Suddenly, America is taking a fresh look at one of its great communicators, Julia Child. And love is in the air. Her magnum opus, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, has rocketed to dizzying new heights atop other New York Times bestsellers. Health-crazed, 21st century Americans are now secretly slipping into rich crème sauces and pounds of butter. Julia is again changing the way a generation thinks about food. She is getting away with it because she was such a wonderful communicator. Julia Child knew how to write, and my dear daughter-in-law thinks she knows why.

Julia’s first job was as an advertising copywriter.
This explains everything.

Last week, my daughter-in-law sent a tweet to let me know that Julia Child had started her career the same way I started mine, as an advertising copywriter. After finishing college in 1935, Julia’s first job was writing ad copy for W. & J. Sloane, a high-end Manhattan furniture store.

She must have been good at it, because when she finally announced her plans to resign, her boss tried to stop her with the promise that “In two years, I can make you the biggest woman in advertising in New York City!“  Her response was classic Julia Child. At 6’2”, this former college basketball player confided in her diary that she was already the biggest woman in advertising. Today, when I read her Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I see all the signs of a master copywriter at work.

Whether or not Julia taught you to cook, if you follow
her principles, she will teach you to write.

If you look carefully into Julia’s how-to masterpiece, you’ll see a copywriter’s best practices at work. These are practices you can easily apply to your own, everyday business communications. Here are three of the most important:

1. Aim for the call to action.

The most successful advertising copywriters are incredibly single-minded. Unlike other writers, their ultimate goal is not to entertain or even to inform – though they must do both and do them well. Their one goal is to provoke action. They must persuade their readers to buy a product, support a cause, or believe in a brand. It’s all about the call to action: find out more…call today…order now.

Julia Child understood this implicitly. Her book, TV shows, and in a sense, her whole life could be summed up as one very focused, very direct call to action: learn to cook well and love it. Roast the duck. Sauté the mushrooms. Stir the sauce. Just do it.

In your own business communications, whether you’re sending a quick email or a lengthy proposal, you must keep the end in mind…and the end is always a call to action. Too many businesspeople forget this. Think about what you’re asking your readers to do. Don’t just assume they will do it. Ask them to do it. Give them the next step. Be specific. If you don’t ask, they won’t act.

2. Assume absolutely nothing.

Julia Child never assumed that her readers understood a thing about cooking, French or otherwise. She explained everything. Patiently. Carefully. There were diagrams, descriptions, and definitions. This was not a case of talking down to her readers. Quite the opposite. Like any good copywriter, Julia respected her readers enough to take the time to give them careful, thoughtful explanations.

What about your readers? Do they really understand all your industry jargon and technical terms? Have you given them the rationale behind your recommendations? Are you anticipating and answering their questions? What if they weren’t in the meeting where everything was discussed and the decision made? Don’t just tell your readers to blanche the almonds. Tell them why, when, and how to do it.

3. Break it down, step by step.

Julia made the complicated simple. She demystified French cooking for post-war America by translating haute cuisine into a step-by-step action plan that any reader could follow. Sure, the book stretched to some 700 pages. But it was so well organized and wonderfully accessible that it never felt daunting.

Whatever you’re writing, think of it as an instruction manual. Copywriters do. Especially with long brochures, white papers, and websites, good copywriters are always looking for ways to break complicated messages into simple steps. So think in bullet points. Label your steps: 1, 2, 3. Turn longwinded copy into short, sharp paragraphs. Use subheads. Create simple comparison charts. And keep your writing relaxed and conversational.

Since you’ve got to start somewhere, start here and now.

With each of your documents from here on: (1) always aim for a call to action, (2) never assume your readers know what you’re talking about, and (3) break down your information, step-by-step. Do this today. Do it with the very next document you have to write – and you will be well on your way to learning the art that Julia Child mastered long before she mastered the art of French cooking.

This month marks the 10th anniversary of the passing of David Ogilvy. Expelled from Oxford as a less-than-average student, he went on to become a sous-chef in Paris, a stove salesman in Scotland, a British Intelligence officer in Washington, and a farmer in Pennsylvania.  Then he discovered his true calling, founding what would become one of world’s largest, most successful ad agencies: Ogilvy & Mather. Above all, he was known as a great communicator. Here are three things everyone can learn from him:

1. Your reader isn’t a moron.

Ogilvy knew that the best writers had respect for their readers. He famously said, “The consumer isn’t a moron; she is your wife.” Ogilvy understood that your readers are not just customers or a target audience or a means to an end. They’re your wife, your husband, your best friend.

You never yell at your readers or lie to them. If you try to manipulate your readers, they’ll sense it. If you talk down to them, they’ll resent it. And if you waste their time, you’ll lose them. Instead, you look for every opportunity to give your readers information they can act on.

2. Information is persuasive. Fluff isn’t.

In 1958, Ogilvy created a magazine ad for a Rolls Royce ad that would feature one of the most famous headlines in advertising history. He could have written some vague advertising fluff about Rolls Royce being a well built, quality car. Instead, he informed us that “At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.”

Ogilvy’s headline said it all. Instead of merely claiming quality, he demonstrated quality with a headline that painted an unforgettable picture in the reader’s mind. It reflected his conviction that “The more informative your advertising, the more persuasive it will be.”

This is true of all business communications. If you want people to do something, give them good information about that thing. Don’t just tell me that I need to be at your meeting. Tell me why it’s important. Don’t just tell me that your product is great. Tell me what makes it great. Give me specific, concrete reasons to believe that your service is better, your people friendlier, or your solution more reliable.

3. Speak to your readers in their own language.

Ogilvy claimed that he didn’t know the rules of grammar. Not true. What he really meant is that he didn’t let stiff, formal language get in the way of good communication. Persuasive writing should be conversational. Ogilvy explained:

“If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think. We try to write in the vernacular.”

I’ll close with one last Ogilvy quote. It’s a favorite from Ogilvy on Advertising, one of the first books I read on advertising as a young ad agency copywriter in England. Even though Ogilvy was talking about advertising, his insight applies to any type of business communication from your big presentation to the next email you write:

“I do not regard advertising as entertainment or an art form, but as a medium of information. When I write an advertisement, I don’t want you to tell me that you find it ‘creative.’ I want you to find it so interesting that you buy the product. When Aeschines spoke, they said, ‘How well he speaks.’ But when Demosthenes spoke, they said, ‘Let us march against Philip.’”