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How to Write a Free Report - Part 3

By Mark Satterfield

I want to spend a little bit of time discussing tone and style. This is one of those important, although often overlooked, aspects of writing your special report.

Have you ever been really interested in something only to quickly disengage because the tone of what you were reading was so heavy handed or…why mince words here, dull?

So what is tone all about?

First, it’s about the ability to write in your own voice. For example, I have my own somewhat distinctive style of writing, which isn’t necessarily any better or worse than yours. It’s mine and it’s consistent with my personality and style. As a matter of fact, if you read this out loud it would sound pretty much like I do.

And that’s the point.

If you read your report out loud and it sounds like a bad professor, that should be a big tip-off that the tone and style aren’t conducive to getting your report read. If, when you read it out loud, it doesn’t sound like you speaking, then you are not writing in your own voice. And I think that’s a big mistake.

Now, having said that, there’s nothing wrong with picking up style tips from those you enjoy reading. In fact the very best copywriters tend to be voracious readers…of pretty much everything.

So at a bare minimum, if you find a report or an article to be particularly well written, I’d suggest that you add it to your “clip-file” of articles that have resonated positively with you. I think clip files are great not only for helping you develop your own voice but also for helping you get creative when you suffer from writers block.

Granted, my tone is somewhat informal and you may be thinking to yourself “Well, this won’t work for my audience—they’re SERIOUS people.” Well I’m not saying that my tone is necessarily the one that you imitate, but I will tell you this: my material gets read.

That doesn’t mean that my style is the only one that is effective—far from it. However, I do notice that many writers adopt a very ponderous tone that makes someone have to work really hard to read the piece. I just don’t think that people really want (nor are they willing) to work really hard. That’s especially true when you’re just starting to build a new relationship, and the information that you’re presenting is of potential interest—rather than being crucial to the reader.

You need to keep that important distinction in mind.

If you are looking for some “templates of tone” and you want a little more formal style than mine, here are some things to read:

• The Harvard Business Review: Probably the overall best template for report writers, especially if you’re considering doing a case study.
• Fortune and Business Week magazines: These typically have great examples of articles that weave stories into the body and content of the article.

Beyond that, I’d offer you this general advice:

• Write with one person in mind. Use “you” as often as possible to draw readers into the content and make people feel as if you’re writing just to them.
• Positive: Since your report is ultimately a marketing piece, the tone should be motivating. The goal should be to empower readers to accomplish or achieve whatever solution you are promoting in the article.
• Practical: It just isn’t enough to recite what the problems are. Everyone already knows what those are. Readers are most interested in practical tips they can immediately implement. I’m not suggesting that you give away the store, but you want the reader to put down your report feeling that the time was well invested. Ultimately I’ve found that you can be very generous with sharing what to do, because you are selling how to do it or actually doing it for them.
• Finally and most importantly: Your content should “point’ readers toward what you want them to do next. This is the key element to the structure of your report and we’ll talk more about this. However it’s very important to keep in mind that you’ve accomplished little with your report if you don’t get your readers to act.

And that leads to our next point in the development structure with is to conclude with a very compelling, and very clear call to action.

Here’s the thing: When people finish reading your report, they’re going to do something other than just sit there and breathe. They’re going to read other articles. Answer the phone. Go to a meeting—something. They’ve got a million options and only one of them is to do what you want.

How you get your readers to do what you want them to do is the topic of my next article.

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Mark Satterfield is a founding partner of Gentle Rain Marketing and the creator of the Gentle Rain Marketing System. He is also the author of five books, including Power Prospecting: How to Gain Access to Key Decision Makers, How to Negotiate the Raise You Deserve, and Career Etiquette. Find out more about his services at www.gentlerainmarketing.com.

See our other articles by Mark Satterfield:

How to Create a Free Report That Gets Read and Acted on—Part Two
How to Create a Free Report That Actually Gets Read and Acted On
How to Write a Compelling Marketing Letter: Make Your Prospect Take Action
How to Write a Compelling Marketing Letter: The All Important First Sentence
Keeping a Reader’s Attention