Many of the written materials representing business today - a lot of which were written by professionals who should have known better - are only thinly disguised sales pitches. Or they merely throw new information out into the world, in the hopes that the readers will connect the dots themselves. Or they explain and explain and explain, unknowingly to an empty audience, building card houses without any indication as to why the reader should care. In any case, they're words that go unread and messages that go unreceived.

Inform, educate, sell: if you're not doing all three, your writing isn't nearly as effective as it can or should be. And if you're paying a writer who can't accomplish all three at once, you aren't getting full value for your marketing dollar.

Skilled writing is an art founded on persuasion, which itself is an art based on the keen understanding of how human beings convey trust and make decisions. Don't merely lead, follow or get out of the way - do all three and watch your marketing words come alive:

Lead by informing your reader.

There is always a segment of your message that is complete news to your reader. That is your hook - the new development, the new solution to the reader's problems, the new approach to a familiar subject - and the lead into the rest of your presentation. Presented correctly, a clear and direct lead establishes both reader confidence and authorial credibility. It gets your reader interested and convinces them that your copy is worth reading.

A writing piece without a lead is a messenger without a head. While it might serve as a curiosity to some, it's not nearly as useful as it would be otherwise.

Follow by educating your reader.

Once you've established yourself in a leadership role with your important and compelling new information, you should now have the reader on board: your next task is to demonstrate why those facts are important, and why the reader should care. You must educate, not by dragging out the soapbox and preaching, but by establishing relevance - by telling the wider story in terms of what is most important to the reader. This is where the reader must take the lead.

If you're going to lose the reader, this is probably where it will happen. Education copy is almost purely followup: you can't beat the reader about the head and shoulders with it, or else it will be ignored - or worse, will antagonize. Don't tell your readers why they should care; instead, learn why they actually do, and then meet those psychological needs with a well-crafted and succinct presentation that puts the reader up front.

Get out of the way to make the sale.

Sales are rarely made but often lost, and the simplest way to lose a sale with your copywriting is to not give the reader room to make a decision. How many times have you been subjected to a sales pitch intended to exhaust you into signing a contract? Did you sign it? Have you ever allowed yourself to be pressured into an important buying decision?

It's never been easier to lose a sale than it is today: we're all competing globally now, there's always plenty of competition to take advantage of dumb mistakes, and our customers are now nearly impossible to back up against a wall. Don't try - simply make sure your reader has all the facts, understands their relevance, and is fully aware of how to proceed with a buying decision. Make the decision as safe and easy as possible, and then back off and leave it to your reader.

Great copywriting doesn't sell: it gives great customers the tools to buy. As you decide on the best words to represent your business, make sure that the tools you provide are good ones.