We have been trusted by many of Finland’s most successful B2B companies to communicate their thought leadership and expertise through engaging and informative marketing content.
What do you need?
Whatever form your message takes we can help with writing, editing, proofreading or graphic design.
Articles and blogs
Insightful storytelling that gives your experts a voice.
White papers
Long-form educational content that gets your thought leadership across.
Employer branding
Showcase your unique company culture and attract top employee talent.
Customer reference cases
Success stories that build trust and demonstrate the benefits your company brings.
Press releases
Turn important company news into industry headlines.
Social media posts
Bite-sized messages that make you stop scrolling and start reading.
Website copy
Clear, compelling copy that converts visitors into customers.
Email campaigns
Generate leads and promote key messages and events with target-led campaigns.
Presentations
Engaging slides with well-crafted copy that get your message across.
Leaflets and brochures
Informative takeaways that clearly share the benefits of your solutions and services.
It’s nice to meet you!
Founded in 2006, Tenfour is Finland’s original B2B copywriting company. Copy is everything to us – it’s not just an add-on for a bigger project; it’s the beating heart of what we do.
We’re a friendly team of in-house native English copywriters, supported by a wider network of trusted freelance writers and graphic designers. Being a smaller agency has big benefits – you’ll be working directly with one of our writers to make sure your message is understood clearly and delivered effectively.
Want to know more?
We’ve put together the answers to some of the questions we’re most often asked. Got a different question? Get in touch!
What are the benefits of using a small agency?
It’s easy to have your head turned by some of the large, well-known agencies out there. After all, they can be quite impressive. But when they’ve sold you a new brand identity or complete website redesign, the copy they add to the project can sometimes be lacking a certain something. Almost as if your message got lost in translation.
On the other hand, when you get your copy from a smaller agency like Tenfour you get several big benefits:
- Direct communication with experts
In a big agency your message might be passed though layers of account managers and project leads. At Tenfour you’re working directly with the copywriter responsible for your project. - Decades of experience
No matter which copywriter you work with, we all have at least 20 years’ experience in crafting compelling copy for Finland’s top companies and thought leaders. - A genuine partnership
Many of our customers have worked with us for over a decade. We dedicate our time and energy to understanding your business, customers and goals. This close collaboration results in content that will truly connect with your target market. We pride ourselves on being quick to understand complex topics to get your message across. - Agile is our middle name
We can react quickly when you want something fast. Tell us what you need and when and we’ll see what we can do. We work iteratively so we can always tweak and refine until you’re happy. - At least two pairs of eyes
While you’ll always be working primarily with one named copywriter, everything we write is reviewed by another expert writer. And that’s not just crossing the Ts and dotting the Is – we challenge each other to improve our copy in every draft we write. - An approachable, friendly face
The Tenfour team has been writing copy together for nearly two decades – testament to the fact we’re a friendly, down-to-earth bunch. Customers have told us they appreciate how easy and understanding we are to work with, something that can make difficult projects much easier all round.
In short, working with a small copywriting agency like Tenfour provides a level of service and collaboration that’s hard to match. Want to give us a try? Get in touch and see what we can do for you.
What makes a good brief?
It might surprise you to know that we have written articles, presentations and case studies based on nothing more than a single vague sentence. We always try to help where we can!
But working based on nothing takes us far longer and it doesn’t always have the best results. If you want the best possible copy in the shortest possible timeframe, it’s always worth putting the time into producing a good brief.
But what makes a good brief? Here are the seven key things to tell us:
- Who are we talking to?
Knowing if your target audience is CEOs or engineers helps us craft the message accordingly. Tone will always vary depending on the audience, but sometimes length and structure does too. - What are your goals?
Are you trying to share information or drive engagement? What will the call to action be? What is the ideal next step for the reader? - What do you want to say?
This is the beef of the brief – the more detail you can give us here the better. That could be a proposed structure if you have it, or simply key points you want mentioned. - Where can we find more information?
It’s great if you can share relevant material that will help us write the piece. Links to where we can find information work too, or competitor benchmarks. We’re also more than happy to interview one of your experts to find out what we need. - What’s your brand voice?
If you have tone of voice or style guidelines, please share them with us so we can make sure we’re consistent. Make sure you tell us if you’d prefer UK or US English too. - How long should it be?
Let us know if you have an ideal word count – or any fixed maximum character lengths. We can work within any constraints as long as we know they’re there! - When do you need it?
If possible, allow plenty of time for writing, in-house review and commenting rounds. That said, if you need work urgently let us know and we’ll try our best to help! Either way, knowing the deadline helps everyone plan their time effectively and avoid last-minute stress.
Spending time writing a brief will help you crystallise your thoughts so you know exactly what you’re after. This will help us make sure you get the best possible results. Want to know more? Get in touch and we’ll do what we can to help.
Is using AI for marketing content a good idea?
With the rise of ChatGPT and other generative AI services, more and more people are asking us about using AI to create content. Is it a good idea? Can you really rely on generative AI to make content? Here’s what you need to know.
The good: There are some positive sides to using AI. To start with, AI can quickly generate text, helping give you ideas when you’re staring at a blank document. AI is especially good at reducing – for example, taking a long text and summarising it. AI can also be useful for brainstorming.
The bad: AI is not very creative. If you ask it to write an article about a B2B topic, chances are the first sentence will be something like this: “In today’s competitive business environment…”
The problem is that, while AI might seem intelligent, it actually has no idea what it’s saying. AI relies on statistics – it essentially is very good at guessing what words go together. This means you end up with very similar content. Generative AI also tends to create text with a lot of bullet lists to the point where you don’t have an article, just a collection of facts (which may not all be true, as we cover in the next point).
The ugly: Put simply, AI sometimes just makes things up completely. It’s called “confabulation” or “hallucination” by people in the AI field – probably because calling it “lying” makes the product sound bad. This means all facts need to checked when you’re using generative AI.
So on balance, what’s our recommendation about AI? Well, we’re not against AI in principle. But if you use it, the best use is summarising and brainstorming. If you produce a blog or article with AI, we really recommend that it’s rewritten by a real human being to add interest, avoid cliches and ensure accuracy.
After all, only a person knows how to create effective human-to-human communication that meets your marketing goals. When it comes down to it, an AI is just guessing – and your important content deserves better than that.
Want to work together to craft something compelling? Get in touch today.
Why do you work iteratively?
We love it when we get it right first time, but there’s almost always room for improvement. We learn quickly, but you are the expert in your business. Because of this, a collaborative approach usually gets the best results.
Here’s how it works:
- We produce a draft based on your brief and supplied material. If necessary, we can also interview one of your experts or do our own research.
- Another experienced writer will review and then we’ll send it to you for comment.
- You let us know how we can improve the text and we update accordingly.
- Want a few more things tweaked? No problem, we’ll keep refining the draft until you’re happy.
There you have it. By working iteratively rather than aiming for perfection in a single draft we achieve better results more quickly – and a better working relationship with our customers. It’s why many of our customers have stuck with us for years.
Want to experience it for yourself? Get in touch and we’ll get started.
How can I get the most benefit from my content pieces?
When you’ve put the time, effort and budget into a content piece, especially something long-form like a white paper, you want to get the most bang for your buck.
There are several ways to do this. Let’s take the white paper example – here are just a few things we can do to help:
- Turn it into a series of blogs or articles
We can extract key points and turn them into engaging posts. Each one can link to the original white paper, driving traffic and keeping it relevant for longer. - Develop an email series
An email series can take your contacts on a journey that distils bite-sized insights from the white paper and inspires them to download. - Create social media posts
We can pull compelling quotes, facts, figures and key takeaways from the white paper and turn them into social media posts – keeping interest in your topic high.
Want more ideas or have suggestions of your own you’d like us to try? Get in touch and let’s work together.
Why should I choose Tenfour instead of a freelancer?
When you need copy there’s no shortage of options available, from large agencies (with accompanying large price tags) to solo copywriters with varying degrees of experience.
If you’re just looking for copy and you don’t have limitless budget, you’ve probably already ruled out the big agencies. So now you have a choice: hire a freelancer or work with a small agency like Tenfour. Which do you choose?
Here’s why Tenfour is the smarter choice.
- You get a whole team of experts
Freelancers are juggling multiple clients, deadlines and responsibilities, whereas the copywriters at Tenfour work closely together to give you the benefit of a whole team. It also means that your work won’t be delayed by sickness or holidays – there’s always another writer that knows your business and can step in.
- There’s always another pair of eyes
We have a tried and trusted peer review system where every piece of work is reviewed by another writer. This irons out any errors and helps tweak sentences and structure to be as good as it can be. That’s something freelancers just can’t offer – and means we often reach your final draft faster.
- You get decades (upon decades) of experience
Between us we have nearly a century of writing experience – some of which almost certainly covers your industry. We’ve also worked together for years, so our collaboration skills are top-notch.
- We’re in many company systems already
Because we’ve worked with so many of Finland’s biggest companies, there’s a chance we’re already in your procurement systems. This makes it easier to get started quickly when you choose us for your project.
- You get access to a whole support network
While we have a close-knit team of in-house copywriters, we also have a trusted network of freelance support, including graphic designers, translators and more writers. If at any point your project needs to scale up or you want to add a little something extra – we’ve got your back!
Ready to get started with one of our team? Get in touch and let’s talk.
Will you challenge us when needed?
We pride ourselves on delivering high-quality copy that suits its intended purpose. Our first draft is prepared, reviewed by another experienced writer, then sent to you for feedback. Your feedback is then used to update the draft into what is hopefully the perfect piece.
But what happens when we feel that the feedback won’t improve the work? Most feedback we receive is very smart and astute, and obviously our clients know their business better than anyone. We always listen to what has been suggested and are never precious about making changes to our work. That said, if we decide a suggested change is detrimental to your piece we’ll tell you, and it’s likely to be for one of these reasons:
- You can’t English like that
Occasionally we get asked to make changes that are just bad English – if we can see that the thrust of the change is something else we’ll edit accordingly, but otherwise we’ll drop in a comment explaining why it’s incorrect and leave it as it was. If you’d like further explanation, don’t hesitate to ask! We’re always happy to explain English grammar and sentence structure – it’s our bread and butter.
- It’s just too much information
Stuffing your sentences with extra words and your paragraphs with added detail often weakens the impact and dilutes your message. You know best what you need to include, but if we feel something isn’t necessary and it weakens your message, we’ll advise you to leave it out. Less is often more if you want your text to be read and remembered.
- Words have power and we know how to wield them
We don’t like to pull rank, but we know you’re hiring professional writers for a reason. If your change will make the writing less effective, we’ll tell you. Usually we can explain exactly why, but every so often it’s just down to the feel of the language – we know which words sound right, and how seemingly small changes can destroy the sentence flow.
Trust us. According to our customers, our confidence to say “no” when necessary is one of the things they value most about working with us. We want you to be happy, and we know you’ll be happiest if the final piece is as good as it can possibly be – the collaborative result of your business expertise and our copywriting craftsmanship.
Want to collaborate? Let’s partner up on your next project.
How do you keep your quality so high?
When we’re asked by customers what we do to keep our quality so high, there’s a short answer and a longer answer.
The short answer? We care. Truly. Possibly more than we should at times! Whatever text we’re working on gets under our skin and we work hard to make sure every sentence hits its mark.
The longer answer? On top of the fact we care passionately about quality, we reckon there are three main factors:
- We have lots of experience
Our team is made up of seasoned copywriters with nearly a century of industry experience between us. This means we know many of Finland’s most important industries as if we’ve worked in them ourselves – and we can pick up new industries and technical knowledge surprisingly quickly.
- Our tried and tested peer review process
Everything we write is reviewed by another experienced copywriter who checks the details against the brief and offers suggestions for improvement. This often means we get to the final draft quicker than our competitors – it definitely leads to the best possible result.
- We work with you, not for you
Want to experience our high quality for yourself? Get in touch and we’ll do our best to exceed your expectations every time.
As a bonus, here are some common language queries you might be wondering about:
How should I structure my writing?
“Nobody reads the second paragraph!” claimed Walter Matthau in the classic 1974 film “The Front Page”. It’s advice worth bearing in mind. Although storytelling is important even in business writing, there’s an important caveat: don’t bury your message.
Save twists in the tale for thrillers, and long introductions for academic essays: structure your business writing to have the most important point first.
Most people won’t read everything you write. Perhaps they’ll get through the first half, maybe just the first 10%. In fact, studies consistently show that on average people will spend less than a minute reading an online article. Don’t let them get away before they know what you have to say!
In press releases, make sure your key points can be understood from the headline and the first paragraph. The rest of the information can be filled in underneath, in order of importance.
To keep people reading your articles it’s good practice to make your message understandable from the subheaders alone. You should also use
- bullet points where relevant,
- short paragraphs, and
- a clear, easy-to-understand structure.
This makes the article as easy as possible to read – helping you hold short attention spans for longer.
Or if you prefer to leave it to the experts – get in touch!
Should I use serial commas?
I dedicate this post to my colleagues, Stephen King and Margaret Atwood.
The serial or Oxford comma is often misunderstood even by native speakers. Some love a comma before the final conjugation in a list of three or more items, some seem to irrationally hate it.
Take this sentence describing my breakfast:
With the serial comma: I had eggs, toast, and orange juice
Without the serial comma: I had eggs, toast and orange juice
Both are easy enough to understand – no confusion there. But look at the dedication above. Do we number Stephen King and Margaret Atwood amongst our excellent writers at Tenfour? Without the serial comma it’s unclear.
With the serial comma – I dedicate this post to my colleagues, Stephen King, and Margaret Atwood – it is explicit that Stephen and Margaret (we’re on first name terms, natch) are sadly not part of our copy team.
So should you use the serial comma in your writing?
Generally yes for US English and no for British English. There are exceptions to this rule – some style guides go against the local consensus on both sides of the Atlantic and sometimes, as above, it’s necessary to use it or not for reasons of clarity.
Want to leave the grammar knowledge to us? Get in touch and tell us what you need.
Do you have any tips for improving readability?
Your business is probably complicated. Very complicated. Does that mean your copy should be too? Of course not. You want your readers to understand your message as easily as a friend’s Instagram post about their dinner. Better yet, you want them to want to read more from you in the future. You need good readability.
Readability is the ease with which a reader can understand a given text. It’s often hard to judge the readability of your own text – after all, you know what point you’re trying to make. But would an intelligent stranger from a different field quickly understand your point? Would your grandmother? Would someone with English as a second language?
It’s not about dumbing down the way you write, it’s about making it read well to everyone. Having an outsider do an audit of your website is a really good way to catch all the problems you can’t see, improving the copy throughout.
We have several tricks to quickly improve the readability of your copy. Here are some of them to try out for yourself.
Seven tricks to instantly improve your readability
- Write like you speak
Why? Because you’re more likely to connect with your readers, and less likely to make mistakes. Often people lean towards formal cliché-ridden business English, which can be both off-putting and harder to understand. That said, remember your readers aren’t all exactly like you – avoid slang and local references so you don’t alienate those who won’t understand.
- Reduce or eliminate jargon
Whether it’s an acronym you use every day in your field, or some industry-specific jargon, think carefully how it should be used in your text. Will everyone in your target audience understand, or are you just assuming they will?
- Simplify your language
Don’t “utilise” if you can “use”, and never “facilitate” if you can “help” instead. People often read a page as if they’re reading aloud in their head – if you use difficult words and clichéd phrases it’s a harder, slower read.
- Don’t signpost what you’re about to say, just say it
Don’t say “Next, let’s talk about X, Y, Z”, just talk about it!
“Next, let’s talk about” is a simple example of what’s called ‘signposting’. While signposting language can help guide the reader through your writing, if your writing is clear enough explicit signposting often isn’t necessary. And overusing signposting can be detrimental to the quality of your content, making it too wordy, harder to navigate – or even patronising.
Try not to waste words on something irrelevant. Have a structure and keep to it – if your story moves logically from step to step you shouldn’t need to signpost it.
- Rewrite passive sentences to make them active
Some passive sentences are fine, but active sentences will improve your readability every time. For example:
Passive: The issue was fixed in under an hour by our team.
Active: Our team fixed the issue in under an hour.
The active version is shorter, clearer and easier to read and understand.
- Use “you” and “we”
It will establish a connection with your reader and make your writing flow better. Compare “customers can choose from red or black ink” with “you can choose from red or black ink”. Which one speaks to you?
- Use shorter sentences
Keep sentences short and make sure they can all be read aloud without running out of breath. Long sentences can often be split into two (or more!) sentences, making them easier to read and your message stronger.
Need more help? Get in touch and we’ll give you a hand.
How can I make my writing more understandable?
When you work with words, KISS – or “Keep It Simple, Stupid” – is a great rule to live by. Turning the complex into the simple is a big part of B2B copywriting. At Tenfour, we love being presented with a long, complicated text, often riddled with technical and insider terms, and turning it into something simpler. Something anyone could understand.
And the more complicated the subject matter, the more important it is to make sure that the words used aren’t a barrier to the message that’s being communicated. It’s not dumbing down – simplicity is an art. Short words are often better than long, and everyday words are always a better choice than jargon.
Want to make your writing more understandable? Start by losing unnecessary adjectives and getting rid of any filler or repetition – it’s not always easy, but you’ll find your message is understood far better without the added weight.
Use bullet points to get information across without a large expanse of text. See how they make the rest of our tips stand out?
- Keep your sentences short: an average of 15 to 20 words is ideal, but shorter is often better.
- That said, don’t keep every sentence the same sort of length – variety will make your writing more interesting to read. Mix it up!
- Be clear and don’t try to be clever. Think how you would say it out loud to a friend, then write as if you’re talking to your reader.
- Stick to one thought per sentence. If there’s more than one main idea, split it up.
- Use the active voice, unless there’s a good reason to choose the passive. “Tenfour will design your brochure” is stronger, shorter and easier to read than “Your brochure will be designed by Tenfour”.
Copy – especially B2B copy – shouldn’t be intimidating. Keep it simple and your readers will thank you.
Or would you rather leave it to the experts? Get and touch and tell us what you need.