The Write Words Make Business Cents

As a Cape Town Copywriter I have to be really careful penning this blog post. It would be so easy to make a spelling mistake and present the wrong words to you. For those who are a little anal about spelling and grammar, mistakes are easily spotted and give me a little grumble inside. I am fussy about UK and US spelling, each has its place so please use it in the right place. Do not let your spellchecker decide for you – your local audience matters!

But spelling is often overlooked as the human brain can nearly always make sense of it. Take the title of this blog post, the wrong words may or may not have been used but your brain can decipher the code. You get the meaning of the sentence. So spelling is not really a problem when it comes to digital marketing and content marketing. On the contrary, poor spelling can make something stand out. It can be used to grab the attention of someone when done deliberately. What matters is having the right words with the right message.

Time to read or not

Time is our best friend and worst enemy, people don’t have time to read today and thus anything written must be short, sharp and to the point. Many websites have poor copy that does not get to the point fast enough. I am a culprit, I love to write and talk and use lots of words but thankfully, I do know how to get a point across when I have to – it is my job and what I am paid to do. I was doing some work for a wonderful interior design company, MH Interiors and was asked to post some blogs. With a person of words working with a person of pictures I soon discovered the struggle to see eye to eye. I wrote flowing, descriptive work while the founder of the company wanted things to the point like a picture.  We eventually saw eye to eye and found a compromise.

The Compromise with website copy and content

David Bryant the CEO of Astraia Technology always used to say that “less is more”. From an auditing and accounting perspective, this made me think but when it came to modern communication and marketing strategy David was and is spot on. To get a message across, you need to say as much as possible in as little space, time and words as possible. This was the start of the compromise between myself and MH Interiors, it was a question of telling the facts and ensuring a personality was created. The compromise when it comes to copy and content writing is finding the balance between facts and information and keeping things human and to the point.

When I first started writing full time I was quoted as “The Master of Emotional Appeal” (Barbara Valentine – Fifty Plus Report) becuase I can describe something beautifully creating emotion out of something inanimate. That is the point, website content needs an emotional connection, people buy from people and getting that across in the writing on the website is the challenge.  This is why the right words make business sense.

A website is a living breathing part of your business and it speaks in both words and pictures. If your message has the wrong words, be they outdated, not relevant or just not engaging, your website could be holding your business back. The right words really do make cents, lots of them, for many organisations who get things right. Making sure you get your message across and expediting the process from web visit to actually communicating and creating engagement is what your words need to achieve. The words are all linked to being found (SEO) and resonating with the visitor fast. If you can achieve this your website will be a success. If you struggle to achieve it you may want to consider working with a Professional Copywriter to get the Write words that make Cents!