» Writing Copy

Establish the Brand Voice

Brands have personalities that are communicated through voice. The way you talk about Meredith College shapes the way people feel about it.

When you’re communicating about Meredith, use language that is:

• Smart 
• Confident
• Unexpected
• Believable

Whenever possible, incorporate the idea of strength. The Going Strong campaign is intended tomake an impression on your audience so that those who don’t know Meredith will notice and remember the College. And so those who think they know Meredith will perceive it accurately.

Also, whenever possible, err on the side of brevity. Make the copy efficient. Pack as much energy and information into photos and headlines as possible. And send readers to the web. If the copy is intriguing, readers will go online for more info. If it’s not, more copy isn’t going to help.

Tell Your Story

Studies show that people remember three to maybe five (if you’re lucky) pieces of information that they read or hear. Pushing too much information on your readers can actually result in them remembering less – and may cause them to tune you out altogether.

Ideally, you want to serve up just enough information to make your reader want to take the next step.

A good rule of thumb: keep communications short, relevant, and compelling.

Before you start writing, ask yourself:

• Who am I talking to?
• What do I want them to think, feel, or do as a result of this communication?
• What are the five (or fewer) things the reader absolutely must know in order to go to the next step?

Be a Good Conversationalist

Good copy sounds more like how people speak and less like how they write.

(This makes it “flow over” the reader and be less hiccup-y.)

Meredith’s copy should be strong, clear, and immediate. Think short sentences. Sometimes, for impact, your short sentences may not even be “real” sentences. By eliminating complicated clauses and extra words, your reader will get the point faster and your message will be even stronger.

This means you can start sentences with “and” and use plenty of dashes, because that’s the way people think and speak. In bursts!

Avoid generic language that doesn’t tell your reader anything specific about Meredith. Give them the information they’re looking for or surprise them with something they didn’t know.