Writing Effectiveness Research Shows Quality Matters in 2020
By: Sarah Mitchell
Tags: Writing, Content Writing, Writing Tips, Business Communication, Content Marketing

State of Writing 2020 research report

An overwhelming majority of business communicators know what successful writing looks like, but fewer than half think the content they publish is effective. Where are they struggling with their writing and, more importantly, how can they be more effective?

These are just a few of the findings and questions we asked in the 2020 State of Writing Report from Typeset® and Mantis Research.

We launched our first global survey into writing effectiveness to uncover where businesses are winning, where they’re falling down, and where they can improve, when it comes to writing. We asked business people who rely on written communication — marketers, communication professionals and small-business owners — to assess the results of their writing efforts.

We wanted to know what habits, processes, and techniques make any business communicator more successful — and by successful we mean how can we improve the return on the writing investments we make in our businesses.

What we discovered goes a long way to showing the importance of quality control processes in business writing.

The opportunity to improve the effectiveness of business writing

There is clearly a disconnect between intent and results when it comes to business writing. While business communicators are confident they can identify effective writing, our research shows writers are struggling in a number of areas.

If we assume the purpose of writing is to make a positive impact on the business, it’s vital we understand where gaps exist in writing effectiveness. And let’s face it, would we spend time and money on writing projects otherwise?

We can glean the most insight by examining the difference between moderately successful communicators and those who are experiencing high levels of effectiveness. According to our research, only 46% of communicators rate their writing as very effective or extremely effective.

Full disclosure: Few respondents admitted to being ineffective in their writing, an insight that could point to a lack of interest in taking a survey if effectiveness is not a priority in your organisation.

State of Writing 2020 survey report

Barriers to Writing Effectiveness

So, what is stopping us from realising success in producing highly effective content?

1) Quantity over quality

One reason may be because the majority of respondents are focused on quantity instead of quality. (We always guessed this, but now we have data to prove it!) Fifty-five per cent say they plan to increase the amount of writing they do in the next 12 months but only 29% say they plan to increase budget.

I want to repeat this as it’s so important: Almost 6 in 10 business communicators plan to write more, but only 3 in 10 plan to increase budget. How do these professionals plan to make their writing more effective if they don’t put money behind it?

State of Writing 2020 survey report

But it gets worse. When asked what they’d like to change about the content they write, moderately effective communicators put “more frequent publishing” (62%) at the top of their list, but only 31% earmark “better quality/accuracy” as a goal in their writing.

It’s easy to conclude increasing quantity, without a matching increase in budget, is going to put pressure on producing results. Factor in a lack of focus on quality/accuracy and the path to improving writing effectiveness becomes difficult to navigate.

Our research found other areas where communicators are stumbling in their efforts.

2) Lack of editorial oversight

Another reason could be a lack of oversight in the process of writing. Our data shows editing plays a big role in how well our writing performs. Nearly two-thirds of communicators who are extremely or very effective in their writing have someone who oversees all their written content, but less than half of those moderately effective (44%) have a central figure to guide content production.

Two-thirds (66%) of extremely effective or very effective organisations hold editorial meetings, compared to 43% of those in moderately successful organisations. Fifty-seven per cent of those moderately effective hold no editorial meetings at all.

State of Writing 2020 survey report

3) Editor’s tools

The most effective communicators are more likely to use editorial tools — and a lot of them — than those who admit to being moderately effective. The most popular editorial tools for extremely and very effective marketers are the editorial calendar and a content strategy.

Quality Techniques for Writers

The most effective communicators are also using more editing techniques for their writing and are committed to using them more often. The biggest differences between the groups is in logic and flow, and fact-checking. These two editing techniques have a direct impact on whether your readers trust your content or even understand what you’re trying to say. There’s no doubt trust and readability are essential to whether your target audience responds to your writing as intended.

The first steps to improving writing effectiveness

Many of the problems faced by moderately effective communicators can be repaired by instituting processes focused on editorial oversight. Fine-tune what you’re currently doing before committing to increasing quantity — or budget, for that matter. Implementing good quality measures may well reduce the need for “more” and result in better performance of your future and past writing projects.

1) Pause to evaluate what you’re trying to achieve with your writing projects.

2) Appoint one person who oversees all of the written content you publish. This could be a managing editor, a content strategist, or your communications or marketing manager.

3) Schedule regular editorial meetings.

4) Ensure your editors have the tools they need.

An editorial calendar goes a long way to encouraging quality workflows.

Publishing templates help writers produce a better-quality product by setting expectations about the process of writing.

A content strategy ensures all written production relates back to business goals, a key element in writing effectiveness.

5) Enlist the help of a professional proofreader so everything you publish is fact-checked and reviewed for logic and flow.

6) Find out what you need to do to make your content Google friendly.

7) Don’t forget, re-examine the content you’ve already published and see where you can make quality improvements, especially for SEO.

State of Writing 2020 Report

Download the full report into writing effectiveness to find additional insights into where business communicators are winning and where they’re falling down when it comes to writing.

More Research into Writing Effectiveness Coming Soon

Our research uncovered other areas where communicators want to improve, including knowing what to write, how to determine effectiveness and evaluating the correct metrics. The full State of Writing 2020 report is freely available and includes practical recommendations on how you can improve the effectiveness of your writing.

We’re currently revisiting this research to see how marketers are tracking and what can be done to increase the effectiveness of writing in businesses of all sizes and will be available in February 2021. Focusing on writing effectiveness is one of the best ways I know to serve your customers and prospects and impress upon them the quality of your brand.

How to participate in 2021 State of Writing research

Take the global survey if you’d like to contribute to the 2021 research. Everyone who responds will receive an early copy of the results.