When you have a message to get across, you want it to reach as many people in your audience as possible. Plan at the outset where and how you will make the most impact with your content. Consider which of types of communication will work best. And which channels are most relevant. For example, whenever you're writing for an external audience, consider sharing the message via social media.
Everything you write is reusable – adapting it is an efficient use of time. For example:
Remember to adapt the text to suit the purpose and channel. For example, a case study might appear at length on the website and be shortened for a pitch document. A press release might say ‘Taylor Wessing, international law firm, advised X’, but on our website the language would change to ‘we advised X’.
Whatever the topic and medium, and whoever the audience, think like a reader. Unless you do, your message is unlikely to be heard and acted on, and often won’t be read at all. Everything comes back to the reader. What you say, how you say it, the number of words you use and so on. Learning to think like a reader is the key to good writing.
People have less time for reading than they once had – and many choices about how they spend it.
More people consume content online – where they scan rather than read, deciding within seconds whether what they see is relevant. They use mobile phones, which means a small screen, a short time span and variable connectivity. If people are to take notice of our words, we have to accommodate these behaviours and limitations:
If people don’t find the headline engaging, they read no further. There’s a science to writing a good headline, with a number of formulas that have been proven to work including using strong verbs. Above all, make headings clear, relevant and unambiguous. Stay within a 55 character limit, ideally no more than eight words, contained in one line. Make every word count.
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Put the most important points at the beginning. The most important message at the top of a page, the most important sentence at the beginning of a paragraph and the most important bullet point at the top of a list.
Get to the point fast. And stay there. Background information – if you include it at all – should stay in the background (an appendix, for example).
Serve the text up in small chunks. Clear subheadings followed by two to three short paragraphs makes information easier for readers to find and digest.
Put the key phrase at the beginning of the subheadings. It’s particularly important online where users scan down the left of the page, often getting no further than the third word.
Stick to one subject per paragraph. Identify the topic clearly in the first sentence. Say what you need to say in a few succinct sentences.
Use bulleted lists wherever there are three or more items.
Always use bullets for online content. Use bullets not numbers for lists. Exceptions are:
For online content, put essential information into headings, lists and links. These are what readers focus on first. In many cases, it’s all they look at.
Remember that many will see the content on a mobile phone: be succinct and focused.
Links are a great way of directing people to the information they want.
With very long pages, use a series of links that take people further down the page.
Incorporate links leading readers to associated topics within the website. But don’t distract them by having too many. Ideally, you will use two to four relevant links per page.
If you include links to other sites ensure they open in a new window to prevent people losing the thread or leaving your site.
Make links within the text meaningful – this improves click through rates. And long enough to be easily clickable by mobile users.
√ Find out about the summer vacation scheme
√ read our evaluation
√ download our report
x see more
x click here
Include any links to external websites at the bottom of your content.
In our business development communications, readers want to see proof that we can do what we say we can do. Demonstrate rather than assert. Back up everything you say with facts. Use concrete terms rather than generalities. There are many ways to provide reassurance, for example:
Only use recent quotes and awards – avoid anything over two years old.