One of the first writing rules I learned in journalism was KISS, Keep It Simple Stupid.
Meaning, keep your message simple, straightforward, and clear enough for a 10 year-old to comprehend.
Choose your words carefully; don’t use spelling-bee level words to sound smart or fancy, this blocks people from hearing your story, your message.
Most people get stuck at my “write so a 10 year old can comprehend it” line. Well did you know that all network TV news is written for a 3rd grade reading and comprehension level? YUP! Not because viewers are stupid, because simple sells and drives engagement.
Why do you think one of the top selling newspapers in the world is @usatoday ? Extensive market research shows that people love the colorful easy to read charts and graphs, plus the clear cut to the chase writing style.
When communicating your message for your business, and especially your sales pages, don’t overcomplicate it, use the KISS model. Watch your engagement increase.
We all have short attention spans now, with Info coming at us in 30 different ways…SIMPLE and STRAIGHTFORWARD stands out from the crowd.
Plus, people who use lots of fancy big words all the time are annoying ?.