Posts within the category: Web Writing

January 16, 2012

Web Content Write-a-Thon: March 2 in Silver Spring, MD

Get Hands-on Help Writing Your Own Content

No, it's not a dance-a-thon or a walk-a-thon. It won't make you tired or give you sore feet. It's a Web Content Write-a-Thon. Sign up for this half-day hands-on web writing workshop, and make progress on your own web content project.
This Write-a-Thon isn't a traditional class. It's an afternoon, away from your office, where you'll have uninterrupted time to work on your web content, and you'll get individual help from E-WRITE's expert web writing instructor, Leslie O'Flahavan. Enroll by yourself or bring your colleagues. You can work on your own or in a small group.

 

You should enroll in the Web Content Write-a-Thon if you

• Need an afternoon of peace and quiet to write or revise your web content
• Want help from E-WRITE (Leslie O'Flahavan, etc.) and others who attend the Write-a-Thon
• Have suffered from web content writers' block
• Need help deciding what new content to write, how to revise what you have, or how to repurpose a print document for the web
• Find it easier to work amongst others who have a similar task
• Want input on your content from a neutral outsider who's not caught up in office politics

 

You will receive

• Handouts containing web writing guidance and before-and-after web content examples
• A 100-item web writing resource list
• Snacks (nutritious and otherwise)

 

What you should bring

• Your laptop and whatever you need to connect to WiFi at the Silver Spring Civic Building
• Soft copies or hard copies of the web pages you'll be working on
• Any documents you'll need for reference or repurposing

 

Tuition refund policy: You will receive a full refund if you cancel before February 27, 2012. If you cannot attend, you may send a substitute.

Questions? E-mail Leslie O'Flahavan or call 301-989-9583.

 

 

January 11, 2012

This law firm's marketing copy is so dry it makes me thirsty

My goodness. This brochure copy from a Baltimore law firm -- one I've worked with and really like -- has to be the flattest, driest writing ever.

Legal Services Available
Based on conversations and inquiries made by several of our current clients, we would like to remind everyone of the array of legal services we can provide. Either individually or in conjunction with other attorneys that we have formed close strategic partnerships with, we are able to offer services in the following practice areas ...

This marketing copy presents the least compelling wording possible. Let’s examine how.

A deadly dull offer

As a value proposition, “Legal Services Available” is akin to Macy’s saying “We Sell Stuff.” I checked out the competitions’ websites, and — to no one’s surprise — discovered that other Baltimore law firms do write marketing copy that has a pulse:

• “Lawyers Helping Your Business Grow.” Whiteford, Taylor & Preston keeps it simple and focuses on its practice area.
• “Former Insurance Company Attorney Now Fighting for You.” Glusing & Muher brings some history and some muscle.
• “We make sure you’re ready. Before you’re even sure you need to be.” Miles & Stockbridge makes it personal… and deep.
• “Smart in your world.” Arent Fox‘s tag line may be perplexing, but at least it’s interesting.

Targeted brochure copy that’s directed to “everyone”?

Wordy, impersonal copy rarely sells. Does the brochure’s first sentence need to mention both “conversations” and “inquiries”? Are only the “current” clients asking? Does this firm really want to "remind everyone” about the “array” of services?

Targeted brochure copy should address the reader as “you.” My non-scientific study revealed that many law firms are reluctant to write in second person. Most firms use the third person “clients” instead, leaving actual clients or prospects to wonder “You talkin’ to me?” An example from DLA Piper:

• “From the quality of our legal advice and business insight to the efficiency of our legal teams, we believe that when it comes to the to the way we serve and interact with our clients, everything matters.”

 

A couple of brave firms took the second person plunge:

• Glusing & Muher: “You need a lawyer that goes beyond the immediate details of your legal issues…”
• Silverman Thompson Slutkin & White: “…your case will be personally handled by a hand-picked team of veteran trial lawyers, each of whom brings a vast, unparalleled and diverse level of litigation experience to the courtroom."

 

I think this "you" copy is stronger. Talking directly to prospective clients helps them think, "Yep, I do need that kind of lawyer."

Using 27 words when 15 will do

Cut, cut, then cut. Let’s take this whole 27-word sentence and cut it down to size:

• Wordy: “Either individually or in conjunction with other attorneys that we have formed close strategic partnerships with, we are able to offer services in the following practice areas …”
• Streamlined: “Individually or with our partner attorneys, we offer services in the following practice areas …”

 

Marketing copy with a “you” attitude

Who writes high-quality legal marketing copy? The Byrd Law Firm does. Byrd’s website, which won a Graphic Design USA 2011 American Web Design Award, deserves recognition for pairing stunning images with marketing copy that has a “you” attitude:

• “Are you tired of waiting for your insurance company? Call us today.”
• Contact us if you’ve been harmed by a dangerous drug.”
• If you’ve been seriously injured in an accident, call us for help”

 

Want to share your own example of lively marketing copy or a law firm’s great website? Post your comment here.

October 3, 2008

About Us Pages: What Does This Company Do?

"Should I buy this company's product or service?" "Is this organization reputable?" To answer those questions, you naturally click to the About Us web page. But once there, it is likely that you won't find useful answers and information.  In his September 29th Alertbox newsletter, usability guru Jakob Nielsen summarizes his About Us page research. In the past five years, users' ability to find out what the company or organization does has actually dropped from 90% to 81%.

“Companies and organizations still can’t explain what they do in one paragraph,” Nielsen says. As an example he cites this About Us summary: X Corporation provides highly specialized services to businesses of all types throughout North America.  As one tester remarked, “I still don’t know what they do.”

Think Elevator Speech
Why do organizations write what Nielsen terms “marketese and blah-blah text?” One reason is that writing a short concise summary is hard to do. Writing your About Us summary is similar to developing your elevator pitch: how you’d explain your company to a potential client or financial backer who gets on at the 6th floor. In both your elevator speech and your About Us summary, you want to distill your organization’s essence--clearly explain what you sell or do and how it benefits your customers. And you want to do it quickly, before your reader clicks off or your elevator captive flees once the doors open on the ground floor.

Start with Now
Instead of opening with a powerful what-we-do summary, many organizations
default to history. (Founded in 1986. . .  . In 1992, our company . . . .) Your history is useful, but it belongs in a subparagraph or subpage.  First up, your readers want to know what you can do for them right now.

Be Specific and Concrete
Let’s go back to the vague and unhelpful About Us summary that Nielsen cited.  X Corporation provides highly specialized services to businesses of all types. Substitute specific examples for highly specialized services  and actual clients for businesses of all types,  and you’ve got the backbone of a successful About Us: 

X Corporation provides translators in 30 languages to organizations such as IBM, eBay, and Citibank.

Remember That About Us Is About the Reader
Yes, the About Us page is your opportunity to tell readers who you are.  But frame that information as a reader (potential client) benefit.  Here’s a benefits
sentence to add to Corporation X’s About Us: 

Our quick and accurate translations enable you to overcome language barriers and sell your products worldwide.

Combine the two sentences and you’ve got an About Us that tells readers who you are and why that matters to them:

X Corporation provides translators in 30 languages to organizations
such as IBM, eBay and Citibank. Our quick and accurate translations
enable you to overcome language barriers and sell your product
worldwide.

Choose Each Word Carefully
So, you’re almost there. But before you publish your About Us, made sure it uses plain, simple language. Be judicious in your use of superlatives.  (Translators is simple; world’s best translators is marketese.) Use words your readers understand. (Overcome language barriers is clear; transcend marketing obstacles caused by language disparities is obtuse.)

Your Thoughts on About Us Pages
Have you found examples of well-written and helpful About Us pages? Do you have any tips on writing them or suggestions about content?  Please share your examples and thoughts with us!

---Marilynne Rudick (guest blogger)

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