UK Email Marketing
 Take a closer look at your marketing voice...
You know your business, you know your product and you have an in-depth knowledge of the English language. You know your problem...
You know too much.
One problem with knowing so much is that you forget to hear your marketing voice. Sometimes we even forget that we're writing for the reader and not ourselves. One common mistake is to overuse acronyms and industry jargon. This could be losing you business. Especially if your readers have limited knowledge of what you do. Here are five tips to help you write jargon free, easy to read marketing copy:
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Write everything in advance. Never leave it until the last minute to write your marketing communications. You'll end up rushing and you'll miss the obvious mistakes.
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Always ask at least one colleague to read your communication before you send it. It's even better if you can get someone with limited or no knowledge of your product/service to read it first. Ask them if they understood it and whether they found it easy to read.
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Always spell out what an abbreviation or acronym stands for the first time you use it. For example:
"We conducted a SWOT (Strength's, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of the services market."
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Once you have written your communication and you have read it through once, stop... take an hour or so away and then return to it. This time imagine you're the intended reader, you have no knowledge of the subject matter and you have limited time to read the email. Does your communication still work?
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You can always make a sentence shorter. Shortening sentences makes them easier to read. Most marketing copy gets a quick scan. Make sure that your email is clear and concise.
With this advice in mind, here's a link to a marketing definitions website just in case I'm in a rush next month! |
