I love when I think along the same lines as Seth Godin, and at the same time to boot. I’d just woken up this morning thinking if I had to read one more long email or blog entry I was going to explode. And then this hit my in box.
Listen: if you want people to read your brilliance and pay close attention to your sage advice, you gotta keep it short and sweet. We are all too ADD these days because there is so much being thrown at us. Ok, I’ll speak for myself but I know I’m not alone. Less can be more. Look at Hemmingway. I think he’s more popular now amongst the ADD crowd then when he was first published. Why? Because his sentences are short. To the point. Sparse, yet crafted beautifully into phrases that hit your sweet spot. He would have made a great Tweeter!
Here’s the skinny: if you want more folks to read your stuff, and to remember your words, break them down into small but memorable sound bites. We’ll remember you more. Think like Hemmingway:
“Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut”. Brilliant.
Suzen, you are a woman after my own heart. Brief and to the point is the best way to share a message. Thanks for stating this so succinctly.
just call me Hemmingway 😉 …without the drunken part!
Hi Suzen-great post! I’ve been posting daily on Facebook and would love to know of any specifics on how much is less? 😉
Like in our SMART goals having a goal of ‘less’ for one person can mean something totally different to someone else. Are there guidelines we can use as a rule of thumb?
Thanks!
Hi Kim!!
I don’t know that there are any hard and fast rules or even guidelines, other than trying to keep it under 500 words. This I know is true however: keeping the first few sentences short and to the point encourages people to keep reading. Long, drawn out sentences cause many to get blury eyed and bounce off of site. A short, catchy beginning especially, holds attention. And then, yes, short-to the point, value packed…or funny. that works too 😉 At least for me. Hope you’re well!!