The Mistake Readers Hate
Published 31 Jul 2013
I receive a lot of emails in my professional line of work. However, today’s tip doesn’t come from the professional side of me, it comes from my home life. When my kid is clamoring for my attention every 3 minutes, dinner is bubbling over on the stove, the cat is batting at my legs, my husband is talking my ear off, and four things are vying for my brief interlude with personal computer time, I take one look at long text and hit the magical trash can icon.
I’m not alone. Readers don’t like long text, and I’m here to intervene. Your email might need to get a trim.
To prove my point, let me be brief. If you want people to read your email newsletter, make it shorter. Then, when you think it is short enough, chop it in half. Remove unnecessary text, find those spots where you repeat yourself and chop, chop, chop. Then, identify how many ideas your one article represents; I bet you could tease out a few. Leave all but one. You can spin the rest into simple side articles, or take them as a starting point for your next short newsletter.
Bottom line: The wall of text is preventing your newsletter from being read. Conquer the wall and you will get more readers.