Why is Simplicity so Complicated?
Why is simple so difficult?
That’s a question I often think about. Early today (4:00 am) I was up and reading my email and came across a great, 2005 study on the power of simple copy. Its title: “Consequences of erudite vernacular utilized irrespective of necessity: problems with using long words needlessly”
Essentially it states that the simpler, more basic the prose, the more intelligent the writer appears. At least in most cases. However, keeping things simple seems to be harder than making things complex.
Years ago I discovered that great marketing copy — the kind that gets you responses — needs to be simple. The more single syllable words you use, the more success you are likely to have. Of course, being descriptive, telling stories and logical flow also contribute to your marketing copy success.
We tend to go out of our way to show folks how bright we are by using multisyllabic words intended to impress our readers. It’s interesting that the exact opposite occurs more often than not because of this.
It seems like this could be a great copy platform test to incorporate into your plans.
So, keep things simple. You’ll likely have more success because your messages will have greater impact and as an added bonus, come across even smarter than you already are.
October 10th, 2011 at 4:10 pm
Amen!