If you are struggling with writing for your business, your website or your blog, I want you know that you are not alone. First of all, even professional writers have days where they struggle with finding the right words.
However, what separates the successful writers (those who complete their writing goals) from the rest is that successful writers stick to practicing the craft of writing. As Stephen King writes in On Writing, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.”
The thing with writing is: We all have to do it since it is a fundamental skill in our uber-connected world where clear and captivating communication is key to business survival.
From my own experience, I know that when I don’t believe in myself my writing starts to lose direction. So if I were to give you just one piece of advice when it comes to becoming a better writer it would be: Trust your own voice! Believe in yourself!
Here are some more lessons learned in my 20+ years of experience of writing for various projects and purposes. Feel free to share with other entrepreneurs or professionals who might find this helpful. Here’s to your true voice!
Guideline 1-10: Trust Your Own Voice
Don’t try to copy other professionals, other website content, other people’s tone or way of writing. Use your own words. Ask yourself, “How would I say this if I were to talk to someone?” Stay away from jargon or scientific language (unless it’s a scientific paper or targeted to a specific audience that LOVES that lingo).
Trust your own voice. Your voice lives in your gut – at least that’s what I believe. Your gut instinct is a good measuring stick when it comes to choosing words that reflect your personality.
Guideline 11: Express Your Point Of View
Have an opinion or perspective and communicate it! The world does not need you to reiterate, get behind and summarize everyone else’s ideas. If you reflect and contribute your own point of view, you’ll be able to stand out from the crowd. When we read something you’ve written, whether it’s your About Story or a blog post, we want you to leave us intrigued, challenge our perspective, and sometimes even change our minds.
We want you to expand our viewpoint; help us shift our reality a little, and then help us put it back into a new place that’s working for us. This is the reason we read: we want to be rebuilt. We want to evolve. We want to grow and reach the next level in our journey.
Guideline 12: Fall In Love With The Problem You’re Solving For Us
Always keep the problem you’re trying to solve for people at the forefront of your writing. In fact, fall in love with the problem you’re solving for us. I once attended a workshop on how to deliver better pitches, and the presenter suggested for startups to fall in the love with the problem. He said that a lot of startups arrive at their ingenius solution too quickly but overlook that we all need to understand the problem first.
The problem is your binding glue between you and your reader. Once we feel the weight of a problem or struggle both intellectually and on an emotional level, we are craving a solution for it. And that’s where you come in…
You don’t have to give away everything in one blog post or on your homepage. Think of your writing like chipping away at the problem and solution(s) in small steps. People best digest content in small chunks – just like a meal. Combine too many thoughts into one piece of writing, and you’ll create an indigestible mess.
Guideline 13: Describe, Describe, Describe
The most powerful writing gets descriptive. Instead of summarizing the big picture, zoom in and get specific. Describing an experience is much more interesting and enjoyable than using summary words. I.e. Instead of writing “That was a painful experience” – describe what happened and what the pain felt like.
Guideline 14: Surprise Your Reader
I would even go further and say, violate your reader’s expectations. Surprise us with an unconventional word choice. Heck, use the wrong word on purpose—it wakes up the brain. It stops us in our tracks and you have a longer moment to get us to pay attention. I recently went to a local microbrewery in Toronto (where I currently live) and among the long list of specialty microbrews with fancy names one beer stood out to me. It was called “Beer”. It made me laugh and appreciate the good humor that these specialty brewers displayed by making fun of their own craft.
You can also invent your own words. I started using the word “rebelicious” a while ago to describe something that brings me joy. 😉
Guideline 15: Make It Meaningful
Make your writing mean something for your reader. When you tell your story or illustrate any example from your life or work, readers don’t necessarily care what happened to you: They care about what it means for them. What lessons or universal truths can we take from this, and how can your experience help us work, live and feel better?
Use your story to build that bridge between your experience and viewpoint + your reader’s aspirations and goals. At the end of the day, whatever you write, it’s not about you – it’s about the people you serve. To serve them well, make them feel heard, understood, and seen.
Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash
