By Desolie Page  » It seems to me that many marketing gurus are telling business owners that we should write: write articles; write blogs; write ebooks. Yes, being recognised as an expert in your field is an excellent way of generating more business. And articles, blogs, ebooks will do that.

BUT ... poor writing and presentation are dangerous!

Why? Readers judge you and make decisions about doing business with you based on your writing: just as they do about your personal presentation, your office or your shop window.

It's hard to feel confident about the professionalism of a business when its office is disorganised, its staff doesn't deliver excellent service or you can't easily find what you're looking for.

It's exactly the same when a potential client reads your web pages, ebook, promotional materials, or article in the local paper.

In today's time-poor environment, most people will stop reading if it's just 'too hard' to understand the message, or if they can't find the information they're looking for, or if the text is in big chunks.

You want your writing to attract customers, not send them away.

So what can you do to keep your readers reading? 

• Be clear about what you're wanting to say.
• Know what your message is.
• Present your 'story' logically.
• Clearly state your 'call to action'.
• Break the text up into readable chunks.
• Use indented lists.
• Put in some illustrations.
• Use larger paragraph spacing.
• Reduce line lengths by using wide margins.
• Use bold or coloured text to highlight points.
• Use friendly language.
• Understand who your audience is, picture one of your readers, and write for them.
• Reduce the amount of jargon and techno-speak.
• Keep sentences short - usually about 15 to 20 words.
• Whenever you write, put yourself in your readers' position.
• What will they expect to read?
• Does the presentation encourage them to read this?
• How easy is this to read?
• Is the message clear?
• Are there any obvious grammar, spelling or punctuation errors? 

Take these ideas on board when you write, and you'll not fall into the dangerous writing trap.

• Desolie Page is an accredited editor and owner of Perfect Pages, a boutique practice that helps business and technical writers sharpen their writing.  Find out more at perfectpages.net.au.