The Reason Most Writing Is Never Read
March 10th, 2008, by Michael StelznerHave you ever wondered, “Who reads this stuff?” Or how about, “Who wrote this awful copy!”
I have to admit that MOST of what I read literally bores me to death (my 1-second attention span doesn’t help!).
However, every once in a great while, I happen across something that grabs me by the eyeballs and won’t let go.
Here’s a few thoughts on why most content is rotten and the elements of engaging writing:
First let’s talk about the rubbish. Here’s what’s wrong:
- Immediate sale: Bad writing gives me no reason to stay engaged. Rather than easing into a topic, it simply assumes the reader is ‘up to speed’ on the topic at hand. “Get the Remco hair remover now by calling 800-We-Need-Your-Money.”
- Long winded: Remember those boring textbooks that had paragraphs that spanned multiple pages. The brain is wired for breaks and that’s why we have a carriage return on our keyboards. Try having a conversation with someone who can’t get to the point and you’ll understand why long paragraphs are boring!
- No logical flow: This may seem simple, but a story has a beginning, middle and an end. Too often poor writing is missing one of more of these basic elements. If you are selling video software, begin with the challenges faced by video folks, talk about how to solve the problem (the middle) and then tell reader’s where to buy the product (the end).
Here’s what is present in great writing:
- Stories: Trends, problems, history, examples and scenarios all help people understand and relate to your writing. Try and weave these throughout your work to keep people engaged.
- Lists: Especially in business writing, a list or bulleted sentences are very easy to read, create lots of white space and help organize complex thoughts.
- A tease: How about opening your work with a compelling statement or a few questions that bring the reader into your document. Works every time for me!
- Shorter paragraphs: Even a single sentence can become a paragraph. Try mixing up the length of your paragraphs, helping the reader speed through your work.
- Simplicity: Saying it with less words is always harder yet appreciated by readers. “She glared at him and said, ‘This is the last time I ask you!’ Little Johnny swallowed hard as the cold rice cereal began disappearing from his bowl.”
Let’s hear from you? What makes writing wretched? What are elements of eloquent writing?
If you're new here, be sure to signup for my newsletter and join 20,000 others. Thanks for visiting!
Receive email updates when new articles are posted.>> Related Articles on This Blog
March 11th, 2008 at 2:06 am
In shorter paragraph and simplicity points, I conclude that we better write a compact writing. Short and full of meaning. But based on my experience I see that some peoples prefer to post writting with redudance information in their blog. I don’t know what is the exact reason. But my rough prediction it is related with search engine. Maybe the more certain words are written, they’ll get better result of searching. That’s just my prediction.
March 11th, 2008 at 8:39 am
After spending the weekend reviewing student white papers, I can tell you that your points are right on. Fortunately for the most part, the papers were great (I know my students read this blog!).
What I did see was a tendency to include every fact found in research, thinking it would be helpful. It was actually distracting.
It’s also easy to get caught up in your own writing that you miss the actual flow. You know what you’re saying, so you believe your readers are tracking with you, but they’re often not. Make sure your paragraphs contain only one thought each and that the supporting sentences relate to your opening sentence. On a higher level, make sure you clearly define the problem before launching into any history or market drivers. Easy to blow out the latter since that’s where the facts are easy to find.
Just my thoughts on having been an editor all weekend!
March 11th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Hi Mike,
Funny that — I am in the process of polishing my own blog site (click the link) before “officially” launching, and my first writing-related post is on telling a story in your marketing writing. It really is an effective way of engaging the reader.
I would add to your list of “what’s present in great writing”:
- Subheads to break up larger articles/pages
- Bolded text to catch the eye of skimmers. I try to “tell the story” when I use this technique, so that if you only read the bolded text you would get a complete (though perhaps choppy) synopsis of the article’s main messages.
~Graham
March 12th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Active verbs. Too often, business writing falls back on the scholarly writing convention of using passive verbs, when reconstructing the sentence to make more active would give it far more verve and life. I also think that reading your copy out loud to yourself highlights those weak areas - overuse of words and phrases, clunky construction - far better than skimming with eyes only.
March 12th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Hi, I’m your new blog reader. I find the informations you’ve been posting is useful, especially for me — a new blogger.
What makes a writing (in the context of blog post) boring for me is multipage posts. Why don’t publishers make it just a few paragraphs short, because I’m not comfortable reading on a computer monitor
March 13th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Great tips for avoiding some really bad writing. I’d also add that being overly repetitive annoys me. Similar to being long-winded, these types of articles always make me think “yeah, okay already, I got that point!”
And anything published that is misspelled drives me nuts!
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:20 am
I often find myself skim-reading through tons of information i find on the Internet. Even some of the stuff that seems important. I guess i’m not the only one. When i blog i try and make small posts with a few little paragraphs. Little chunks of information.
April 8th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
I specialize in writing for health and nutrition companies and I see over and over again that many companies feel mistakenly that super-technical writing will give them more credibility. True, people want some good credible information but too technical can be a turn off.
Al Johnson, a great health copywriter, once pointed out that building on the principle of reciprocity, you have to give your reader something in return for his/her attention. He achieved success as a copywriter by providing some entertainment to his readers. With white papers especially, it’s easy to forget that on the other side is a person - who has a lot of reading, little time, and probably even less attention. Keeping in mind that you want the reader to WANT to read your paper can help tone your writing as well.
April 8th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
YOU statements are better than I statements. Example: As you read, you will learn how to understand your emotions (and those of others) better, enabling you to have more enjoyable relationships. NOT: In this book I have given you information that I believe will help you have better relationships.