Re: Shazam! You're a marketing writer!

[Kathleen MacDowell <kathleen -at- writefortheuser -dot- com>]

Make sure you keep in touch with your "bosses" about how you are doing, as
much as you can.

I'd do a couple of VERY small practice pieces (1-2 paragraphs) and get
feedback from them. That way it'll be easier to get an idea about what
they're looking for. There may be general rules about marketing writing, but
each company or unit's view of what that is differs.

Kathleen

On Tue, May 5, 2009 at 10:59 AM, Chris Morton <salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:

> I believe the difference to be a function of switching cranial hemispheres
> on demand. As you described it, Nancy, your druthers is to perform all
> left-brained tasks. Writing marketing copy is truly a right-brained
> function, however. How well can you switch between the two?
>
> Have a look at this Google search:
>
> http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4ADBR_enUS293US293&q=right+versus+left+brain
>
> There is much written about this. Can you train a leftie to become a
> rightie? I don't know, hence the Google search so you can do your own
> research.
>
> Best,
>
> > Chris
>
> On Tue, May 5, 2009 at 8:52 AM, <quills -at- airmail -dot- net> wrote:
>
> > I try not to do this.
> >
> > That said, and my wife being in marketing, try approaching it in the
> > following manner.
> >
> > What are the products features, what makes the product helpful to the
> > customer. What points are the big sellers.
> >
> > (You should talk to your marketing department to make sure you are in
> > line with them. If you don't have a marketing department, you have more
> > problems than can be answered here.)
> >
> > When you sit down to write, with all of the information you have about
> > your customers and your product, write a story. A marketing writer is
> > more of a creative writer than a tech writer. This is where you are
> > going off track. You have to write to capture interest. If you have
> > journalism training you will understand that you have to capture them in
> > the first sentence. Everything else is presented after you have their
> > attention.
> >
> > Write with entertainment more in your mind than pure infomation transfer.
> >
> > And good luck.
> >
> > Scott
> >
> > Nancy Allison wrote:
> > > I have been asked to put on a marketing writer's hat and write some
> stuff
> > for the web site.
> > >
> > > I am a tech writer in my bones and want nothing more than to give
> people
> > the information they need as concisely (not to say *tersely*) as
> possible.
> > I'm all about figuring out doc structure, page structure, topic
> structure,
> > sentence structure, with associated headings and keywords and formatting
> so
> > people can find what they need and recognize when they've found it.
> > >
> > > Marketing is a related but definitely foreign language.
> > >
> > > I've been down this path once before and crashed into the prickerbushes
> > much too soon.
> > >
> > > "It's too list-y,' grumbled my manager. "You've got a header, then a
> > sentence-and-a-list, then a new header, then a sentence-and-a-list . . .
> > that's not marketing writing."
> > >
> > > I kinda got what he meant. I used bulleted lists because, for busy
> users
> > who are trying to get their work done, that's what makes info pop out.
> (Yes,
> > I know, tables, too. You get my drift: Terse and pared to the bone and
> > organized to make key topics obvious.)
> > >
> > > But marketing pieces, on the company web site, are trying to lure
> someone
> > into a relationship with the product, right? They're more in seduction
> mode.
> > Correct?
> > >
> > > Please don't get hung up on the listy bit -- I have some marketing
> pieces
> > in front of me and I do see bulleted lists hither and yon, but they do
> also
> > have more of a conversational feel. I think that's the difference.
> > >
> > > What advice would you give a tech writer who wants to do better this
> > time? What's the difference, after all? When you put on your Marketing
> > writer hat, how do you write differently?
> > >
> > > Any suggestions gratefully received.
> > > ^
> >
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-- 
Kathleen MacDowell
www.writefortheuser.com
kathleen -at- writefortheuser -dot- com
kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing 
solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor,  Microsoft Word or 
HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. 
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Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
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