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
Writing workshops, communication consulting and writing services
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
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
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
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
Size does matter.
The longer your story, the less of it your readers will read — and the less likely they are to understand and act on it.… Read the full article
When Lynn Wylie, aka Best Sister Ever, sent me an Unfancy blog post arguing that all you need to look great every day is a capsule wardrobe of 37 items per season, I scoffed.… Read the full article
In The Emperor of All Maladies, Siddhartha Mukherjee shares this tiny tale:
“In 2005, a man diagnosed with multiple myeloma asked me if he would be alive to watch his daughter graduate from high school in a few months.… Read the full article
Talk about brief: The New York Times packs 13 stories onto its briefs page, called The (One-Page) Magazine.
Notice the combination of:
How brief are your briefs?… Read the full article
Size does matter.
Everything else being equal, your readers would rather read a short piece than a long piece.
Of course, all things are never really equal.… Read the full article
My favorite city magazine, Portland Monthly, runs five one-sentence stories per issue. Editors manage to cover the most Portlandish news of the month in an average of 26 words each.… Read the full article