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...

Why you shouldn't sweat too much over draft #1

Writers know that it's important that everyone involved understands the process we use. The process may seem painful to some people, but it's how all writers eventually produce the right words.

We writers churn out (sorry, carefully craft) thousands of words each day. Most of what we write is intended to be draft copy for others to review. Ultimately, it is a client - either an actual external client, or a boss if we are working in-house - who has final say on what's published.

Experienced writers know that we can't hope to get every word right, every time. Or rather, we can't hope to write what our client wants, every time. There is a process going on where we write a draft, get feedback on the draft, write another draft and so on.

Anyone - writer or client - who thinks that a 'perfect' version should always be written on draft one, two or three is being unrealistic. Yes, it can happen, and it's great when it does. But more often than not, it's a process that takes a bit longer.

Let's look at why multiple drafts might be needed before we get to the final, approved and published version...

Writers don't care as much about words as clients do

 

What? Is Richard now saying that even though he has been writing for 20+ years he doesn't care about words? In a way, yes.

The issue is that we writers have lots of options about the words we use. There is never 'one correct way' to phrase something. Ultimately, it is the client who chooses what's right. That's why we don't labour endlessly over every word and every phrase in early drafts.

The client reading a draft usually has a very clear idea about how they want the message to be phrased. Or, more likely, they instantly know whether they like or dislike the writer's choice of words when they read a draft. So it would be daft for the writer to try to make a first draft 'perfect' because no matter what we write, the chances are the client will see things differently.

Here's an example. A writer working in the automotive sector writes this:

'Buy this product and you will instantly transform your motor maintenance costs'.

The client could like that and approve it immediately, or have any number of thoughts about that phrase, such as:

• We shouldn't say 'buy' as that emphasises the fact they customers have to give us money, so we should say 'invest in' instead'.
• I don't like the word 'product': I prefer 'solution'.
• 'Instantly' is too big a promise so we should say 'soon' instead.
• I think that 'vehicle' is better than 'motor'.
• Using the word 'you' sounds too informal.

Now, none of these reactions are wrong. And none are right. They are all subjective feelings about words. True, they may be informed by knowledge of the target market and overall context, but they are subjective nonetheless.

The point is that the writer cannot possibly know whether the client would rather say 'motor' or 'vehicle', or 'buy' or 'invest in'. Even the best briefing process won't go into that amount of detail about every word or phrase.

Great writing is a process of draft, feedback and re-draft

At some point, the writer has to get something down on paper (so to speak) and get it out to the client. The client needs to know that the writer will very likely use some words or phrases that the client won't like. The writer may miss out important messages. The overall tone of voice, length of copy, amount of detail and so on may be wrong.

But here's the thing: it doesn't matter. Because when the boss/client gives detailed, specific feedback about the first couple of drafts, the writer will be in a much better position to craft words that are suitable. 

That feedback stage is a vital part of the briefing process. Writers and clients alike need to embrace the process. Yes, it can feel a bit painful at times. But it's an important part of the work both parties must do if the end result is suitable, effective content.

Ball park prices are often better than no prices

A while back, I was delivering an in-house copywriting workshop at a B2B software company and the discussion soon got onto pricing. In particular, the marketing team were unsure about whether to mention product prices across their marketing communications.

They were often telling readers that their products were competitively priced. But the concern was that this was just getting lost in the ‘noise’ of the communications, because specific prices weren't featured.

We talked for a while about the way that big retailers approach price. They wouldn’t say ‘we can typically save you 20 percent on your baked bean costs’. They show the actual price of their beans, often comparing with rival retailers. Without the real prices they would have much less credibility.

Things aren't so easy in some markets. In B2B in particular, the trend is NOT to list actual prices, because every client and every project is different. And yes, there are definitely situations when that might be the right approach, such as when sales teams have a lot of leeway on setting a price linked to a client’s needs, budget and so on.

But the trend is changing, partly driven by technology. Software providers, for example, are increasingly featuring ways that prospective customers can build their solution package online and get a price. And even when this isn't an option, it is often possible to give a pretty good indication of price.

The case for showing prices

In most cases, people will have a rough idea of a typical price anyway. That might be knowledge they have gained through experience, or it could be as a result of careful research. So giving people an indication of price shows that you are in the industry average ballpark (unless you are specialising at either extreme end of the price/value spectrum).

Showing the price has other benefits: 

• If few of your competitors show prices, people might welcome your transparency, trust you more, and contact you as a result. 
• They might buy from you because they are too busy to go through an enquiry/quotation process with other providers. 
• You might ‘weed out’ people who can’t afford you: very important where fielding multiple ‘no go’ enquiries is costly. 

B2B buyers are increasingly looking for a price ASAP

Some research by Google back in 2014 confirmed that, increasingly, people doing the research during B2B buying processes are millennials (20-35 year-olds) who have been brought up in a culture of online purchasing. They are used to Googling something and finding what they want, including a price.

Compare that with 20 or more years ago. When I bought my first car 25 years ago I went to a car insurance broker, gave him my details, and waited for a few hours for him to get back to me with a price. Nowadays, we go online and expect to see a price within minutes – or even seconds. B2B buyers are often looking for a similar experience at work too.

This trend from the B2C world is massively influencing B2B. Price - in many sectors - is not the last thing that people expect to find out in the buying process. It's one of the first, and businesses often need to take this on board when developing marketing communications.