Write Like a Pro to Market Like a Pro

Whether we know it or not, most of us market in some way every day. That simple email to a client, the random social media post, even talking to the boss – it’s all marketing. Either our organization or ourselves through the way we present ideas. But if we want to knock our marketing out of the park, we’ve got to step up to the plate with our best writing skills.

Don’t feel like you have those skills? While you might not be a professional writer, you can snag some tips from the pros to improve your written communication and get read.

Grammarcise

Like your high school English teacher told you, proper grammar matters! As it slips more by the wayside, you’ll stand out if your communication is polished and professional. We won’t make you diagram sentences, but you really should mind those grammar Ps and Qs.

Tighten Up

You don’t need to use industry jargon and five-syllable words to impress your customers. In fact, doing so will likely repel them. So focus on using simple, concise language. Which fits the bill here?

• When the time is right, you’ll need to start funneling your important assets into our new account options to improve your ROI and gain wealth as a result.
• Try our new accounts. Invest your money creatively and achieve better returns.

See how being direct and less abstract gets your readers clearly to the point? Skip the jargon, wordiness and acronyms and move on.

Get Active

Simply put, passive voice refers to using words in a round-about manner, usually including a “to be” verb or phrase.

Think about this sentence: “Dinner will be served at five.” Are you wondering who will serve it? We are, too! No one really does anything in this sentence. The serving just kind of happens. That’s passive voice.

“The host will serve dinner at five” comes across differently. Now, you know who will do the serving — the host.

Style It

Even if you aren’t mandated to follow a style guide, you must be consistent within a document. If you capitalize a term in the first sentence, capitalize it throughout. Decide upfront whether you will use the Oxford comma. Check your fonts and formatting in each section. Choose how you will handle numbers: Will you write out numbers under ten and use numerals for the rest? Maintaining consistent style and usage throughout your materials increases their – and your – level of professionalism.

These tactics work across the board for brochures, website content, social media, blogs, ads, and press releases. Put them to work in your written content, and discover how penning like a pro helps you market like a pro.

When outsourcing your content marketing to Rampant Social, we’ll meet with you to discuss your business goals and learn about your organization, your audience, and your preferences. From there, we can build an editorial calendar tailored to your business. You’ll receive content that’s well-researched, well-written, published, and promoted for you.

Rampant Social is a PR and Marketing firm that creates results for its clients through digital marketing, social media, and content creation. For more information, email info@rampantsocial.com