Business Writing Isn’t an Art, It’s a Science
A formula for finding your voice in the era of the Personal Brand
The best advice I’ve ever received came from a guy I played volleyball with at university. He was a year ahead of me in a business bachelor and, like me, majoring in public relations.
“If you want to succeed, learn how to write.”
It was direction when I was feeling directionless, so I signed up for another bachelor in journalism. For the next three years, I got my ass kicked until I could string a sentence together.
Volleyball Guy was right. For a decade, I moved countries, changed careers, and transcended industries with confidence, knowing I could craft a cover letter.
But the game has changed. Nowadays, our career is not only about job performance, but how we perform our expertise outside work hours. LinkedIn, blogs, and meetups aren’t new ways to showcase industry legitimacy, but they’re also no longer just an extension of our employability. In 2020, they’re the essence.
The mainstream workforce has entered a new reality, where our ability to communicate our thoughts clearly, confidently, but most of all, publicly, determines our professional capital. And although hard work, the digital hustle is worth it. Because instead of waiting for that internal promotion or perfect job posting, we can now elevate ourselves to the level at which we wish to operate. After all, a blog post with strategic messaging can do more for your career than a cover letter. We don’t need our employers to determine our market value anymore, we just need to put ourselves out there.
For those irked by professional grandstanding, or not knowing where to start, I have good news.
Business writing isn’t an art, it’s a science. With a very simple formula.
In journalism, this formula is called the inverted pyramid. A visual to demonstrate how information should be organized. In essence, it’s the most important information first (the who, when, what, and why), with the least important information last.
Business writing is slightly different. There is still an order to the information, but each piece of information is equally important.
Key message
Your key message is the Who or the What. It’s the world’s shortest elevator pitch and why you’re taking up space on the internet. It doesn’t have to be powerful or original, but it does have to be easy to understand quickly. Define your key message, and tattoo it on your arm:
My startup saves lives
I am a digital marketing expert
We teach girls code
Rationale
Your rationale is the Why, and the problem you are addressing. Why should your reader care? You can have several rationales, but make sure to prioritize the strongest, simplest explanation for your point.
The healthcare industry is buckling, patients are falling through the cracks
Online activity has exploded due to COVID-19, SEO/SEM is essential for businesses to survive
Millions of girls do not have access to STEM education, to educate girls is to reduce poverty
Call to Action
Calls to action are fundamental to business writing, but often overlooked. It’s the How. How can a problem be addressed with this information? Stick to one call to action per piece of content, so you don’t confuse the reader. Unlike the key message and rationale, your call to action can change depending on the medium.
Share my services with your network
Hire me to implement best SEO practices
Donate to give more girls access to education
Depending on the medium, you can bookend this formula with hooks and anecdotes.
Hooks
Hooks can be emotive or antagonizing, cheeky or dramatic.
60% of sick people will wait three or more hours to see a doctor.
Do you want to know Shopify’s secret?
What would your life look like, if you never went to school?
Anecdotes
A personal story is the easiest way for people to retain the information you give them (do you remember volleyball guy?). After completing your core formula, add the story. Anecdotes can act as a hook, luring a reader in, or come at the end, sending the message home.
My mother and two sisters had cancer…
When Jeff Bezos started selling books online…
When I was 22, I met a girl called Lucy…
Why is this formula important?
If someone Googles you, everything you’ve ever published will appear. Which means each piece of content you create is a building block for your personal brand. For your brand to appear professional, your message should be clear and consistent. For your brand to provide value, it needs to communicate the Who, What, Why, and How. Your content could be a tweet or a white paper, by organizing it with a formula, you have a structure in place for any medium.
The tricky part
When you are passionate, motivated, and have ideas, organizing content into a formula is easy. However, many professionals struggle to find their voice, not just because they’re not confident writers, but because they don’t feel like they have anything to say.
I get it. We are bombarded with new ideas constantly. It’s hard to believe everyone has something to offer an already flooded landscape of careerist conversations. Also, a strong and defined voice takes time. I should know, I’ve been trying to find one for years. But I’ve come to realize that the value of my voice is up to me to define. I don’t want to add meaningless text to your computer screen. I also don’t want to be left behind in this new era of entrepreneur en masse. So until I find my voice, my work is to find “things” I want to say, and, using the formula, write a brand story I can be proud of.
There is another layer to your employability now. You do a job, but you must also think about this job and express those thoughts in public commentary. Blogs are the new cover letter. Your LinkedIn activity (not just your profile) is your resume. It actually doesn’t matter if no one likes or reads your content, exposure is secondary. Primarily, it’s proof you know how to write.
