Being a good writer is a rare talent, but the most versatile skill in today’s job market. If you have good writing skills, you can work in most any industry. Every business needs to market itself with articles, advertisements and good copy. Look out mom and dad, that English major may actually come in handy. But just in case you didn’t study English in college, here are the three best writing tips:

Word economy—A good writer uses as few words as possible. When we write, we have a tendency to be redundant or use unnecessary words. Have a second pair of eyes look over your writing before you publish it. Make sure they eliminate any redundancy.

Validate your claims—It is incredibly important to backup your claims to the customer. When saying, “we’re the best in the industry” validate it with statistics or testimonials. Why is your business “the number one place to shop?” Always substantiate your claims.

Use active voice—We have been taught to use the passive voice and, therefore, seem insecure about our writing. When speaking to your customers, be confident and write in active voice. For example, active voice is: “the dog bit the postman,” and passive voice is: “the postman was bitten by the dog.”