Do you feel frustrated with your writing?
Do you struggle to express yourself as clearly as you would like to?
Writing clearly is an art—but it’s an art you can learn. While you may be able to speak with authority, writing with authority is often so much harder. With a few simple tips and tricks, however, you can start writing with greater clarity and infusing your sentences with more emotion, energy and excitement. You can become the business that customers want to engage with, to learn from and buy from.
In this blog post I will show you how to spot common “sentence spoilers” quickly in your work and what you can do to transform your writing.
Spot Your Sentence Spoilers
1. Being Boring: Your sentences are too logical, rational and lack emotion.
Logical Sentence: “Setting goals allows you to achieve more.”
Solution: Bring your sentences to life by using more descriptive “power words” eg) outstanding, stunning, exclusive, best-selling, proven, powerful, simple, captivating, unforgettable etc.
Emotive Re-Write: “Imagine setting realistic, meaningful and exciting goals that allow you to achieve significantly more in your life and business.”
Re-read your sentences to spot when you have written from a purely logical and rational mindset. People connect and are inspired by emotion. Add more colour to your writing by adding words that create excitement, interest and intrigue.
2. Being “Waffly”: Your sentences are too long and become confusing.
Waffly Sentence: “I have found in my own writing when I use exclamation marks I am being a bit lazy because I am trying to “force” an emotion onto my reader, rather than use words to elicit that emotion.”
Solution: Turn one long and confusing sentence into shorter, punchier sentences. De-clutter your writing by getting rid of words that aren’t needed.
Clear and Concise Re-Write: “When I find myself using exclamation marks, I know I’m being a lazy writer. Great writers elicit emotion from their readers, they don’t force it.”
Re-read your writing and look out for those extra long sentences. Break your long sentences into two or more shorter sentences so they are clear and easy to follow. In your re-write, get rid of any words that aren’t 100% necessary. Less is more.
3. Being Unclear: Your sentences are not well designed.
Unclear Sentence Example: “We also share an autoresponder template with you on that page to help you know how to build rapport with new leads.”
Solution: Play around with the design of your sentence. You may find that the end of your sentence needs to be at the beginning and some words can be left out all together.
Clear and Well Designed Re-Write: “Take the guess work out of building rapport with your new leads by using our super simple autoresponder template.”
Just like doing a jigsaw puzzle, the more you shift and move words around the clearer the picture becomes. Making small changes in your writing style has the power to massively impact your conversion rate. Use these three “sentence spoilers” to take your writing to the next level.
Happy writing.
Jess xxx
Need some “hands-on” help to become a more compelling writer for your business?
Secure a seat at my upcoming one day action-packed Brand and Copy Writing Masterclass. Learn the skills you need to start writing with more style and confidence. With only 10 spots available, this masterclass is all about learning, taking action and getting personalised and expert feedback. Learn skills to use time and time again and implement in your business immediately. Spots are filling up fast!