Setting The Tone: How To Combat The Time-Consuming Part of Rewriting

For most, today marks Day 2 of putting off this year’s resolutions until tomorrow. After all, perfecting oneself is nothing to rush into.

Unfortunately, that attitude may be the downfall for both resolutioners and marketers alike, as a recent study of marketing professionals found that 44% said rewriting copy to improve tone was the most time-consuming part of the copy process, followed by proofing for spelling and grammar, rewriting for length, “creative derives from longer copy,” and translating.

“Rewriting copy is a duplication of effort and it’s of course preferable to get it right the first time,” says Steve Vinall, director of global brand and communications for Bynder, the management platform that conducted the study. “This suggests that tone of voice guidelines are not present, not clear enough, or perhaps too subjective.”

Vinall’s suggestions for tone guidelines include:

• Differentiate tone and nuances between channels
• Use detailed best practice examples
• Show examples of best practices and common mistakes
• Test and refine what’s most often reworked

“Thankfully, there are ways to develop TOV guidelines,” says Vinall, “which should lead to a more efficient copy development process and ultimately, getting better content into market faster.”