Special Report

Best Practices for Creating Marketing DocumentsHow to Reduce Cost and Shorten Turnaround Time

By Joe Roy, “Mr. Clarity”

http://clear-writing-with-mr-clarity.blogspot.com/

joeroy@joeroy.com

This special report is for managers who lead project teams that create marketing documents. By applying the information in this brief report, you can reduce your writing cost by two-thirds or more.

In the process of creating marketing documents – including web content – methodology is the major determinant of cost and quality. Poor practices can lengthen your turnaround time, waste manpower, multiply your costs, degrade quality, and even sink your project. I’ve seen it all, many times.

On the other hand, best practices can dramatically shorten your turnaround time, conserve manpower, reduce your costs, noticeably increase quality, prevent frustration, build goodwill, and generally make you a hero. I have seen all that happen many times, too.

Let me introduce myself. I’m Joe Roy, a contract writer (freelance writer) specializing in business writing. Over the last four decades, companies have paid me to write more than three million words: brochures, ads, customer success stories, white papers, editorials, technical manuals, web content, e-zines and speeches. I worked 17 years in Fortune 500 companies as a technical writer, senior editor, speechwriter, and director of public relations. I’ve hired and trained more than 275 writers and have been the project leader for hundreds of marketing documents.

From time to time, on request, I have given advice or training to project leaders at client companies. Recently I decided to combine the accumulated advice into a handy, step-by-step document. And so, this special report.

Warning: In order to provide practical advice, I discuss real-world corporate environments without euphemism or evasion – Dilbert minus the humor. If you are easily offended by plain talk, please stop reading right here.

Assessing Your Position in Office Politics

Before we start on the step-by-step discussion of best practices, we need to talk about an unpleasant topic: politics.

In an ideal world, a project leader would have all the political power required to create an effective document quickly and inexpensively. He1 would have the freedom to select and employ the best practices, and he would have the power to prevent others from interfering.

For example, on page 11 of this special report we discuss the matter of uninvited reviewers: people who insist on reviewing your document (or pretending to do so) for idle reasons. If this sort of thing never happens in your company, you are blessed with good fortune.

But if it does happen, it can impede your team’s progress. The best practice is to keep these people out of the action, but do you have the political clout to do that? What if they outrank you? What if they have political pull? What if the corporate culture dictates that office drones be humored and coddled?

In my corporate career, I’ve experienced the upper and lower extremes of power and everything in between. At the upper extreme, I had the power to tell corporate vice presidents to “get the hell out of my way.” At the lower extreme, I had to suffer in silence while incompetent first-line managers messed up my projects and sent my costs out of control.

So, wherever you may be in your company’s power structure, I empathize with you. I realize that you probably can’t employ every best practice I’ve described here. For political and practical reasons, you have to pick and choose. I understand that.

1 Throughout this document, I use the traditional “generic he.” That is to say, in this document, he automatically means he or she, his automatically means his or her, and him automatically means him or her.

2

Making an Orderly Start to Your Project

Most project leaders go off half-cocked; that is, they start a project without thinking it all the way through. That’s understandable, of course: if a new document is needed, it is usually needed in order to increase the company’s revenue, and everyone wants the project finished quickly.

But if you invest an hour or two of careful thought at the front end of the project, you can prevent weeks of wasted time later.

Here are a few things to think about, before you select your writer:2

Goal: Clearly define the goal of the document. Be as specific as possible. For example, don’t write, “Increase awareness of Product XX.” Instead, write, “Induce the reader to view a demonstration of Product XX on our web site.”

Audience: Clearly define who should read the document – their functions, ranks, titles, experience, and so on (or, for a consumer product, the demographics and psychographics). The more narrowly focused you can be, the more you will help the writer focus the content and adjust the style for the correct audience.

Input: Decide now what input you will give the writer. Be thorough – ask the relevant managers what input is available (it doesn’t matter how rough it is). It is far more efficient to gather all the input now, as opposed to stringing out the process.

Here’s why: If, while the writer is working on Draft 1, you keep sending additional files as you think of them or discover them, each new and slightly different version of your story may pull him and the text in a new direction. This will waste time and limit quality.

In contrast, getting your input ready now will save a lot of time and money throughout the project. It will also enable better writing quality, avoid frustration for you, and engender good feelings all around.

2 Except where otherwise noted in the text, all comments about writers apply to both external (contract) writers and internal (staff) writers.

3

Microsoft PowerPoint: While we are on the subject of input, I want to comment on the use of Microsoft PowerPoint. As you know, PowerPoint is an application that enables a speaker to show his audience slides containing graphics and “bullets” (fragments of text) while he reads his script from the “Notes” areas under the slides.

But most presenters don’t have scripts; they leave the Notes areas blank and they speak informally, using the bullets as cues. A presentation of this type, consisting only of graphics and bullets, is nearly useless as input to a writing project (except, of course, as a source of graphics). Therefore, you should always try to find input in the form of prose, even if it is brief and clumsy.

However, you may discover that PowerPoint presentations without scripts are the only written input you have. This generally means that:

1. No one has thought clearly about the topic of the planned document.

2. The input interviews will be less helpful than usual, and the writer will have to work longer and harder than usual to fill the gaps in content and logic.

3. The review process will be longer than usual, and it will include confusion, arm-waving, tangents, disagreements and changes of mind.

These three discrepancies usually double, triple or quadruple the number of hours the writer will need to spend.

The text fragments in a PowerPoint presentation are no substitute for the orderliness, logic and precision of discursive prose. Encourage your sources to get in the habit of capturing their ideas in prose. They don’t have to become good writers – they just have to stop leaning on the PowerPoint crutch.

4

Sources: Decide now who should be available for the writer to interview. Ask these sources to agree to be interviewed.

The Review Team: Decide now who should be on the review team. This can be a tricky part of the process. Ideally, you should keep the team small: maximum three or four people, including you. If you assemble a team of, say, ten or more people, the draft reviews may take weeks or even months3 instead of days, the task of resolving disagreements will drive you crazy, and the project will be much more likely to go under – and make you look like an incompetent manager.

So, try to keep the team small. However, don’t overlook anyone who is essential and then be forced to add him to the team later. For example, adding someone during the review of Draft 1 is usually disruptive, because he will not have seen and approved the outline. If he calls for radical changes, these changes will take a lot of time at this stage, whereas they could have been made almost effortlessly at the outline stage.

Ask yourself who must approve the document. Bring all these people in at the beginning. Then try to prevent anyone else from joining the team or meddling in any way.

Messages and Proof Points: If your company does not have a comprehensive, definitive, clearly written messaging platform, be aware that your success will be constrained, through no fault of yours. In the absence of such a platform, every marketing document costs more and delivers less – in spite of everyone’s intelligence and dedication. Documents are weak and diffuse, instead of powerful and focused. Each document is a pillow, not a hammer.

If it is within your power, persuade senior managers to create and promulgate a comprehensive, definitive, clearly written messaging platform. If they do so, all your future projects will be more successful as a result.

3 Yes, a draft review can indeed take several months: I’ve seen it happen dozens of times. If you are skeptical, I understand. There are a lot of difficult-to-believe assertions and examples in this special report, but I assure you that each one is based on several real people – often hundreds of real people.

5

Hiring a Contract Writer

You may already have a productive relationship with a contract writer or a staff writer. But if you don’t, and you have to go outside and interview strangers, here are a few best practices that may augment your own hiring skills:

General: Ask the writer for samples of his work – and read them. Send copies to your reviewers and ask them to read the samples, too. Then compare opinions.

Ask the writer for references. Any writer with substantial experience should have a few clients willing to discuss his strengths and weaknesses. This is less true of speechwriting – many executive speakers like to pretend that they write their own speeches.

Industry and Genre: If you are like most project leaders, you strongly prefer a writer who has a good knowledge of your industry. That’s logical. But don’t stop there: also consider the genre; i.e., has the writer ever written the kind of document you need?

For example, if your project is a white paper, then a writer who has written several white papers – even for companies in other industries – will have a good sense of how to write your white paper.

Ideally, you want the writer to have both industry knowledge and genre experience. But if you have to choose, generally you should choose genre experience. That’s because it’s usually easier for a seasoned writer to learn about a new industry than to become proficient in a new genre. This is counterintuitive but true.

6

Immediate Disqualifiers: This may sound abrupt or cold-hearted, but you can save a lot of time and prevent a lot of frustration by using immediate disqualifiers. Here are five disqualifiers that I have found reliable:

No samples: The writer has no writing samples at all. Even a rookie should be able to show a coherently written paper from school.

No process: The writer can’t briefly and clearly describe how he works. Or he has no established billing structure; instead, he says things like, “Oh, just pay me what you think a keynote address is worth.”

No context: The writer has not had enough experience in the business world to have acquired an intuitive sense of business context. For example, he does not know, beyond a comic-book level, what a CEO does. Or, worse, he has had a lot of experience in the business world but has not absorbed much context because he does not observe carefully, does not have much intellectual curiosity, and does not do much reading. In a writer, these are serious flaws.

No maturity: The writer talks like a Valley Girl: He lifts his voice? Like this? So it sounds as if he were constantly asking questions? Or he abuses the word like: “And I’m like, ‘No way!’ ” If he is willing to sound this immature in a business setting, would you dare put him in direct contact with your senior managers?

No precision: The writer frequently uses vague, faddish words and phrases instead of more-precise words and phrases. For example, he uses the word drive in place of more-precise verbs such as attract, cause, create, determine, enable, govern, guide, increase, inspire, limit, manage, occasion, persuade, promote and stimulate. If he is habituated to mindlessly repeating other people’s lazy and vague diction, how precise will he be when he is interviewing and writing? Yes, I know, it’s understandable that people will fall into lazy habits – but we writers are supposed to be more aware, careful and precise than the average person.

7

Making the Assignment

Here are a few best practices for assigning the writing task to the writer you have selected.

Be honest with the writer about the challenges of the project. Especially if the writer is a contractor, warn him about any creeds or taboos that he must keep in mind.

Give the writer all the input and introduce him (in person or via email) to the sources.

Tell the writer that you want all interviews taped and transcribed. Experienced writers do this anyway: not only does it promote accuracy but also it gives you (the client) useful input for future writing projects; i.e., it gives you residual value.

Agree on the scope of the project:

Unless the document is brief (say, under 1,000 words), contract for an outline (one draft of the outline in any case, and another draft of the outline if requested).

Contract for two and only two drafts of the full text. By the completion of the writer’s second draft, you should be able to take the project inside for the final adjustments and the production work. If you can’t, something has gone seriously wrong. (If your writer is inside, you needn’t limit him to two drafts.)

Negotiate the schedule and budget.

Attending the Interviews

Should you attend the (in-person or telephone) interviews? Generally speaking, you can trust an experienced writer to handle an interview solo, especially if all parties have agreed in advance to the questions. So, you don’t have to attend just to “baby-sit” the writer. However, there may be good reasons for you to attend; for example, the interviewee feels more confident with you there, or you know a lot about the subject and therefore would be able to make good suggestions or quickly locate facts and figures if needed.

8

Reviewing the Outline

When you receive Draft 1 of the outline, forward copies to all reviewers. Ask them to read the outline carefully and then send you their comments on the structure, ideas and facts. Remind them that the purpose of the outline is to help them see the overall structure of the final document and that they shouldn’t waste their time fussing over phrasing at this point.

When you receive the reviews, resolve any disagreements. Then consolidate all the comments into one copy of the outline (of course, this process is easier if you use the Track Changes function of Microsoft Word). This is Draft 2 of the outline.4 Send it to the writer – thereby arming him with the consensus view of the structure of the full text.

If the reviewers’ comments included any substantial criticism of the outline, ask the writer to write another draft of the outline (Draft 3). When you receive it, send it to the reviewers for final approval.

Give a copy of the approved outline to your production people. It can help them start thinking about the look of the document (unless it is to conform to an established template) and the diagrams and other graphics to be included. Keep them apprised of the status.

Reviewing Draft 1 of the Text

When you, as project leader, receive Draft 1 of the text, attach a copy of the approved outline and forward copies of this package to all reviewers. Ask the reviewers to re-read the approved outline and then read Draft 1 of the text. Ask them to send you their comments on Draft 1 – both overall comments and line-by-line comments and changes. Ask them to follow the Ten Best Practices for Reviewers (see next page).

4 To avoid confusion and wasted time, maintain strict control of draft numbers (a function called “version control” or “revision control”). It’s easy to do; it only requires a little extra attention. The writer’s first draft to you is Draft 1; what you send back to him is Draft 2; his second draft is Draft 3. Make sure the correct draft number is included in the Name and in the Properties of the Microsoft Word document. In addition, put the draft number on the first page of the document, along with the date and time of the draft; for example, [TITLE] – Draft 2 – 5/23/2012 10:46 PM ET. If you have ever had the misfortune to have spent hours unwittingly editing a superseded draft, you can appreciate the value of version control.

9

Ten Best Practices for Reviewers

1. Read and review the entire document, not just selected parts.

2. As far as possible, make your comments in the draft itself, as opposed to emails, cover notes, phone calls, phone messages or in-person visits.

3. Make sure your comments are clear, complete and self-explanatory.

4. Comment on the content, tone and flow. This is what the writer needs from you, and this is what only you can provide.

5. Don’t waste your time tinkering with details of grammar and diction. The writer does not need your help on these topics; he does need your help on content, tone and flow.

6. Don’t renounce the outline.

7. Don’t renounce the company’s key messages or proof points.

8. (If you were a source) don’t renounce the major points you made in your interview.

9. Don’t suggest the addition of information that is already included in the text; if you believe the existing treatment of the information is incomplete or incorrect, mark up that part of the text.

1. Don’t invite other reviewers onto the team; don’t even send anyone any drafts.

10

When you, as project leader, receive the reviews, you should resolve any disagreements; generally speaking, you should favor the reviewers who are respecting the outline and acting like grown-ups. Consolidate all the comments into one copy of the text (Draft 2). Send that to the writer and tell him to start working on Draft 3.

Also send a copy of Draft 2 to your production people.

Keeping People Out

Often, when the development of a document is going well, people will invite themselves into the review process. There are three major motivations for this:

Brown-Nosing/Building the Resume: The reviewer wants to be able to say, “The XYZ White Paper? Sure, I had a hand in that.” Of course, if the project goes down in flames, he will deny any involvement.

Relieving Boredom: For the underemployed or functionally illiterate manager, membership on a team can help fill the dreary hours – and serve as good camouflage. After all, if John is working with an important team, he must be a valuable employee, right? And if that team is reviewing a document, why then, John couldn’t possibly be functionally illiterate, right?

Indulging Pettiness and Malice: It is sad to have to say it, but some people will try to join a review team solely in order to hamper the work of the team.

Do your best to keep these people out of the review process. Don’t volunteer to give them drafts. If they ask for drafts, refuse (if you have the power to do so). If they somehow get copies of drafts and send you reviews, ignore their comments (unless you are compelled to take them into account).

If someone doesn’t seem to be able to take a hint – for example, if he comes uninvited to your review meetings – do whatever works and is acceptable within the corporate culture of your company. I have used some wonderfully effective tactics that, for various reasons, I hesitate to put in writing. If you have a hard case on your hands, call me on 888-877-3324 and I will do my best to advise you.

11

Reviewing Draft 3 of the Text

When you receive Draft 3 of the text, forward copies to all reviewers. Ask the reviewers to send you their comments – both overall comments and line-by-line comments and changes. Remind them of the Ten Best Practices for Reviewers.

When you receive the reviews, resolve any disagreements. Then consolidate all the comments. In Microsoft Word, accept all changes, creating a clean Draft 4. Make your final edits and send it to your production team, with your approval for them to begin production. Copy the review team and the writer, to let them know the document is in production.

Except for proofing the layouts and other details, you have completed your project.

Cleaning Up

When production is complete, be sure to thank your sources, reviewers, writer, production people and anyone else who helped you.

Write down a few notes to yourself on what went right and what went wrong. Consider how you might improve your performance on the next project. Ask the members of your review team for their observations and opinions.

After you have accumulated a few sets of project notes, you will probably start to see patterns and additional ways to fine-tune and perfect your best practices.

Here’s to your success and satisfaction!Joe

Joe Roy, “Mr. Clarity”

Joe Roy & Co.Writing for BusinessPO Box 1729Meredith, NH 03253603-279-2789

E-mail: joeroy@joeroy.comTwitter: http://twitter.com/joe_royBlog: http://clear-writing-with-mr-clarity.blogspot.com/LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/pub/joe-roy/2/4a7/a11Web site: http://www.marketing-metrics-made-simple.com/index.html

January 30, 2013

12