Everyone’s a Writer – Even You Shaking Your Head.

Guess what? You’re a marketing writer, and they didn’t even bother to put it on your business card. Protest all you like that your company has a marketing department or person or agency that handles the “words.” It does not alter the fact that one of your day-to-day job responsibilities is to write. 

Those emails to clients, down and dirty trade show flyers, product descriptions, blog posts, tweets, Facebook posts, job descriptions, presentations and whatnot –  all important marketing communications. And you and your co-workers are writing them. Hence your newly amended job title.

Go ahead, push through the seven stages of grief as quickly as possible and then surrender yourself to the truth. You. Are. A. Writer. Might as well be a competent and effective one.

And what exactly makes a competent and effective writer? There are a lot of things, but the one prevalent, and sometimes irritating, trait we share is that we think a lot about what we’re writing. There’s no such thing as haphazardly throwing something together. Which leads us to rule numero uno of writing.

The First Rule of Write Club
Think First. Write Last.

If you walk away remembering only one thing about being a better marketing writer, please, let it be this one all-important rule.

Listen. Research. Learn. Ask questions – who are we talking to? what do they need? how do we satisfy that need? what do we want the audience to do? what is the primary message? what are the supporting points? Be sure the questions’ answers make sense. In other words, use your noggin to think and problem solve.