Mistake One: Don’t take that tone with me!

Many writers fail to write to their intended audience by writing in a general or wrong tone. Either way is costly. It is important to identify and write to intended audience. Review following two statements to see how same information differs based on intended audience.

Audience One is comprised of computer neophytes.

Move your mouse pointer over to START icon, which is located in lower left area of your computer screen. Next, click your left mouse button one time. Your start menu should now be displayed.

Audience Two is comprised of knowledgeable computer users.

Open up your START menu.

Notice stark contrast between two examples. If we continued with examples, “Audience Two” would be spoken to in more technical terms whereas “Audience One” would be spoken to in very simple terms with every action described in full detail.

Mistake Two: Welcome to claims department.

Most non-fiction writing, especially ad copy, makes a claim of some sort. Hard to believe claims destroy credibility. The golden rule of claims: Always support your claims fully.

I can’t believe it!

When a claim sounds too good to be true, credibility is lost. Perhaps ad copy is claiming that a person can lose up to 300 pounds in 30 days on a certain type of program. The more substantial claim, more support required. Still, if claim is hard to believe, all support in world won’t help much.

4 out of 5 dentists agree.

A claim made must be supported. An article reporting that 4 out of 5 dentists agree about using a certain product must include supporting evidence. Never expect people to take your word for it, because they won’t.

Mistake Three: So enough about you, what about me?

Have you ever visited a website or heard an ad that chimed in with “we here at [insert company name] believe…?” The majority of people will react by simply ignoring copy all together. It is important to build up a rapport with reader before talking about yourself—if possible. The reader must first be given a reason as to why he or she should care. This mistake is most common in ad copy. Focus on reader first and foremost.

Mistake Four: Could you repeat that?

Repetitious wording occurs when a word is used that was previously written in close proximity. Try to keep sentences fresh and flowing with new words. This is a great reason to pick up a thesaurus and learn some word alternatives. In ad copy it is sometimes necessary to use a word more than once for effect. An example of this would be: Excellent service. Excellent selection. Excellent prices.

Don’t do this

I really like quality of shoes and overall quality of store. Store X is an all around high-quality establishment.

Notice word “quality” was used three times quickly. These two sentences should be rewritten with world quality being used only once.

Is your hospital full of aliens, despite cleaning firms, Antenna waving buggies, And creepy crawly germs, Then dont waste another second, now were into election spin, Just complain over and again, and up pops smily smily grin. You just have to critiscise, or mention cancellation lists, And smily smily grin appears, always eager to assist, He doesnt actually do much, just smiles and talks and grins, But takes your mind off bugs, for times that he pops in.

Your child has only 15 a levels, and is learning how to write, Apparently thats a bit of a problem, to just get balance right, But if reading too is tricky, and Oxbridge hopes looking slim, Just bang drum, and hell soon come, savior smily smily grin. Hell appear with a little girl, who has four of her very own, Who all have masters arts degrees, though still barely half grown, After lecturing her elders, arguments seemingly trite and thin, Theres still honest eyes, winning smile, of smily smily grin.

Is your car getting very wobbly, as if weak at knees, Is it even trying to leave road, and collide with walls and trees, It might not actually be car, just tarmac getting rather thin, So just avoid all potholes and call in smily smily grin. And as its an election looming, he wont risk a dodgy trip by car, A helicopter will come in zooming, carrying Great One from afar, He says some isolated craters, may even now be in our roads, Then smily smily grin will joke, it will only bother frogs and toads.

If youre looking for an interview, with He Who Never Says The Same, Smily smily grin will meet you, on any platform that you name, You just nominate a suitable assignation, & hell appear right on time, You wont as youve used train, and Tory leaves are on line, Amazingly on arrival hes still there, teeth beaming bonhonomie, And though your biting questions show, that effect is lost on me, He is master of camera, and of trained sound bite, And signals and glows and radiates, as if he is source of light.