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
Story length
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
How long should your listicle blog post be?
Don’t include too many items … or too few
Thank you, David Letterman.
The Top 10 list rules the web — or at least, Buzzfeed.… Read the full article
Short web pages
4 ways to optimize long stories for phone reading
How long is too long for the mobile screen?
“Only the biggest/most complex stories should go above 600 words,” counsels the BBC in its guide to writing news for the mobile screen.… Read the full article
What is a good readability score?
Benchmark readability against The Huffington Post
How does your message stand up against The Huffington Post?
After all, The Huffington Post is the third most popular online news site, after only Yahoo!… Read the full article
Skimm this!
Make your e-zine interesting, relevant, easy
What’s the secret to a successful e-zine? Make ’em laugh; make ’em think; make ’em Skimm.
In other words, make it interesting, relevant and easy.… Read the full article
Turn Strunk & White upside down
Three new ways to approach classic writing wisdom
After 50 years on writers’ bookshelves, The Elements of Style — aka “Strunk and White” — still offers perhaps the best collection of techniques for compressing copy:
- Use the active voice.
Are press releases dead? No!
Long live the release
Twitter has never issued a news release. Amazon introduced the Kindle through a series of tweets. Google announced Alphabet via a blog post from Larry Page.… Read the full article
Three ways to streamline sentences
Cut a word, increase comprehension
Here’s the problem with long sentences: Every time you add a word, you reduce comprehension.
Let your sentences sprawl, and the subject, verb and object get too far away from each other.… Read the full article
What closet tidying taught me about editing
Audition your words to go in, not out
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