Author: Michelle Troutman

Michelle Troutman has spent more than a decade crafting attention-getting newsletters and other content for service providers. She specializes in creating standout e-newsletters for law firms and economic development organizations. Her marketing and business administration background and education enhance clear and persuasive copy that speaks to the right clients. Through features in publications like "Attorney at Work" and "Law Fuel," and her e-newsletter and YouTube channel, she inspires service professionals to create engaging content. She enjoys helping businesses that sell their expertise reach their ideal customers.
covid-19 communications, covid-19 response, covid-19 virus communications, crisis communications

5 Ways to Write With Care in a Crisis

1. Acknowledge and adapt to now – To write with care, mention the unusual nature of the crisis. Describe how your business or organization has adapted its operations in response. Note the trying situation in your emails, social media or blog posts, policy updates, etc., and how you’re responding to it. Not doing so can come across as insensitive or being out of touch with the times.

An example of appropriate messaging:

2. Cut – Your readers might feel overwhelmed. Make your content easy to focus on and understand. Use short words, sentences, and paragraphs, especially when you relay complex information. Sentences under 16 words help; word processors can check readability levels (often the Flesch-Kincaid score), as can WordPress plug-ins such as Yoast. Group related text together with bullet points for better scanning. If you’ll include numbers, add fewer of them. Use images, infographics, or video in place of long text.

3. Confirm – If you’re reporting the latest news, triple-check your sources to enhance your credibility.

4. “Re-humanize” yourself – Show some warmth and personalize your communications. Wish your audience well. Express your gratitude — “I appreciate what you did” — to strengthen your relationships. As appropriate, stay upbeat. Share good news. Encourage. Now’s not the time to sound robotic and lapse into industry jargon, clichés, hard-to-pronounce words, or business-ese. Write with care like you speak: the “real” you, not the role you play. Use “I” less and “you” more.

5. Be there while you write with care – Ask questions. Provide help or information. Connect with your audience through surveys, social media, email, message boards, or other platforms. This is a great time to feature others’ stories about how they’re dealing with the crisis. Alleviate fears and concerns. Be supportive. Reassure readers that though we’re traveling through new territory, we will end the journey together, and you’ll be ready to help them then and now.

How have crises affected your business communication?

P.S. Could your writing use a touch of “class”? Now’s the time to brush up on your skills. Find out more about Classy Writing coaching and consultation sessions available in the comfort of your home.

Quotes

“In this tumultuous time, leading your organization with purpose and vision is more important than ever. Make sure you’re keeping sight of your most important goals and constantly working to fulfill them.” ~ Darren Richards, “Business Management During COVID-19,” Tucker/Hall, Inc.

“Uncertain times elevate the importance of clear, credible communication from business leaders.” ~ Colorado Chamber of Commerce and Linhart PR, “Coronavirus (COVID-19): A Business Leader’s Guide to Effective Crisis Communications”

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5 Ways to Gain More Confidence in Your Writing

1. Write regularly – It’s not always easy to motivate yourself continually, which can lead you to lose confidence in your writing. If you set aside a certain day or time to write, it becomes easier to make it a habit and get into the rhythm and flow.

2. Study writing – If you know basic spelling and grammar rules, you have the foundation for solid writing. An understanding of the fundamentals not only provides you with the basis for good writing, but putting them into practice can set your work apart from a sea of subpar content.

3. Don’t obsess over it – Ruminating over the quality of your writing, or continuing to edit it when it’s no longer necessary can stall its completion. As the Nike slogan goes, “just do it.” Once you’ve sweated it and edited it, you can forget it (unless someone requests a rewrite). 🙂

4. Keep up with trends – Stay on top of changes in the type of writing you do. Some writers are more “old school” or traditional, like me — but sometimes modern words and styles can add flair to your writing. In the process, you’ll feel like you’re achieving command over your craft.

5. Maintain a healthy perspective – No writer, no matter how much experience he or she has, is flawless. Our paths may be unique, however, many of us go through similar challenges. Never think of yourself or your writing as beneath that of others’ work.

Need help with your content? Contact me.

Quotes

“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” ~ e.e. cummings

“At one time I thought the most important thing was talent. I think now that  — the young man or the young woman must possess or teach himself, train himself, in infinite patience, which is to try and to try and to try until it comes right. He must train himself in ruthless intolerance. That is, to throw away anything that is false no matter how much he might love that page or that paragraph. The most important thing is insight, that is….curiosity to wonder, to mull, and to muse why it is that man does what he does. And if you have that, then I don’t think the talent makes much difference, whether you’ve got that or not.” ~ William Faulkner

Comments? Suggestions? Need help? Feel free to contact me.

Michelle Troutman
classywriting.com

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5 Signs of Amateurish Writing

1. Not varying your word choice enough – If you use the same term in a piece too often, you’ll torture your readers. With so many words in the English language, it doesn’t hurt to change them occasionally. A thesaurus can help you turn amateurish writing into professional prose.

2. Starting every paragraph with words of the same letter – This practice isn’t always obvious, but as I look down a page while I edit,  if I spot a series of paragraphs that begin with “the,” they stand out. Again, variety will sharpen your writing.

3. Not changing the length of your sentences – As one writer put it, three short sentences in a row becomes annoying. Your readers shouldn’t stumble over certain passages. Watch the flow of your sentences; pay attention to their rhythms and edit them accordingly.

4. The passive voice – This is one of my favorite writerly nemeses. That’s because almost everyone has lapsed into the passive voice at some point, including me. The cliché about its popularity in the business world is true. Yes, it’s hard to remove it all the time, but in many cases, there’s no excuse not to just get to the point.

5. Too many paragraphs of similar length – Some writers think one- or two-sentence paragraphs are cool, but too many in a row can frustrate readers. Marketing writers often do this in an attempt to build a connection. At the same time, too many long paragraphs can look intimidating. Generally, you want to keep sentences on the same topic together, but sometimes, for the sake of variety, you can get away with breaking some of them up.

Need help with your content? Contact me.

Quotes

“It is inappropriate to use an exclamation point in formal writing, such as a business resume, school book report, or a due college paper, as the style expected in these should be objective, standard, and informative.” ~ WhiteSmoke

“The unnecessary use of quotation marks is a sign of amateurish writing.” ~ Grammarist

Comments? Suggestions? Need help? Feel free to contact me.

Michelle Troutman
classywriting.com

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5 Writing Resolutions for Everyone

1. Focus – As Shakespeare once wrote, “Brevity is the soul of wit.” It’s also one of the best writing resolutions. Learn how to condense your wording in my article, 5 Ways to “Write Tight”.

2. Think – Sometimes it helps to plan your writing process ahead of time. Here are 5 Reasons to Think Before You Write.

3. Freshen – Look for more creative turns of phrase. Turn your writing from trite to enticing with
5 Ways to Avoid Clichés.

4. Clarify – When your writing is easy to understand, it holds readers’ interest. Untangle messy lingo in 5 Steps to Clear Writing.

5. Go jargon-less. Read about 5 Ways to Write in Plain English and toss the terms that bog down your verbiage.

Need help with your content? Contact me.

Quotes

“New Year’s Day: Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.” ~ Mark Twain

“The start of the New Year is an especially relevant time for journaling and reflection.” ~ Journal Buddies

Comments? Suggestions? Need help? Feel free to contact me.

Michelle Troutman
classywriting.com

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5 Mistakes Not to Make on Social Media

1. Not posting often enough – I’ve been guilty of this social media mistake. If you’re coasting on organic reach rather than paid traffic, it might not make a difference. Even if you don’t get a lot of interest in your posts because of the push toward paid traffic, posting regularly makes your business look current and reminds people that you’re still open.

2. Not asking questions – It helps to ask questions to not only increase your reach but “engage” with your audience — yes, it’s that “hip” buzzword again. If you want to talk to your customers, this is a good way to get a response.

3. No “personality” – Showing some emotion — in a positive way — is a great way to get attention. But, if you don’t show any personality, your posts can come across as bland, and they’re less likely to help your reach.

4. Not “checking in” – On Facebook, you can “check-in” to show people where you are (or where you’ve been) recently. If it will help your business, take advantage of this and make it a focal point of your post to get more interest from others who follow the site connected to where you were.

5. Not referencing other people or pages – One of my most popular organic Facebook posts received more than 200 views and “likes,” mostly because I named the people involved in an article I wrote for a local paper. This is all organic traffic — I didn’t pay for the post. So, sometimes, it takes a little creativity to get a boost.

Need help with your content? Contact me.

Quotes

“You are what you share.” ~ Charles Leadbeater, We Think: The Power of Mass Creativity

“How different would people act if they couldn’t show off on social media? Would they still do it?” ~ Donna Lynn Hope

Comments? Suggestions? Need help? Feel free to contact me.

Michelle Troutman
Classy Writing
classywriting.com