Big Ideas for 2014: The Year of Good Writing (and the One Key to Creating It) - Ann H

Big Ideas for 2014: The Year of Good Writing (and the One Key to Creating It)

This post is part of a series in which LinkedIn Influencers pick one big idea that will shape 2014. See all the ideas here.

Did you just roll your eyes—even a little—because my so-called “big idea for 2014” is so… well, pedestrian?

In a world of 140-character tweets, disappearing Snapchats, and six-second Vines and so on, who cares about good writing, anyway? Isn’t “write better” more suited as a Big Idea for, well… high school English comp? In our noisy, chatty, always-on social world, does good writing matter?

Well, it’s precisely because of all the noise that we need to start paying more attention to not just what we say — but also how we say it.

Here’s where we are: Content, along with content marketing, has in the past few years come into its own, both as a concept and as a practice.

Next—in 2014 and beyond—comes the notion that good writing is the foundation of all good content, whether that content is a 140-character tweet or the product pages of your website or your content marketing infographic.

Text is the backbone of the Web, and it’s often the backbone of any content you watch or listen to, as well. All good content—Skype’s Born Friends video, Airbnb’s Twitter-curated short film or Chipotle's haunting video commentary started with a story and a script.

Words matter. Your words (what you say) and style (how you say it) are your most cherished (and undervalued) assets.

In other words, good writing is the basis of good content that gets noticed, no matter what form that content ultimately takes. What’s more: For businesses, good writing is a mirror of good, clear, customer-centric thinking.

Yet, so often writing is overlooked. Think of this way: If a visitor came to your website without its branding in place (logo, tagline, and so on), would he or she recognize it as yours? Are you telling your story there from your unique perspective, with a voice and style that’s clearly all you?

One thing I’ve noticed in my 25 years as a writer and editor is that, as writers, most people feel either (1) inadequate or (2) overconfident. 

They also tend to equate “writing” with “grammar.” And though knowing some simple rules of grammar can certainly make you a better writer, the biggest key to writing well isn’t being able to tell a conjunction from a gerund.

The biggest key to writing well, it turns out, is simple: Relentlessly, unremittingly, obstinately focus on the reader.

Because we are meeting here on LinkedIn, let's view it from a business perspective: You should be creating every bit of content to please the customer or prospect—not your boss or client.

(And, yes, I know who signs your paycheck. But if the customer loves your content, so will your boss or client. But the inverse isn’t necessarily true—if it's only your boss who loves it, you'll be out of work soon enough anyway...)

So let's do this! Start with a few specific ways to make 2014 your year to become a better writer:

1. Anticipate reader questions. Good writing serves the reader, not the writer. It isn’t indulgent. To paraphrase longtime writing teacher Don Murray: The reader doesn’t keep scrolling down the page because of a hunger to applaud. Good writing anticipates what questions readers have as they read a piece. Then, it answers them before they have to actually ask them.

Be a skeptic. Relentlessly think of things from your reader’s point of view: What experience is this creating for the reader? What questions might they have?

2. Approach writing like teaching. Good writing strives to explain, to make things a little bit clearer, to make sense of our world, even if it’s just a straightforward product description.

“A writer always tries…to be part of the solution, to understand a little about life and to pass this on,” says the writer Anne Lamott.

3. Research, then write. Before you sit down to write anything geared toward your audience—dig into some hands-on research. 

If you are writing a product description, get to know the product inside and out—by using it, or by expert demo. 

If you are writing content for your web pages: Buy something from your website. Navigate it like a newbie. What was that like? How can you help the customer along the journey? 

If you are writing content marketing material, research what problems your product or service solves to get into the customer-centric mindset. Research first, then write.

4. Keep it simple, but not simplistic. Business—like life—can be complicated. Products can be involved or concepts may seem impenetrable.

But good content deconstructs the complex to make it easily understood: It sheds the corporate Frankenspeak and conveys things in concise, human, accessible terms. A bit of wisdom from my journalism days: No one will ever complain that you’ve made things too simple to understand.

“Simple” does not equal “dumbed-down.” Another gem from my journalism professors: Assume the reader knows nothing. But don’t assume the reader is stupid.