Have you updated your GDPR opt-in wording?

With the ‘go live’ date for GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) just a few weeks away, hopefully you will have already come to terms with implications for your organisation. As well as your data management tasks, getting updated copy in place by the 25 May 2018 deadline is essential. 

I won’t try to explain the regulations here as I think other people have already done it well. (If you are in need of legal advice or support, I can thoroughly recommend the excellent James Boyle at Taylor Vinters in Cambridge.)

Instead, as a copywriter I want to focus on the writing tasks that need to be done to support compliance, and to maximise opt-in rates in the new GDPR era. 

How copy can help you comply with GDPR

Transparency is an important part of GDPR. When you are asking people to opt in to receive marketing communications, you must be very clear about what opting in means to the individual.

From 25 May, wording such as “I consent to receiving marketing communications” won’t be enough. Here are a couple of better alternatives:

Example 1

We’d like to send you our monthly email newsletter that contains great ‘how-to’ articles, special offers and news round-ups. Please tick the box that applies to you:

□ Yes please, I’d like to receive your email newsletter. (We’ll handle your personal details very carefully, and we’ll never sell or give them to anyone else.)

Example 2

Your communication preferences

Yes please! I would like to receive updates about new products, special offers and events from ACME Chickens Ltd via:

□ Email    □ SMS   □ Post 

Both the above examples also meet the GDPR requirement that giving consent should be an active, affirmative action by the individual. It will no longer be good enough to rely on passive acceptance. Say goodbye to pre-ticked boxes.

Going beyond compliance: maximising opt-in rates

The wording you use can of course go further than ensuring compliance. It’s an opportunity to show people that they have a lot to gain from opting in. The objective is to create content that inspires people to tick the opt-in box.

Here are a couple of examples of what I have in mind:

Example 3

Sign up for unique email subscriber benefits

Registering with us will bring you:

- Great monthly special offers just for subscribers (20-50% off!).

- Weekly updates on new products BEFORE they hit our online shop.

- Advance opportunities to buy in our quarterly clearance sales.

□ Yes, I’m in (and please send me my first special offer right away). 

Example 4

Psssst! Wanna join the club?

Not everyone gets in on our lovely free content. But tick the box and you will.

□ I want in. Please email me your free reports, white papers and articles.

Now’s the time to review your opt-in wording

I hope the above examples give you some guidance and inspiration for seamlessly moving over to a successful transition to GDPR compliance.

Three assumptions that will lead to poor marketing content

Is the way you write almost guaranteeing that your readers will move on to something else right away? It could be, if you are building unnecessary assumptions into your content.

Here’s a quick look at three examples of assumptions that can damage your content – but that can be easily fixed.

                                                                                                

1. Assuming that people remember the last thing you wrote

Often in a blog or email newsletter article you read something like ‘following on from last month’s update on our CFD-3000 widget we are delighted to announce that…’

The writer is assuming that the reader read the previous piece AND that he/she remembers it. In reality of course, the reader may never have read the previous piece, and even if they did it might have been one of dozens or hundreds of pieces of content they had to process on that day. There’s every chance it will have been forgotten by now.

An easy alternative would be to write something like: 'Last month we wrote about the new capacity of the CFD-300 widget (you can read about it here), and now we have even more good news about the upgraded product.’

So don’t be afraid to recap on what was written previously, even if you think most readers will remember it.

2. Assuming that people know who you are

Just because someone is on your email database doesn’t mean they will instantly recognise your company name when you send them an email. This is especially true if you don't send emails very often.

Some newsletter copy jumps right into content without reminding people who the sender is and what they do. Like this: ‘It’s been a busy month for all of us here. We’re especially pleased that our product manager Peter has completed his Level 5 training and is now fully on board with our product portfolio.’ 

The poor reader is thinking ‘I think I know who this is from but I’m not sure’ or worse still, ‘I have absolutely no clue who these people are’.

So make it a habit of having the essential ‘remember us’ copy as early as possible in the piece. For example, a strapline can do the trick, like ‘Keeping you informed about the latest poultry-keeping accessories’.

3. Forgetting that many of your readers are in different sectors

This applies especially to LinkedIn. Do you feel as frustrated as me when you browse through your LinkedIn feed? Among the dozens of updates I have to wade through, many of them make absolutely no sense to me.

Like this: ‘Had a great time at CuddlyFun2016 this week! Awesome performance from everyone involved and we have been nominated for the prize of ‘Best Exhibitor’! WooHoo!’ But I have no idea exactly what CuddlyFun2016 is and I can’t remember what my connection’s business does. 

So how about writing: ‘Really enjoyed showcasing our superb teddy bear outfits at the world’s biggest soft toy exhibition this week. Awesome performance from the team and we were nominated for ‘Best Exhibitor’ at CuddlyFun2016! WooHoo!’

Yes, I know – the main target audience for a post like that IS people who know exactly what CuddlyFun2016 is. But presumably you are connected to everyone else because you want to communicate with them on some level, so why not do it with clarity for them too?

Step into your readers’ shoes for a moment

As with all good writing, the trick is to remember that your readers don’t live in your world. They aren’t as interested in you and what you do as you are. So give them those extra little bits of information to help them quickly ‘get’ what you’re writing about.

Try managing expectations rather than stretching the truth

It doesn't happen often, but sometimes clients ask me to stretch the truth in the stuff I write for them. Putting aside any ethical considerations (although they matter to me too), what bothers me the most is that I can't see how it can do my clients any good in the long term.

Consider this example from a few years ago...

The website provider I was working for offered a content management system (CMS) to its customers. I was told that this was a great CMS that was 'as easy to use as editing a Word document'. So I wrote some web copy that promised this and other great things for customers.

But when I tried to use the CMS to get the copy onto the provider's own site, it was far from easy. In fact, it was so bad, I had to get one of their technical people to do it.

And when I spoke to the techie, he said that he wasn't surprised I was having problems as the CMS was 'a piece of rubbish'.

Is it wise to promise great things from a service when you know that it's really a lie? How can that lead to happy customers and sustainable long term relationships?

Even when a short term sale is the goal, is it a good idea to create unrealistic expectations?

The last time I looked for a house to buy after just a couple of weeks I had a list of estate agents that I wouldn't deal with. You know the ones: their property pictures make tiny, damp-ridden houses look like lovely mansions. One even assured me that a village was getting fibre optic broadband 'soon', when two minutes of research revealed that the earliest that will happen is 2017.

Being negative doesn't have to be a disaster

There are ways to let potential customers know that a product or service has some flaws without losing their interest.

When I call up about a property the agent can say 'there is some damp in the house but the price reflects it and in our opinion it is something that can be remedied relatively easily'. This would make me respect an agent. Wasting my time by sending me around the countryside on wild goose chases does not.

Are there any examples in your own marketing communications where some claims or promises are stretching the truth a bit? Is this creating problems for sales or customer services staff down the line?

If so, there may well be opportunities for phrasing things in a more realistic way.

Something that doesn't need to be in a copy brief

This week I have started on a new project for a client. The aim is to produce a small website or app dedicated to part of their product range. This will be used to help launch some new products and tie them in with the existing range.

We met to get things started and the main subjects up for discussion were how we should structure the content, and how much depth of information should be included.

Should we structure it by product, product category or product features? Should we just have brief summary content linking through to detailed data sheets, or have another layer of detail in between them?

I think some people wanted to make a decision on all of this at the meeting. Thankfully we agreed to leave the decision for another time.

Decisions on structure and content can be postponed

There is no real advantage in deciding on the final structure yet. In fact, doing that could place an unnecessary restriction on us in these early stages. Instead, we are getting stuck into drafting some content and we’ll see what feels right in terms of structure and depth as we go along.

We are working in Word at the moment, rather than a content management system or database. That means it’s incredibly easy to cut and paste, change the length of content and shape the overall structure of the materials. Once everyone is agreed, we can upload content onto the system and minimal changes will be needed.

A week or two of drafting alternative versions is the next stage and as we go along the main stakeholders will have opportunities to review and comment.

At the moment nobody knows what route we’ll take and that’s fine: it’s sometimes better to let things emerge over time rather than get locked in to a fixed format too soon in the process.

Shaping a written 'tone of voice' - part three

n my previous post I discussed some of the things about your writing that can have an effect on the tone of voice. Now let’s take things a step further, with five more things that can be considered.

Choosing your words

As you write, you are constantly making choices about the words you use.

(Or: while you communicate, you are continually deciding upon vocabulary options.)

In many cases, the choice you make will determine the level of formality or informality of what you write. Will you use currently or now? Will you use collaborate or work together? Will you use positive feedback or great response?

An example often mentioned (so hey, I’ll do it too) is that MailChimp tells its staff to write ‘So sorry for the hassle’ rather than ‘We apologise for the delay’. Even in a small sentence, it’s clear that using sorry and hassle rather than apologise and delay changes the tone of voice and, as a result, gives the reader a very different perception of the company.

A tip for improving as a writer in general, and for fine-tuning your written tone of voice, is to use a thesaurus again and again as you write. Look at the alternative words available, try out different combinations and see which words best suit your message and your brand.

Spelling

Hang on a minute, surely there are no options about spelling. There is just one correct way to spell, right?

Well, no. There isn’t a central authority for spelling in the English language. Dictionary publishers make their own decisions about spelling and that can lead to some interesting dilemmas.

Most professional writers will use all right and consider alright a very informal spelling. Indeed, the folks at Oxford Dictionaries say that ‘alright is still regarded as being unacceptable in formal writing’.

But they also say: ‘There is no logical reason for insisting that all right should be written as two words rather than as alright, when other single-word forms such as altogether have long been accepted.’

Sometimes this lack of clarity over spelling has an effect on tone of voice. Using u instead of you would horrify my lawyer clients. But it might be just right - in places - for a young B2C brand. And I predict that one day even the Oxford English Dictionary will accept it: in fact it already lists u as an informal alternative to you.

Slang

One of the problems with slang is that it might be perfectly normal to some people and completely meaningless to others. The MTV website says that 'Geordie Shore features people getting mortal'. Do you know what that means?

You must keep sight of who the audience is when you are writing, and consider how that affects your use of slang. If you don’t know your audience very well, try to consult with someone who does if you want to use slang.

I often write content aimed at IT experts, but I’m not an IT specialist. So if I use some slang to add informality and colour to a piece I check with some techies that the slang has an authentic ring to it.

Grammar ‘rules’

I have put ‘rules’ in inverted commas because many of the things we are told are rules are in fact not rules at all. And yes, that does mean the ‘rule’ that you can’t start a sentence with and.

Sometimes sticking to ‘correct’ grammar adds an unwelcome level of formality to writing. You might know when to use whom rather than who but if using whom makes your writing sound stuffy, do you really want to use it?

(By the way, I cover grammar and grammar myths on my Copywriting Skills Development Programme.)

Objective vs subjective

The use of subjectivity can play a big role in giving your writing (and therefore your organisation) a personality. So if your chosen tone of voice is all about having a brand personality, it’s something to consider.

Here are two approaches to describing a sofa:

This two-seater sofa has an especially soft fabric that you will love.

We love the fabric on this sofa. In fact, we wish our clothes could be this soft!

The second version has a strong personal opinion and in doing so adds some personality to the communication. If you are struggling to get a personality across, have a go at using some subjectivity in your writing: it may be just what you need.

In summary…

I hope that across these posts on tone of voice you have a good list of some of the variables to consider. There are hundreds or thousands of other articles, blogs and guides out there on the subject too, so invest some time in further reading if this is a topic of particular interest.

Shaping a written 'tone of voice' - part two

In my last post, I started to look at the written ‘tone of voice’. Although I shared a process for getting agreement on a tone of voice, I didn’t get into what actually influences this: what is it about your writing that affects the tone of voice?

Let me start by being pretty blunt: much of the brand guidelines I have seen are very poor when it comes to tone of voice guidance. They often say things like ‘write in an engaging way’ and ‘write as you speak’ and leave it at that.

What we writers really need is a much clearer steer on an organisation’s tone of voice. So let’s look at some of the specific choices you can make that will change the tone of voice of your writing. I’ll look at five things in this edition, and there will be more next time.

Contractions

Using don’t instead of do not may not sound like a big deal, but in a piece of writing of 500 words there could be several opportunities for contractions. If you use contractions every time you will generally have a softer, more personal tone than if you don’t.

Here is a before and after example:

Before (no contractions): Volunteers find that it is not difficult to get a lot from the experience and they are often involved in fun activities. Please do not worry about being left alone as we have made sure you will get lots of support.

After (with contractions): Volunteers find that it’s not difficult to get a lot from the experience and they’re often involved in fun activities. Please don’t worry about being left alone as we’ve made sure you’ll get lots of support.

I suppose sometimes a case could be made for not using contractions, but personally my default position is that contractions are fine – and they rarely, if ever, make writing look sloppy or unprofessional, which is a concern that some people have.

Cutting down on words

Turning a 150-word piece into a 100-word piece often softens a tone of voice because it often includes taking out phrases that sound stuffy and formal in favour of shorter equivalents. If you use due to the fact that instead of because, or at the present time instead of now you will end up with something that has a harder, more formal feel than the shorter alternatives.

Using ‘you’

Some organisations never want to use the word you, preferring instead to say our clients and the like. Generally, using you will soften the tone of voice. But watch out, because it can be overdone and writing often needs a blend of the two approaches.

Jargon

Jargon has its place in peer-to-peer communication. If I am sending an email to colleagues involved in search engine optimisation I will write SEO. It would in fact look very odd to spell out the full phrase.

But too often, people write for customers or other stakeholders who won’t get the jargon. When we do this, we can make our writing (and our organisation) appear elitist and unfriendly.

Just look at this sentence intended for parents of 14-16 year-old children:
The activity delivers aspects of work related learning and helps to develop and evidence key skills and enterprise capability.

The word evidence is not normally used in that way. I suspect that enterprise capability is a term that the organisation writing the sentence uses a lot, but it’s not something that every reader will understand straight away, or even at all.

Passive vs active voice

Although there’s nothing wrong with using the passive voice, in general it seems that the passive voice makes our writing more approachable:

Passive voice: Innovative products and services are offered by our company.

Active voice: Our company offers innovative products and services.


More next time...

I’ve started with five fairly obvious influences on tone of voice. Next time, I’ll get deeper into the subject and draw on examples from organisations with varying approaches.

Shaping a written 'tone of voice' - part one

There is no shortage of discussion online about the importance of a brand’s tone of voice. Google will bring you some excellent articles and I won't go through all the issues here.

But what strikes me is that some of the branding gurus make it all sound much more complicated than it needs to be. Most of my clients have tackled the issue as they go along, fine-tuning the stuff they write (or I write) when needed to remain consistent and appropriate.

Sometimes however it is important to revisit the style of what’s being written. Lots of things could prompt this. One that springs to mind is that there might be inconsistent styles after a merger of two businesses. Another is a move to a different media (such as an app or new style of advertising), while a move to a new market could also be the driver.

Whatever the case, when a review is needed you can spend hours or even days in workshops talking about the brand’s values and personality. Creative techniques can be used to decide whether your brand is like a grumpy old cat or a funny little puppy. (You know the sort of workshop I mean, right?)

That approach might work really well, and I’m not dismissing it out of hand. But in my experience, and for B2B companies in particular, it doesn’t have to be such a big deal.

A quick and painless way to revisit tone of voice

Recently a client asked me to create content for the company's first app. This was a good time to revisit the tone of voice, both for the business as a whole and specifically for the app content.

I simply took a piece of writing already approved from a messaging and technical accuracy point of view and edited it into three versions. Version one was was the way the organisation usually writes. Version two tried to jazz things up a little. Version three took things a bit further.

This is a B2B company in a fairly straight laced industry, so even version three wasn’t particularly wild. But there were clear differences between each version.

We organised a 30-minute meeting with the marketing manager, marketing communications manager, sales director and managing director. That was all it took for everyone to have their say on which bits of the three versions they felt were suitable for representing the brand.

From there, it was a straightforward matter of creating a single version that now acts as a reference when we write new materials.

As for the specific techniques I used for changing the words and tone of voice…that’s what I’ll look at soon...