Can you get your story across in 200 words?
Tick tock.
In the time it takes you to wash your hands, buckle your seat belt or start the dishwasher, your favorite journalist can finish reading your news release.… Read the full article
Writing and editing
Measure estimated reading time to condense copy
How many minutes will it take them to read?
Writers measure copy in words, inches or pages. Readers use a different measure: time.
So instead of using writer-centric measures, think like your reader.… Read the full article
Tips for varying sentence length
Build drama, create rhythm and more
Short sentences are best. But make every sentence simple and short, and your copy will read like “See Dick run” primers.… Read the full article
How long should a sentence be?
Short sentences are easier to understand than long sentences
Add a word to your sentence, and you’ll reduce comprehension. Add another once, reduce it even further.… Read the full article
Short-form digital content helps readers choose
Too many options paralyze people
Here’s a famous story among persuasion researchers and Malcolm Gladwell fans:
When a researcher offered shoppers 24 types of jam, many customers stopped by for a sample, but only 3% made a purchase.… Read the full article
Use Average Reading Time for short content
How long will it take them to read?
I am, sadly, monolingual, so I am not able to read 20 minutes, a free commuter newspaper published in Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland.… Read the full article
Short form vs long form for decision-making
People perform better when they’re not drowning in data
The more information you have, the better decisions you can make, right?
Wrong.
Yes, your digital marketing messages are more likely to climb higher in search results when the length of your content is 1,000 words or more.… Read the full article
How to use statistics in persuasive writing
Turn numbers into people and otherwise reframe the data
Which is more dangerous? A disease that kills 1,286 out of every 10,000 people it strikes? Or one that kills 12.86%… Read the full article
Don’t do a data dump when writing statistics
Don’t make your readers’ eyes glaze over
“Great clots of numbers dropped into a story with a steam shovel create a wall of abstraction.”
— William Blundell, author, The Art and Craft of Feature Writing
Don’t create a wall of abstraction.… Read the full article
‘Fluent’ words more trustworthy, believable
Choose short, simple, easy-to-pronounce terms
Which of these food additives is more dangerous: Hnegripitrom or Magnalroxate?
Most people said the more difficult to pronounce Hnegripitrom was the most hazardous, according to a recent study by Hyunjin Song and Norbert Schwarz at the University of Michigan.… Read the full article