This document summarizes a training on business writing. It covers 6 modules: understanding your audience, crafting clear messages, making effective emails, using push vs. pull marketing approaches, online presence, and writing concisely. The training emphasizes tailoring communication for the audience, having a clear point, and evolving with changing technologies and marketing models. It provides tips for each area and recommends keeping learning to improve writing skills.

1. Business Writing 3.0
Evolve for the changing world
Wrap-up presentation for six modules of
business writing training
By Barb Sawyers

2. What we covered
1. Who’s talking to who?
2. What’s your point?
3. Making good email
4. Push or pull?
5. Shine online
6. Look smart

3. Who are you talking to?

4. Who are you talking to?
What gets her going in the morning?
What keeps her awake at night?

5. Who are you writing as?
How do you write for your brand’s personalities?

6. Who are you writing as?
What’s their point?

7. What’s your key message?
Your point in the dialect of
the key audience
+ what’s in it for me
(WIFM)

8. What’s your call to action?
What do you want your key
people to think, feel or do?

9. How are you going to make
your point?
1.
2.
3.

10. How are you going to plan?
Essay outline

11. How are you going to plan?
Mind map

12. How are you going to plan?
Imaginary conversation

13. How are you going to plan?
Whatever works best for you

14. Let’s try this on email

15. Making good email
Think about your key
audience

16. Making good email
Think about your key
message

17. open
read through
remember
feel differently
think in a certain way
take a specific action
Making good email
What do you want
them to do?

18. How do you structure
good email?
Key message or
Why I should open or
What you want me to do
think, feel or do
Making good email
Compelling subject line

19. How to leave the office on
time -- with all your work done
Making good email
How do you structure
good email?
Compelling subject line

20. Making good email
How do you structure
good email?
Tiny social opening
including name where possible

21. Hi, Crystal
Making good email
How do you structure
good email?
Tiny social opening

22. How do you structure
good email?
Key message
Making good email
3 ways to speed claims
so you can work easier,
faster

23. We’ve come up with three
ways to make claims easier,
faster for you.
Making good email
How do you structure
good email?
Key message

24. How do you structure
good email?
Summary of links,
attachments
Making good email
Support for
key message

25. 1. Elimination of level-two approvals
2. New decision-making authority
3. Simplified work-flow system
The details are summarized on the
attachment.
Making good email
How do you structure
good email?
Support

26. Making good email
How do you structure
good email?
Call to action
What you want them
to think, feel or do

27. How do you structure
good email?
Please share this with
your team.
Making good email
Call to action

28. Making good email
How do you structure
good email?
Quick social close

29. How do you structure
good email?
Still snowing in Edmonton?
Stay warm.
Making good email
Quick social close

30. Making good email
Compelling subject line
Tiny social opening
Key message
Support for key message
Key message + call to action
Quick social close

31. Making good email
1. Be brief
Tips

32. Making good email
2. Write for F-shaped screen reading
Tips

33. Making good email
3. Think more about me and less about you
Tips

34. Making good email
Push: want them to think, feel or do something

35. Push or pull?
Traditionalmarketing: push along the sales cycle

36. Push or pull?
Traditionalmarketing: push along the sales cycle
Content marketing: pull prospects into the sales funnel

37. Do you want to
push them along
the sales cycle
or pull them in?
Push or pull?

38. Push
Traditionalmarketing: push along the sales cycle
Learn Remember Call/click Buy Recommend

39. Push
Traditionalmarketing: push along the sales cycle

40. Push
Traditionalmarketing: perfect people

41. Push
Traditionalmarketing: focus on product

42. Push
Headline
Key message
Call to action

43. Push
Headline
• What your key audience loves/fears
• Solve your problem/ realize your dream
• Hey, you (target audience)
• Threats
• Rewards

44. Push
Key message
• clear
• brief
• relates directly to your key audience’s loves/fears
• uses your key audience’s lingo
• images that reflect your key audience

45. Push
Call to action
• strong verbs
• stress benefits/threats
• think, feel or do
• focus on next step

46. Push
Where are you on the chain of action?
Learn Remember Call/click Buy Recommend

47. Push
1. Write from the perspective
of your key audience
3. Focus on the next step
Tips
2. Keep it simple

48. Push or pull?
Content marketing: pull in prospects

49. Push or pull?
Don’t get your wires crossed
What is your main objective?

50. Pull
Content marketing: real people

51. Pull
Content marketing: related to, but not
directly about, the product

52. Pull
Content marketing: educate or entertain

53. Pull
often with stories
Once upon a time The hero’s journey Murder first

54. Pull
1. Think beyond the product, to related
interests of the people you want to attract
Tips
2. Go beyond tried and true industry
practices. The world is changing rapidly
3. Have fun and your key audience will too

55. Pull
Content marketing can
use brochures, magazines,
events and other
traditional communication

56. Pull
But you’ll meet way
more new people online

57. Shine online
People love to
browse and research
on the web

58. Shine online
They read in an F pattern

59. Shine online
Many combine online browsing,
offline buying,

60. Shine online
mobile apps

61. Shine online
and social media

62. Shine online
Expect to write for marketing
models you haven’t imagined

63. Look smart
Regardless of how marketing changes, the
need for clear, concise and correct writing
will continue

64. Look smart
Don’t blow it by failing to check and tighten

65. Look smart
Avoid the mistakes that spell check can’t catch
It’s mission… Your welcome…
Discreet/discrete

66. Look smart
Be consistent in applying capital letters, punctuation
and other style elements

67. Look smart
Use punctuation that helps your readers

68. Look smart
Lose the flab
Tip
Delete unnecessary words
and information
Pretend you’re being
charged $$$ for each word
Build tightening into your writing time

69. Four takeaways
1. It’s all about your your key audience

70. Four takeaways
2. Be clear, concise, correct and consistent

71. Four takeaways
3. Think before and after you write anything.

72. Four takeaways
4. Keep learning
A few favourites
Ann Handley
Ann Wylie
Barb Sawyers
Canadian Press
Content Marketing Institute
Copyblogger
Dan Ariely
Donna Papacosta
Grammar Girl
Jakob Nielsen
Strunk & White
Sue Horner
Ragan

73. Business Writing 3.0
Evolve for the changing world
By Barb Sawyers
To Intact Insurance
September 23, 2014