Bev Osborne is the founder of Creative Copy, a freelance copywriting business. With 19 years’ experience, Bev has written for Bass, British Telecom, British Gas, General Accident, Portakabin - and many more. Bev has 3 websites: creativecopy.co.uk, profitpullingsalesletters.co.uk and copywriterdirect.co.uk.

Top ten tips for writing awesome articles

In past issues we've learned how to put together amazing articles for email marketing newsletters, so I'm not going to go over old ground. I'm assuming you already have a strong array of article ideas along with photos. Now you just need to write it up in an engaging format to suit your email marketing. Here are my top ten tips for writing awesome articles.

1. Article length and content

The people receiving your email marketing mail-outs are usually busy and will often have a short attention span, so try to keep your articles brief. Don't ramble, digress or be irrelevant – get straight to the point and be single-minded. Try to ensure the gist of the story is in the headline and first (short) paragraph so readers immediately know what it's about.

2. Headline and subheadings

Email marketing headlines should be kept short – between one and five words – with a 'newsy' theme. These tell the reader whether your message is worth reading, so make them compelling. A trick for longer articles is to split them into bite-size chunks with short subheadings, just like in the tabloids. It makes your article instantly more digestible!

3. Sentences and paragraphs

Newsletters are not the place for text of War and Peace proportions. So keep sentences and paragraphs short – and always start with a short sentence, another technique that makes your article look easier to digest.

Unlike the English you learned in school, when it comes to articles for email marketing it's perfectly OK to start sentences (and even paragraphs) with 'But', 'Because', 'And', 'However', etc. Link words like these gently push the reader through the copy without stopping them dead in their tracks.

Very short sentences are OK, too. Like this. Then when you've finished, do a word count. See if you can crop the copy in your email marketing by a third without losing impact. (Hint: try removing your first sentence or paragraph. It might help you get to the point faster.)

Wrong: As a company, we believe.... Right: We believe...

4. Style – cut out the clichés

There's a growing assumption that if you use gigantic vocabulary you will come across as 'more' expert, intelligent or professional. Ditto when you write in corporate clichés, 'tech-speak' or 'lawyer-speak'. On the contrary, plain talking wins professional respect. Particularly in email marketing articles, never use a long word where a short word will do. And if it's possible to remove a word, do so.

Wrong: think outside the box Right: think imaginatively.

5. Add value to the story

Introduce a human element by adding one or two quotations. Use them to add value to your story – don't just repeat what you've already said. Write your quotes as if they're being spoken by a normal human being in a natural way.

Wrong: 'Forward predictions for 2008/9 indicate a profit over and above that made in past years.' Right: 'So far it looks as if we'll make a record profit this year.'

6. The 'Fog Index'

As a guide, a typical tabloid article would score low whereas the small print in an insurance document would score very high. Cutting out the fog is especially important if your email marketing article is scientific or technical and you're talking to lay people. You must write so your reader understands you.

7. Write like you talk

Imagine you're actually having a conversation with your reader. Just because it's email marketing, doesn't mean it should sound artificial or contrived. (And this is an even better gauge of whether or not you should use that dodgy corporate cliché…) Writing like you talk also injects personality into your email marketing articles. It conveys the impression you're nice people to do business with.

Wrong: We'll use a pro-active approach to… Right: We'll work with you to...

8. Be clear

Clarity is important. Avoid frills, clutter and repetition if you want to get your meaning across without your reader having to try too hard – or being put off altogether. Avoid puffery – padding out a story needlessly to fill up space in your email. Marketing copy should be clear, to-the-point and position you as a sharp, focused business.

Wrong: As a company we are aware that understanding the aims and objectives of our stakeholders is of key importance… Right: It's vital that we understand the aims of the people involved...

9. Write with rhythm

Always read your finished email marketing articles aloud. They should have a kind of rhythm to them which keeps the reader moving gently forward with no dead ends, wrong turnings or u-turns. I also read them quickly, putting myself in the position of the busy customer who's a thousand other things he'd rather do than read your email marketing newsletter.

10. Finally...

Do what journalists do and give your email marketing newsletter the 'Who cares?' test. Go through it and at the end of every article ask yourself 'Do I care?' If the answer is 'No', then either re-write or remove. If it's boring or pointless, it can work against you. Boring news positions you as a boring company.