Useful writing techniques....

Dien,

I agree with Jason. Except he’s more mentally organized than I am. My thoughts come out in order in spurts, but mostly, they’re all over the board. My procedure below reflects this.

You don’t specifically say it’s sales materials you want to write. Here’s my procedure in writing an article, but I do much the same for a sales letter, too. Only the research is different.

1. Choose a subject you know.
2. Using a hand-held tape recorder, record every thought on the subject. I like the cheap Olympus Pearlcorder with variable speed playback. (About $40 at OfficeMax)
3. Transcribe the tape onto disk.
4. Research keywords using http://www.ixquick.com/
5. Find related websites.
6. When you find useful info, talk it into the recorder in your own words.
7. Print.
8. Categorize & label each thought into an idea ("oranges," "palmetto bugs," "artichokes," etc.).
9. Rearrange on disk, putting all thoughts about oranges first, then palmetto bugs, then artichokes, etc.
10. Print.
11. Prioritize the main points under "oranges," 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.
12. Re-write each idea by priority.
13. Print.
14. Fill in any missing points.
15. Prioritize each idea in the subject, starting with the most important.
16. Print.
17. Edit out the extras and redundancies.
18. Read & edit, read & edit, read & edit, until it all makes sense.
19. Read the article again each of the next 5 days. Edit where necessary.

By the way … I have the tape recorder with me at all times, in “record” position, pause button on. Whenever an idea comes, I grab it. Of course, transcribing is a chore, but some of this has to be work.

The key part is the editing. So let’s focus in more on it.

What a reader wants most is clear, simple, understandable statements. When they get long-winded, sleep-inducing paragraphs, they’re gone.

Editing Tips:

1. Keep or improve the meaning. Simpler isn't necessarily better. When you edit, focus on the meaning.

2. Sharpen the meaning. Fewer, simpler words usually clarify with less chance of misunderstanding.

3. Delete extra or redundant words. Some sentences or paragraphs or articles repeat the same exact thing over and over, again and again, ad infinitum. (And if that sentence sounds fine to you, re-read the one before it.) You may well want to repeat an idea LATER in the article … but not in one sentence.

4. Downsize your words. Learn from the greatest, most memorable songs. Their short words convey clear meaning. "Ole Man River," for example:

http://www.kcmetro.cc.mo.us/pennvalley/biology/lewis/crosby/olmanriver.html

100+ words, total clarity, and only one word more than 2 syllables. When you write, keep your thesaurus nearby and replace long words with short ones.

5. Keep your readers. If you write clearly, they'll figure you think clearly. (And they're probably right.) If you also choose good subjects, they'll stick around.

Below are 3 paragraphs from 3 random ezines, followed by an edited version.

NOTE: I'm not picking on anybody. I have the greatest respect for people who actually DO something. I'd have even more respect if they would EDIT something.

#1:
"In previous written works, I have touched on the aspect of publishing a newsletter as a means of promoting your business. Why? Simply because I, along with thousands of other successful entrepreneurs have discovered that newsletter publishing ranks high in the most effective marketing concepts of an on-line business." (49 words)

Edit:
"To promote your online business, publish a newsletter. Why? Because it works like crazy." (14 words)

#2:
"It usually takes 6-7 sales presentations before a prospect turns into a customer. You won't have the chance to make those presentations, however, if you haven't developed a mechanism for ongoing communication. That's why it is necessary for you to employ several different methods of collecting site visitors email addresses." (50 words)

Edit:
"You may need 6-7 sales presentations to turn a prospect into a customer. So you absolutely MUST collect visitors' email addresses for automatic re-contact." (24 words)

#3:
"If you scroll down today's issue, you'll notice a new section entitled "Web Reviews". Every Friday I'll be scouring the Web to find a selection of some of the most useful sites for Internet marketers. These sites are *not* advertisements, but have been chosen independently by myself to feature in this e-zine because they have something that you might be able to use. Some of the sites may be commercial in nature, but my choice of sites is not going to be influenced in any way by this, so you won't see any affiliate links in the "Web Reviews" section." (100 words)

Edit:
"Announcing a new section: "Web Reviews." Each week I scour the Web for the top Internet marketing sites. Some listings are commercial, but the reviews aren't ads. None is an affiliate link. Do yourself a favor and check out these successful sites. Learn from them. Model them." (47 words)

See what I mean? Each edit conveys or improves the idea & clarity, yet each edit is fewer than half the words of the original. And each edit took just 3 or 4 minutes.

This isn't hard. It only requires you to:

1. Write down all your thoughts on a subject.
2. Focus clearly on what's important.
3. Delete the excess.

I spend way more time editing than on any other part of the writing process.

Richard Dennis