Here’s the truth. Writing for work is Marketing and Self-promotion. For an audience. For an outcome.
Stop making it hard on yourself by worrying over being sales-y, getting it just right or thinking you have to brag and be insincere.
Don’t focus on yourself.
Focus on your end-goal. Informing people, educating people, motivating them, helping them find more satisfaction…
Staying in touch with your Purpose and communicating to an Audience, a real one that you can see, will help you get that marketing and self-promotional writing done.
Write down: Purpose. Audience. Message. Key words.
Think about the purpose of your writing. Distill it down to its essence. The purpose, or outcome, should guide how and what you write. Look at the list below and use the list to guide your writing. After you’ve written your draft, go back and review noting where and how you have aligned with the purpose. …Where did I inform? What is persuasive? What items are educational?
Think about the language you’re using. Each business has its own distinct language. That’s why it’s important to be clear about your audience. Combined with keywords, or terms of reference, make sure your words, tone and level of technicality match up. Use language your people use. Especially if you are trying to get through a screen.
Think about the message (or objective). If you were to give a title to your piece, that title should really be your message. So, my message is that writing is a means to achieve a goal with a specific audience. Make sure they line up!
To help you get started, play with this list of purposes:
Informing
Connecting
Persuading
Documenting
Educating
Alerting
Getting through the screen
Solving problems
Marketing
Recognition
Entertaining
Inspiring
Call to action
Click on a link
Credibility
Visibility
Now get out a timer, get clear about your purpose and get writing!