7
February

I don’t appreciate rants in blogs or in conversation for that matter.  So I’ll try to keep my vitriol in check for a writing offence that that gets me pretty worked up.

Please, please, please be respectful and considerate of  the readers you’re writing for and that includes not bragging about how great your business is. It’s important to value what you do and to have lots to say about it, but a little humility goes a long way.

Think about the last time you were at a party where you didn’t know anyone. Think about the person you had something in common with and then went home hoping you’d run into them again. Maybe you looked them up on facebook or twitter.

I reckon that it wasn’t the one who was telling you about how many times they’ve been promoted and all their colleagues would happily give up free lunchtime yoga to pay their salary. The people we like to listen to are the ones that like listening to us more than they like listening to themselves. So when you’re writing for your customers or colleagues, keep in mind their needs and interests instead of showing off.

When the fanfare goes too far, readers can be left feeling really patronised. In a letter about a lapsed magazine sub, as a “valued subscriber” I was told that not renewing my subscription must be “just an oversight on your part.”

So basically, I’m just too much of a slacker to remember to renew my magazine sub.  No suggestion whatsover that I’d let it lapse on purpose and no concern about why I wasn’t going to be buying their magazine anymore. The whole letter was a pompous, arrogant piece of writing where the words “valued subscriber” were made ironic by their complete lack of interest in what I thought about their product.

Pompous, arrogant – definitely slipping into rant territory now.  I’ll be off before I offend someone.