Content
Writing principles
Use these writing principles to communicate with clarity, authenticity, and relevance.
Be brief
Don’t try to tell our entire story in every communication. Save a little something for the next interaction and leave our audience wanting more.
Use headlines, subheads, and snack-size paragraphs to keep things scannable. If your readers want to dive in later for more info, they certainly can.
Be clear and concise.
Avoid adverbs, redundancy, modifiers, long words if shorter words work, and other unnecessary words.
Be real
We might think our story is the most important thing our audience will read all day. They, on the other hand, might be thinking about why things aren’t going the way their product engineers said they would or why customers only spend 70 seconds on their app, or what that’s going to cost, or what to do next.
So when we’re talking to them, remember that we’re not the only thing on their minds.
Tell people precisely what we can do for them. Nothing less, nothing more, and nothing that wastes their precious time.
Don’t use adjectives and adverbs that water down your message.
Keep common superlatives and adjectives (like “really,” “very,” and “actually”) in check. Ask yourself, “What does this add to my message?” Strong writing should be able to convey your idea without these terms.
Don’t default to describing something “good” when “strong” or “effective” could be used instead. Words like “good” and “bad” are vague. Which adjectives could you use that are more descriptive?
Show and don’t tell. Provide clear examples, proof points, supporting data, and anecdotes.
Be conversational
If you’re reading this, odds are you’re a human being. And again, if you’re writing something, you should sound like one.
Lay off the corporate-speak and marketing mumbo-jumbo. It doesn’t make sense to your audience, so it only distances them from our story. And just because synergy, circle-back, and siloed are words, it doesn’t mean you should use them.
Talk like you do on the weekends—acronym-free—and you’ll sound like someone worth listening to. Instead of saying Leverage/Optimize/Architect/Decisioning, try more approachable terms like Use/Make the Most Of/Build/Decide.
Address the reader.
Speak in plain language. Aim for an 8th-grade writing level, not a 12th-grade writing level.
When our writing explains complex concepts simply, it reaches a broader audience.
Our content is easier to consume when it’s written simply.
Err on the side of introducing a concept, company, acronym, or figure to a reader on the first reference. Not all readers may be familiar with the names you write about. Provide them with the context to understand your message.
Try to incorporate a diversity and variety of sentence lengths and structures. Multiple medium- and long-length sentences read dry as if they’re droning on and on. Humans mix up the flow when we speak. Often, it’s in shorter sentences. But a variety of lengths will help keep a pace and rhythm that’s more engaging.
Be relevant
What matters to you isn’t always (and by that, we mean rarely) what matters to your audience. They have, as we said, exceptionally demanding work to do on an increasingly difficult scale. Plus, they have to drive their kids to piano lessons. They’re busy. Their heads are already full. So instead of telling them what you want to say, try to imagine what they need to and want to hear. There’s a huge difference there, and when you put yourself in the reading audience, you’ll hear it.
Communicate the value and speak to the benefit to the reader, but do not oversell. Also, be sure to address any objections.
Connect with the reader on the problem or challenge they are facing.
Lead with the solutions, not products and features. Place the customer at the center by framing any product content around what’s relevant to a customer or prospect’s needs and interests first.
Have questions?
Slack us @brand in the #marketing channel (internal Amplitude users only) or submit a request form.
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