What Makes Good Business Writing?

photo credit: sludgegulper I do a lot of business writing. By that, I mean I make my living - a comfortable living, providing for my family of five's needs and some of their wants - writing for businesses. Why, exactly, do businesses come to me for their writing needs? For that matter, why do they need someone to do their writing? Isn't it easy enough just to write what they want to say, and leave it at that? Of course it isn't. I can't shingle a roof any more than the roofer can compose good, compelling web copy for his website. He needs me, just like I need him. It's not only a reality, it's the entire basis of our economic system. So, what is it I do that adds real value to those businesses? How do I take what they want to say and make it better? There's really no secret. It's just something you need to learn - no - it's something you need to master. I can't tell you in a single blog post how to craft good business writing. I can, however, tell you what it looks like. There are essentially three characteristics of good business writing:

1. Good business writing is clear.

It has a message, and it gets that message across in no uncertain terms. Maybe you want to tell customers about a special promotion you're offering, or maybe you want to establish yourself as an authority in your niche by providing useful blog posts. Regardless of your purpose, you won't accomplish it if you're not clear. Clarity comes not only from choosing the right words to convey your message, but also from grammatical accuracy. If you haven't mastered the language, you can't create good business writing. Clarity isn't enough, though. You need more.

2. Good business writing is purpose-built.

The way you compose a presell page is vastly different from the way you compose a product description. Good business writing looks at the purpose of the piece and crafts it accordingly. Word choice matters greatly here, but so does tone. Understanding the difference between various types of business writing is requisite to success in our field. That said, every piece of business writing also has a similar underlying objective.

3. Good business writing is compelling.

No matter what the overt purpose of a give piece may be, the underlying objective is to get the reader to take an action. In some cases, you want them to buy a product. In other cases, you want them to subscribe to your blog or newsletter. Even informative articles - those designed to pass along basic instructions - should compel the reader to do what the article says. Good business writing is as much an art form as it is a science. You can master the language with diligent study, but crafting truly useful business copy takes years of experience.