Writing Advice Archives - Page 9 of 12

RADIO TIPS THAT RADIATE

June 10, 2010 by Scott Flood

There are several little things you can do to make your radio commercials more effective. First off, it pays to catch the listener’s attention right away, and there are two sure-fire ways to do that. One is to start the spot with some sort of loud sound – whether it’s an odd sound effect or an opening note of music.

Another way that’s particularly effective in a dialogue spot is to have one of the actors use someone’s first name. That signals the ears that a conversation is about to follow, and whether or not we admit it, we all like to eavesdrop.

HOW SHOULD YOU END A LETTER?

June 1, 2010 by Scott Flood

I was recently teaching a class about writing better business letters. With the advent of email and texting, letter writing is one of those arts that appears to be fading, and I welcomed the opportunity to share some basics.

One participant wondered about the best way to send letters. Is “sincerely” the right word?

QUOTES MAKE THINGS “UNREAL”

May 27, 2010 by Scott Flood

Why do people choose to put so many things in quotation marks? I suspect that they believe wrapping a word or phrase in quotes somehow makes it more prominent or important, but it actually has the opposite effect.

WRITE TO MOM, WRITE MORE EFFECTIVELY

May 25, 2010 by Scott Flood

Looking for a simple way to write more clearly and effectively? When you begin to write a letter, a memo, or an ad, start writing it to your mother.

Okay, it doesn’t have to be your mother. If you prefer, you could write to your best friend or your Aunt Agatha. The key is that you want to write to someone you know instead to of a faceless customer or peer.

P.S. I LOVE THEM

May 4, 2010 by Scott Flood

Way back when people used to compose something called “letters,” they often ended them with a brief afterthought called a postscript. If you’re too young to remember “duck and cover,” you may not have heard of these quaint messages, but they would begin with the abbreviation “P.S.”

SHOULD REPETITION BE REPEATED?

April 27, 2010 by Scott Flood

When writing an ad or a brochure (or even a blog post), repetition generally isn’t very helpful. You have a limited amount of time with your reader, and you need to make every word count. Besides, if you mention something once, you usually don’t need to do it again.

I’ve seen people try to apply that same logic to copy for websites. They’ll ask me delete an item or section on one page, noting that another page carries the same information.

A COMPLEMENT OF COMPLIMENTS

April 20, 2010 by Scott Flood

Rarely have I encountered clients who become furious over word choices, but it does happen. I was working on an ad for a company in human resources, and used the phrase “to complement your staff.” Upon reviewing it, the client changed the largest word in that sentence to “compliment.” I changed it back, and the client took a vertical leap into his ceiling.

SKIP THE SHORTHAND

April 15, 2010 by Scott Flood

A local car repair job has one of those changeable signs, and this week they were promoting a special on something called LOF. I’ve eaten lox, but not lof. Or maybe it’s an animal of some sort.

DO YOU PARLEZ-VOUS?

April 13, 2010 by Scott Flood

People like to stick foreign-language phrases and expressions into copy because they think it makes them appear to be intelligent and sophisticated, n’est-ce pas? And it can, except when they either don’t understand the phrase or are unable to spell it correctly.

A GHOST OF A CHANCE TO PROMOTE YOUR ORGANIZATION

April 6, 2010 by Scott Flood

Looking for a new way to promote your organization and build credibility among your audiences? Perhaps you need to find a ghost. No, I’m not suggesting you tag along with Scooby-Doo and Shaggy to a creepy island (besides, we know that the caretaker did it). Instead, consider the marketing value of ghostwritten stories.