Know-How Exchange : Copywriting

Not sure if this is exactly what you have in mind, but Pat at SBDI Consulting specializes in translating Geek to English (and back again). Tell her I sent you.

https://www.sbdi-consulting.com/


Jodi

Thanks Jodi for the quick response, I looked at the SBDI web-site and it doesn't look like quite the right fit. We are really looking for copywriting expertise and training and SBDI looks like they do more software roll-out infrastructure & process consulting.

Thanks Melissa, I will check out Pragmatic Marketing. I am not familiar with them.

Hire your local middle- and high-schoolers to be your audience. Ask them to read your copy and comment on it. That's the reading level you're trying to write to - so if they can at least understand the gist of what you're saying, you're in good shape. They don't have to understand all the technical details. After reading your copy, they should be able to summarize it in a few sentences coherently.

Thanks Jay, that is probably an even better idea for checking our social media strategy. How do you make facebook, twitter, etc.. more interesting and fun for your audience.. ask you local high school pro's.

All of those are good tips, but I wouldn't forget about a valuable resource you already have - the actual copywriters you already hire.

Get them together and ask them to put together a training program. They already understand your business and the challenges your people will face (especially since you probably have some non-writers in the bunch).

Have your current copywriters be check-points at first (or perhaps always if that makes you more comfortable). When your marketing people finish their sound-bites, have a professional review it and comment. They should eventually be able to do it on their own.

However, a couple of words of caution.

If you have a dozen marketing pros doing their own copywriting, make sure you have someone in charge of checking through them and controlling your content to ensure it's always in line with your brand image and marketing goals. The voice they have in the copy they write is part of your branding. Even if your purpose is to put a more personal face on your company, be aware that they should be writing as John Doe of Teradata Corporation, not just John Doe.

(And this is going to sound like I'm trying to talk you out of it, but I swear I'm not.) Be aware that copywriting is both an art and a science. It isn't just about good grammar, it's about using words to engage, build interest, and ultimately, sell. It's also one of those things that can sound easier than it is. Being a good writer doesn't mean you'll be a good copywriter anymore than being a good salesperson does. It isn't something you can just learn to do really well in a couple of weeks. You'll have some people who'll excel at it - who will be good enough that they could even go on to a career in copywriting if they kept studying. You'll have some (probably most) who do a good enough job. But others may not catch on as quickly, if at all.

What you're trying to do doesn't sound impossible and you're not asking them to write 10 killer sales letters after a two-day training seminar - just to write a somewhat engaging bit of text you can use for what I assume are soft-sell (or perhaps even informative) presentations. You just might want to have an unspoken backup plan for those who just can't do that part of the job.

Good luck!

Thanks everyone for your feedback.