There Is No Right Way to Write (Mostly)
If you missed my first post explaining exactly what in the blankety-bleep this is, I’ll quickly catch you up. It’s a Mainland Studio series about… word stuff; things having to do with words. Reflections on brand language, tone establishment, social media voice, and copywriting — in all of it’s various and sometimes peculiar iterations — will reside here. Words are important, and we thought it important to share. Now, on to the topic.
This subject came up recently during a call with a client, but it’s one we think about often. “Did I write this right?” they asked as we were all reviewing caption content they generated in our *highly recommended* social media scheduling client. Note: the perceived “correctness” of a given piece of writing most often comes up in the context of social media, as the robots that seem to control our every move online grow more fickle by the day.
In short our answer was a qualified yes.
Indeed, beyond the subject of copywriting, the question of the right way to do something vs. the wrong way to do something reaches far beyond the margins of an editorial longform or the caption of, say, an Instagram post. It extends into a place to which I rarely like to travel: the real world.
So let’s stipulate a few things right off of the bat. When it comes to putting up power lines, driving big trucks (or driving anything really; let's not put limitations on the damage one could do on a scooter), playing soccer, or fixing pipes, there is definitely a right way to do things. When it comes to creative pursuit, the situation gets a little more blurry.
Sure, there are the fundamentals and technical knowhow-ery requisite for getting started. An understanding of grammar and all the ‘wait, why do we still do that?’ elements of language (especially English 🤦♂️) are to a writer as an understanding of equipment or composition is to a photographer. One must know the rules in order to break them, as they say. But unlike truck driving, bending the rules might be encouraged, eventually, and won’t send anyone to the ER.
The reality is that, as a brand, you make the rules and you decide the most appropriate way to approach your audience. You’re a beauty brand, so why would you adopt the same tone as Autozone. Sure, they’re a big successful brand. But you sell face tonic. They sell mufflers. Whether you’ve hired a guy like me (hi!) or not, the right way to approach the copy on your website or blog post is to decide to which demographic you're speaking. From there, make it yours. Find that line between your voice (if you’re an integral part of your brand) and the industry’s. Then, give it all of the hyper-specific oomph it needs to get noticed.
As a business owner and human being experiencing the only just controlled chaos that is life on Earth, I understand the importance of being critical. I even understand the importance of being extremely critical. None of us reading this would be here if we were completely satisfied with the way in which we present our brands or were convinced there was simply nothing upon which to improve. If you are reading this and you’ve reached that professional mountaintop, send us all a postcard; we’re dying to hear about the cigarette trees and creeks of trickling whiskey.
For those of us who mine for improvement, being critical of one’s work can be understood as an inconvenient virtue. One can develop something of an obsession surrounding “doing it right.” Don’t let this slow you down and apply critique with care.
When it comes to writing and the way language is woven throughout your brand’s various platforms, broaden your thinking from “what’s right?” to “what’s right for my clientele?” Spell things correctly, then call your shot and take it.