How To Write About Your Business

The first skill I learned in journalism school was how to write a lead. Or lede, if you are talking to a newsman of yesteryear.

A lead, the first sentence in a story, should contain the 5Ws and H. Who, what, when, where, why, and how. In – nowadays – 16 words or less.

True, not every lead could (or should) contain all six elements. That meant prioritizing and organizing the information. It meant finding creative ways to condense critical data. It meant choosing which facts were most likely to draw the reader into the story.

In school, a failed attempt got a red F and a mandate to re-write.

In real life, failure means you don’t get to tell your story...and that’s a bummer, whether you are breaking the news story of the year, or launching a website that took months to develop.

If you are creating business collateral (website content, catalog copy, a brochure, white paper or case study), the 5Ws and H are a great tool to organize your thoughts. You don’t have to write a sentence (yet), just answer the questions and double check your facts.

Set it up like this:

Who (this should be your customer, not your company, by the way)

What (is your customer’s pain)

When (does it happen)

Where (is it B2B or consumer-based?)

Why (do they have this problem)

HOW (here is where you get to tell your story: How your company offers the solution to your customer’s pain)

Sometimes there are multiple answers to some of the questions. If so, try to be as precise as possible. Take the time to sort out which message goes to which product or business solution. For your first draft, stick with your first choice. Editing will come later.

If you are planning an event, or writing a press release, then you should take the classic, more intuitive, approach. One, it’s easier, and two, it’s how journalists expect to see the information presented...so if you want pickup from the media, do it this way:

Who (your company)

What (are you doing?)

When (is it happening)

Where (does it take place)

Why (are you doing it and who does it benefit)

How will your customer 1) learn more about it; 2) get there; 3) solve a problem or help the community by attending or visiting your store

Now that you are organized, telling your story should become a lot easier.

Getting started on that first draft is the hard part for some people. Follow the outline. Include all the information you have, then edit. It's easier to take out information than work it back in.

If you are what I call a "reluctant writer" you have to make a game out it. Here’s the countdown:

Ready, Set, Write!

Your goal is to hammer out a first draft as fast as you can. Don't worry about spelling or grammar. Just get your ideas down, fast. If you need a quote, or some stats that are not at your fingertips, do what I do: XXX and YYY. These placeholders let you keep writing.

Because, if you're like me, a stop to fact-check is an excuse to check on everything: email, phone messages, dirty dishes in the sink (ok, so I work from home)...

You'll plug the blank spots later, when you edit the article.