You’re not bad at writing! You’re too close to your work
‘‘I don’t teach English, I build futures.’’
A powerful statement isn’t it. And it’s true. Language teachers do so much more than explain grammar rules or prepare learners for exams. Learning a language can open the door to new opportunities: to study, to travel, to advance at work, to build a career. But we don’t talk about these results enough.
All too often teachers market themselves in terms of their qualifications and experience. Like this example I found on Facebook: ‘‘I'm a level 5 TEFL qualified ESL teacher with 5+ years teaching experience in-person and online.’’
This is where many educators and coaches get stuck. Writing about your business is much harder than teaching. But powerful writing is what connects with clients.
My fingers are frozen
You sit down at your computer or with a notebook. Ready to write. To turn your plan into words. To finally publish that webpage or send an email pitching your new course. But the reality is different:
You stare at your blank screen waiting for inspiration.
You write multiple versions and save them in a folder called DRAFTS.
Frustration builds, overwhelm kicks in. You give up and do something different. ‘‘I’ll finish it another day,’’ you say.
I know this because I’ve been there.
Why is it so hard to write about yourself and your business? Let’s look some of the reasons it can be a struggle.
Myth 1. You should be good at writing
You know this one. It goes like this: You’re a language teacher. You know all about tense and aspect or modality and mood. You teach others how to write reports or how to reference academic essays. Classroom materials? Yes, you’ve written them too. Therefore (one of those conjunctions you will have taught!), writing comes easy to you. An easy assumption to make.
It’s also an incorrect one. Because writing about your business is different. Copy and marketing content follow different conventions, especially when you are writing for an online audience. I wrote about this in a previous blog post: Why is writing web copy different?
TLDR? You are not ‘‘bad’’ at writing, you just need to build your copy skills.
Myth 2. Marketing is selling
This has an element of truth; we all need to sell our services. We are businesses. But for many of us in education, selling doesn’t feel right. It feels boastful and we’ve been taught not to do that. Marketing sounds like something from the realms of used car showrooms or big supermarket chains:
Today only!
Buy one, get two free.
Last chance to get this deal.
It’s pushy, salesy, queasy.
It’s not for us.
It’s important to recognise that special offers are only one way to sell products. Educators are doing something different. Try reframing selling as helping. What do you help your clients achieve? What are their dreams and ambitions? How do you get there together? That’s what you need to write about.
Myth 3. Tools and templates are quick fixes
When we get stuck, our instinct is to get online and find an easy solution. And there are lots on offer: Home page templates, emails to copy and complete, endless AI tools. They can all help, but often the results are disappointing. The texts you generate leave you a bit cold, a bit meh. Yes, lots of words, but not YOUR words. Words that say what you do, but not how you do it.
Great for a starting point, but when you want to finish and publish, shortcuts don’t always make the grade. Powerful statements come from authenticity. From the real you, not a cheat sheet.
The real reason writing is hard
The problem is not that you can’t write (spoiler: you can). Or that selling is inherently bad. Or that the tools are letting you down. It’s something different. I believe it’s this:
You’re too close to your own work to explain it clearly.
Or, if you like teaching idioms, you can’t see the wood for the trees.
You see all the details of what you do and want to share them. The way you structure your classes or the materials you create. The packages you sell and how much each one costs. Your timetables and open slots. All good, all part of your business. But not the information a potential client is looking for… yet.
Your writing needs to start with the big picture. You. What do you do? What makes you different? Try completing the statement: I don’t teach languages, I…
That’s what you need to say first.
Good writing needs clarity
If completing that statement is a challenge, I’d suggest it’s because you lack the clarity you need to write about your business. Without this, effective writing is almost impossible. If you don’t know who you are speaking to, how can you know what to say? Or how to say it?
Before you sit down at that blank screen again, make some notes about the following:
Your audience – who are they?
Your business – how do you help them?
Your core – what makes you different?
Your ABC of business writing.
When you have your ABC clear, then words start to flow. Writing becomes easier.
I don’t teach English, I build futures
Just like classroom writing, business writing takes some planning and practice to get right. Start with building clarity about your clients, your offer and your point of difference. Create a one-liner that informs all your words, one that replaces the bland descriptions we see all around us.
Clients aren’t looking for your exam results. They are looking for your help to meet their goals.
Thanks to Borja Uruñuela from St. James Center in Seville for his inspiring one-liner.
