Yes, the Future of Messaging Includes Writing (and 10 Tips to Help Yours)
We’re working toward the finish line on Michael Coleman’s second book with us, bringing you A Better Message in a Mess-Age, Vol. 2: The Future of Messaging, and I don’t usually come up for air much at this point in the process. But when I started the layout work on Chapter 10, “Ten Simple Tips to Eliminate Copywriter’s Frustration,” I had to stop and share a glimpse with you.
The headline good news should be obvious: the future will include writing.
In fact, the quality and success of every form of communication — from a 15 second ad on a video streaming platform, to blogs and podcasts, to feature movie scripts, to your 200 page business book or multi-volume fiction series — will continue to depend on how well we write. Even if it’s just scribbling out a bullet list of talking points before you click to stream live.
Setting the scene
Coleman opens the chapter with a bit of a challenge to those who like to say they’re not writers:
“If you say you’re not a writer, you’re fooling yourself. You know how to think, don’t you? Well, all you need now is to document those thoughts.”
And in explaining why it’s worth the effort to hone your writing skills continually, he offers this beautiful conception of what’s going on when we put our writing out into the world:
“Writing is a creative form of expression that manifests human emotions through time and space. Exceptional writing enhances these emotions — enticing us to experience — producing an enduring soul connection.”
Then, while focusing on his core purpose of helping with marketing messaging, he reminds us of where our messages are going in terms that apply fully to all writing that we intend others to read:
“There are two sides to writing a marketing message: the sending side, and the receiving side. The only side that truly matters is the receiving side — your audience. What do you want them to feel?”
If you’ve read much of my work, you’ll know how this resonates with me. In my own book, I called the mind connection between writers and readers through a well-written book a “social synapse,” comparing it to the firing of neurons in our individual brains this way:
“When a writer puts enough potential into the words on the page and readers bring their own active participation close enough, sparks of meaning can come alive between.”
Coleman gets at that active reader participation by urging writers of marketing messages,
“Rather than a clump of self-serving words, your transmissions must allow others to settle their minds, collect their thoughts, and decide how they feel about what they’re reading or hearing.”
What about AI?
Touching on the impact of AI text generating tools, he notes that they are still a long way from being able to answer that question, “How do you want them [your customers] to feel?”
Or being very good at generating content with emotional connection, even if you prompted them with your answer to that question.
He suggests the AI tools be used for what they are good at, generating outlines and rough drafts — to which I’ll add my advice to read those outlines and drafts, then throw them away and write the content in your own words.
The role of the humans
Coleman’s purpose in this chapter is to help you with “transforming yourself from a business to a human being that people can relate to …” and to “find your brand voice by expressing your core values ….” He acknowledges,
“You will get frustrated in this endeavor. So I’ve devised ten basic suggestions to eliminate the common writer’s frustration.”
I’m going to cut this post short to avoid spoiling your pleasure in reading them all in the book. As I’ve told others, although Coleman’s topic is deadly serious for business professionals, he weaves great storytelling and a large dose of humor throughout. I’ve rarely laughed out loud from the words I’m focused on laying out in a pleasing pattern for the printed page. But I do with his.
And the #1 hit is …
So I will close with just the first line of his suggestion #1, not a laugher, but another concept that aligns deeply with our approach to writing:
“Before you write a single line of copy, read.”
Be ready to grab this book when it’s released!
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