Woman with blond hair at a desk, using clear writing for impact while writing in a notebook and on her laptop.
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Without clear writing, your impact is invisible

Great work hidden behind average writing stays invisible. Discover why clear writing for impact is essential, not optional.

Reading time 3 mins | By Lee Ellwood

Why is clear writing vital for purpose-led organisations? Surely the life-changing work you’re doing is more important than the reporting and documenting you only do because you have to.

Well, yes, and no. Impact work needs funding, awareness, engagement and support to be able to continue, and that requires writing. This is important because it’s only through your writing that funders, policy makers, awards judges and the general public meet your work. Unless they’re participants in your projects, they'll only ever meet what’s written about it.

If your writing is clear, succinct, audience-focused and outcomes-centred, those so-important readers can easily visualise your impact, and they'll be more likely to buy in to your activity. But if your writing is unclear, dense, organisation-focused or compliance-based, the good work that you’re describing will effectively be invisible.

This is the central problem that good writing solves: how to get your work seen – and felt. Clear writing for impact makes for-purpose work visible, which opens doors to funding, support and recognition.

The visibility gap

The space between what you do and what people see of it is your ‘visibility gap’. For non-profits and purpose-led people, writing is often an under-appreciated secret weapon for closing that gap.

  • If you’ve received funding for a program, you must report against that program to account for your funding. But don’t write an audit: tell your impact story.
  • If your research could change lives by shaping policy, you need to write policy submissions. But don’t write dense-and-dry: make it easy for the policy maker to extract the value.
  • If your service supports people in difficulty, you have to write on your website how you do it, including your terms and conditions. But don’t write complex legalese: make it easy for people to see straight away that you can help them.

Impact reporting, content writing, legal and policy writing and research writing are all forms that for-purpose organisations need to use. They may sound different, but they share a key common feature: if your writing doesn’t serve your reader’s needs, the work behind them will remain invisible.

How is your writing hiding your work?

Example #1: ineffective T&Cs

A new community service sets up, ready to support and protect vulnerable people. It implements a client agreement. But the terms and conditions are written by the service’s lawyer – in dense legal language, with cross-referencing, multi-level numbering and layers of conditional clauses.

Once work gets underway, the service staff find themselves wasting valuable time fielding the same questions over and over. Clients have no hope of understanding what they’re agreeing to, and they give up on accessing the help that’s available – because they can’t see it.

(Even though the client agreement is a legal-ish document, plain language would help clients see this service clearly.)

Example #2: the annual non-report

A non-for-profit has achieved amazing change for its client community – helping migrant women re-enter the workforce in meaningful employment. Its annual report project is allocated to an overworked, under-resourced program manager, who cuts and pastes from colleagues’ emails into a template. The result is an uneven report full of sector jargon, tables of outputs and varying voices, with no unifying central message and an incohesive structure.

The funding organisation can’t see clearly what’s actually been achieved with their money, and they start to doubt their investment.

(Understanding how good business writing sets you apart would turn this annual report from difficult to dynamic.)

Compliance vs storytelling

It’s actually not an either/or situation. Your writing can be both clear and detailed, engaging and accurate, factual and narrative.

Plain language for non-profits in Australian doesn’t mean watering down the substance of your writing. Funders want the figures, policy makers need the evidence, and clients and supporters wonder what it is you do. So present the facts, but weave them into a story: the story of your achievements.

Invest a little time in producing writing that makes your hard work visible. For example:

  • Structure your document so your reader can follow your narrative, skim if necessary, and act quickly.
  • Learn plain language principles and apply them: active voice, everyday words, few (if any) acronyms.
  • Tell the story of your work, rather than stating facts and figures.
  • Talk about outcomes, not outputs.

Clear writing for impact is part of the work

When we talk about ‘good writing’, we don’t mean ‘nice-sounding words’. We’re talking about effective writing: documents and reports that achieve what you want them to. For non-profit work, that means making your real work visible to the people who can support it, rely on it, fund it or recognise it.

That’s why we believe that writing for impact isn’t separate from the work itself: it’s the door through which people who matter can meet work that matters.

Is your writing opening – or closing – doors to your impact work?

The Ellwords team in a meeting around a timber table. From left to right, Kylie Howard, Lee Ellwood, Sally Eadie and Penny Hayes.
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Small team, big difference: how freelance collectives benefit your communication

When you’re outsourcing writing and editing, hiring a group-structured freelance collective can be a particularly smart choice.

Reading time: 2 minutes | By Lee Ellwood

Outsourcing the editing and writing tasks in your communications plan is smart and efficient. When deciding which freelancer to book, consider the advantages of a collective or group operation.

Many communications freelancers offer their services in a formal or informal partnership with colleagues who have complementary skills. This is a huge plus for overloaded people in communications, marketing, PR, research and reporting roles.

Why? Because collectives and groups bring you maximum availability, diverse technical skills, extra flexibility and optimum reliability—everything you need to support your upcoming campaign or deadline with good, effective writing.

The benefits of freelance collectives

  • Our group structure brings together writers and editors with different backgrounds, experiences and specialised skill sets.
    This means extra creativity, broader perspectives and more valuable input, leaving your content richer, higher quality and appropriately voiced for your sector.
  • Working as a group maximises our availability, so your project is more likely to get a ‘yes!’ from us.
    The ability to co-work simultaneously (using collaboration tools like OneDrive and Teams) often means we can meet tight deadlines.
  • Your project is less likely to encounter delays due to illness, leave or workload bottlenecks, because our group always has a back-up writer or editor.
    If one editor or writer is called away unexpectedly, another can pick up the work, supported by our internal collaboration processes such as Teams and Asana.
  • Having multiple sets of eyes on board means your written communication receives even more thorough editing, proofreading and fact-checking.
    At EllWords, for example, we cross-review each other’s work to catch errors and inconsistencies and ensure high quality writing for our clients.
  • Working collectively allows for brainstorming, creative problem-solving and sharing of specialist skills and industry knowledge.
    We can draw on our whole group membership to flexibly and creatively meet your communication needs.
  • As a group with an established cross-sector network, we can readily scale up or down to suit your requirements for any particular project.
    The combination of all our separate professional networks means you have access to a very wide resource base.
  • Being a collective service means that more complex projects can be shared to leverage members’ individual strengths.
    We can allocate different stages of your project to the best editor or writer for that type of task (think: research, evaluation, fact-checking, copywriting or editing). As well as delivering quality output, this keeps projects on the move and minimises bottlenecks in peak periods.

EllWords—your freelance collective

Choosing a collective gets you a higher and more reliable level of service with more expertise, broader availability, collaborative quality control, strong and diverse networks, and the flexibility to meet a wide range of communications needs.

EllWords is a case in point. Everyone in our group is an established solo freelance editor and/or writer, but pooling our skill sets, professional backgrounds, creative perspectives and availability translates into successful outcomes for our clients. Back that up with our commitment to your communication goals, and it’s a sure-fire recipe for success.

Get in touch today to find out how the EllWords ‘good writing’ group can support your communication, stress-free.

An editor's hands are typing on a laptop, with a notebook, pen and coffee cup lying nearby.
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5 reasons why ‘good writing’ matters

As professional writers and editors, we know that good writing matters to any purpose-led or socially focused organisation. But if you’re a time-poor, overloaded communications officer, you may not have had time to think much about it.

Reading time: 4.5 minutes | By Lee Ellwood | Edited by Penny Hayes

Why does ‘good writing’ matter, and what value does it offer your purpose-led organisation? What does 'good writing' actually mean?

In high school English class, it probably meant perfect grammar, vivid adjectives and beautifully crafted sentences. In business, those things can help create good writing, sure—but let’s dig deeper.

‘Good writing’ means effective writing

Anything written is written for a purpose. Whether it’s a novel, a shopping list, a business report or website copy, you always have a reason for writing it.

Good writing means effective writing: it achieves your purpose.

And effective writing maximises opportunities.

Everything you write for your organisation is an opportunity to get people on board with your purpose: to educate them, make them aware, inform them, update them, persuade them.

Effective writing allows you to make the most of those opportunities to engage your audience. It drives clarity, trust, engagement and results.

Those factors underpin the success of your communication strategy. You can have a brilliant strategy, but without effective writing, your tactics won’t carry it out.

Writing effectively takes time and skill, but it’s a worthwhile investment. Here’s why.

1. Good writing matters for efficiency

Good writing is clear—it ensures your message is quick to spot, easy to understand and confusion-free. Clarity is so important now because people are overwhelmed with information and skim content more than they read it. Clear writing makes it easy for them to get your point as they zoom past, thus increasing your chances they’ll stop and read more.

Clarity also reduces misunderstandings or mistakes that can cost your organisation time and money.

  • A poorly written webpage can increase your phone enquiries and take up more of your time.
  • Unclear procedures are inefficient, generating multiple revisions and more back-and-forth among your staff.

Here's a professional writing tip: follow plain English principles to maximise clarity. It reduces confusion for the reader and inefficiency for you. It also ensures your content is more widely accessible, which enhances your image as a relatable, client-focused and approachable organisation.

2. Good writing builds trust and credibility

For organisations trying to change people’s lives for the better, earning trust is vital. If people trust you, they’re more likely to come on board with you. Polished, professional and brand-aligned content signals credibility to your audience, and credibility builds trust.

You also need to convey expertise and reliability to succeed in influencing, persuading and engaging people. Good writing makes this possible.

  • Well-crafted storytelling allows you to share valuable insights and solutions.
  • Thoughtful writing can clearly and convincingly demonstrate a deep understanding of your chosen cause or issue.
  • Writing that is factually accurate, direct and honest will position you as committed, empathetic and authoritative in your sector.

But poor writing will undermine your expertise and credibility. If you can’t make your organisation sound interesting, committed and motivated, why should anyone listen to you?

3. Good writing connects and engages

Writing well makes people feel heard and understood. If you speak directly to your audience’s beliefs, circumstances and concerns, it creates connection, and that drives action.

  • Writing with empathy shows you care about your cause.
  • Acknowledging your audience’s pain points and offering valid solutions demonstrates that you know and understand them.
  • Writing inclusively tells people you respect diversity.

Let your writing show that you’re ‘on the same team’ as your audience, and it will help you build relationships and increase loyalty.

4. Good writing gets results

Ultimately, effective writing delivers the results you’re after. Whether you’re crafting web copy to convert visitors into participants or preparing a grant application to secure funding, the quality of your writing can make or break the outcome.

Why? Because writing is effective when it's focused on the purpose you want to achieve and the interests and needs of your target audience. Without taking those two things into account when you write, your message won’t engage the people you want to hook.

  • Writing a grant application? Write in a way that makes it easier for the assessors to see why your organisation deserves the funding.
  • Pulling together the annual report? Highlight what your stakeholders will most want to know about what you’ve achieved. Make it easy for them to find what they’re looking for and quickly grasp the key points.

Good writing adapts to suit the context, whether formal, technical or conversational, by tailoring its tone, style and language level appropriately.

Two people stand a metre apart texting each other. They both wear blue shirts and reading glasses. The girl's text message says 'Where are you?'. The boy's text message says 'I am here!'
Is effective communication really so hard?

5. Good writing attracts attention

It’s a ‘look at me’ world. Everyone is vying for attention and churning out content, which means much of it is poor quality—written fast and thrown into the void of the interwebs.

That’s why writing well can help you stand out.

  • High-quality content with well-expressed insights attracts readers. (Not everyone wants funny cat videos all the time.)
  • Quality writing also keeps readers engaged longer, which boosts metrics like time-on-page or click-through rates.
  • Search engines may reward well-written content with higher rankings in search results—a critical factor for driving organic traffic to websites.

It’s tempting to take the quick and easy route, thinking content quality doesn’t matter. But if your organisation invests in high-quality, professional writing for your content strategy, you position yourself ahead of other organisations that settle for mush.

Good writing matters to your organisation

Writing that's effective adds value to every communications tactic. From building people’s trust and confidence to saving you money and driving results, good writing matters because it's an essential tool for achieving your organisation’s goals. And it's so easy to achieve.

In our experience, many comms officers are under-resourced, on a deadline or stretched thin. If that’s you, consider outsourcing the writing. You’ll then be free to drive your strategy, lead your team, schedule your media and keep the bigger picture moving.

At EllWords, we specialise in effective writing for organisations making a difference, and we believe it can be transformational. We offer professional editing that makes your impact reports stand out and all kinds of writing to help you change the world.

If you’re ready to elevate your communications with clear, engaging words that deliver real benefits, let’s talk!