The worse part of course is tolerating the gobbledygook, jargon and buzzwords usually spouted. You know, all the ‘paradigm shifting’, ‘leveraging’ and ‘going forwarding’.

Well one way to pass the time is to play buzzword bingo with your colleagues. It’s easy. The Lurkertech website provides a useful tool to print out a buzzword bingo card. You can make a new card for each meeting and create a card with your own industry buzzwords. Simply print out the buzzword card and when you get five buzzwords in a row, yell ‘bingo!’

At least you’ll stay awake, and perhaps learn some new buzzwords, which I’m sure will come in handy when the next job review or interview comes along.

Have fun – bingo!

I wasn’t aware of this until I came across a preface he wrote to a document called A Plain English Handbook: How to create clear SEC documents.

In his preface the ‘Sage from Omaha’ covered some of the principles of plain English writing.

He offered this useful piece of advice:

“Write with a specific person in mind. When writing Berkshire Hathaway’s annual report, I pretend that I’m talking to my sisters. I have no trouble picturing them: Though highly intelligent, they are not experts in accounting or finance. They will understand plain English, but jargon may puzzle them. My goal is simply to give them the information I would wish them to supply me if our positions were reversed. To succeed, I don’t need to be Shakespeare; I must, though, have a sincere desire to inform.”

Right there, in one paragraph, Mr. Buffett has captured the essence of plain English. He makes three key points, all central to the idea of plain English writing.

First point: keep in mind the needs of your target audience. Second, reject jargon and write in plain language. And third, write to inform not to impress.

I then read some of Warren Buffett’s annual reports and sure enough the man practices what he preaches.

His reports are unlike any other financial documents I’ve read; in fact, you can learn a lot about plain English copywriting just by reading them.

Copywriting tips

He may be renowned as an investor but Warren Buffett is also a great communicator. So if you want to write like Mr Buffett, here are a few tips, which are ideal for anyone and not just people working in the financial services or investment industries.

1. Use personal pronouns (I, We, You, Us)

Refer to your company as ‘we’ or ‘us’ and your readers as ‘you’. This will give your document a more pleasing tone and allow you to express yourself vividly. People also respond more positively when addressed personally.

2. Write short sentences

Aim for an average of 15-20 words per sentence in your document. Make only one or two point per sentence. Keep your paragraphs short, too.

3. Write in the active voice

An active sentence typically has a subject (the doer) performing an action: ‘we sent the report last week’. A passive sentence is the opposite and often obscures the doer: ‘the report was sent last week’. Studies indicate that documents written in the active voice are easier to read and understand.

4. Use verbs not nouns

Verbs add vigour and life to your writing. Don’t change your verbs into a noun to describe an action. For example, use ‘consider’ not ‘consideration’, ‘implement’ instead of ‘implementation’ and ‘notify’ rather than ‘notification’. Sticking with verbs will also make you write in the active voice. Note the ‘-ion’ ending to those words; that’s a sure sign you are using the passive voice.

5. Be economical with words

Use only as many words as you need to; for example:

• ‘Now’ instead of ‘at this present time’
• ‘For’ instead of ‘on behalf of’
• ‘About’ instead of ‘in connection with’

Get rid of unnecessary words, which are used either habitually or to make a mundane task sound more impressive; for example:

‘A new bank account is in the process of being set up…’ can be shortened to ‘A new bank account is being set up…’.

6. Use expressions and words familiar to your audience

Inflated words add little value; buzzwords even less. Stick to words used in everyday conversation. For example:

• ‘Issue’ not ‘promulgate’
• ‘Stop’ not ‘terminate’
• ‘Pay’ not ‘remuneration’.

Write in plain English to convey your message

I love Warren Buffett’s writing. It’s straightforward and to the point and best of all refreshingly free of corporate mumbo-jumbo. It’s no accident his messages come through loud and clear.

It’s a pity his approach is not widespread. If writing plainly is good enough for Warren Buffett it’s good enough for anyone.

The benefits of plain English are proven, and, as he says, “[when you write in plain English] you will be amazed at how much smarter your readers will think you have become”.

Your chances of moving up the Google ranking depend largely on the relevant content you have on your website and the fresh content you add regularly.

However, website content is not just about SEO; it’s even more important for building a relationship with your customers. It’s vital that your content is what your customers want, not just what search engines want.

When you write meaningful and engaging content for your website you are meeting the fundamental need of people who visit your website, which is to be informed.

Throughout the buying cycle, especially during the research stage, customers seek out information.

This is the case whether it’s to buy an expensive item like a fridge or a much smaller item like a book or CD.

Websites that provide useful information: product reviews, product specifications, prices, comparisons, guidance… are the ones that are successful.

Sharing information in this way is the key to Amazon’s success. Amazon not only provides useful information but they don’t even pay a red cent for most of it. Just about all the information you get on websites like Amazon are written by other customers, people sharing their views.

And it’s not just the before-sale stage where content is important, equally vital is the after-sale content. How reassuring, for example, to read a positive review of a product you’ve just purchased? Or better still receive an email underlining the benefits of your purchase.

The other vital benefit of website content is that it’s supplied in a branded environment. Even though the information provided may be of a general nature, it is nevertheless promoting the company because it is offering the consumer what they want – under your banner.

The Apple website provides a perfect example of the power of branded content. All the content on this site reflects the Apple brand: the colours, the beautiful high resolution images, photos of young, vibrant users, and the tone of voice used in the copy and videos. Most importantly, the information is very useful. The subtle message is: Apple shares information because it cares about your needs.

For many small to medium sized businesses it’s a fair bet the answer would either be: ‘not for awhile’ or ‘never’.

So many websites are built and left ‘as is’; barely touched at all since they day they were launched.

The reason has to do with time – or lack of, which isn’t surprising when you consider that website content management is not exactly a core activity of most business people.

The other reason is due to lack of inspiration, imagination, motivation or perhaps all three.

When you’re focused on running your business it isn’t always a straightforward thing to come up with ideas on what to write about and what content to add to you website.

SEO relies on fresh web content

Updating your website is important not just in maintaining a professional image (would you hand out dog-eared and faded marketing brochures?) but also in building traffic to your site. It’s also vital for search engine optimisation.

For Google to rank you high, you need to feed its voracious crawlers with relevant fresh content, and do this regularly.

Failing to do so would give others the jump on you. One day you might be on page one of the ‘search engine ranking page’ for your chosen keyword, then before long you can easily plummet into the nether regions of page 2 and beyond – all because you’ve not added new content.

But, as I said, writing fresh content is a question of time – and of inclination.

So if you’re struggling with how to update your website, what are some of the best approaches ‘going forward’, as they like saying in the banking industry?

How to add fresh content to your website

An increasingly popular way is to add a blog to your website. This provides a convenient vehicle to write content and a forum to express your opinions on relevant topics, as well as share information with your readers. As I’ve said all along, sharing information is a powerful way to market any business.

Just about any decent content management system (CMS) offers the option of adding a blog; if not, then it’s easy to embed an external blog into your site.

You can use your blog to post articles on just about anything. And not just articles but apps, videos, photos and slideshows as well. The only questions you need to ask are: is it relevant to my site and will my readers find this content useful?

Ideas for Blog posts

Here are a few ideas for blog posts:

Express your views on a recent development in your industry

Subscribe to other blogs, follow their social media and keep an eye on the newspapers. Save articles and then express your views in your blog posts as this architect has done. Don’t be afraid to say what you think. Be as opinionated as you like, so long as it’s useful to your readers. In this blog post an architect is railing against ‘dodgy’ draughtsmen. There are a few about, I suppose, so forewarned is forearmed.

Cast an opinion on law changes impacting on your sector

Law changes happen with alarming frequency and usually they have an impact on businesses, so why not tell your reader how law changes can affect them and how to deal with the changes, as this environmental consultancy has done.

Some firms in the investment and superannuation industry do this well; mind you, they do have ample opportunity given the plethora of superannuation law changes over the past decade.

Review a product

What could be easier than to write a 200-word review of a product or service related to your line of business? Not only will you draw attention to a product offering but also at the same time you will demonstrate your knowledge.

Share information

Sharing information, as this email-branding firm has done, is a powerful ways to build customer relationships. People want info so they can make good decisions. The more you share, the more loyal your customers will become.

Make an announcement

Announcing a company development is probably the simplest way to add fresh content and the easiest to write. It also enables you to embed good keywords to strengthen the SEO of your brand – as this surf wear company demonstrates.

Educate your readers

The number one reason people surf the web is to do research so give them what they want. Educating your readers provides an invaluable service and at the same time reinforces your brand.

Defining your primary user will help resolve what content to put on your site, the tone and style of web copy, and the visual design and functionality.

Content that is not suitable for your primary user would dilute the impact and relevance of your site, which may have an adverse effect on your search engine ranking.

Design elements that have no appeal to your primary user should also be skipped.

So who is your primary user? It’s the person you most want to serve on your website.

For some businesses defining this person is straightforward. A surf shop would have no problem identifying its primary user. Indeed, check out the website of Billabong, the surf clothing manufacturer. Every bit of content – video, blogs, copy – is geared to a very specific target audience, and not just surfers in general. Have a close look and you’ll see they’ve done their market research and defined their primary user along demographic (age, occupation, schooling) and psychographic (attitudes, personality, lifestyle) variables

The Billabong website also illustrates the importance of writing with your primary user in mind. The language suits the target reader.

Lonely Planet, the travel company, offers another good example of a website that a) knows and understands its primary user, and b) provides content targeted at this user. Lonely Planet doesn’t attempt to appeal to all travelers but a specific type; that is, young people who would prefer to do their own thing as opposed to joining an organised tour group. The content on its site reflects this with articles about backpacking, travelling cheaply, budget accommodation, cheap eateries, etc.

One way to define your primary user is to create a persona. Give this fictional character a name and build a profile. Be specific. Key variables might include:

• Age, occupation, income, education
• Living arrangement, marital status, family size
• Interests, lifestyle, status
• Internet usage

Other questions to ask would include:

• How well do they know about your line of business?
• What is their attitude to your company and products?
• What industry do they work in?
• What roles and status do they hold in a company?
• How influential are they in a company?
• Are they a decision maker or influencer?
• What benefits are they seeking in your products?
• How ready are they to buy?

Once you’ve nailed down their persona, create a scenario describing how they’d use the web and arrive at your website, and also what they’d do once on your site.

Creating profiles will help you build a user-focused site and write meaningful copy. It also help you manage, update and evolve your site. Whenever you want to add a new blog post, video or slideshow to your site, your first question would then be: will my primary user find this useful?

One of the things I noted as I scrolled through the pages and pages of profiles was that writing an engaging profile is much the same as writing an advertisement, a webpage or blog post. Whether you’re trying to make a personal connection, or trying to persuade someone to read your webpage or blog post, the same principles apply.

Gain attention with an attractive image

Trust me, a drop-dead gorgeous image is the most important element in an Internet date site profile, and the same goes for your blog or webpage. Good images convey a strong first impression and encourage you to read on.

I was miffed seeing photos on date sites that were blurry, poorly composed, badly exposed and weirdly cropped. I recall several that showed a disembodied arm over the woman’s shoulder, the body to which it was originally attached, carefully erased.

Many websites have amateurish photos, obviously taken by a staff member. That’s false economy. Poor photos will let you down. Invest the money on quality images and you’ll be rewarded. Images on photo websites such as istock are good, but investing money in a professional photographer is even better.

Write an engaging headline

Along with the image, your headline is the key element. You need to write a headline that shouts out: read me, I’m worth the time. If your headline does not capture attention, your body copy will not be read.

Your headline should be meaningful and engaging. It should convey a promise and state your benefits. Your headline should also be targeted directly at your reader. I recall some of the profile headlines I read on date sites were almost guaranteed to attract the wrong person. So write a headline to attract the readers you want. Be specific, be direct and address the two main things that motivate people: the desire for gain and the desire to avoid pain.

Get to the point quickly

Remember, people tend to scan when they read online; eyes flitting impatiently over the page seeking points of interest, finger poised over the mouse ready to click on. This means you need to engage and hold your reader’s interest quickly. One way to do so is to get all your key points upfront. Write like a newspaper reporter, in the inverted pyramid style. Put the key messages in your first one or two paragraphs and supporting info in descending order of importance in the remainder of your page. On a date site, you want your best attributes stated early; same, for example, with your About Us section of your website.

Write copy in plain English

The date profiles that engaged me, were ones written in everyday language using clear, precise expressions. Adopt the same plain English style when writing a webpage or other marketing material. Avoid ‘corporatese’, buzzwords and clichés. Keep your sentences and paragraphs short. Be economical with words, don’t waffle, be positive, and focus on the needs of your reader.

Ask for a response

On a date site, successful profiles usually had a strong call-to-action. A simple statement like ‘message me and I’ll write back and tell you more’ was effective. It’s enticing and offers an alluring promise. You can do the same on your website by having a call to action on every webpage, something as simple as a contact us number/email address or a sidebar providing additional links, such as downloads of further information or an option to register for a newsletter.

As a marketer, what interested me was how much he was caught up on the features of the product rather than the benefits.

Talking about chips, megabytes, graphic cards etc is speaking the language of gobbledygook and largely meaningless if you don’t explain what those features can do for the user.

A feature is simply a part of a product or service. A benefit is more important because it’s what the product can actually do for the user. In other words, what we want from a product.

The problem I see is that many sales people are confused as to what is a feature and what is a benefit. This is evident on websites, too.

A particular computer chip may provide faster processing speed but so what?

Is speed a ‘benefit’? It may be, it may be not. It depends on what the user will use the computer for.

Faster speed means little if you use your computer mainly for word processing, web browsing or email communication.

Speed is, however, important if you use your PC for gaming, and producing videos, images and music. In these cases, the benefit is not speed per se but increased productivity – a saving in time and ultimately money.

As a copywriter, if you’re having trouble differentiating between a feature and a benefit, ask yourself the question: so what?

The ‘so what?’ challenge will help you identify the true benefit of your product or service.

Keep rewriting and asking ‘so what?’ until you’re satisfied you’ve nailed the true benefit of the product for your end user.

The Rolling Stone guitarist and founding member, the one they call the most ‘elegantly wasted’ man in the world, did not disappoint.

The book is entertaining from start to finish, providing insight into the band and its music and as memorable as many of his iconic guitar riffs.

Not only is ‘Keef’ a fine musician, a major contributor to the history of rock music and pop culture, going by his book, I’d say he could teach us bloggers and website copywriters a thing or two about how to write compelling and engaging copy.

1. Write in your own voice

If you’ve ever listened to Keith interviewed, you’d know he has a very unique way of talking. In his writing he sticks to this. In fact, throughout the book, you can almost ‘hear’ his trademark coughs, guttural throat-clearing and wheezy laugh. By adopting his natural tone of voice, Keith’s personality shines through. On the other hand, if you try to sound like someone you aren’t, you’ll always sound phony. Remember Kevin Rudd’s sauce bottle remark?

2. Don’t pull punches

Keith is nothing if not candid. His description of band members, fans, family members, friends, and of his own drug addiction is direct and not sugar coated. He doesn’t bother much with qualifiers and modifiers. He calls John Lennon a ‘silly sod’ and Truman Capote a ‘snooty whiner’ and describes his long-time mate, Mick Jagger, as an insecure, egotistical and promiscuous social climber, someone with few scruples and a ‘tiny todger’ to boot. This is someone he works with!  But, why not? They are his views and he’s not afraid to share them. He’s also brutally honest about his own drug use and dereliction of duty as a father and husband.

3. Be passionate

Bloggers write because they are interested in the subject they write about. That’s obvious. But the impression I often get is coolness; a certain detachment as if being too keen is not, well, cool.

Not Keith. He clearly loves his music, be it blues, rock or country, and he’s not afraid to show it. As he writes: ‘Music was a far bigger drug than smack. I could quit smack but I couldn’t quit music’.

The best part of the book is when he talks about tuning his guitar using the open tuning method. He describes this with detail but it’s never boring because his passion is evident. What’s more, and here’s a good lesson, he explains the benefits of open tuning in everyday language and doesn’t get bogged down with technical terminology. He also gives examples of how open tuning allowed him to create his signature guitar sound. I don’t know the first thing about tuning a guitar yet I found these sections fascinating.

4. Lighten up

He may be an exceptional guitarist but Keith missed his true calling: the man would have made an hilarious comedian. Whether he’s describing one of his many drug busts or having a go at Mick Jagger, the way he explains things, the unique phrases he uses, conjures up funny images and brings on a smile. This is how he describes his wife, Patti Hansen:

“I am married to the most beautiful woman. Elegant, graceful and as down to earth as you can get. Smart, caring, thoughtful and a very hot horizontal consideration.”

Tender and funny in equal measure.

Here he describes a long-time hanger-on and friend from the ‘60s:

“Stash had the bullshit credentials of the period – the patter of mysticism, the lofty talk of alchemy and the secret arts, all basically employed in the service of leg-over.”

5. Be honest

Honesty is a Richards’ hallmark, but can you say the same with what you read on the web? How many bloggers are truly honest in what they say and how they portray themselves? I scan many business-related blogs and I reckon half of what I read is at best exaggerations of reality and some are utter BS. Believe half of what you read and you’d think making money from a blog is as easy as falling over.

6. Give credit where it’s due

Keith may live life with a swagger, but he is fulsome in his praise of others and gives proper credit to fellow musicians and those who he learned from. For example, he explains how the Beatles paved the way for the Rolling Stones, how he stole every lick he’s ever played from Chuck Berry, and how he was in awe of Mick Taylor’s guitar playing.

7. Tell a story

One of the best ways to explain a complex matter is to wrap your explanation in a story that your readers can relate to. You can start by setting the scene (’imagine that…’) and then introduce an everyday situation which the reader can see himself in. What makes Life such a good read is the many vivid stories Keith tells, and through these stories he brings explanations to life.

One of the things you can rely on to lighten up your day is to listen to the news conferences of politicians. What they do with the English language is a marvel.

At home, we have our very own Kevin Rudd doing his best to broaden our appreciation of jargon and gobbledygook – a true champion in the lingo. He returned to form recently when he referred to the ‘operationalisation’ of a UN plan. And of course, who can ever forget his ‘programmatic specificity’!

But it’s hard to top the loquacious Donald Rumsfeld, the former US Secretary of Defense. His ‘known knowns, known unknowns and unknown unknowns’ ramble will go down as a true classic.

The Unknown
As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don’t know
We don’t know.

Read most newspaper reports and you get the gist of the story by reading the headline and the first paragraph. What happened, who was involved, when, where and perhaps why – all contained in the opening lines.

This technique is called the ‘inverted triangle’ or inverted pyramid approach to writing. You put the key information upfront and supporting information in descending order of importance.

It’s not a bad technique to adopt when writing blog posts, press releases and articles. I suspect most people only ever read the opening paragraphs of a blog post anyway and scan the rest so you might as well get directly to the point.

The inverted triangle approach is also useful if you want your blog post to be shared via Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms.

Studies show that many people link to articles based on what they read in the headline and a quick scan of the first paragraph. Take advantage of this habit by ensuring you deliver your message by getting to the point straightaway.