1. Writing for
Business Success
Webinar: December 11, 2014
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2. “My task, which I am trying to achieve
is, by the power of the written word, to
make you hear, to make you feel – it is,
before all, to make you see.”
- Joseph Conrad
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3. Ilissa Miller, Founder and CEO
• 15+ years of experience in sales, marketing and product development
• Managing Partner at another PR firm. During this time, company’s
growth propelled the firm to be considered one of the leading PR &
Marketing communication companies in the industry
• Clarity in messages, increased brand awareness in the market and
overall success
• Director of Marketing Communications and Public Relations for Telx,
Product Marketing as well as Channel Marketing Manager for Telstra
International, Director of IP Services and Director of Business
Development and Marketing for Band-X
• Bachelor of Arts degree in Writing and Literature from SUNY Potsdam
where she also studied voice performance at Crane School of Music
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4. Joanna Styczen,
Technical Writing Director
• Accomplished writer with a solid professional foundation in sales and
marketing
• Accountable for press releases, white papers, research documents,
reports, proposals and corporate literature
• Senior Writer for Harvard Oaks Enterprises, Inc.
• B.A. in Journalism as well as dual minors in both Spanish and Political
Science from Illinois State University
• Local Resume Writer Certification, National Resume Writers’
Association
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5. Webinar Goals
• Plan and research
• Craft a powerful outline
• Identify & convey key messages
• Understand tone and voice
• Effectively write for a niche
audience/market
• Use proper spelling &
grammar
The goal of this webinar is
to help you improve your
business writing skills by
teaching you how to:
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6. Planning & Research
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7. Planning & Research
Topic, Market, Audience
• Who is your target audience?
• How well do you know your subject matter?
• What are the key market trends (news / reports,
etc.)
• Identify / collect facts and figures (data sells!)
• Research the company / products / services,
including competitor offerings
• Identify key messages you want to convey –
suggest no more than three (and prioritize)
• If touting a product / solution, ensure you
research and identify the strengths and
weaknesses of the solution (so you can
emphasize and avoid appropriately)
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8. Understanding Tone & Voice
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9. How to Find Your Voice &
Hone Your Tone
Answering these simple questions can help you define the voice and tone to
leverage in your writing:
• What is the purpose of what you’re writing?
• What do you want to communicate about
your company's brand?
• Do you want to inform, entertain, or motivate
readers to take action?
• Who is your target audience?
• What mood would you like to set with your piece?
Source: Grammar Girl
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10. Identifying & Conveying
Key Messages
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11. Crafting Key Messages
• Identify your ideal target customer
 What’s their profile?
 Who are you trying to reach?
• Create a brand vocabulary
 Words and key phrases
 Employee and customer descriptions
 Adjectives
• Develop a key messaging document
 Overall messaging
 Financial position of the company
 Focus – services / geography
 Why your company?
 Latest News
 Hot Industry Issues
 Company facts / figures
 Key milestones / awards
 Product / Service Availability
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12. Crafting Key Messages, continued
• Other Items to Consider:
 Repetition is key
 Competitor messaging
 Supporting messages
 Evidence and stats
 Avoid industry jargon
 Don’t confuse your audience
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13. Creating an Effective Outline
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14. Get Organized
Create Your Outline
• What information is required to include and will be weighted
heavily?
• What additional information is beneficial to include?
• Identify who will be quoted and key area(s) of expertise
• Find key statistics theories, images, plot points, or personal
reflections to support your piece (these depend on the
nature of your work)
• Keep a separate FAQ of information that may need to be
addressed outside of the document(s)
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15. Traditional Outline
‘Topic’ and ‘Sentence’ Outlines
Introduction
• Background
• Thesis statement
Body
• First major category of support
 Supporting detail
 Supporting detail
• Second major category of support
 Supporting detail
 Supporting detail
• Third major category of support
 Supporting detail
 Supporting detail
Conclusion
• Restate the thesis
• Review major categories of support
• Provide the answer, solution, or final option
Source: Gallaudet University
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16. Writing Style
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17. Technical vs. Persuasive Writing
• The Six Principals of Technical Writing
 Active voice
 Grammar & punctuation
 Understand your audience
 Short sentences for easier comprehension
 More formal and devoid of any emotion
• Persuasive Writing Arguments
While more emotional and marketing-focused, persuasive writing does require proving your point
via facts and figures, examples, narratives, testimony and definition.
 State your argument, then support it with one or more facts, logic, expert opinions, statistics
or specific customer case studies.
• Aristotle’s "ingredients for persuasion”: Logos, Pathos & Ethos
 Logos— "The data is perfectly clear: this investment has consistently turned a profit year-over-
year, even in spite of market declines in other areas.”
 Pathos— "There’s no price that can be placed on peace of mind. Our advanced security
systems will protect the well-being of your family so that you can sleep soundly at night.”
 Ethos— "As a doctor, I am qualified to tell you that this course of treatment will likely
generate the best results."
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18. Writing for a Specific Industry
Tricks and Tips:
• Niche, complex and fast-paced industries are evolving everyday
• Spell out acronyms first. Ex: Software-defined Networking (SDN) is an approach to
computer networking that allows network admins to manage network services through
abstraction of lower-level functionality. SDN is an emerging architecture that is dynamic…
• Search for similar projects and identify common industry ‘speak’, tone and voice
• Identify in-house, go-to experts
• Technical people want technical information
• Include specific case studies and testimonials
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19. Grammar & Spelling Tips
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20. Apostrophes
To show possession by one owner, add an apostrophe and the letter ‘s’ to the owner.
Example: Michael’s.
To show possession by more than one owner, add an apostrophe after the letter s if you’re dealing
with a regular plural word.
Example: ladies’.
To show ownership for an irregular plural, add an apostrophe and then the letter ‘s’.
Example: Children’s, geese’s.
If two people own something together, use only one apostrophe.
Example: Larry and Ella’s wedding.
If two people own things separately, as individuals, use two apostrophes.
Example: Larry’s and Ella’s new shoes.
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21. Misplaced Modifiers
• Misplaced Modifiers
For clear, logical sentences, aim modifiers so that they strike as close
to the intended targets as possible.
The example above suggests that a gold man owns a
watch.
How can we correct this?
Now it is the watch that is gold.
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22. Commas
Avoid missing commas
In a series
Example: Jane needed to buy milk, eggs, cheese, and butter.
Also note, the comma before the word ‘and’ is optional.
After an introductory element
Example: In the novel Twilight, Bella lives in Forks.
In a compound sentence
Example: The recipe sounded simple, but Julie burnt the cookies.
Source: http://www.etsu.edu/
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23. Things to Avoid
Avoid the lack of subject-verb agreement
Examples:
The ugly duckling hates the mirrored room. (duckling-singular subject, hates –singular verb)
Hedge clippers are always a thoughtful gift. (clippers-plural subject, are-plural verb)
Two subjects joined by ‘and’ take a plural verb.
Example:
Bill and Caroline have 16 children. (Bill and Caroline- plural subject, have-plural verb)
Avoid using double negatives
Example:
No class exercises cannot replace training in the laboratory.
Class exercises cannot replace training in the laboratory.
✔
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24. Things to Avoid, contd.
Avoid the use of run-on sentences
A run-on sentence is a sentence that is made of two sentences that could stand alone.
Example:
The computer printouts are ready to be taken to the laboratory and please deliver them promptly.
The computer printouts are ready to be taken to the laboratory. Please deliver them promptly.
Avoid redundancy
Keep it short and sweet; eliminate repetitious expressions.
Examples:
The book was a free gift.
The book was free. or The book was a gift.
The most common redundancies:
✔
(absolutely) essential; (careful) scrutiny; (close) proximity; and eradicate (completely)
✔
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25. Things to Avoid, contd.
Avoid unnecessary verb tense shifts
Example:
When Bob died, it affects his whole family.
When Bob died, it affected his whole family.
✔
Avoid the use of slang, jargon, and clichés
- like the plague
Avoid the wrong prepositions
Example:
I was standing in the middle of the street and I was standing on the middle of the street mean two
different things.
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26. Helpful Grammar / Spelling
Resources
Grammarly (paid service)
http://www.grammarly.com/
WhiteSmoke (paid service)
http://www.whitesmoke.com/
Modern Language Association (MLA) Formatting and Style Guide (free)
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
American Psychological Association (APA) Style Website (free)
http://www.apastyle.org/
GrammarBase (free) - grammar / spell-checker and corrector.
http://www.grammarbase.com/
Title Capitalization - Automatically capitalizes correct words in titles.
http://titlecapitalization.com/ (free)
Hemingway App - Helps you avoid run-on sentences and keeps your writing clear.
http://www.hemingwayapp.com/ (free)
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27. “I’m always pretending that I’m sitting
across from somebody. I’m telling them
a story, and I don’t want them to get up
until it’s finished.”
- James Patterson
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28. Thank You!
Questions?
www.imillerpr.com │pr@imillerpr.com
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