Regardless of whether you are writing business letters, promotional or collateral materials, or are writing for websites, blogs, twitters or any other format where words are essential, there are basic principles about writing by which you should abide.
1. Keep your message crystal clear, and do so quickly.
One of my clients used to review about 80 funding requests for technological innovations submitted weekly to the Ministry of Science. Her rule of thumb? "If the individual could not state his vision, intended market and his needs in less than 5 minutes, he was off my list."
Touche! Good text must clearly, potently express the vision in but a few seconds. That’s all the time the average reader will take. (Know how many seconds the average reader remains on a single screen? Contact me to get the answer.)
2. One message in one communication. Anything more confuses the reader. And, readers who are confused will cease reading. They’ll stop and move onto the next item that is of interest to them.
3. Length is not the issue. Direct mail copywriters claim that the "more you tell, the more you sell." What they’re saying is that the value of the message (packed with benefits) is the determining factor for greater readability rather than the length. With that said, good writers also realize that the reader’s time is valuable. Personally, I review my copy frequently, seeking ways to edit down text — ensuring that I have not sacrificed, but rather have enhanced the message. A good writer ‘likes’ his/her text, but should not ‘love’ it too much. When you love your text too much, you are less likely to let go of it.
4. Consistency. Text must be uniform. If you’re writing in a certain style, then stick with it throughout. One voice for one message. Learn what your voice is, and stay true to it.
5. Stay positive. It’s the old adage at play: Is the glass half full or half empty? Flip your sentences to state the positives.
6. Remember what you want. Tell the reader exactly what you want — sometimes more than once is fine.
7. "It’s a banana." Rosser Reeves, one of the most famous copywriters of all times, writes in his book, "Reality in Advertising" "if it’s a banana call it a banana and not a long, yellow fruit." Don’t be so quick to search the Thesaurus. People respond faster and more willingly to text they understand, and not words that they don’t, or words or phrases make them feel "less intelligent".
8. Learn the nomenclature. Every business has nomenclature or a lexicon that is unique to that industry. Learn it, respect it, and use it.
9. Making text more readable. Sure pictures and colors, using bold and italic typeface are important. But just as important is the use of white space and basic punctuation. Keep your paragraphs short. If you want to emphasize a specific point, then separate it from the entire flow of text. I have often used just one word as a paragraph with a punctuating it with a question mark or even exclamation point. That will catch the reader’s attention faster than anything else. And, I also leave extra white space between paragraphs which increases readability.
10. Make your reader feel smart. Tell your reader something he/she doesn’t know. Add facts or information that might be of interest. People like to learn something new every day.
11. Treat readers with respect. Never speak down to your readers. Tell the truth at all times. If your product cannot do something, then say so. If there has been a glitch in your service, then own up.
To contact Ilene Bloch-Levy for a free, confidential consultation: il*******@***********et.il