I Hear Voices, and They Vex Me!
Let’s talk about voices. No, not the voices in your head or those of your customers — I mean the voices in your writing. Using the right voice when writing about your product is critically important if you don’t want to lose the reader, and the sale.
Before you put pen to paper (I like that much better than ‘fingers to keyboard’), you need to do the basics. Let’s assume you have done your audience analysis and competitor research, assembled your facts and figures, and are ready to write about your product or service.
What is your voice? Are you going to write in the first person (communicating with words such as “I” or “we”) and telling your own story; second person (using the words “you” and “your” to talk directly to the reader); or third person (using “he”, “she” and “they”)
Often, when writing for business, many people forget an old Marketing 101 concept: no one cares about you. Writing about yourself or your company in first person automatically implies that you are the most important factor in a business relationship. Now, at certain points you will want to talk about yourself. But if you are marketing a good or service, you must always remember that customers care only about one thing:
How your good or service helps them.
Let’s look at some examples:
Example A: “Alpha Company produces six widgets of varying size on our massive production lines. We have more than 100 workers, who conduct countless inspections. We have invested $200,000 in an ABB transfer line, which is state-of-the-art technology.”
OK, this would be fine deeper down the funnel of your website, or as a minor section on a flyer or catalog. But does it really sell anything? Did you make a connection with the customer?
Example B: “Your daily routine is difficult, with orders to fulfillment and ever-increasing demand. You need something that can make your job easier, so you can focus on your customer’s needs. Perhaps your situation calls for one of six premium-grade Alpha Company widgets. Here’s how each can help:”
Better – we are now identifying with the potential customer, citing their problem points, and offering a solution. They don’t care about your size, number of workers, or transfer line – not yet, anyhow. They may be interested in those things IF you offer something that solves their problems.
Voice is critical when creating your marketing collateral. You’ll rarely have need to use third-person, unless writing about a case story or relating a third-hand scenario. When you start your marketing piece or top-level webpage, you’ll most likely use second-person voice. Deeper in, perhaps after the pitch of how your product or service solves a customer’s problems, you can use first-person voice to write language that inspires trust and confidence in who you are.
It’s not easy to determine which voice to use (something I can attest to after a decade of writing marketing collateral). But take the time to consider voice (and its cousin, tone) and you’ll be going in the right direction in no time