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THE WRITING CHECKLIST:  TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING MATERIALS

By Jennifer Lewy, Marketing Writer and Coach

Are you ready to print your brochure? Post your website? Submit the final version of your advertisement? Before your marketing materials go live, take a few minutes to run through this checklist. And make sure your writing is as polished (and powerful) as possible.

Use the right number of words.

If you pass a billboard with more than 10 words on it, you’ll swerve off the road while reading it. Same idea for other printed and online materials: use too many words and your reader might get lost. Here are some guidelines for length:

• Brochures should be between 500-800 words. If you’re outside of that range, and you just can’t cut (or add) any more, re-consider the purpose of your “brochure.” It might need to turn into a flyer, palm card, or booklet.
• Ads should be between 5-20 words (depending on the size of the ad). Keep in mind: the most critical information is what action to take and why.
• Websites should be about 100-300 words per page. Break up longer passages into sub-pages.

A quick way to check the length of your text: in Microsoft Word, click on “Tools” and select “Word Count.”

Use active voice.

Make sure you use active voice for most every sentence. “Active voice” is this kind of sentence structure: “I provide deep tissue massage.” Or this: “Trained therapists work individually with every client.” On the other hand, passive voice is this: “Deep tissue massage is provided to our clients.” Or this: “A treatment for each condition is found.” Passive voice slows down the reader. Active voice is shorter, more direct, and always easier to understand.

Use simple words.

No matter how highly educated your target audience, most of us comfortably read at a 7^th grade reading level. So comb your text for 4-syllable words, and find simpler synonyms (words that mean the same thing). Microsoft’s Thesaurus might be helpful as you do this. If you must use a word that you suspect many people might not know, define it (in parentheses) after you use it.

Break up run-on sentences.

When you use too many ideas in a sentence, and you connect each idea with “and,” you run the risk of losing the reader in complicated thoughts and you may lose the power of the original idea and you get the picture. Search your document for the word “and.” Look for unnecessarily long sentences. As often as you can, delete “and” between ideas and use two (or more) sentences instead. Also helpful: colons (:), dashes (-), and ellipses (…) for sentences that need to be longer.

Take out unnecessary text.

Most of us speak using lots of words. When writing, delete most of those filler words. Take this long sentence: “When we treat each of our clients, we try to use the most effective tools that are at our disposal.” Let’s edit that to: “We treat each client with the most effective tools at our disposal.” Words such as “which” “that” “very” “really” and “actually” are common culprits.

Be spot-on with grammar and spelling.

Avoid the most common grammatical errors:

• “It’s” means “it is” (“it’s raining”). “Its” is possessive (“its tools”).
• “You’re” means “you are” (“you’re early”). “Your” is possessive (“your hands”).
• Do not rely on your computer’s spell-check. Search carefully for mistakes yourself (and ask for help from a colleague or two).

Need help polishing your writing? For a free quote on editing (or writing) your website, brochure, or other marketing materials, contact Jennifer Lewy at jen@zenmarketing.net or 617.922.0098.