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B2B Writing
9
min read
November 2, 2023

18 Tips to Write Great B2B Content

Keelyn Hart
Content Writer at Letterdrop

You're a B2B writer. You know that the key to the long-term success of your career is excellent writing that lands with your clients. You believe you're pretty good at it.

But there's a problem. A big one. A missing comma here, some clumsy phrasing there, and you have accidentally lost credibility with a major company client. They complain to your CEO, who is livid. Uh oh.

Poor writing has made your company look uninformed and has put your job on the line. Who knows how many prospects the company had lost before they even entered the sales funnel on account of your sloppy writing? How do you prevent this from happening again?

Make an effort toward a marked improvement in your business writing, which not only helps push sales but also safeguards your credibility and your company's credibility.

In this article, we'll share 18 key principles that can improve B2B writing. But first, let's take a look at the importance of good writing and what distinguishes it from the bad.


The Importance of Quality Writing

ChatGPT is going to make everyone a B2B writer, right? Right. So you have to stand out if you want to make waves. High-quality business writing is more important than ever if you want to establish your authority.

Good B2B writing is qualified as accurate, entertaining, detailed, to the point, and credible. In order for your company to stand out, you need your content to truly land with your audience. This is the key to retention, building brand authority, and overcoming sales objections.

Your writing should help you solve customer problems, tell your company's story, and communicate the value of your product. This means more traffic, more leads, and a faster sales cycle.

You've probably asked yourself whether your content is truly up to scratch and making headway with your company's client base. If it isn't, what are the consequences to the business, and what should you do to prevent them?

Let's take a look.


The Cost of Poor Business Writing

Writing mistakes can cost your company money and clients in their damage control efforts, which can result in you losing your job — best to avoid this, right?

Poor writing comprises bad research, unhelpful or misplaced content, poor grammar, understated or overstated rhetoric, and inattention to detail.

Inattention to detail is costly. Confusion between metric and imperial measurements in their documents cost NASA a mission worth $125 million in 1999.

As well as company money, your writing errors cost credibility. Sloppy spelling and grammar give the impression of poor intellect or qualifications. Customers are less confident and less likely to purchase from you when they think you're dumb or sloppy.

To hold customers' attention and encourage sales down the line, start improving your B2B writing quality. Don't worry — we've got you covered.


Improving Your Writing Quality

Here are 18 principles that'll make your B2B writing better.


1. Every Sentence Must Add Value

For each phrase you write, ask yourself one overarching question — does this help my reader?

Related questions include:

  • Does this provide new information?
  • Does this drive my customer to take action?
  • Does this advance the story?

If the answer to one or all of these questions is no, re-evaluate the sentence to create value or cut it.


2. Make It Digestible

Fluff adds friction to the reading experience. Attention spans are too short for fluff, especially in the age of the Internet.

Avoid fluff by implementing the rule shown in this cheat sheet:

  • "In order to" = "to"
  • "In spite of" = "despite"
  • "The majority of" = "most"

Cut extra words to create a smooth and concise reading experience.


3. Intent is Key

Picture this. You're stressed over a work project and hope your colleague can help you out. Offer a new approach perhaps, or share her notes. She pats you on the shoulder and says, "Just stop stressing." Helpful? No. Frustrating? Yes.

Understand the intent behind customer questions to provide a satisfactory solution. If a thirsty customer Googles "How to find water", you should write an article that ultimately leads them to the nearest water source.

Provide a solution conducive to the customer's perspective and intent, or you're simply wasting your time and theirs.


4. Frameworks are a Guide

Do you find yourself tied down by your framework? It's not supposed to hold you back — it's just there to guide you.

A framework consolidates the context, intent, angle, and logic of the piece. They allow you to see whether the most important points have been covered, and break down daunting projects into digestible sections.

Don't let your framework slow you down. It's a guide, but it's only one part of the whole regarding good B2B writing.


5. Be Direct

The passive voice cuts comprehension accuracy by 10%. This is where you risk getting fluffy again.

In practice? Salesman of the year was won by Tom [passive] becomes Tom won salesman of the year [active.]

The passive voice is also weak and unconvincing. It allows doubt to creep into the reader's mind. Make your content writing persuasive.


6. Write Simply

Keep things simple, while not mistaking your audience for simpletons. There's an important distinction here.

How often have you encountered long-winded articles with senseless jargon that only deters you from reading further? Convey your message concisely, cutting down on fluff and jargon. Go for the jugular.


7. Integrate Keywords Naturally

Yes, SEO is important — but it's more important that you write for humans, not robots.

Sounding like a robot kills credibility and authority, and human readers know when you're cheesing the SEO system.

Spend time naturally integrating SEO keywords that drive leads.


8. Be Specific

Do you want to increase the value of your B2B writing by tenfold? Always offer your readers the "why" and "how."

So: "X is trending — here's why — here's how to leverage X for increased ROI."

General language makes you sound inexpert, while detailed solutions offer your readers more and establish trust in your authority.


9. Answer SEO Intent (if You Write SEO Content)

The BLUF framework (Bottom Line Up Front) works well for SEO writing. If your H2 is "What is X?" the first line should provide the answer.

Optimized SEO writing increases your chances of hitting the coveted first SERP. Good SEO writing gets right to the point without messing about, even if you're not writing an SEO piece.


10. Create Flow

Musicality is key to flow, and flow is key to retention because readers like compelling stories that are enjoyable to read.

Vary sentence length to establish this flow. Short / Short / Longer / Shorter / Longer.

Your readers will thank you for it — and so will your CEO when he sees the results.


11. Make Use of Outlines

B2B writing is 80% outline and 20% writing, so put time into that outline.

Outlines act as a contract or checkpoint with your client. They help you establish the logic and organization of a piece early on in the production process, where it's easier to make adjustments.

Outlines set you up for success, holding you accountable and serving as a roadmap for presenting arguments. Don't skip this step!


12. Drive Your Sales Journey

How are you moving the customer along their journey with your writing?

A detailed content strategy and high-quality content drive conversions. Implementing Call to Actions (CTAs) that supplement the core message of your writing is key.

Every piece of your content must have a purpose and drive action.


13. Use Relevant Statistics

Avoid stats and sources from 3+ years ago. Unless it’s a scientific study that’s still relevant, chances are, it’s outdated.

This is useless to your customers — irrelevant stats water down your point, kill topical authority, and lessen credibility.


14. First Drafts are Messy

First drafts may or may not suck. Some writers produce epic first drafts, others brain dump.

Drafts test the outline and structure of your argument to determine how well it translates. They serve to define the audience, topic, and tone.

Take your time and approach drafts with an aggressive editorial mindset, which is the path to high-quality output.


15. Include Takeaways

Don't explain something and simply move on. Help the reader understand how the "why and how" applies to their unique situation.

Examples of takeaways include, "X USP stands out well because of A and B", or "This works because..."

Takeaways are the conclusions and actionable items your readers should walk away with.


16. Use Storytelling Wisely

Storytelling is powerful. Advances in neurobiology and psychology show that well-executed phrases and stories trigger releases of dopamine in the reward circuit of the brain. Happy feelings result in retention.

Stories are not always applicable, though.

A good writer knows when to tell and not to tell a story. Learn how to use the art strategically in pieces where storytelling will increase retention. A listicle probably doesn't warrant much of a story, but a thought leadership piece does.


17. Know Your Editing Stages

How familiar are you with the differences between developmental editing, copy editing, and proofreading? All three are essential in the quality assurance of writing.

Developmental editing: big-picture editing, including the refining of ideas, shaping of the narrative, and the resolution of plot inconsistencies.

Copy editing: improving readability, line editing, clarity, and coherence.

Proofreading (AKA "Cleanup"): last sweep for grammatical and spelling errors that have slipped through.

Knowing the developmental, copy, and proofreading editing stages and consistently applying them will raise the quality bar and impress clients.


18. Grammar is Your Ally

While we have all been there, don't look at grammar as the enemy. Learn the rules to use them to your advantage. Impress your boss and your clients with grammatical prowess and your mastery of communication.

Use tools like Grammarly Business to help identify problem areas easily. Know the rules in order to break them, rather than the other way around.


Good Writing Puts You at the Forefront of Business

Simply put, you need your B2B writing to resonate with your company's clients, accelerate your reputation, and overcome sales objections.

B2B writing that falls short in communicating its message through grammatical errors and clumsy phrasing risks your job, your company's credibility, and your company's money.

Writing that makes a mark can truly put you and your company at the forefront of thought leadership in your field — and the learning does not stop here. Go to our website to see how Letterdrop can help you further improve your B2B writing processes.

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