Writing Expertise
The ability to write well is a core competency of effective marketing, and there is a fundamental difference between good writing and great writing. By simply following the rules, anybody can be a good writer. However, in today’s digital world, those same rules can limit your ability to ultimately reach your desired audience. Great writing is unique, embodies voice, and doesn’t always need to conform to a rigid set of guidelines.
“It ain’t whatcha write, it’s the way atcha write it.” -Jack Kerouac
Aside from the emergence of video and audio content, writing still remains the primary vessel for idea and information exchange online. From humble beginnings as sports stringer and feature writer at The Press Enterprise, to generating copy to guide User Experience (UX), writing remains an instrumental tool in successfully communicating with consumers as well as colleagues. As a digital marketing and workplace training professional, I have had the opportunity to refine my craft through creating an array of written materials types across several diverse projects, including:
- Ad copywriting
- Blogging
- Case studies
- Content marketing
- Ebooks
- Evergreen content
- Feature writing
- How-to tutorials
- Infographics
- Instructional design
- Interactive content
- Interviews
- Journalism
- Legal writing
- Longform content
- Newswriting
- Press releases
- Privacy policies
- Product reviews
- SEO content
- Social media content
- Surveys
- Technical articles
- UX writing
- Website content
Conventional writing styles are still in high demand with traditional forms of publicity, however, the popularity of blogs and the rise of social media are changing the way readers consume authored content. When crafting written interactions, even more important that grammatical correctness, is the emphasis that should be placed on speaking in a manner that resonates directly with the intended audience.
Analytics allow authors to better understand how readers interact content. By applying these insights to future updates, it is possible to continue catering your message in order to increase both awareness and engagement over time.
Every day, Internet users are becoming increasingly aware of the tactics that marketers utilize through writing. Whether the end goal is to inform, promote, or sell readers on a product or idea – transparency and articulation are paramount. Online communication, forces businesses and other web-based entities to put their reputation on the line with every interaction, and we now live in a time that truly rewards those sites that provide transparency in their actions while living up the expectations they set.