Leave something to the imagination
'The soaked boy stood in the flitters of a Confederate uniform.'
Possibly one of my favourite chapter openings of all time. It comes from Joseph O'Connor's Redemption Falls. (If you're not familiar with O'Connor's books, you're missing out big time).
Why do I like that line so much? And what does it have to do with B2B marketing content?
I love the economy. In a short sentence you have a powerful image. You also have a back story.
But there's little detail. You conjure up the scene and write the backstory in your own imagination, drawing on minimal detail.
A less skilled writer would have been tempted to spell out the details - leaving the reader as a passive onlooker.
领英推è
You led the horse to the water, but you never made it thirsty
I know there's a school of thought in B2B writing that you have to spell everything out to the reader. 'Here's what this is about. This is how it will help you. Here's why you're experiencing that problem...'
Are we too scared that dots we don't explicitly connect will never be joined? Is it helpful to be continually schooling our prospects about problems they almost certainly know only too well.
And which has more power: the conclusions they draw themselves, or the ones we overtly seek to impose and spell out in painstaking detail?
Persuasion is the default. Inviting reflection and curiosity, and accepting that prospects have agency in the process seems risky.
Somehow, 'engagement' became likes, shares and comments (however inane). Imagine if it was deeper and more psychological - what might that mean for building memory structures and positive associations with your brand?
Giving prospects space to draw their own pictures and write their own stories can be powerful. But you truly have to be inside their minds and lives to do that.
B2B Finance Copywriter| B2B Fintech Copywriter
6 个月Not sure I agree with this. People fill in gaps when they're invested in a piece of content. Most marketing material is read by people who would rather not read. They're not there to be entertained per se. This doesn't mean entertaining content doesn't have a place. But no one's searching for your content when they're bored. Leaving gaps and tasking the user to pain a picture gives them a reason to click away. I think it has its place, especially when offering an anecdote, but it's a small part of written content.
Skilled healthcare copywriter and conceptualist with demonstrated success writing HCP, DTP, and DTC campaigns for oncology, rare disease, neurology, endocrinology, and a bevy of less technical brands, too.
6 个月I think (I hope) we all recognize that when a target participates in the communication and is allowed to come to the desired conclusion on their own, the message will seep deeper, connect more powerfully, and is more likely inspire those with whom the message resonates. Too often, short-sighted teammates demand that we hit targets squarely on the head. That’s when the target becomes a reader and not a participant. I say we must involve them and light up their brains.
Great pharma/healthcare copy | High science, oncology, rare disease | Amazing copy partner for strategy, medical, account, and art | Talent mentor and cultivator
6 个月Perhaps it should be "But if we explain and direct, rather than inspire and persuade..." Persuading is a good thing in marketing after all, perhaps the main goal - to get people to buy what you offer, or at least agree to explore it more. There's a role for explaining and directing, too, just usually not leading with it.
Helping Business Owners Scale Sales, Maximise Margins & Build Exit-Ready Businesses - CFO - Board Advisor & NED | I Turn Revenue into Profit & Profit into Value!
6 个月Less is more, is one of my fav things...!
Founder of Jewel Content Marketing Agency | Truths & Memes | Content Strategy, Thought Leadership, Copywriting, Social Media 'n' Stuff for B2B & Tech
6 个月Spelling things out works for the uninitiated, because they don't see what you see. If you're dealing with experts, you can let them fill in some of the blanks. But you'll need some sort of feedback channel so you can be sure they're connecting the dots correctly.