Imagine yourself in the mindset of your target reader and look for examples of similar products geared towards them. Consider the language used to speak to them and consider what works and what doesn’t work in terms of tone.
The more detailed your research is at this stage, the more complete and effective your writing will be. You may think you’re collecting superfluous details, but when it comes to writing your content, you’ll find that you’re already a “mini-expert” on the subject and can pick and choose the best facts, statistics, and juicy pieces of information to back up your message.
The final stage of your research should be collating your preliminary notes into a final structure. This structure will depend on the media in which your content will be published; For example, writing for the web is very different from writing a sales letter or brochure, but if your research is solid, you’ll have a solid foundation for really effective content writing and structuring.
Sources
1. Prof. Gail Huon, The University of New South Wales, Writing Workshop, 2006 2. Gerry McGovern and Rob Norton, ‘Content Critical’, Financial Times Prentice Hall, 2002
