During the 1960s our predecessors Anderson & Lembke produced a publication called ”Technical advertising texts – how and why?”. It was meant as internal training material for copywriters.

The publication is of course dated in many ways (few would call an art director a layout man today). But on the whole, it contains thoughts and writing tips that as just as relevant today as they were then.  Here are some of them and if you are interested you can download the whole publication as a pdf. (Only available in Swedish. The ten points below are a summary of the contents)

“Ten things to think about before you start”

1. Most of what we have previously taught you about the art of writing does not apply to technical advertising texts. You have to learn to condense large amounts of complicated information into a few, simple words. You have to go through every line you write and weed out all the unnecessary words.

2. Readers read fast. They don’t take the time to read a long unclear sentence. It’s easier to turn the page than look for facts in a stodgy text.  Say it clearly, say it simply and say it fast.

3. It is two totally different things to write a text about an ice cream and a contractor’s machine. There is no impulse buying when you sell producer goods.

A businessman that invests in expensive equipment is tied to it for a long time. If the equipment does not correspond to the promises you give him, he can not throw it away or put it in the freezer and forget about it. His existence as a businessman is dependent on the efficiency of his equipment.

It is possible to hypnotise a buyer by shouting loud and long enough. But as soon as he has bought his equipment, the brainwashing ends. And one of two things happens. Either the goods work as they should and everything is fine, or you have promised too much and you can just as well cross that customer off your list. And not just him but also many of his colleagues – word travels fast in the world of business.

4. Too many superlatives, too broad generalisations and far too much emphasis on secondary product features can have a negative effect. Just one incompetent, exaggerated or naive statement is all that is needed to blow away his interest and get him to turn the page.

If you promise too much, you set a trap for yourself. The text is not credible, and at the same time creates dissatisfaction with customers. Sooner or later they will work out that the promises aren’t real. This can lead to discontent with products that actually work faultlessly. And just one dissatisfied customer can make all your customers in a sales district start buying from the competitors.

5. Write simply and to the point. Keep to the spoken word as much as you can without the text getting too familiar. Eloquence and the style of essays and fiction are not suitable when you want to sell producer goods.

6. Write directly to your buyers.  Not everyone who reads the publication is a buyer (less than 25% for nearly every product in most trade journals). Of course, it is fun if others also read the ad. But still always write only to those who are buying or who can influence the buying process. Forget all other readers.

7. The B2B advertising manager nearly always has a limited budget. He must therefore make sure that he primarily does advertising that helps sell the company’s products. Such advertising is also often the best corporate advertising. Corporate advertising of the conventional type is seldom a profitable investment taking into consideration how narrow and clearly defined the markets are for the majority of producer goods.

If a company wants to give to charity, it should be done in a more suitable way than through the advertising budget. If you want to use advertising to help recruit qualified personnel or try and influence the company’s share price, then you should have a separate budget for this. The advertising budget is normally administered by the sales department and then it should be used for producing sales results.

8. Do advertising for the company’s products and services, not for the product name or technical quirks. It may be necessary to work up a product name. Do it by clearly associating it with specific product advantages. The company may have made interesting technical progress. This may be incredibly interesting but it does not belong in advertising if it does not offer the customer a direct benefit.

9. Avoid meaningless, boring and tiresome ”advertising language”. Words like biggest, best, unsurpassed, revolutionising – and quality, operational safety and operational economy  – are so worn out that they are completely ineffective. Avoid comparisons that are not comparisons. Build on facts and common sense.

10. Speak to one reader at a time. He’s sitting at his desk in a quiet room. There’s no reason to shout. He’s a professional in a business where they use the product you want to sell, and he probably knows more about how to use the product than you do. Far too much B2B advertising is written as if it were a ceremonial speech. It’s easy to fall into that trap. You think of the 18 000 civil engineers that read technical journals or the 50 000 leading people within business that read financial journals. And suddenly you are standing on the podium looking out at an auditorium of 100 000 people – then you begin your speech. You use solemn phrases, you make dignified gestures, you formulate, generalise. You get drunk on your own knowledge and the result is just words, words, words …

To the reader sitting alone at his desk using some of his limited time to look for useful facts, you come across as plain silly. Writing B2B advertising should be like writing a personal letter, a business letter to a business acquaintance. The advertising reaches thousands of readers but it reaches them one at a time. They read it during a time when they are expected to do something of value for the company, every minute, every hour. Or they read it as ”homework” in the evenings, which they would really prefer to spend with their families or friends. There is only one reason for reading B2B advertising – the advertising must give the reader something of value for his work. The reader wants facts, served as clearly and simply as possible.

The reader is in a hurry. He skims and jumps in the same way as you read an evening paper. As soon as the copywriter starts to generalise, use cliches or gets lost in discussions that only interest the advertiser, he gives his reader a chance to give up. The same effect is achieved when the text contains unsubstantiated statements. You have to keep in mind that the reader does not know the author personally. Not even the company brand
is any guarantee for credibility of the text. Advertising is always regarded as biased and that’s a fact. Which is why it is vital to give clear, convincing evidence in the text that the statements made are true.

Speak calmly, clearly and as simply as possible to the reader. Explain the benefits that the product can offer. Avoid superlatives. Avoid generalisations. Give specific facts. Don’t write fiction, hold lectures, don’t boast or sound like a high-flying salesman. Write simply, understandably and genuinely for one reader at a time. End by asking him to test the correctness of what you say. Offer him more information. But never urge him to buy.