WRITING'S EASY, RIGHT?
Writing’s easy, right? Well that’s what I thought. So I was amped to dive in and show everyone my genius when I started a new role as a writer at Hunch. Talk about baptism by fire.
What I discovered is that most of the craft of writing isn’t actually the writing bit. It’s about humans and the context and the message and all this other stuff. Juggling the words is just the icing on the cake.
That’s why here at Hunch we always start with a comms triangle. It’s our way of making sure our messages hit the mark. Like a ladder to enlightenment. A roadmap to better writing that reader’s love to read. Here’s how it works.
THE AUDIENCE: Who are we talking to?
We’re all human. So it should be easy for us to put ourselves in the reader’s shoes, right? Turns out it’s even easier to forget. So we wrap our humans in specific stories and give them a voice. For example:
Imagine Tim, crawling towards Christmas. He just wants a break. “Don’t make me do anything too hard.”
Picturing tired old Tim makes him easier to write for. He’s fed up, run down and isn’t interested in any old product. Unearthing the reason why he won’t buy our stuff is the key to convincing him that he needs it.
THE MESSAGE: What DO WE WANT TO say?
So now we’ve pinned Tim down, we think about what we want to say to him. Not all the detail, the noise and the buy one get one free. Just the simple clear message we need to land. We sum that up in a story to make it clear. Like this:
Here’s a great deal on a shiny new tech watch.
Like every smooth criminal, you’ve got to get your story straight early or it all falls down later on. And simplifying the story helps us stay tight to the topic. Tim’s busy. He likes that.
THE INSIGHT: WHY WILL ANYONE CARE?
This is the hardest bit. I struggle on the daily. While I know what we’re selling and why it matters to the client, it can be hard to find a reason why Tim will really care. The good news is, it’s usually in the brief. Strategists and planners are pretty good at gluing together the what to the why. So my real job is to click it together for Tim. It might look something like this:
The best Christmas presents are the ones you get yourself.
The secret of an insight is being insightful. You can’t find the key to unlock Tim if you don’t know who he is or what you’re selling. That’s why it’s a triangle.
THE CONTEXT: Where will it show up?
Now we’re getting to the craft end of things. Different words work best in different places. And context is key. Are we stalking Tim through the internet with snappy banners? Are we clogging up his inbox with spam? Either way, the words are different. So knowing the context helps point the direction.
THE CRAFT: How will we bring the magic?
This the best bit. Juggling the words. What grabs Tim’s attention? What makes it easy to read? Where are the moments of charm and magic that tickle his funny bone, tug at is heart strings or trigger his brain into jumping for his wallet.
And it’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it. Knowing the sweet spot of your tone is the real magic. Are we casual? Are we formal? Are we somewhere in between? Knowing the sweet spot of your tone is the real magic. Then you can sprinkle it through your copy and add any pinches of humour or empathy your mate Tim will appreciate.
THE EDIT: How do we make it better?
The final stage is the hardest part: the edit. It’s time to be savage. Get out your knife and craft sharp short sentences. Read it out loud for bumps and tangles. Leave it overnight. Rinse. Repeat. Rejoice.
That’s the thing about writing. It’s never finished. There’s always a tweak here, a tighten there, and lots of opinions from everyone else who also thinks they’re a writer. The best way through is to focus on Tim, the story we’re telling and the best way to connect those dots with the best words I can find.
Over to you, Tim
And that’s what I’ve learned about tone, triangles and all that thinking before we even pick up a pen. There’s definitely more to this job than I ever imagined. It’s true that anyone can write. But not everyone can grab Tim’s attention and hold his hand all the way to the buy button. That’s the bit that makes it challenging, interesting and ultimately awesome. And that’s the bit I’m most excited to keep learning.
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