Writing, Like Life, Needs a Purpose
I’m all for a little existential angst every once in a while. You know, the “what’s the point of it all?” kind of stuff that ultimately keeps us on track.
But when it comes to the writing you do for your business, there’s really no room for that sort of thing. You’ve got to be crystal clear about what the point of it all is.
For that to happen, you need to start with a clear sense of purpose for every letter, web page, blog post, newsletter, email, or other piece of writing you do.
It’s not hard, really, but most people skip this step. They just start writing, figuring out what they want to say as they go in the written equivalent of “thinking out loud.” Now, I don’t know about you, but in my life, I’ve found that thinking out loud is best when the stakes are low. And that’s certainly not the case in your business communications, whether they’re online or off.
The clarity that a sense of purpose can bring to your writing is powerful. And – here’s an inside tip for you – it actually makes the job of writing a lot easier by helping you understand what information to include, what tone to take, and how to structure your content.
Happily, finding a sense of purpose in your writing is quite a bit easier than finding a sense of purpose in your life. Here’s a simple framework you can apply to whatever you write to get clear, quickly, on what your goals are:
This ______________________________________ (thing: page, site, email, newsletter, etc.)
will help ______________________________________ (who, specifically?)
be/do/have/understand/etc. ________________________________ (what, specifically?)
so that _______________________________________ (what’s the result you want?)
That’s it. Simple, isn’t it? But powerful. Try it and let me know how you do!