ARE YOU A NON-WRITER WRITER?

I am! I’ve learned that writing is like any skill. 

You must practice and be patient. 

Luckily for me, I have been practicing for almost five years and here’s what I learned: 

1. Identify your audience

It’s helpful when your audience is one person. Ideally, this is the ideal client you’ve identified, and you spend time thinking about what they struggle with and what content they would like to read.

When you write to a broad audience, connecting to one person is harder. Web-copy, emails, Facebook posts. All of it counts.

Copy is industry speak for written words used to promote your services.

This quote perfectly sums up why concise messaging is key:

“The best approach is to not try to write things that will go viral. No, the best approach is to write for just one person. Make an impact on just one person. Even better, make it so they can’t sleep that night unless they choose to make a difference for just one other person by sharing your message with them. The rest will take care of itself.”

-Seth Godin

Also, identify your purpose. What are you trying to say? Try to stick to one message, or you risk losing your audience. 

2. Write fast, edit slow

Don’t worry about grammar, length, or quality.

Just write and write and write. My journaling practice has helped me with this step. Even if it’s for 5 minutes a week, I get a lot of value from putting my words on a page.

Then, step away for a few hours before coming back to edit. Words need time. Some of my biggest writing mistakes are made from rushing through the writing process. Copy doesn’t like that. 

3. Read your words out loud 

Simple—but game-changing. If you stumble over your words while reading them out loud, edit away! Your reader will thank you.

4. Share

Have a friend read your piece even if you are a one-person show. Don’t skip this step. The more eyes, the better. 

Talking about copy is helpful, too. It shifts your attention from pen and paper to verbal communication, so your copy is even tighter.

What about you? Do you have any copy ideas to share? I’d love to read them in the comments below.