Powerwriting

Description
Effective, powerful written communication skills are vital in business. Increasingly business people are writing both screen and paper based communications themselves rather than delegating to specialists. However, the actual craft of writing is only half the story. The other half is knowing how to approach the exercise to begin with – how to structure your message, how to understand your audience, and how to marry the two. To get that wrong is expensive, time-consuming and professionally embarrassing. Yet millions are wasted every year on business communications that don’t work, because the approach to the exercise – rather that the writing or design - is wrong.
Powerwriting is the first book on business writing to give readers the tools they need to approach business writing properly. It teaches you the most critical part of the process - how to think before you write, and get your message to work for the audience you need to address. Then it shows you how to write that message so it gets the results you want, every time.

Contents

Introduction
A note about "bizcomm"
Stakeholders: who are they?
Audiences
When to call for help

1. Think first, write later
How to think clearly and avoid being sidetracked
Thought-process barriers
How to leap the barriers and think

2. What do you need to communicate? (Really?)
The message brief – what you want your words to achieve
The message brief
Write the brief backwards
Does this really work?
Get the realities right
Research
Types of message
One thing at a time

3. Who is your audience?
Who, where, how, when and in what mood
What you need to know
How to find out what you need to know

4. How will the audience receive your message?
Different media and how your message will be seen/heard
Choosing your media

5. Your final message
Putting the elements together into a good message structure
Powerwriting = what’s in it for them
Tell them now
Forget features, talk benefits
When features are objectives
The benefit of the benefits
And the bad news is…
Assembling your message
Making your case

6. How to speak your audience’s language
Approach, style and words the audience will identify with
Corporate personality and voice
The "you" angle
Simple English, please
Technical content
Jargon and other junk
Non-English speaking audiences

7. The nuts and bolts
Some tips on grammar, spelling and other basics
Spelling
Basic writing craft skills
Writing mechanics
Editing

8. Now start writing
Enough theory, let’s see how it works
Getting started
The New Kitchen – at last

9. How to get the best from paper-based media
Some tips on how to write powerfully for print
Business letters
Sales letters and direct mail
Advertizements
Business documents and proposals
Brochures and leaflets
Catalogues
Instruction leaflets and manuals
Press releases
Newsletters
CVs, resumés and job applications

10. How to get the best from electronic media
Some tips on how to write powerfully for online, video and audio comms
Static text
E-mails
Text messages
E-zines and online newsletters
Online advertising
Online PR
Websites
Company online comms
Pre-recorded video
Video scripts
Video news releases
Instore and exhibition promotions
TV commercials
Infomercials
Pre-recorded audio
Instruction or training
Audio newsletters
Audio news releases
In-store promotion
Exhibition/demonstration soundtracks
Radio commercials
Live text, vision and sound

11. How to get the best from "live" communication
Some tips on how to create powerful presentations
Cut the clutter
The right order
Openers and closers
Spoken speech
Writing for someone else
Why a full script?
Anecdotes and humour
Visuals
Rehearse, rehearse
Speaker training

Outroduction

Author

Suzan St Maur is a widely experienced and prolific freelance business writer, working on behalf of direct clients and/or third-party agencies across all forms of online and offline media. She works extensively in business communication of all types in many fields – especially automotive, financial services, hospitality, healthcare, charities, telecommunications and IT. She also writes training material produced in various media, covering a variety of management and vocational skills.

Canadian-born Suzan is a graduate of the UK’s Watford College (known for its output of good copywriters) Suzan worked as a writer both in advertising and journalism in her early career. Later she added scripts and speeches to her portfolio and became one of the UK's top ten writers in live events/corporate video, and latterly incorporated online writing. This wide spread of experience means Suzan is much in demand to help clients communicate their messages effectively whatever the audience or media.

Suzan also contributes articles to a number of business websites and print publications, and works as personal speechwriter for several UK celebrities and "captains of industry." In her spare time she writes both serious and humorous articles for equestrian websites and magazines in Europe and North America.

Writing Words That Sell (with John Butman)

Lennard Books 1989; Mercury Business Paperbacks 1991 (Management Books 2000)

McGraw Hill 1991

The Jewellery Book (with Norbert Streep)

Magnum Books 1981; St Martin’s Press 1981

Jill Norman Books (Robert Hale) 1984

Routledge 1986

The Kenilworth Press 2001

The Kenilworth Press 2002

Reviews

"...and there you were - the author of one of my favourite reference books. Your book on "Powerwriting" is brilliant. I bought it last year when I set up my business and refer back to it when my clients drive me crazy.

Gave up corporate life in 2001 to focus on writing (copywriting and feature articles mostly) so I regard you as a bit of a star. You're doing what I want to do. I'm still in transition....Just wanted to say all of the above, and thank you for your book. You are so damn good."

Katherine Trimble
Gaelkat Ltd

Power Writing is practical, good advice, for real business people.

The all too often overlooked element of writing (ie planning and setting objectives) is covered here in detail which is useful if you want to get the desired outcome from your communication.

As a copywriter, I found myself nodding to a lot of the things in here. I'd recommend this mainly to business people who are looking to do things like a professional, but there's still plenty in here to help you improve if you already are one.

Think First - Write Later, 26 March, 2003. Reviewer: Joe Gregory from England

I have to write a lot in my business - everything from press releases, speeches, company biographies and sales brochures, through to presentations and marketing reports. Most of my efforts are spent on making it "sound" good and I never really gave any thought to the next step down the line - making it "work". I think it's because we all get set in our ways, and the day-to-day problems we are constantly facing leave little time to step back from what we are doing, and try to gauge how the words we produce will be absorbed or understood by the customer.

In that respect I found the book's advice both sensible and pragmatic. For example, the need to explain - really explain - what you are saying, and not make the assumption that the reader is telepathic and understands/agrees with points you feel are self-explanatory. Once you've got the hang of it all feels so obvious.

Indeed, some of the advice given in the book is obvious. But the advantage of Powerwriting is that it shows you how to apply what may be obvious on to a real situation, like writing a CV, a company brochure or copy for a video. And that's where the book's strength lies - it's full of what ought to be obvious to anyone in business, but most of us never take a deep breath, stand back and see how and why we need to apply it to the everyday problems any businessman faces.

"Powerwriting" is the first book I've ever read which helps me understand the simple "rules" of making a message really work and not just add to the pile of wasted words passing across the recipient's desk. It's easy to use as a reference and I strongly recommend it to anyone who want to make what they write work more efficiently.

Making us think harder and write better, 1 November, 2002. Reviewer: Paul L, Marketing Manager, Vehicle Leasing Company from United Kingdom