This is a guest post by Robert Kelsey, bestselling author of Writing Well for Work and Pleasure. He offers hope for those fearing the new “thought leadership” trend in marketing.

Note from Adrian: Not the usual sort of guest post but writing and communication is an essential part of service and experience so I thought…why not! Enjoy 🙂

It’s the marketing trend that keeps senior executives awake at night – literally. It’s the take on content marketing called “thought leadership”, and inhouse PRs and marketeers love it because there are no direct costs. It involves volunteering the time and effort of busy executives to write “earned” (i.e. non-advertorial) bylined or commentary articles for trade magazines. In fact, many companies are now rivaling the media with publications of their own, as well as company blogs and company LinkedIn pages: all requiring content.

And given that much of it is about communicating the expertise of said executives, the content-generating ambitions of marketing departments increasingly extends to whitepapers. These are 5,000-word plus reports on highly-technical subjects that are later “sliced and diced” into smaller articles for publication and distribution via the aforementioned channels.

Thought leadership has become the way for companies to avoid the hard sell when promoting their products or (more usually) services. By writing customer-facing articles that deal with the dilemmas impacting a particular audience – even if they’ve yet to realise these dilemmas are heading their way – the attention of the target audience is grabbed. Yet the sale remains implicit rather than explicit. It’s that inhouse expertise that’s being showcased, which relies on those experts having both the time and – most importantly – the required writing skills to bang out 1000-word articles to order.

Hence the sleepless nights. While many executives are happy to have their evenings and weekends stolen for the cause (of promoting themselves, after all), many more find this “call for content” a fear-triggering exercise. Those lacking an expensive educated can run scared of the put-downs and corrections of grammatical pedants or literary snobs. And while they might manage an 800-word blog – avoiding howlers via Grammarly or something similar – a 5,000-word whitepaper will become an albatross around the neck of any busy executive. Help is required.

That said, acquiring writing skills shouldn’t be sold as avoiding a negative. Writing well – by which I mean compellingly, authoritatively, succinctly and with flare – helps your output get noticed. It’s your ideas that gain traction and your views that hold sway. In nearly all sectors, writing well can turn mediocre professionals into those very “thought leaders” the PR departments advertise. It’s a critical skill for persuasion, no matter what the target audience.

A craft not a talent

And that’s the skills gap Writing Well for Work and Pleasure aims to fill – first by informing those needing to generate content that writing is not a talent, it’s a craft. It can be taught and learnt like baking or pottery. And, second, to help new writers develop a process for writing – one that removes the fear by converting the task into a series of small steps. It’s what I call A to Z via B, C and D.

Here (in truncated form) are the steps:

1. Don’t approach the task by focusing on the writing – that’s the scary bit. Instead – and as stated – focus on the process. There’s an order to producing great content. It’s angle, content, structure, style. Decide your angle (the opinion you’re trying to communicate); research the content required to demonstrate your case; work out the order you should be present it in; and then – and only then – worry about style,
2. When deciding the angle, focus on the audience. Who’s meant to read your article? What concerns them and what do they need to know? For instance, a report written for your colleagues will be very different to those aimed at prospective customers. Also, remember: articles intended to show off your skills and knowledge are unlikely to resonate with your audience – while those focused on answering a conundrum relevant to them most certainly will,
3. Don’t start at the beginning. Instead write in blocks that can be stitched together at the end. Your structuring exercise will reveal a range of elements to convey, so start with the easiest one. Make that the first paragraphs you write, slotting them into the structure later,
4. Indeed, tackle the blocks in order of easiest to most difficult. This means you’ll be fluid by the time the tougher blocks need writing. Once finished, check your structure (i.e. the order the blocks run in) – perhaps by printing a block per page and shuffling the order until satisfied they run smoothly,
5. Then write the opening paragraph. Sentence one should be an “inverted pyramid” – encapsulating the angle and essence of the article immediately (with the following paragraphs offering context and justification),
6. Forget about a conclusion. Don’t end with a repeat of the angle or summarise the information already relayed – that’s weak. Articles that finish after the last point is made are fine, though if you feel the need to round it off, state what’s coming next,
7. Once done, you have a “dirty first draft”. Time to rewrite the entire piece: sentence by sentence. Here’s where style matters, which should sound compelling – as if a breathless messenger is imparting critical news. Sentences should be short. Try inverting one sentence per paragraph (one sentence per paragraph should be inverted). And start the last sentence of alternate paragraph with “and” – cheap tricks but effective,
8. Other tricks – such as tricolons (rule of three), epizeuxis (repeating words for emphasis), epistrophe (ending sequential sentences with the same word), as well as segues that link sections and alliteration within passages to create rhythm – are also worth exploring, though go easy. This is a professional piece, so your inner James Joyce needs to stay under control,
9. Now write the headline. Use the inverted pyramid first sentence as your guide – reproducing it in the fewest number of words. Then try inverting the sentence. Also try using a thesaurus to replace the longer words with short ones (something worth doing throughout, in fact),
10. Include a standfirst below the headline – this should allude to the reward for the reader for committing to the article and should include your byline and your “between the commas” self-description. Don’t be coy: you are the person to write this, and your reader needs to know it.

White papers simply repeat the process but over four-five elements (mini-chapters, if you like), while shorter articles (including blogs) cut the blocks to two-three and kill the standfirst.

Of course, there’s more to it than that – especially with respect to developing your style. But, like any good bylined commentary article, the point is to demonstrate expertise while not handing over your intellectual crown jewels, or is that too explicit a plug for my book?

Writing Well for Work and Pleasure is available on Amazon.co.uk.

This is a guest post by Robert Kelsey, bestselling author of Writing Well for Work and Pleasure. He offers hope for those fearing the new “thought leadership” trend in marketing.

About Robert

Robert Kelsey is a bestselling author, a former magazine editor and journalist and a PR professional who’s worked for some of the world’s most prestigious organisations: helping them convert their expertise and knowledge into fantastic content. He’s also taught scores of young trainees how to write compelling copy.

Thanks to picjumbo_com on Pixabay for the image.