. What constitutes good writing?
Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2024 5:00 am
Improve your copywriting skills by understanding these 6 simple and timeless principles
#1: Good writing is writing that helps you and your readers achieve your respective goals.
One of the best ways to improve your knowledge and understanding of something is to try to teach other people about that topic. I promise you that.
Some thoughts about this noble art and science of writing came up while discussing the desired workings of the core functionality for the AI startup StoryLab.ai that I am helping to build.
I would like to share with you the ideas that came to me. It began with the following innocent-looking open-ended question I asked myself:
" What makes a good headline Unesdoc.unesco.org unesdoc.unesco.org
Which then morphed into 'what is the purpose of a headline?' — through the understanding that a 'good' headline is only as good as the level to which it achieves the writer's goal when writing it.
You can imagine that led me to mull over my own thoughts on writing, which I’ve been building over a 10-plus year career as a copywriter, content strategist, brand storyteller , and writing teacher.
Here I am, rewriting the first draft of this article at 1:24 AM.
This is what I came up with, I hope it will also help you tell more effective stories, and do so more easily. Or else, improve your way of thinking about writing. Or maybe all of the above.
Let's see.
In this article
0
1. What is the purpose of writing?
2. So what is the purpose of the headline?
3. What is the purpose of the introduction or hook?
4. What is the purpose of the three main paragraphs or french guiana business email list sections of your story?
5. What is the purpose of the conclusion and/or CTA?
0. What constitutes good writing?
Let's start at ground zero.
To be 'better' at something, we need to know what constitutes being 'good' at that thing. But then there's no 'correct' way to write, is there? I'll give you a few examples of what I mean by that.
A poem can make someone treat their spouse better. A piece of sales content can lead someone to completely rethink the way they were previously attacking a certain problem they were facing at work.
An angry email may make someone laugh, or delight another reader by virtue of its literary style.
Were these pieces of writing 'good'?
Whether a piece of writing is good or not all depends on the goal we have for that given piece, and the degree to which that piece or story helped us achieve that goal.
Good writing isn't necessarily pretty. Or grammatically perfect. Or instantly profitable.
At the same time, there are some things that apply as goals for writing, regardless of the details of the situation at hand, our micro-goals in the moment, or the blank page staring us in the face.
1. What is the purpose of writing?
The purpose or objective of copywriting is to organize your thoughts and feelings around a given topic in such a way that they become clearer to you and can be clearly conveyed to another person.
The goal of that transmission, in turn, is that you ultimately inspire, convince and/or help someone to change something in their opinions, attitudes or knowledge, which leads to a change in behavior.
That change in behavior again has the ultimate goal of helping that person get closer to achieving his or her goals, and often at the same time helping that person help you achieve his or her goals.
writing is thinking
Change your mind. No, literally, if you think differently about this, add a comment. I would love to improve my way of thinking.
Now, mind you: these goals of yours and your readers don’t have to be self-centered goals. Not at all. Your goal could be for more women to have a better sense of self-worth. Or for fewer people to litter the streets or nature. Or for someone to go and support a specific charity that you care deeply about.
My reasoning is that 99% of the time when people communicate, it is to coordinate. It is to find ways to combine and connect our goals and needs, and our knowledge and skills to those of another. And/or, we need to feel emotionally connected.
#1: Good writing is writing that helps you and your readers achieve your respective goals.
One of the best ways to improve your knowledge and understanding of something is to try to teach other people about that topic. I promise you that.
Some thoughts about this noble art and science of writing came up while discussing the desired workings of the core functionality for the AI startup StoryLab.ai that I am helping to build.
I would like to share with you the ideas that came to me. It began with the following innocent-looking open-ended question I asked myself:
" What makes a good headline Unesdoc.unesco.org unesdoc.unesco.org
Which then morphed into 'what is the purpose of a headline?' — through the understanding that a 'good' headline is only as good as the level to which it achieves the writer's goal when writing it.
You can imagine that led me to mull over my own thoughts on writing, which I’ve been building over a 10-plus year career as a copywriter, content strategist, brand storyteller , and writing teacher.
Here I am, rewriting the first draft of this article at 1:24 AM.
This is what I came up with, I hope it will also help you tell more effective stories, and do so more easily. Or else, improve your way of thinking about writing. Or maybe all of the above.
Let's see.
In this article
0
1. What is the purpose of writing?
2. So what is the purpose of the headline?
3. What is the purpose of the introduction or hook?
4. What is the purpose of the three main paragraphs or french guiana business email list sections of your story?
5. What is the purpose of the conclusion and/or CTA?
0. What constitutes good writing?
Let's start at ground zero.
To be 'better' at something, we need to know what constitutes being 'good' at that thing. But then there's no 'correct' way to write, is there? I'll give you a few examples of what I mean by that.
A poem can make someone treat their spouse better. A piece of sales content can lead someone to completely rethink the way they were previously attacking a certain problem they were facing at work.
An angry email may make someone laugh, or delight another reader by virtue of its literary style.
Were these pieces of writing 'good'?
Whether a piece of writing is good or not all depends on the goal we have for that given piece, and the degree to which that piece or story helped us achieve that goal.
Good writing isn't necessarily pretty. Or grammatically perfect. Or instantly profitable.
At the same time, there are some things that apply as goals for writing, regardless of the details of the situation at hand, our micro-goals in the moment, or the blank page staring us in the face.
1. What is the purpose of writing?
The purpose or objective of copywriting is to organize your thoughts and feelings around a given topic in such a way that they become clearer to you and can be clearly conveyed to another person.
The goal of that transmission, in turn, is that you ultimately inspire, convince and/or help someone to change something in their opinions, attitudes or knowledge, which leads to a change in behavior.
That change in behavior again has the ultimate goal of helping that person get closer to achieving his or her goals, and often at the same time helping that person help you achieve his or her goals.
writing is thinking
Change your mind. No, literally, if you think differently about this, add a comment. I would love to improve my way of thinking.
Now, mind you: these goals of yours and your readers don’t have to be self-centered goals. Not at all. Your goal could be for more women to have a better sense of self-worth. Or for fewer people to litter the streets or nature. Or for someone to go and support a specific charity that you care deeply about.
My reasoning is that 99% of the time when people communicate, it is to coordinate. It is to find ways to combine and connect our goals and needs, and our knowledge and skills to those of another. And/or, we need to feel emotionally connected.