How to stop writing clichés

At the end of the day, what’s wrong with clichés? Why do critics squirm when they read about companies going from strength to strength? Why do editors put red pens through state of the art showrooms? And, more to the point, how do we avoid writing them? 

Clichés are victims of their own success.
The first time someone wrote about grabbing the bull by the horns, raising the bar and rising to the challenge, they summed up in just a few words what the rest of us had been slaving over for hours. Try finding an alternative to ‘win-win situation’ and you realise how both clever and dreadful the phrase is.

Clichés make writing easy.
We don’t need to bother interviewing the CEO for the introduction to the annual report. We don’t need to find ways to make the bad things sound better. We can just talk about going forward in tough economic conditions while focusing on core competences, strategic alliances and new opportunities.

Clichés are hollow, lazy and insincere.
Because we know that these stock phrases have been said thousands of times before, by thousands of companies, we simply don’t believe them anymore. We learn nothing about what the company is really doing. And we feel just a teensy bit aggrieved that we’ve wasted our precious time reading them.

Clichés should be replaced with details.
The way to avoid clichés is to ask yourself ‘what are we actually saying?’ What do we mean by going from strength to strength? Have we doubled our turnover? Appointed 25 new people? Opened new offices in Dubai? Cut overheads by 20%?

Clichés are shorter than truths.
What you won’t be able to do when you replace clichés with details is sum it up in three words or less. Explaining that you’re introducing a new quality control system that monitors every transaction, issues a weekly report and publishes the results online for everyone to see is going to take up a lot more space than saying you’ve raised the bar. But it does carry a lot more weight so to make space for your truths you have to cut all that bullshit at the beginning about difficult trading platforms, value added propositions and leveraging synergies.

How to write alternatives to clichés

The business is going from strength to strength.
Turnover has increased from £250,000 to £400,000 in less than 18 months.

We are leveraging our strategic alliances to deliver greater efficiencies.
We’re working with partners to make the most of what everyone has to offer and cut unnecessary costs.

Despite tough economic conditions, we have invested in a state of the art facilitation centre.
Despite low interest rates making it difficult to achieve predicted profits, we were able to fund a new service department.

Want to learn more about writing copy that engages the reader and achieves your objectives? Visit www.forrest-turner.co.uk.
 

5 copywriting tips especially for PR professionals

Google ‘copywriting tips’ and you’ll find hundreds of great blog posts and websites full of practical advice on ‘killer headlines’, ‘irresistible calls to action’ and ‘the 10 best ads of all time’. Which is great if you’re writing ad copy. Not so good when you’re a PR professional tasked with writing about the latest policy document or a stakeholder letter on new pension regulations.

So here are 5 writing tips inspired by great ad copy but focusing squarely on the documents PR and Comms professionals have to produce every day.

1. There’s no such thing as a stakeholder

It’s easy to presume that writing for a ‘serious’ audience (financial, political, academic, scientific, etc.) requires us to write in a serious tone of voice. While you need to treat both the subject and audience with respect, it’s worth remembering that even astrophysicists and cabinet ministers are people first and foremost.

Stop thinking of them as stakeholders and try to connect with them on a person to person level. Which of the following do you find more engaging?

Example 1
As an influential spokesperson on the future of biofuels, you are cordially invited to address the membership at the International Alternative Fuels Conference in Geneva on 26 October 2014.

Example 2
I recently attended the Royal Society and heard your fascinating talk on biofuels. Would you be interested in giving a similar talk at the International Alternative Fuels Conference in Geneva on 26 October 2014?

2. Don’t force feelings onto your reader

Finding an emotional connection with your reader is not the same as forcing your feelings onto them.
Phrases such as “you are no doubt aware”, “you will understand the need for” and “you are probably worried about” can work well if you are certain your readers feel the same way you do.

If they don’t, you run the risk of alienating them or preaching the obvious. That’s why copywriters are fond of the ‘what if’ scenario.

Example 1
As you want to influence the key decision makers in the Alternative Fuels industry, you should consider presenting a paper at this year’s conference.  

Example 2
What if you could reach 25 top decision makers in one afternoon? Presenting a paper at the Alternative Fuels Conference puts you in front of leading influencers from all sides of the industry. 
 
3. More verbs, fewer adjectives

I have a client who likes to stick the word ‘exciting’ in front of every noun. We never launch new products or projects; they’re always ‘exciting’ new products and projects. But something doesn’t become ‘exciting’ (or ‘revolutionary’, ‘amazing’ or ‘thrilling’) just because you’ve put an adjective in front of it.

Verbs, on the other hand, tell you what something DOES. And telling your reader what that something can DO for them is far more persuasive than a list of adjectives.

Example 1
The new XYZ software is fast, intelligent and insightful.

Example 2
The new XYZ software transfers your data at 100,000 terabytes per second, auto-deletes duplicate files and predicts potential conflicts of interest based on your previous operations.

4. Announcements are boring; bad news intrigues
It’s a brave PR professional who sends out a press release announcing that their organisation didn’t win an award. But if they did, it would get more notice than the one announcing success.

Data error analysis company Takipi researched a load of blog posts and found that the ones including the words ‘announcing’, ‘wins’, ‘celebrates’ or ‘grows’ were are the bottom of the most-shared lists. Those using the word ‘lose’ on the other hand usually landed a post in the top half.

So how does the PR professional take advantage of human nature’s interest in bad stuff while still maintaining a positive image? Easy. Tell a story.

Example 1
ABC Trust is proud to announce that it has been awarded Health Trust of the Year at the 2014 Healthcare Awards.

Example 2
Failing to make it into the top 10 UK healthcare trusts for three consecutive years is not something most directors relish. So why did the board of ABC Trust deliberately keep the organisation out of the limelight?

5. Leave them wanting more

While PR professionals can write a 500 word press release in 30 minutes, ad copywriters will spend days, weeks or even months labouring over a five word headline. But that headline will grab attention and deliver the message in nanoseconds.

With all of us bombarded by information 24 hours a day, PR professionals need to find the right balance between making enough noise to be noticed but not so much that you overwhelm your audience.

Social and digital media has made it possible to drip feed information in bite size chunks. So the next time you’re tempting to send a stakeholder a 10 page policy review, consider starting with a top line summary and OFFER more information (in an easily accessible format) if they want it.

Get more writing tips on my website or my Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages.

http://www.forrest-turner.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/forrestturnerwriter
https://twitter.com/LorraineForrest/media
http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/lorraine-forrest-turner/17/152/9aa/

Seven great ways to start an article

We’ve all been there. We need to write that important 500 word article before the end of the day. We have reams of notes, pages of technical info and stacks of truly amazing benefits. If only we could get the blasted thing started!

For most writers, getting beyond the blank screen (or constantly deleting the clichéd, boring or irrelevant openings) is the hardest part of writing an article. Once they’re up and running, all those product features, mind-blowing stats and glowing testimonials seem to just fall into place.

So here are seven ways to start an article. They give you a lead in, a hook, an idea that you can hang everything else from. Every opening won’t suit every subject, but there should be something here to inspire even the worst case of writer’s block.

Oh, and in case anyone is considering law suits, the following ‘facts’ are for illustrative purposes only.

Topical
In a week in which Luis Squarez has been fined £66,000 and banned from football-related activities for four months, a new government white paper looks at the correlation between punishment and behaviour.

Historical/anniversary
In 1954, BMW launched the ‘Dynamic’, its first electric car. Exactly 60 years later, the stunning new BMW i8 shows just how far electric engineering has come.

Anecdotal
Although I broke two ribs and busted my ankle, whenever I tell anyone I was thrown out of, and then run over by, a golf buggy, I am greeted with peals of laughter. Corporate hospitality events really shouldn’t be left up to amateurs.

Survey/statistics
Men are four times more likely to lie than women, and the average person tells at least three lies a day, according to research by Royal Holloway. Is this a worrying thought for those charged with recruiting new employees?

Unconventional/surprise
His CV is full of typos, he hasn’t held down a decent job in years and he refuses to start work before 10.00am. Meet the new chairman of XYZ plc.

Hypothetical
If you could run a fleet of trucks on used chip fat, an air conditioning system on recycled polystyrene cups and a pizza oven on old beer bottle tops, would you be prepared to hike your prices up by over 100% to meet the costs? While businesses talk of green energy, few companies are prepared to switch if it means losing sales. 

Shared problem
We’ve all been there. We need to write that important 500 word article before the end of the day. We have reams of notes, pages of technical info and stacks of truly amazing benefits. If only we could get the blasted thing started!

See what I did there?

If you’ve found this blog post of interest, sign up for my e-newsletter and receive useful advice on PR and communication skills on a (relatively) regular basis.  

Why Cameron and Suarez need to learn to say “won’t” rather than “can’t”

In a week in which David Cameron has been rebuked by Mr Justice Saunders for talking about Andy Coulson before the trial had ended and Luis Suarez is condemned for allegedly biting Giorgio Chiellini, I’m reminded of the benefits of saying “won’t” rather than “can’t”.

Years ago, while studying communication skills, I learnt something that I’d always known but had never really considered. When we say we “can’t” do something we rarely mean that it’s physically impossible. We generally mean we could do it but we’d prefer not to.

Most of us, at one time or other, have said “I’m so sorry, I can’t come to your party/leaving do/meeting/etc” when what we actually mean is “I don’t want to come to your party/leaving do/meeting/etc”. “Can’t” is great get out. It implies that we want to do something but we are simply unable to. Few people question it and we generally get away without appearing rude or having to make an effort.

But what happens if someone does question it? What if the host says: “Oh dear, that’s a shame, why not?” We usually find ourselves making up excuses, or white lies as we like to call them. Fine if the person we are ‘white-lying’ to accepts our reasons, but woe betide the excuse-maker faced with the Jeremy Paxmans of this world.

Okay, so David Cameron wanted to calm a potential political storm and do that thing that everyone in power does – acknowledge responsibility without actually taking it. But he would have avoided the reprimand, and gained a modicum of respect, if after Andy Coulson was found guilty of conspiring to hack phones he had simply said: “I won’t be making any comments until the trial is over.”

Equally, Suarez would do well to stop hiding behind the “I can’t help it; it’s a bad habit” thing and adopt the “I won’t do it again” mantra.

By declaring “I won’t do something” means that you have made a commitment to change. It means that you’ll find the will to make it happen. “I can’t do something” means you’ve given up even trying.

In my time management and assertiveness workshops, I encourage participants to use “won’t” rather than “can’t” when they are negotiating. “I won’t do this task today; I will do it by the end of the week” is far more powerful than “I can’t do it today” and far more effective.

To find out how communication skills training can help you manage personal behaviour, please visit www.bigfishtraining.com.

 

 

How much do copywriters charge?

How much would you charge to write a website/ brochure/ press release/ blog post/ advert/ article (delete as required)? It’s the question every copywriter dreads and the answer every client wants to know.

So you’d think by now copywriters would stop answering “well, it depends…”

Yes, it does depend on a whole load of stuff - like what’s the subject, who’s the target audience, how many words are needed, how much the writer knows already, is there an R in the month and would you eat bacon when it goes a bit green and shiny?

The point is while there’s not a Recommend Retail Price one can look up, any writer worth his stripes should be able to give a ballpark figure based on previous experience.

For example, it is extremely unlikely that a copywriter would charge £10,000 to write the About Us section of a website. It is equally unlikely he/she would charge £10. So while there are a lot of numbers between 10,000 and 10, you can immediately see that the writer HAS an idea of how much the job will cost.

That idea is generally based on his/her hourly or daily rate AND how long he/she expects the job to take.  Note the use of capital letters on the word AND because the daily rate alone tells you absolutely nothing.

One writer can quote you £350 a day, another £500 and a third £1,000. If you opt for the cheapest and it takes the writer a week because he/she needed to read your entire website plus all of your technical data sheets and product brochures, and then interview your product manager, marketing manager and receptionist in order to write the damned thing, it makes a complete mockery of the ‘reasonable’ daily rate.

If copywriters can’t give a rough estimate for the whole job, then they haven’t been in the business as long as they say they have. Yes, the job might be more complicated than originally thought (I’ve NEVER done a job that’s been LESS complicated) and yes the information won’t be available when needed, or in the right format, but none of these things should come as a surprise. Good copywriters know to allow for delays/problems/additional work in their estimate.

 

So… here’s my advice:

• Ask for their daily/hourly rate but insist they give you an estimate for the whole job based on how long they think it will take
• Ask for examples of previous work they’ve done and how much those jobs cost – e.g. the cost of producing three 500 word newsletter articles (from eight telephone interviews with six people) was £1,800  
• Get the quote in writing and make sure it covers how and when payment is to be made - you don't want to pay upfront only to receive something that sounds like it's been written by an 11 year old or a language student (or an 11 year old language student)
• Do expect to pay more for fewer words – yes it sounds bizarre but it’s a lot easier to bash out 500 words on a subject you’re passionate about than it is to come up with one decent headline that stops people in their tracks and makes them do exactly what you wanted them to do

If you would like me to quote you for a job (and give you a realistic ballpark figure based on experience) Get In Touch or email me on lorraine@forrest-turner.co.uk.

Happy 450th birthday, Will!

If you've ever wondered why we still teach Shakespeare in schools...

"If you cannot understand my argument, and declare ``It's Greek to me'', you are quoting Shakespeare; if you claim to be more sinned against than sinning, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you recall your salad days, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you act more in sorrow than in anger; if your wish is farther to the thought; if your lost property has vanished into thin air, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you have ever refused to budge an inch or suffered from green-eyed jealousy, if you have played fast and loose, if you have been tongue-tied, a tower of strength, hoodwinked or in a pickle, if you have knitted your brows, made a virtue of necessity, insisted on fair play, slept not one wink, stood on ceremony, danced attendance (on your lord and master), laughed yourself into stitches, had short shrift, cold comfort or too much of a good thing, if you have seen better days or lived in a fool's paradise -why, be that as it may, the more fool you , for it is a foregone conclusion that you are (as good luck would have it) quoting Shakespeare; if you think it is early days and clear out bag and baggage, if you think it is high time and that that is the long and short of it, if you believe that the game is up and that truth will out even if it involves your own flesh and blood, if you lie low till the crack of doom because you suspect foul play, if you have your teeth set on edge (at one fell swoop) without rhyme or reason, then - to give the devil his due - if the truth were known (for surely you have a tongue in your head) you are quoting Shakespeare; even if you bid me good riddance and send me packing, if you wish I was dead as a door-nail, if you think I am an eyesore, a laughing stock, the devil incarnate, a stony-hearted villain, bloody-minded or a blinking idiot, then - by Jove! O Lord! Tut tut! For goodness' sake! What the dickens! But me no buts! - it is all one to me, for you are quoting Shakespeare."

Bernard Levin

Why 'to do' lists don't work... as well as 'done' lists

I’m a very sad person. I love ticking things off my ‘to do’ list. I love it so much that I actually add things to my list after I’ve done them just so I can tick them off.

It turns out that I’m not alone in this self reward behaviour. There’s something in the satisfaction of ticking things off (or, in my case, putting a wavy line through) that makes us feel in control of our workloads and good about our achievements.

Whether we use pen and paper, Microsoft Outlook, our iPhone or something like Todoist, everyone loves a good ‘to do’ list.

However, what happens on those days/weeks when we’re so busy we not only DON’T tick things off our lists, we keep adding to them? What do we when we feel completely overwhelmed by the ever-growing lists of tasks, chores and responsibilities?

Answer – write a ‘done’ list! 

Seriously.

It might sound like a waste of time, but ‘done’ lists give us an enormous sense of achievement. And that sense of achievement is what drives us on to (eventually) work through our responsibilities.

I discovered the benefits of the ‘done’ list when I was going through a particularly busy period in my life. I found the sheer amount of work overwhelming and the dissatisfaction of never completing my ‘to do’ lists utterly frustrating. Worse still, I was losing sleep, getting depressed and becoming more and more inefficient.

So one night I decided to write down all the things I had done that day – rather than focus on all the things that I hadn’t. It was enlightening. Yes, I hadn’t written my blog post but I had written damned good sales letters for BMW, MINI and Mazda. I hadn’t called everyone I was supposed to have called, but the people I did call were the ones who would have the greatest impact on the projects I was working on. 

The result was a feeling of great satisfaction, a more positive attitude to the next day’s jobs – and a decent night’s sleep, to boot.

If, like me, you judge your productivity by how many items you’ve ticked off your ‘to do’ list, it goes without saying that you feel a bit of a failure when it just keeps growing. So don’t abandon them altogether, just take a few moments (and it does only take a few moments) to scribble down everything you’ve achieved that day, or better still, that week. You’ll be amazed at just how productive you are.