When Campus Progress ran “An Education in For-Profit Education,” Susie Cagle’s graphic story on education finance, the piece:

• Was featured on the front page of The Huffington Post
• Was picked up by LifeHacker
• Got more than 4,000 Facebook shares and likes
• Garnered more than 700 tweets
• Received more than 800 comments

The article remains one of Campus Progress’ most popular stories of all time.

NOW I SEE This graphic story on education finance remains one of Campus Progress' most popular stories of all time.

No wonder illustrated journalism has come of age, says Erin Polgreen, founder of Symbolia, a tablet magazine of illustrated journalism. She recently presented a News University webinar on the topic for the Poynter Institute.

Want to spread the word? Try graphic storytelling, aka illustrated journalism or comics journalism.

What is illustrated journalism?

Illustrated journalism integrates comics and hand illustration with traditional journalism, Polgreen says.

SHOW ME A STORY Full-length graphic novels, like Art Spiegelman's Maus, gave illustrated journalism a boost.

The form goes back to the days of Japanese scrolls, stained glass windows, Trajan’s Column, the Bayeaux Tapestry and Egyptian wall paintings of 1300 BC.

But illustrated journalism has gotten a boost in recent years from Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus and Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis — long-form graphic nonfiction stories about the Holocaust and Iran.

Now graphic storytelling is hot.

Why illustrated journalism?

Illustrated journalism, Polgreen says, helps you:

Get read. The Rumpus published “Meanwhile: The San Francisco Public Library,” Wendy MacNaughton’s graphic story about the San Francisco Public Library, on a Friday. Within two days, it had brought in 18,000 visitors.

“It can almost trick people into reading about something that they wouldn’t normally read,” says Sarah Glidden, author of the graphic novel “How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less.” “Iraqi refugees are the most unsexy thing, but if you make a comic that’s pretty, people will read it … become connected to it and maybe be engaged on a deeper level in the future.”

Maus creator Spiegelman agrees.

“Comics are for re-reading, not reading,” he says. “They’re harder not to read.”

Want to increase readership and traffic? Try comics journalism.

Go viral. Within two days, The Rumpus library story had received 500 tweets and 2,500 Facebook “likes.”

One reason: Readers are more likely to share multimedia than text-only pieces.

Want your story to get shared on social sites like Facebook, Pinterest and Tumblr? Make it a graphic story.

Get published. The San Francisco mayor’s office later published the Rumpus piece as a graphic novel.

Graphic stories are more likely to get coverage than plain old text. That’s because images dictate coverage for 41% of journalists. (And they’re important to 90%.) As PR pros work to include more visuals in their releases, pitches and posts, graphic stories make a refreshing alternative to boring talking-head videos.

Generate reader response. After Jen Sorenson developed a graphic story on Whitefish, Mont., for The Oregonian, she says, “I must have heard from every single person from Montana who had ever relocated to Oregon, some of whom had been students of the park ranger I’d included in the comic.”

Want to start a conversation? Try graphic storytelling.

Engage readers. Illustrated journalism is immersive, experiential and easy to read, Polgreen says. It humanizes complicated stories and says more in one image than an essay could in 10,000 words.

“Comics journalism narratives are able to translate a depth of empathy and emotion that traditional news typically can’t (or won’t),” says Darryl Holliday, author of the illustrated journalism piece “Wedlock: Love and Marriage at the Cook County Jail.”

Make the most of new media vehicles. Illustrated journalism looks great on tablets, Polgreen says. Check out 2010 Knight Fellow Dan Archer’s “The Honduran Coup: A Graphic History” — soon to be an iPad app.

THEY LIKE IT LIKE THAT Within two days of appearing in Rumpus, Wendy MacNaughton's graphic story "Meanwhile: The San Francisco Public Library" received 18,000 visitors, 500 tweets and 2,500 Facebook likes.

Give illustrated journalism a go.

Illustrated journalism, Polgreen says, is fresh and engaging, works with many genres and is being used successfully by major media outlets.

Why not get your story out with graphic storytelling?

Communicate With Comics.

Ready to try illustrated journalism for your communications?

I’ve recently teamed up with Bill Wylie, former Marvel Comics illustrator, to help organizations tell their stories and sell their messages through graphic storytelling. Let me know if we can help you get your message across with a:

• Comic strip
• Comic story
• Comic book
• Graphic novel
• Cartoon
• Caricature
• Storyboard

Bill and I look forward to working with you to bring the power of words + pictures to your next campaign or communication.

Check out our new website, CommunicatingWithComics.com, to learn more ways to move people to act with visual storytelling.

DO YOU READ ME? To reach readers, focus on your readers' interests.

When I presented a writing workshop at FedEx a couple of months ago, diversity program manager Janas Jackson told me this story:

“At my previous company, the CEO would give quarterly ‘state of the business’ speeches to employees. At the end of each message, a Vietnamese employee who didn’t speak fluent English would always ask, ‘Does what you say mean “no more paycheck”?’”

Does what you say mean no more paycheck? That’s what readers want to know about the state of the business.

Want to reach your reader? Think like your reader. Then use the bait your readers like, not the bait you like.

Here are three more observations and insights I’ve stumbled across in the past few months about thinking like your reader.

1. Is it worth the effort?

Have we met? If so, you’ve probably heard me talk about Wilbur Schramm’s Fraction Of Selection model. Schramm’s model says that people decide whether to process information by weighing two elements:

expectation of reward
÷
effort required

What does that mean in layman’s terms? I often ask my writing workshop attendees. At a recent program for IABC North Carolina/Triangle, Allison Harmon Lane, External Communications, SAS Institute Inc., answered:

“Is the juice worth the squeeze?”

Ask yourself: Is the juice — the reward your readers get from your piece — worth the effort of reading it?

2. Avoid fake benefits.

But not all verbs are benefits. As you develop your message, avoid these two types of fake benefits:

‘Congratulations on choosing us.’ Instead of writing about how the readers’ life will be different, we’re really writing about how great we are:

• Rely on our 75 years of experience.
• Reap many rewards.
• Get XYZ feature.
• Value the attention we pay to detail.
• Appreciate our dedication to accuracy.
• Pat yourself on the back for choosing us.

‘Clean your face.’ These messages come off as benefits, because they’re verb-based. But instead of benefits, they’re actually tasks.

“Clean your face,” demands a hotel soap wrapper. No, YOU clean YOUR face! I want to respond.

BUT IS IT A BENEFIT? 'Clean your face' and 'Clean your body' are verb-based messages, but they're not benefits. Neither is 'Stop by our booth' or 'Register for our conference.'

You’re writing a “Clean your face” benefits every time you write a message like:

• Stop by our booth.
• Take our class.
• Register for our conference.

These are tasks. Instead, write about what your reader will get if she stops by your booth, takes your class or registers for your conference.

3. Write about the reader.

One way to get the reader’s attention: Write about the reader. Focus on the reader’s needs, and write in the second person, directly to “you.”

“You” has been a power tool for writers since 1934. That was the year Ralph Tyler and Edgar Dale had adults read passages about personal health taken from newspapers, magazines, textbooks and children’s health books. Then they gave the readers multiple-choice tests about what they’d read.

The researchers found that the more second-person pronouns — you’s — existed in the text, the higher readability soared. First-person pronouns (I, me, we, us) and third-person pronouns (she, her, he, him, it, they, them), on the other hand, reduced readability.

So focus on the reader. Readers don’t care about us and our stuff. They care about themselves and their needs.

Repeat after me: Your organization isn’t the topic. Your products and services aren’t the topic. The topic isn’t the topic. The reader is the topic.

Think Like a Reader.

Bottom line: If you want to reach your reader, you need to put yourself in your readers’ shoes. Or as Rebecca Kratzer, coordinator, Annual Giving, Geisinger Health Systems Foundation, says:

“Put yourself on the other side of the paper.”

Move your audience to act

Want to deliver copy that gets read?

• Get it off your desk: Invite Ann’s team to handle a persuasive writing or editing project.
• Polish staff skills: Bring Ann to your organization for a Think Like a Reader workshop.
• Boost your own abilities: Work with Ann to think like a reader in one-on-one writing coaching. Or find out about Ann’s next Think Like a Reader webinar.
• Learn more: Study Ann’s Think Like a Reader toolkit.
• Join the club: Get the whole story in the latest issue of Rev Up Readership. Find dozens of persuasive writing tipsheets at RevUpReadership.com.

___

Source: William H. DuBay, Unlocking Language (PDF), Impact Information, 2006

A “severe literacy deficit” haunts the world’s most developed countries. Between one-quarter and three-quarters of the world’s adults don’t have a “suitable minimum skill level” for coping with the demands of modern life and work.

LIGHT READING More than 15% of people living in most of the developed countries participating in a recent study had the lowest levels of prose literacy. Image courtesy of The Library of Congress

That’s according to the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), a large-scale cooperative effort by governments, national statistical agencies, research institutions and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The study included 20 countries, representing more than 50% of the world’s gross domestic product.

Three types of literacy

The study rates three types of literacy on a 500-point scale:

1. Prose literacy — the ability to understand and use information from linear copy, like editorials, news stories, brochures and instruction manuals. Average score across countries: 221 points (Level 1 of 5) to 301 points (Level 3).
2. Document literacy — the ability to locate and use information in nonlinear documents, including job applications, payroll forms, transportation schedules, maps, tables and charts. Average score across countries: 219 points (Level 1) to 306 points (Level 3).
3. Quantitative literacy — the ability to use numbers in printed materials. Tasks include balancing a checkbook, figuring out a tip, completing an order form or determining the amount of interest on a loan. Average score across countries: 209 points (Level 1) to 306 points (Level 3).

The results?

In 14 out of 20 countries, at least 15% of all adults have only rudimentary literacy skills, researchers say, making it hard for them to cope with the rising skill demands of the information age.

A world of pain

Prose literacy rates in 20 developed countries

VINCENTE CAN'T READ Sweden ranks highest and Chile lowest among 20 countries in prose literacy, or how well people can use linear text like articles. But all of these developed nations face a 'literary skills deficit.' Source: Organisation For Economic Co-Operation And Development's 'Final Report Of the International Adult Literacy Survey'

Lowest literacy levels. Chile had the lowest average on all three scales. But it’s not alone. Countries with more than 15% of people at the lowest levels of prose literacy include:

• Australia
• Belgium (Flanders)
• Canada
• Chile
• Czech Republic
• Hungary
• Ireland
• New Zealand
• Poland
• Portugal
• Slovenia
• Switzerland
• The United Kingdom
• The United States

Highest literacy levels. Sweden had the highest average on all three scales. All told, six countries have fewer than 15% of adults at the lowest level of prose literacy skills:

• Denmark
• Finland
• Germany
• The Netherlands
• Norway
• Sweden

But wipe that smirk off your face, Sweden. Even there, in the most literate country in the study, 8% of adults have “a severe literacy deficit.”

The study divides each type of literacy into five levels:

Level 1: very poor. A person with Level 1 literacy, for instance, might not be able to figure out how much medicine to take based on information printed on the package.

Level 2: weak. These folks may have developed coping skills to manage everyday literacy demands. But their low literacy level makes it hard for them to face new demands, such as learning new job skills.

Level 3: basic. These folks have achieved a “suitable minimum” of literacy for coping with the demands of everyday life and work. This is about the skill level required to finish secondary school and get into college.

Levels 4 and 5: good to excellent. These folks have high information-processing skills.

“Even the most economically advanced societies have a literacy skills deficit,” researchers say. “Between one-quarter and three-quarters of adults fail to attain literacy Level 3, considered by experts as a suitable minimum skill level for coping with the demands of modern life and work.”

___

Source: Organisation For Economic Co-Operation And Development, ‘Literacy in the Information Age: Final Report Of the International Adult Literacy Survey,’ OECD, 2000

Cut Through the Clutter

Want to make every piece you write easier for all of your readers to read and understand?

• Get it off your desk: Invite Ann’s team in to handle a special writing or editing project.
• Polish staff skills: Bring Ann to your organization for a Cut Through the Clutter workshop.
• Boost your own abilities: Work with Ann to cut the clutter in your own copy in one-on-one writing coaching. Or find out about Ann’s next Cut Through the Clutter webinar.
• Learn more: Read Ann’s Cut Through the Clutter manual. And get free writing tips every month when you subscribe to our e-zine.
• Join the club: Get the whole story in the latest issue of Rev Up Readership. And find dozens of Cut Through the Clutter tipsheets on RevUpReadership.com.

Public relations supervisors give entry-level PR pros a failing grade in writing. In response, the supervisors plan to lower their expectations.

OFF TO A BAD START Entry-level PR pros get a failing grade in writing — and their supervisors have decided to live with it.

That’s according to a 2010 study (PDF) by researchers at Michigan State University and Calgary’s Mount Royal University.

In the study, more than 950 members of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) gave PR pros with five or fewer years of experience failing grades in:

• Grammar: 1.96 in the United States/1.82 in Canada, with 1 being “incapable”
• Spelling and punctuation: 2.01 U.S./1.83 CA
• Ability to organize ideas: 1.95 U.S./1.94 Canada
• Using the style guide: 1.71 U.S./1.79 CA

Entry-level practitioners gave themselves a passing grade in all of these areas.

The kids are all right.

Writing tops the list of five essential skills needed in public relations, according to Dennis L. Wilcox and Glen T. Cameron. They’re the authors of Public Relations Strategies and Tactics, a best-selling first-year public relations textbook.

These young pros spend 7 to 9 hours a week writing news releases and backgrounders, 8 hours a week writing emails and 4.5 to 6 hours a week writing Web copy.

And still, their supervisors have decided to let their sad skills slide. More than half of the Canadian communicators surveyed and nearly half of the Americans said they’d lowered their expectations in response to failing writing skills.

Is there a better way?

How proficient are your entry-level writers?
How do you help bring them along?

Polish your writing skills

Want to help team members master the art of writing better, easier and faster?

• Polish staff skills: Bring Ann to your organization for a writing workshop.
• Boost your own abilities: Work with Ann to improve your writing in one-on-one writing coaching. Or find out about Ann’s next webinar.
• Learn more: Check out Ann’s Power Pack of learning tools.
• Join the club: Find hundreds of writing tipsheets at RevUpReadership.com.

Women in rural Cameroon took 90% of the pills they were prescribed after seeing illustrated instructions. Those who received only verbal instructions took just 78% of the pills they were supposed to take.

PICTURE THIS Comic strips like these help women in rural Cameroon comply with prescription instructions.

That’s according to a 1997 study by L.N. Ngoh and M.D. Shepherd.

For the study, the researchers gave instructions for taking their prescriptions to 78 nonliterate women in rural Cameroon:

• Half of the subjects received verbal instructions only.
• Half received the verbal instructions plus illustrations to take home showing when to take the medicines.

15% more compliant

Four days later, researchers visited the women’s homes and counted the remaining pills to see how well the patients had adhered to the instructions.

The patients who had the illustrated instructions had taken, on average, 90% of the pills they’d been prescribed. Those who’d received only the verbal instructions had taken only 78% of the prescribed pills. That’s an increase of 15%.

Think research on nonliterate women doesn’t pertain to you? You might reconsider: 14% of U.S. adults have ‘below basic’ literacy skills.

Communicate With Comics.

Ready to try graphic storytelling for your communications?

I’ve recently teamed up with Bill Wylie, former Marvel Comics illustrator, to help organizations tell their stories and sell their messages through graphic storytelling. Let me know if we can help you get your message across with a:

• Comic strip
• Comic story
• Comic book
• Graphic novel
• Cartoon
• Caricature
• Storyboard

Bill and I look forward to working with you to bring the power of words + pictures to your next campaign or communication.

Check out our new website, CommunicatingWithComics.com, to learn more ways to move people to act with visual storytelling.

___

Sources: L.N. Ngoh and M.D. Shepherd, “Design development, and evaluation of visual aids for communicating prescription drug instructions to non-literate patients in rural Cameroon,” Patient Education Counsel, 1997; Vol. 31, pp. 245-61.

Peter S. Houts, Cecilia C. Doak, Leonard G. Doak, Matthew J. Loscalzo, “The Role of Pictures in Improving Health Communication: A Review of Research on Attention, Comprehension, Recall, and Adherence” (PDF), Patient Education and Counseling, Vol. 61, 2006, pp.173-190

OVERCOME OVERLOAD Can you tell your story in exactly six words?

Last month, in honor of Students First’s six-word essay contest to best describe what it means to be a great teacher, we asked readers to send us their writing tips in six words.

Here are the best of the bunch.

“Dump. Cut. Cut. Cut. Cut. Enjoy.”

— Ned Mann, Media Relations professional
at Chubb Executive Risk Inc.

“Long, dangly sentences are usually DOA.”

— Anita Allen, Ascend contributor at Sabre

“DOA copy is Daunting, Overwritten, Agonizing.”

— Anita Allen

“Marshal muscular verbs. Launch soaring sentences.”

— Dana Van Allen, communications specialist at Siemens Milltronics

“Sometimes, grammar police: look away.”

— Alejandro (Alex) Morones, technical writer and editor
at the University of Texas at San Antonio

“To become a better writer, read.”

— Christel K. Hall, APR CBC,
principal at PRowrite Public Relations Services

“Writer’s block cured by writing anything.”

— Andy DiOrio, director of internal communications, AMC Theatres

“Just write; keep typing; edit later.”

— Laura Temple

“Edit. Edit again. Once more. Polished.”

— Jo Lynn Deal, business management consultant

“Tell a story, don’t report it.”

— Jef White, managing editor, National Business Media

“Mesmerize with moonlight thru looking glass.”

— Susan Parson, operations manager, Business Education Compact

One more tip …

One participant pandered to the judge. He knows the judge personally and correctly assumed that she’d appreciate the pandering:

“Favorite writing tip: Read Ann Wylie”

— Barry Schneider, product communications manager at Waddell & Reed

And the winner is …

My favorite tip, both for the topic (feature leads) and imagery, is:

“Make your lead really sing – loud.”

— Mary Lisa Russell, communication specialist
at Community Medical Centers

Mary, look for one of my favorite things from my new hometown — Portland, Ore. — in your mailbox soon. And thanks to everyone who played.

April writing challenge: Make Your Copy More Creative

My husband likes to quote “anonymous”:

“If a man speaks in the forest,
and no woman is there to hear him,
is he still wrong?”

For communicators, the question is a little different. David Murray, editor of ContentWise, says:

“If nobody hears your strategic messaging,
does it make a sound?”

The biggest risk in communications is not that we might offend someone or write something that’s eye-rollingly goofy. The biggest risk communicators face is that we never get heard at all.

One way to increase your chances of getting heard: Make Your Copy More Creative.

Creative copy encourages reading, increases understanding and helps people remember messages longer so they can act on them later.

For this month’s contest, reach into the archives and send me your favorite example of creative copy by April 15. Maybe you transformed a tired topic with wordplay, storytelling or metaphor. Maybe you used concrete details to show instead of tell, found a poster person to stand for your point or made your readers laugh out loud with humor.

Whatever your technique, I’ll publish the best examples in the May issue of Rev Up Readership and Wylie’s Writing Tips. And, if yours is the best of the best — you’ll not only have a piece that gets your message heard — you’ll also win a prize that makes a sound.

Make Your Copy More Creative

Want to communicate better with creative copy?

• Get it off your desk: Invite Ann’s team to handle a creative writing or editing project.
• Polish staff skills: Bring Ann to your organization for a Make Your Copy More Creative workshop.
• Boost your own abilities: Work with Ann to Make Your Copy More Creative in one-on-one writing coaching. Or find out about Ann’s next Art of the Storyteller webinar.
• Learn more: Read Ann’s learning tools on storytelling, metaphor and human interest.
• Join the club: Get the whole story in the latest issue of Rev Up Readership. Find dozens of creative copywriting tipsheets at RevUpReadership.com.

Plug in a chunk of copy, and STORYtoolz’s Readability Statistics will run it through seven readability indexes. The free online readability calculator also delivers a wealth of other readability information — 34 pieces of data in all, from your longest sentence length to the number of “to be” verbs.

From words per sentence to characters per word, you’ll find the most important data about your copy in this section of STORYtoolz.

Here, you’ll want to look at:

• Number of words. Longer stories lose readers faster, so the lower this number, the better.
• Characters per word. Word length is one of the top 2 predictors of readability. Hit an average of 5.0 or less on this measure.
• Syllables per word. Words of three or more syllables add to reading difficulty, according to the folks who created the Fog and SMOG indexes. Aim for an average of 2.0 or less.
• Words per sentence. Sentence length is one of the top 2 predictors of readability. Aim for an average of 14 or less, counsel the folks at the American Press Institute.
• Number of short sentences; number of long sentences. Vary your sentence length to build drama, create rhythm and make your points powerfully. Check these measures to make sure you’re not lulling your readers to sleep with monotonous sentence length.
• Sentences per paragraph. Readers skip long paragraphs. Keep this measure to under three for print, under two for Web copy.
• Number of questions. Questions may suggest reader involvement, right? Just make sure you’re not over-relying on question leads.
• Number of passive sentences. Passive voice is long, bureaucratic and weak. Aim for zero.
• Longest sentences. Readers get lost in long sentences. Keep it under 20.
• Shortest sentence. There’s no such thing as a sentence that’s too short. Agreed?

How can you use STORYtoolz to weigh, measure and improve your copy?

Cut Through the Clutter

Want to make every piece you write easier to read and understand?

• Get it off your desk: Invite Ann’s team in to handle a special writing or editing project.
• Polish staff skills: Bring Ann to your organization for a Cut Through the Clutter workshop.
• Boost your own abilities: Work with Ann to cut the clutter in your own copy in one-on-one writing coaching. Or find out about Ann’s next Cut Through the Clutter webinar.
• Learn more: Read Ann’s Cut Through the Clutter manual. And get free writing tips every month when you subscribe to our e-zine.
• Join the club: Get the whole story in the latest issue of Rev Up Readership. Find dozens of creative copywriting tipsheets at RevUpReadership.com.

Graphic storytelling not only gets people to pay attention to, understand and remember your message. It also changes audience behavior.

THE PICTURE MADE ME DO IT Comic strips and graphic novels help your readers pay attention to, understand, remember and act on your messages. Comic strip by Bill Wylie

In three studies, graphic storytelling helped communicators:

Build safety involvement.

Six out of 10 members of a building trade union pledged to get more active in union health and safety activities after reading a photo novel about asbestos hazards. Just four in 10 who read a booklet covering the same material thought they’d get more involved. That’s a 50% difference in involvement.

Make the medicine go down.

Women in rural Cameroon took 90% of the pills they were prescribed after seeing illustrated instructions. Those who received only verbal instructions took just 78% of the pills they were supposed to take. That’s an increase of 15%.

Get patients to take better care themselves.

More than three-quarters of those who’d received the cartoon instructions were compliant with daily wound care vs. about half of patients who’d received text-only instructions. That’s a difference of 43%.

How can you use comic strips, cartoons
and other graphic storytelling approaches to move people to act?

___

Sources: D.L. Roter, R.E. Rudd, J. Keogh, B. Robinson, “Worker produced health education material for the construction trades,” International Quarterly of Community Health Education, 1987, Vol. 7, pp. 109–21

C. Delp and J. Jones, “Communicating information to patients: the use of cartoon illustrations to improve comprehension of instructions,” Academy of Emergency Medicine, Vol. 3, 1996, pp. 264–70.

Peter S. Houts, Cecilia C. Doak, Leonard G. Doak, Matthew J. Loscalzo, “The Role of Pictures in Improving Health Communication: A Review of Research on Attention, Comprehension, Recall, and Adherence” (PDF), Patient Education and Counseling,Vol. 61, 2006, pp.173-190.

Communicate With Comics.

Ready to try graphic storytelling for your communications?

I’ve recently teamed up with Bill Wylie, former Marvel Comics illustrator, to help organizations tell their stories and sell their messages through graphic storytelling. Let me know if we can help you get your message across with a:

• Comic strip
• Comic story
• Comic book
• Graphic novel
• Cartoon
• Caricature
• Storyboard

Bill and I look forward to working with you to bring the power of words + pictures to your next campaign or communication.

Will they open your sales letter?

LOVE LETTER Will they like your offer enough to buy? Direct mail sales start with the envelope. Image by saxarocks

That depends on the:

1. Envelope

A No. 10 or monarch envelope look like personal or business correspondence. A 6-by-9-inch one stands out, but looks like junk mail. Envelopes with windows look more promotional than those without.

2. Teaser copy

Blind envelopes sometimes pull better than those with sales copy because they look personal instead of like junk mail.

But you might be able to pull recipients in with good teaser copy. Dramatic stories, strong benefits and a sense of urgency can grab attention. Nightingale Conant, for instance, starts — then interrupts — this dramatic story:

“The General figured he had nothing to lose.

“When the brash young man
who’d never held a pistol in his life
boasted that he could cut training time IN HALF
for the United States Army’s pistol-shooting program, the General smiled.

“When he vowed that he would raise its success rate at the same time, the General laughed.

“But when the man insisted that he wouldn’t take a penny in payment unless he was 100% successful, the General said, “You’re on!”

“Using the very same techniques that would make him a millionaire before his 29th birthday [continued inside]“

3. Address

Addresses that look typed or hand printed seem more like business or personal correspondence. Personalization looks personal; “Recipient” screams marketing.

4. Postage

Live stamps usually outperform envelopes with metered postage; metered postage pulls better than indicia. First class looks more like business or personal correspondence; third-class bulk rate looks more promotional.

Move your audience to act

Want to deliver copy that gets read?

• Get it off your desk: Invite Ann’s team to handle a persuasive writing or editing project.
• Polish staff skills: Bring Ann to your organization for a Think Like a Reader workshop.
• Boost your own abilities: Work with Ann to think like a reader in one-on-one writing coaching. Or find out about Ann’s next Think Like a Reader webinar.
• Learn more: Study Ann’s Think Like a Reader toolkit.
• Join the club: Find dozens of persuasive writing tipsheets at RevUpReadership.com.

Remember the old saw: “After you’ve written your first draft, rewrite it as if you have a rule that it can’t be printed until it’s cut by one-third”?

HAVE A FIT One of the easiest ways to write short: Come up with a word count limit and stick to it.

Wait! So first, we’re supposed to write a piece that’s 33 percent longer than required, then unwrite a third of it?

Who has time
for that?!

I cringe every time a writing teacher trots out this advice from William Zinsser’s On Writing Well:

“If you give me an article that runs to eight pages and I tell you to cut it to four, you’ll howl and say it can’t be done. Then you will go home and do it, and it will be infinitely better. After that comes the hard part: cutting it to three.”

Who has time
for that?!

Sorry, but I think a writer who can cut an eight-page article to three pages hasn’t done the hard but efficient work of tightening her focus upfront.

Selection, redirection and compression are the three big ways to cut your copy after you write it. But the most efficient way to keep your piece short is to write to fit your assigned word count in the first place.

Here’s how:

1. Develop a budget.

Once you identify the best length for your piece, create a rough outline, estimating word counts for each section. For a 900-word feature for a health care system’s quarterly marketing magazine, for instance, I might start by estimating the lead and kicker:

• Lead: Anecdote, nut graph, quote, transition — 150 words
• Kicker: Wrap up, quote — 50 words

That’s 200 words, which leaves 700. That means the three sections in the body will be about 250 words each.

My final budget:

• Lead: Anecdote, nut graph, quote, transition — 150 words
• Section 1: Anecdote 1, quote, anecdote 2, statistic, anecdote 3, analogy — 250 words
• Section 2: Anecdote, quote, statistic, analogy — 250 words
• Section 3: Anecdote, quote, statistic, analogy — 250 words
• Kicker: Wrap up, quote — 50 words

2. Edit before you write.

The 250 words I’ve budgeted for section 1 will probably be plenty for an anecdote, a quote, a statistic and an analogy, plus transitions between them. But I can see from here that 250 words won’t accommodate three anecdotes along with my other material.

So instead of wasting time writing all three anecdotes now, then wasting more time editing them out later, why not edit them out before you write?

My revised budget for section 1:

• Anecdote 1
• Quote
• Anecdote 2
• Statistic
• Anecdote 3
• Analogy

3. Keep counting.

Once you start writing, you’ll want to track whether you’re staying on budget. So run word count frequently.

Write your lead, then run word count. Over budget? You’ll need to make up for that in the body, so change your plan before you write.

As you write section one, run word count often. On track? Great! Keep going. Not so much? Stop and adjust your plan.

Not only does tracking your word count give you a rewarding sense of progress, but you’ll also learn early and often if your words are mounting too fast.

If you’re burning words too quickly — or not quickly enough — adjust your plan, edit before you write, then move on.

Quit while you’re ahead.

I recently heard a new take on an old proverb that actually offers helpful writing guidance:

“All’s well that ends.”

Which brings us to the No. 1 way to tighten your entire piece: Stop writing. Take a tip from my favorite philosopher, Anonymous, who said:

“Write a great beginning,
write a great ending
and keep them close together.”

Amen.

Cut Through the Clutter

Want more tips for making every piece you read easier to read, understand, remember and act on? If so, please join me for PRSA’s webinar, Write for Readability.

More than 60 years of research shows that making your copy easier to read improves:

• Readership. More people read the piece.
• Perseverance. People read more of it.
• Comprehension. They understand it better.
• Speed. They read faster.
• Retention. They remember it longer.

In this session, you will learn:

• Four components of more readable messages.
• The top two ways to increase readability.
• Seven steps for making your copy easier to read.
• Six tips for increasing comprehension.
• Nine tools for measuring, managing and reporting reading ease.
• Three bonus tips for boosting readability.