7 copywriting tips to improve your PDS

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Trackback URL

I’ve written copy for numerous product disclosure documents for financial service firms. They aren’t the most exciting things to write about, but if you plan to sell financial services they are a must-have. No PDS, no sale.

I am aware that some see a PDS as a compliance matter; a task best left to the compliance and legal team down in sleepy hollow on the 6th floor.

I don’t agree. Yes, a PDS is a mandatory legal document but it’s also a marketing one. It may well be the first item that a potential customer has ever received from your company, so the relationship building starts at this point.

A PDS offers you an opportunity to impress. Use it to showcase the benefits of your product and to convince the reader that it’s the best for them. Visual appeal is important, but so too the words you use. What you say is important, but how you say it is where you can stand apart. Here’s how.

1. Keep sentences short

Understanding how superannuation works is hard enough, but when your explanation is presented in long sentences and paragraphs it makes the task even harder.

If you tend to write long sentences, it’s probably because you are trying to say too much at once. To shorten sentences, have only one or two ideas in each. Put your qualifications, modifications and explanations into separate sentences. Another approach is to cut verbiage; simply take out redundant words that lead to waffle. For example, why say ‘for the period of’ when you can simply say ‘for’ or ‘in the event of’ when you san say ‘if’?

According to the Oxford Guide to Plain English, you should aim for an average sentence length of 15-20 words throughout your document.

2. Write in plain language

A client once criticised my draft of his PDS as being too ‘simple’. I presumed he meant it was lacking the type of pompous corporatespeak, officialese and jargon he was used to.

Actually, a document written in plain English, using words your readers are familiar with, is the best kind. Remember, the job of your PDS is to communicate facts and concepts, and the best way to deliver your message is to write plainly. You can find guidance on how to write in plain language on the internet and of course on this site.

3. Give examples

Superannuation is full of difficult to follow rules associated with dates, ages and dollar-thresholds and limits. The best way to explain a difficult concept is to use illustrative examples and case studies, taking the reader step by step through a calculation to arrive at a final figure.

4. Use tables, diagrams and charts

Superannuation is difficult to understand because of the many thresholds, age-related and date-related rules. The best way to explain rules on such aspects as tax and contribution limits is by way of tables, charts and diagrams. But be careful which type of graph you use. A pie chart for example would be more suitable than a bar chart for showing a percentage of a whole, say, the percentage of an asset portfolio invested in shares compared to that invested in fixed interest.

5. Create a flow chart

A flow chart is a good way to explain complicated rule where people can choose an option from a range of possibilities. For example, to explain salary sacrifice you may start off by asking the question: how much do you earn? If $x you can take one route in the diagram, of $y another route…etc

6. Tell a story

Telling a story as a way to explain complex ideas and rules is effective because it helps people relate the concepts to an everyday situation.

For example, in explaining the pros and cons of boosting super via before-tax or after-tax contributions, you might start off by explaining the relevant issues than relate the concepts to a situation people can readily identify with.

7. Offer tips and warnings

This is a good way to offer additional help throughout your document and at the same time draw attention to other areas of your business. Australian Super do this in their PDSs by pointing readers to specific areas of their website (e.g. to website calculation tools); to their financial planning service; to their helpline, and to the ATO and Centrelink websites. You can place pointers and ‘did you know’ reminders in text boxes and set them off from the body copy to attract attention.