Sep. 17, 2009 at 4:11pm

Real. Readable. Writing

Posted by Shari Campbell in Advertising, Measurement, Planning and Strategy
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I dropped my husband off at the airport this morning at 3:30 a.m., and all the caffeine in the world won’t keep me buzzing.

But before I nod off, a couple random learnings for your readers so they won't nod off next time they read something you write.

1. How do you make your copy more readable?

Limit your paragraphs to three sentences or fewer. Aim for 14 words or less in each sentence. Write in an active voice.

If you don’t trust me (or Ann Wiley ) on this one, take note. The Poynter Institute and Newspaper Association of America , mindful of their dwindling circulation numbers, have piles of research to back this claim. My favorite example: they analyzed readers wearing goggles that track where their eye goes on a page.

The bottom line: it doesn’t matter whether you’re writing to physicians or cafeteria workers—readable copy is, well, read more.

2. How do you promote the better heart program?

It’s in the numbers, too. Got into a great discussion today with one of our art directors about using numbers in ads. He thinks we use them too much. I think he has a point.

Yet when we used numbers in recent ads to demonstrate experience in cardiac care—and informally tested the claim on consumers 50 or older—the results spoke volumes: the audience understood the message and it was meaningful.

Experience counts. That was the ad’s key message. Two words. Real simple.

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