There’s no doubt about it, ‘cutback copy for the concentration-challenged’ is how to write for a marketing Webworld.

As online business flourishes, today’s writers must script for a new and increasingly younger audience with a gnat-like attention span of, if you are lucky, 5 seconds - which has to be the most gloriously successful benefit imaginable of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

This is because the average virtual-space hopper does not read. They scan. Rapidly. This demands an instant-gratification writing style aimed at maximum stick and minimum bounce. For the uninitiated, ‘bounce’ is the swift response of a dissatisfied surfer to a website that doesn’t deliver the goods quickly enough i.e. now. In a flash, they hop from one site to another until a clever one captures their interest and speeds them successfully towards the required action.

As always, money’s behind it, what with online budgets overtaking offline budgets faster than you can hit a ‘Buy Now’ button. Focus is moving from traditional, passive promotional paths to digital, mercurial marketing at a rate of knots.

So, goodbye (well, not quite, but getting there) to newspaper advertising and direct mail (a 40% drop in market share according to some sources), and hello to websites, search-engine-optimised text, podcasts, texting, blogging, social networking, YouTube et al. The list is long and evolving at a brain-boggling rate.

So here’s how writing for Webworld shapes up:-


Get To The Point Pronto – state the problem and solution swiftly and succinctly;
Highlight Benefits Immediately – save time and cut to the chase;
Use Short Sentences – bite-size chunks of easily-digested information;
Use Plain-speak – concise, objective Standard English for direct communication;
Keep It Conversational – zero formality for total connection;
Ban Bureaucratese & Jargon – honest, no-barriers straight-speak at all times;
Tailor To Your Market – e.g. write for Youth and you can sling slang willy-nilly;
Keep Text To A Minimum –plenty of elbow room for the great god White Space;
Pepper With Bullet Points – lots of these for the terminally impatient.

Just as pre-Webworld designers responded to a developing digital scene by migrating from drawing boards and traditional skills to computers and design software, so too have trend-spotting writers drawn upon honed capabilities such as good communication, flexibility and discipline to meet the needs of a burgeoning online market.

Having hoofed the distance to write in this growing Webworld, they are super-fit for purpose which has to augur well for a progressive business community that values a contemporary capability supported by a proven pedigree.

So, if you ever wondered why well-scripted websites support a cutback style of copy, it’s because it pays big dividends, competing successfully in an ephemeral and demanding market that cannot resist an astutely-crafted path to the ‘Buy Now’ button in all its guises.

Posted by Helen at 9:46 AM

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I learnt something new today!

So I need to ask you if it was just new to me or new to you all?

How many of you are space-sweating? And would you know if you were?

It sounds like a very unpleasant way of working next to someone you’d rather not be near…but in fact it’s the newest expression for maximising space in warehousing!

Used to be called ‘cramming’ or saving on rent but not any more!

And of course, there will be environmental advantages to space-sweating too.

Getting more ‘stuff’ into a smaller space saves on lighting, heating or cooling, land..

need I go on?

So next time someone goes all minimalistic on you just be surprised and tell them that’s so passé. Space-sweating is the new buzz, don’t waste space you don’t really need – just build a mezzanine level in every room and crouch all day!!

I’m trying to work out how to get ‘space-sweating’ into my next press release…

Maybe you could suggest something?

Take care

Angela

Posted by Angela at 11:22 AM

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I recently read - via email, the significance of which will become apparent shortly - that over 50% of adults felt their intelligence was being judged by others based solely on the way they write emails. To counter this, large numbers of people are adapting their style of writing and language, thus creating a kind of alter-persona who exists only as an email correspondent.

Interesting. Not because it’s surprising, but rather that it would be surprising if we believed we would NOT be judged by poor grammar, non-existent punctuation and nonsense sentences. After all, we’re judged by so many criteria these days.
Have you ever tried to pick the meaning out of an email or blog completely devoid of capital letters or full stops? The feelings of “Ahhh...bless...a novice on the keyboard...” soon dissipate and a much less charitable notion soon takes over.

The well-written word still means a lot, even in these days of electronic supremacy. Whilst the delivery systems have changed, much of what is being delivered has not. I found these lovely examples of mass dyslexia at GetReading.co.uk....

- ‘people lossing jobs’ (careless lossers!);
- ‘gullable’ (a naïve bird perhaps?);
- benifit (used twice so not a slip of the fingers);
- ‘suprise suprise’ (er ditto);
- propergander (having a good look at?);
- I new five girls (as opposed to I old five girls?)
- In countries such as Italy, which has higher morale values (happy Itis!)
- Alchol (hic!);
- Escape goat (I blame whoever left the gate open);
- Speach (or sapple or spear?)
- Opertunity (to be had at an opertune moment).

As you know, spotting howlers isn’t a new sport - it has a long and distinguished history.

‘So what?’ I can hear you say.
Well, quite a lot actually. Your company’s credibility (let alone your sales potential) is being affected by everything you email, communicate or upload, so it’s worth making the effort to ensure it’s not dangling participles in the faces of your readers.

We at B&V spend a huge amount of time and effort minimising errors (often in client-supplied copy), so that our communications make sense. Of course, in the perfect world, a spelling mistake would never exist. And when we all move to this much-anticipated ‘perfect world’ we’ll all breathe a sigh of relief. But until then, it’s back to the usual methods - sharp eyes and read it again and again and again....and then a bit more.
Incidentally, many years ago we used to keep a folder, titled The Studio Bok of Deliferate Mistales, into which all our howlers went. Amongst the gems was a series of 6 visuals, all for the same advert, all containing a different spelling of the word ‘refrigerator’ and proof, if proof were needed, that artists and designers cannot spell - never have been able to, probably never will.

Posted by Jenny at 12:07 PM

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Our brand new B&V Digital site launched last week, and we want to know what you think of it!

In a departure from the corporate feel of our main site, the BVD site extols all the virtues of internet marketing and how our dedicated team help clients with web design and development, search engine marketing, email marketing and video for the web.

As you can see we’ve gone for a contemporary look and feel to the site but as a contrast to the clean white appearance of the B&V Creative site the look is darker and hopefully a bit more funky! The content too has been written with approachability in mind, to come across as relaxed and conversational.

The main idea with the content was to stress the benefit of internet marketing and the uncovered potential it can help realise in any business. The example page on the right is trumpeting the use of email marketing for instance…

We haven’t forgotten to sell ourselves though – especially the fact we really do tailor our digital marketing to our clients. Each project is tackled on its own merits, we don’t provide off the shelf solutions!

We’re pretty pleased with the site – and the ever expanding and increasingly informative blog. There are still a couple of new videos to upload (so keep an eye out for them) but we can definitely say, with excitement, B&V Digital has arrived!

If you’ve got any comments on the site, please do give me a shout!

Cheers Ross

Posted by Ross at 3:57 PM

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