How To Write Better Copy - Because First Impressions Matter.

First impressions matter. My dad was big on?that?first glance, he taught me to always trust first instincts and he was right (of course). Back then he was meaning polished shoes, a good handshake and a genuine smile, in todays money that translates into a well written pitch, engaging copy and clarity of detail because although the original impressions are still as relevant, in the chaotic worlds we operate in today, cut through is key.

How often have you received badly written emails, rushed off with little reflection other than "I must send this before I forget' or a dull slide deck, a shallow report light on detail but heavy on mistakes or even a proposal full of holes? However busy we are, the fundamentals of engagement and first impressions are what sets us apart. Back in the day, job applications were completed by hand, a single spelling mistake would have rendered that application null and void yet today we're somehow happy with that level of sloppiness. I'm not. It drives me wild.

I'm no copy writer, but I write a lot. And I read even more. The posts, books and articles I've abandoned because the copy sucks is actually a crime. So many people have such amazing things to say yet their words get lost in drivel, so in a bid to rid the world of badly written anything, here's the five tips I live by for everything I write:

1. Make it conversational. I'm not sure what happens to people when they write, taking on a new persona as someone they're really not is doing what the majority of the population do. Be as unique as you are in your style so the reader can recognise they're reading something different.
2. Read it out loud as you write. It changes the flow and helps you write more conversationally.
3. Take out all the?ands, thats, thens, them, they, they're?and only add back in if necessary. Don't pad out with words that don't need to be there. Words are like accessories, and just as Coco Chanel said, "don't be like the rest of them, darling."
4. Have a start, middle and end with everything, even the shortest of posts. What's the message, what's the emotion and what's the action?
5. Can you tighten the message more? Attention spans are decreasing, can you say what you want in less words?

Stand out from the crowd and make that first impression count by adjusting your style. Now more than ever the world needs to hear what you've got to say.