Write To Dumb Readers And Make It Easy To Read
Posted by: Chad in Internet Marketing, CopywritingThat may sound mean but one of the most common mistakes people make when writing copy is assuming their audience is smarter than they actually are.
It’s important to use the language of your market but don’t over complicate things. Stick to small words and avoid using terms your audience may not understand.
Your copy should be simple enough for a 5th grader to understand it.
The only exception is when you’re writing to an audience that you’re sure will understand certain terms (for example medical terms in copy meant for doctors).
Try to make it fast and easy to read. Keep your paragraphs short (three lines or less) and on target. Avoid long confusing paragraphs at all costs.
When you finish writing, go back and remove any boring parts.
By making it easy and fast to read, you will effectively keep your prospects eyes glued to your copy and increase your sales.
As Ray Edwards said recently on his blog: “Copy should read like conversation; it should flow naturally and be easy to listen to (or read).”
As you may have noticed, I tried to write exactly as I described in this post to give you an example.
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April 26th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Thanks for mentioning me — I really appreciate it. Just a note of clarification: I never meant to imply that readers are dumb. They aren’t, as a general rule. What I said was, “dumb down your copy”. That’s not any indication of the intelligence level of your readers; it’s merely acknowledging the fact that these days the currency we trade in is attention. To get people’s attention, you need to be quick, pithy, and and easy-to-read.
April 26th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
No problem, I enjoy reading your blog and think others will benefit from reading it too.
I didn’t want it to sound like I was saying all readers are dumb (some are though).
Gary Halbert explains what I was saying much better here:
http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/Newsletters/zszd_didn’t_masturbate.htm
Quote:
“Envision Your Customer As A Dolt!
My friend and colleague, Jeff Paul says that when he sits down to
write a sales letter or ad, he thinks of his average customer as being
just like Homer Simpson. (You know, the lovable oaf from the famous TV
show The Simpsons.) But not in a derogatory way. In this way: For every
word, sentence and paragraph Jeff writes… he asks the question: Would
Homer understand this? (Meaning: If Homer can understand it… my
customer will easily be able to.)”
One of the many newsletters that’s so good only Gary could write it.