Good writing anticipates reader questions.
Good writing serves the reader, not the writer. It
isn’t indulgent. “The reader doesn’t turn the page
because of a hunger to applaud,” said longtime
writing teacher Don Murray. Rather, good writing
anticipates what questions readers will have as they
read a piece, and (before they ask them) it answers
them.
That means most good writers are natural skeptics,
especially regarding their own work. They
relentlessly think of things from their reader’s point
of view: What experience is this creating for the
reader? What questions might they have?
(I did this above, when, before listing the qualities of
good writing, I thought, “Why does good writing even
matter to you? Why should any of us care?”)
George Orwell said the “scrupulous writer” will ask
himself at least four questions in every sentence:
“ What am I trying to say? What words will express it?
What image or idiom will make it clearer? Is this
image fresh enough to have an effect? And he or she
will probably ask himself two more: Could I put it
more shortly? Have I said anything that is avoidably
ugly? ” (Hat tip to The Economist style guide for that
one.)
Here’s where marketing can really help
add value in a business context, by the
way, because “simple” means “making it
easy for the customer.” It means being
the advocate for them. As Georgy
Cohen writes, “The marketer should be
identifying (and ruthlessly refining) the
core messages and the top goals, then
working with the web professionals to
create a website supporting them.”
2. Good writing is grounded in data.
Data puts your content in context and
gives you credibility. Ground your
content in facts: Data, research, fact-
checking and curating. Your ideas and
opinions and spin might be part of that
story—or they might not be, depending
on what you are trying to convey. But
content that’s rooted in something true
—not just your own opinions—is more
credible.
Said another way: Data before
declaration. If you are going to tell me what you
think, give me a solid reason why you think it...

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