It’s all going according to plan...right?

It’s November. Ask your friends about their hobbies now (so you can surprise them with a narwhal-themed embroidery kit later). Because success follows preparation. That’s the lesson.

It's true when you’re helping Santa. And it’s true when you’re running a communication campaign.

Still waiting to wrap a present or make plans for 2025? This edition of Page Break is for you.

Plan for action

We’ve tried dozens of methods for planning messages. But our favourite is still: Know this. Do that.

With that method, the writer decides on the content of their message by chewing over two questions:

1. What does the reader need to know?

2. What does the reader need to do?

Here's the plan we imagine Etsy put together:

• Know this: Esty has fun for every family-member.

• Do that: Buy something to make your kids grin.

Plan for questions

A product launch means landing pages, emails and social posts. But we’d start with FAQs. Putting together a page of questions and answers has a couple of benefits:  

1. It forces you to think about the product from your audience’s perspective. 

2. It gives you a place to explain the new product in detail.  

Learn from Ancestry: the more you put into FAQs, the more your other comms can breathe. 

Plan for crises

Expect the unexpected. That’s what we say before whipping out the bagpipes and moonwalking out the room. But you can’t prepare statements for every calamity, so you need to get into a position where you can write in a crisis.  

That means having a stakeholder map (showing which colleagues should be adding to and reviewing your work). And an ironclad guide to your tone of voice. There isn’t room in this newsletter to share all our advice on crisis comms, so collar us if you want support.

In the meantime, look to KFC for a role model. When everything went wrong, they held on to their voice beautifully.  

Plan for retirement

When you get down to it, what does planning for retirement really mean? Looking after your health? Making investments? Booking cruises? For people who write at work, a retirement plan means making yourself replaceable.  

You have to share your knowledge before you go. So use your understanding of the business to write a brand persona (Semrush has nifty templates for this). Slot your successful sales pitches into a formal messaging house. Capture your habits in a style guide for other writers to follow (Mailchimp sets a high bar). That way someone can pick up the pen where you left off.  

Too busy doing the do? 

2025 feels like a distant priority when you’re swarmed by jobs due today. But think of us like your wordy fortune tellers—we'll help set you up for long-term success by listening to any challenges that loom on your horizon. A 30-minute call is all it takes.

Set up a call