Writing for business has changed a little since the advent of the Internet, but not much. It used be, back in the days of off line marketing when companies would put together a slick brochure or television commercial, that marketing and PR departments would brainstorm for a catchy motto or slogan and build an advertising campaign around it. The idea was to “push” the product or service being marketed onto an unsuspecting public we all called prospects, or “the target market”. Well, happily, we don’t do it quite that way any more.

The new business writing, while it is still focused on sales, isn’t quite so stuffy. Rather, it’s more personal and based mostly on “pull” marketing – the idea that we will entice those interested in our product or service into finding us. In some ways, this is better marketing.

You might think it involves less work because we don’t have to chase the targets until we catch them. Actually, it’s harder work because now we have to think up ways to get the “target” to chase us. That’s a bit more of a challenge. But if you can do it well then you’ll be chased a lot.

Business writing may not have changed it complete focus – sales, conversions, driving traffic – but it has changed the way it engages the customer and directs toward the goal. But it’s still business writing. Just a little more creative.