Business revolves around words—there’s no debate about that. Since it’s something we can’t avoid, I wanted to share 5 tips to help you write for your business. Implementing these tips to self edit your newsletters, blog posts, website copy, or other writing will elevate and bring clarity to your message!

Psst – don’t have time to edit your message or want to go deeper than just these 5 tips? Check out my copyediting services here!

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1.  Delete

I know this one is brutal. But if you can delete a word (or 3) in a sentence and still get your message across, do it. Get to the point in the most concise way possible—your readers will thank you!

2. Watch your commas

This one is nerdy, but fixing this one thing will immediately elevate your copy.

You might remember hearing the phrase “comma splice” in high school. A comma splice is putting commas where they don’t belong—specifically, between two phrases that could be sentences on their own and don’t include a connecting word (like “and” or “but”). If you’re not sure if you need a comma, read the phrases before and after the comma by themselves. If they’re full sentences on their own, add a period to make it two sentences—no comma needed. If not? Pop that little guy in. (Read more about comma splices here.)

3. Take it all in

Look at your copy from a birds-eye-view. Does each paragraph make sense? Does it flow from one thought to the other? Don’t be afraid to rearrange things (or outright delete them!) if they don’t make sense in the overall message.

4. Clear over clever

Donald Miller says it best: if you confuse, you’ll lose. Opt to clearly communicate your offer instead of beating around the bush with cute phrases. Wit is great—but make sure your message is front and center.

5. Keep them reading

Each sentence has one job: to keep your audience reading. Make sure you don’t have unnecessary details thrown in the middle of your paragraphs—those details might be interesting to you, but your audience is likely skimming your email looking for the main point.

I hope this was helpful! I’d love to hear the one tip you’ll put into practice the next time you write for your business.

If you’d like more information on hiring a professional to copyedit your content, click here!

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