I was submitting some of the articles I have written to an article directory, when this thought came to my mind.
“There are tens of thousands of articles there. What makes YOU stand out?”
Then the gush of thoughts came in.
What makes you want to bookmark a blog post, or share it with others? What makes you want to take our your credit card after you read a sales letter? What makes you want to click on the link in an email? What makes you think “Hey, this book is good stuff!”, and want to recommend it to others?
It all boils down to two things. One, the idea that you want to bring across. Two, the way you present your idea in your copy.
Copywriting.
In the real world, we all say – if you want to do business, you must learn to sell. The need to sell is fundamental to every business! The sales department is the ONLY department that brings in money for every business, and all the other departments only help to spend money.
In the real world, selling is much done via face to face sessions – two person talking. Chatting. Persuading. Influencing.
Guess what? On the Internet, the medium is different, but the same principle applies! The only way for any Internet business to flourish is to be able to sell, and on the net, selling is done through text! Writing!
A website with a ton on traffic won’t bring in much revenue if the sales copy is lousy. And if you are selling an e-book, for example, even if you have a brilliant sales copy, you will get refunds if what you present in your book doesn’t match your sales letter!
I know I need to learn to write better. I need to learn to write persuasively. You too.
Would anybody have any good recommendations on how to improve writing?
Yes , Kiann
The more you write , your writing skills also go on improving. Practice makes man perfect
Thanks Tajim, like many things in this world, I guess writing is a skill that can be honed only through practise.
You can be sure I’ll write every day!
Hi Kian Ann,
I will be blogging a response to this. Check it out in a day or two.
😉
Hey Walter, sure I’ll check it out! (Heh! I better catch up with my feeds now!) ;P
Hi there. It was interesting of you to note that good written communication is essential for professional survival. Surprisingly, the majority of people believe that just because they ‘know English’, it is a given that they will be able to communicate effectively.
In fact, it is alarming to note that almost all web design firms do not have a full-time writer on their staff, when the textual structure and content is as equally important as a flashy look.
I am a writer and although many of my web-design clients have been quite impressed with the standard of my work, they still give less importance to the value of proper written content and often prefer to prepare the writing themselves. This is in spite of having seen the world of difference between their written work and mine.
It is indeed sad that enough respect has not been forthcoming for written communication and many writers suffer the insult of “your work is excellent but we think we can do with less superior material and save the money”. Apparently, cost is given the higher priority than the quality of written communication.
On a separate note, I am pursuing avenues to conduct workshops on proper writing, including the elements of effective communication, as part of my goal to reach out to the masses. If you have any suggestions or know of opportunities, do point me in the right direction, thanks.
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PS >> Practice makes perfect. But if you do not know what is right or wrong in the first place, you just might be practicing the wrong thing and likewise, perfecting the wrong practice…