Five Tips to Tighten Up Your Writing

Writing can be a funny thing. For all the stipulations, rules and wisdom that we picked up in grammar school, sometimes the situation calls for everything to be thrown out the window. Other times, we want our writing to be as clean and concise as possible, following the letter of the law. For whatever the situation calls, here are a few things that are always good to keep in mind…

• Know your audience – In my experience, this one is probably the most important element. It will dictate the level of detail and type of language that you use. It will determine how technical your speech, and how thoroughly you need to explain.
• Know your project – This is where adhering to the rules, or throwing them out the window, comes into play. Especially when writing for advertising purposes, writers will often start sentences with “and” and “but,” omit punctuation or use fragments. Rules are ignored so long as the copy is catchy and succinct - but it’s certainly something to avoid in an official memo or press release. Formality will vary greatly from piece to piece.
• Know the content – We’ve all been there at some point … You’re tasked with a writing assignment, and don’t even know where to start. Don’t know what you’re writing about? Sounds like step one isn’t writing, it’s reading!
• Active vs passive – Past the basic and into the technical. Juxtaposition of words will govern the strength of your statement. The active statement: “John threw the ball,” is much stronger than the passive: “The ball was thrown by John.”
• Reducing unnecessary words – Active writing is a good first step towards tightening, and reducing unnecessary words, especially prepositional phrases, is another solid step. Consider that, “It would be best if John threw the ball,” is saying the same thing as, “It would be the best case scenario this time if John threw the ball,” only using less words.

These tips all assume that the writer has a good foundational mastery of grammar, comma usage, spelling, etc. Some are better than others with these basic building blocks, and we all have our strengths and weaknesses, but keep these few simple tips in mind and keep moving in the right direction.


Need a little help developing copy? Whether you need text for your website, marketing collateral, press releases or social media, CU Solutions Group is here to help. Contact us today and we’ll develop strong and concise copy for any project!

Branding – Part 1: Why No Presence Can Be Better Than a Bad Presence

First off, let me start by saying that I’m not advocating for credit unions to have no presence – quite the opposite. But I will stand by the idea that anything worth doing, is worth doing right. This is especially true of well-executed and consistent branding by your graphics and marketing teams. 

Better than bad, or worse than good?

Allow me to illustrate this point with a little story. I put myself through college performing as a professional mobile DJ. My weekends consisted of weddings, graduation parties, sporting events, festivals and fundraisers. Coming up as a young freelance entertainer, I've had several mentors to which I owe a great deal.

One of these mentors was an amazing DJ and emcee – probably the best I’d ever worked with – but his business sense and company presence wasn't quite there. His website, business cards and collateral materials lacked consistency. Colors and fonts changed from piece to piece and page to page, photos were pixelated, and the designs, plain and simple, were not attractive. It was a hard subject to broach, but I always felt that his poor design and execution drove more business away than it attracted.

I took this as a lesson and sprung some extra money for a professional designer. My website, business cards, letterheads and other related collateral had a sleek and professional design that matched throughout. If you put our two companies side by side, there was no question that potential clients would gravitate towards my services, while in reality, he had much more experience and expertise (I was certainly no slouch, but just being honest). Here are a few examples of some well executed and consistent branding. It’s plain to see how much of a difference good branding can make.

What this means for credit unions

Your credit union’s design is your credit union’s first impression; it is your identity. It sets the tone for the relationships that you will build with your members. In a consumer-driven society, you’re vying for time with every other sign, billboard, commercial or mailer that an individual comes in contact with, and the decision to review your info and services is made in a matter of seconds. You might offer the best rates, lowest fees and excellent customer service, but none of it matters if you’re not able to bring new faces in the door.

Deciding to re-brand is not a decision to take lightly or make in jest. It is a big commitment that needs to be thought out and contemplated from many angles. In part two of this post, we’ll look at specific goals and tips for developing an effective, attractive and consistent appearance for your credit union.

If you think it’s time to consider a re-branding of your credit union, an investment in professional graphic services with CU Solutions Group can underscore your marketing efforts for years to come. Contact us to today!