I see this time and time again: the most common mistake people make when writing for external websites is to write for the wrong audience. And it’s not only most common, it’s also one of the worst mistakes to make.
Let’s picture the scene. John works in a Government department as a policy officer – or in a small private company as a business development officer. His boss is Nicole. Normally, John writes internal documents – for example, expanding on the departmental implications of latest government policy, or writing internal business development plans.
Over the years that he’s been doing this he’s become highly proficient at his job – Nicole, his boss, thinks he does a brilliant job. In fact, the writing that John does normally requires only a cursory edit by Nicole before it’s finished.
Everyone is happy until Nicole says to John: “Look I think we need some new content on our website. Can you write something for the site that tells the public a bit about what we do?”
And it’s at this point that everything falls into a heap.
Why? Because John does what he does every day – he writes content that he thinks Nicole will like rather than writing content for the audience, which in this case is the public.
John is so conditioned to writing for Nicole that he cannot step out of this paradigm. Before he writes every paragraph, he automatically considers which of the potential alternative approaches Nicole will like best. “No I’d better not put it like that – Nicole won’t like that,” he thinks before typing.
And it is often even worse than this. First up, John worries about what Nicole will think of what he has written. And many times Nicole worries about what her boss will think of the writing – and so on up the chain.
The frame of reference is completely internal!
It is nearly impossible to generate writing prepared in this way that achieves the required outcome of effectively communicating with the public.
To change this outcome requires a deliberately implemented strategy.
When you are considering each aspect of the communication, you think firstly of the audience and then secondly of how it should be written.
So take content. First you consider what the public wants to know about your organisation. Then – and only then – you consider what it is that you’d like to tell them.
Or take style – for example how formal your writing will be. First you consider what style the public would be most comfortable with, and then you consider how your organisation can cater for that.
Or take the complexity of information. First you consider what level of complexity the public will understand and then you consider how your organisation’s writing can be framed.
And so on, all the way through the process.
Pictures and other visuals – first, what would work best for the public, second, what images your organisation has available or could get. Web page layout – first, what would work for the public, second, how you can achieve it.
Want an example of a document completely internally referenced? Here’s one:
Acme Consulting has a long history of excellence. Its founders, Dr Ahmeed Gander and Dr Fred Pathagos, have a demonstrated record of innovation in both academia and industry. Co-authors of Showing You the Way Forward: Strategic Thinking in a New Age, their wealth of experience is backed-up by staff drawn from successful corporate and government entities. Acme’s philosophy is predicated on stakeholder engagement and an ability to focus on important strategic outcomes. When you want to move forward, come to Acme.
And here’s the version actually written for the public:
Acme Consulting offers a range of services including taking inventions to market, setting strategic short and long-term goals, and internal cost control. We have successfully worked with a range of clients including government departments (both Federal and State), sole proprietor companies and small to medium size enterprises. Our services are available Australia-wide and we are happy to provide a no-cost evaluation of your needs.
Not only is the second version clearly more effective but it is also 20 per cent shorter! The second version seems obvious after it’s been done but you can just imagine the writer of the first example thinking:
“I’d better mention Ahmeed and Fred, and they always love their book being brought up. And then the rest of the staff will feel left out so I’d better say how good they are. Hmm, now what. Oh yes: the company is always talking about the stakeholder engagement policy so that had better go in too. Oh yes, I’ll finish off with a bit of a marketing line.”
Don’t laugh: it very often happens like this!
So you want to effectively communicate with the public? Don’t try to achieve this outcome by writing content designed to communicate with the people in your organisation!
Filed under: Articles on preparing web content
