A few things I've learned about writing

If someone were to ask me how to improve their copywriting, this is what I'd tell them:

The best writer is the one who can build the deepest understanding with the fewest words. Understanding is information plus impact.

Before you can make your writing interesting, you have to make it clear. Start with an idea worth sharing. It’s tempting to skip this part because they’re hard to find, but resist the urge. Readers can always tell. Words can add glamour, but they can’t hide the absence of a real point. And embellishing emptiness is a waste of everyone’s time.

People approach writing like sculpture or architecture. You either start with a rough block and remove what's inessential, or you lay down a sturdy foundation and build on it. The former approach can work for writers, but the latter makes it easier to maintain quality when collaborating with non-writers, like in a corporate environment.

The key is not to confuse research notes for a draft. A draft emerges later, once you've decided what to keep…and what to keep out. This is why the architecture approach works better in a business; stakeholders are often afraid to delete things—but writers aren't. Writers know that the more detail you include, the less is retained. That's why taglines are memorable: they capture the essence.

It’s also why businesses begin life as an elevator pitch. If your point isn’t convincing in 150 words, it’s unlikely to become convincing in 1,500. Determine what you’re offering and to whom, then do your research to make sure it matters to them. With the first draft, your mission is to pull that kernel of insight from your notes and state it as simply as you can. With each subsequent draft, you add evidence and energy to bring it to life. Once it becomes persuasive, stop; no one’s paying by the word.

Avoid input from people who aren’t qualified to offer it. There’s a difference between feedback and commentary, and you should be careful which you invite into your review process. Otherwise, you end up with words and sentences that get heavier and hollower with each draft. In this way, jargon is a failure of process. Pursue quality, not consensus.

This leads to a final draft that earns your reader’s attention. Remember that “content” has no value in and of itself. You need the information and the impact. If the work doesn’t influence, it doesn’t matter.