Web Strategies #12

Make Your Text Easy To Read and Why and How To Avoid Hype

Accepted Web wisdom says people reading the Web are impatiently scanning to find what they need or material relevant to them. I’ve got a pair of those rapidly scanning eyeballs myself when it comes to reading online.

So how can you make your text as easy to read and as easy to understand as possible? I’ll touch on various aspects of text that I feel are important and not obvious to everyone. Some of the ideas I’m sharing come from Ron Scheer, Web Writer and Information Design Advisor. I’ll give you the link to his site at the end.

You’ll want to simplify your text to make things as easy as possible for people to read rapidly. Avoid technical language, academic language, jargon and lingo and use everyday language. Sentences should be short and to the point. Write your copy and then look for ways to make your point with as few words as possible.

One thing I do is highlight the first line of each paragraph. I was amazed by how much of a difference highlighting the first line of a paragraph or the topic sentence makes for reading quickly.

Be aware that many people find white or light-colored text on a dark background hard to read. The same is for text in very bright or saturated colors. Also, be careful not to design copy that extends broadly across the screen, a narrow column is easier to read. Finally, don’t use too many different fonts. Many fonts can look cluttered and unprofessional.

Let’s talk about the words and tone now. Ron Sheer advises to avoid cleverness, humor, hype and the words one finds in hype or sales language. When it comes to humor and cleverness he points out that what is funny or entertaining to one person may do nothing or actually annoy another. I think he gets it right when he says spirited playfulness is OK but hold back on being too clever. This can be perceived as showing off or just gets in the way of your message.

Hype. There is lots of hype everywhere around the internet. And some articles that teach you how to write good headlines take the hype approach. I’ve examined how the hype makes me feel. The noise and commotion gets my attention. I wonder if I might be missing something good. But I don’t buy when I feel manipulated or perceive the offering as overblown.

So simple language, no hype and avoid sales talk. Ron Scheer had this neat list of sales words. Using a lot of these words will condemn your writing to sound like a sales pitch.

The first list here are 12 words that a Yale study gave as the “most persuasive in the English language.” That might sound like a good thing but we are so accustomed to hearing these words in a sales context that we have begun to tune them out. The exception I would make is for the word, “you.” It is persuasive to use the word “you” to show you are thinking about what other people are thinking or putting yourself in their shoes.
You, easy, free, results, secret, new, save, money, love, discover(y), guarantee, health, safety, proven, reveal.

Here are other words most common to the sales context:
Prospects, sales pitch, power, opportunity, success, profit, solution, convince, should, problem, benefits, essential, real world, compelling.

Finally, these words are also found in many sales contexts:
Capture, seize, force, law, formula, hot, button, grab, compel, seduce, must, unique, realistic, selling, proposition, potential, famous, tested, classic, potent, competitive, advantage, appeal, minimum, maximum, maximize, attention, lose, mistake, unstoppable, rocket, at last, like it or not, in my humble opinion.

You don’t have to write around all these words altogether, just consider each use carefully. For example, if it’s in a context like a headline or a sentence with an explanation mark that makes it sound like hype, you might want to try another word. Be professional but be yourself. Be honest about how you can help people, what people can expect and how you have helped others.

If one has a great product or service there is no need for hype. Just carefully explain what benefits people have received from using your service. And pull out some testimonials to tell the story for you. And while a bit of hype might help you nudge people into trying an inexpensive product. (This sounds too good to be true but I’ll try it anyway for $19.99.) When you are selling a service, trust and therefore honesty and the perception that you are honest and straight forward is essential.

Finally, since I am talking about writing, I'd like to mention my favorite book on writing: If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland

Ueland’s book is about writing, not necessarily copy writing, and it was written quite a while ago. What comes through is a person with independence, humor, energy and courage. You can just feel this feisty women through her words. Ueland’s is a message about doing anything you want to do in life by practicing, using your authentic voice and being determined. I’ve read a lot of books about writing and the writer’s life and this is the one that inspired me and taught me something to live by.