Why are simplified writing techniques important? Well, a good argument always starts with strong sentences, right? And all strong sentences start with simplicity. If we don’t begin with clear content, our message -no matter how clever, compelling, or creative it is- can get lost in translation to our audience. So, let’s see how we can use simplified writing techniques to improve on our marketing content!
Less is more in the world of writing content
When we stroll through the digital landscape, we see messages everywhere. Be they emails, news feeds, or anything in between, wherever there is marketing content, some stories naturally stand out. They might have clever titles, cover the most compelling issues, or offer an unconventional approach.
But when we follow captivating marketing content, we aren’t just reading the subject matter. Winning blog posts, news articles, and even social media posts rely on more than just stories themselves. They will only be effective when supported by a strong structure.
Simplified writing is the foundation for strong stories. In fact, an entire industry has even been developed with the goal of using simplified English in business, technical, and legal writing. Clear language, logical sentences, and concise word choices make marketing content easier to understand, easier to stand out, and easier to spread globally.
Start with simplicity
As technology becomes more sophisticated and more integrated into every corner of our lives, we need clear language to break down complex concepts. We don’t want to produce such dense text that even industry experts would struggle to read through it. While there are different ways to measure content readability, we can always rely on straightforward and simple words to ease our readers’ understanding of what we write.
To clear the way for coherent marketing content, we should replace heavy jargon with easy, everyday language and break down long phrases into simple, solid statements:
- Instead of confusing your audience, why not illuminate them?
- Instead of bamboozling your readers with sophisticated expressions, why not keep it easy and type the way you talk?
- If the majority of writers produce less complicated material, won’t the message be clearer?
When content is clear and readers can more easily understand the information, our writing will have more impact.
Stand-out sentences
Marketing messages exist in all shapes and sizes. As personal computers become more portable, tablets take on new technology, and cellphones shrink to pocket-size, people now consume content faster than ever. We have a small window of opportunity to keep consumers engaged and we need writing content that is easy to digest quickly.
In addition to simplifying our vocabulary choice, we can also simplify our sentences:
- Structure your sentences in an active voice: It has been shown that a passive voice is harder to read. Moreover, studies show that an active voice will put you at ease.
- Keep listed content in consistent formats: When information is not consistently organized and balanced, the reader will stumble and take longer to process the message. We write clearly so that readers can more easily understand, connect with, and share our stories.
- Flip negative phrases into their shorter, more positive counterparts: While this is not of huge significance, it might be more important than you think.
As we are often one swipe away from losing our audience, we need clear and simple sentences to stand out in this information overload.
Spread the “words“
As our products go global, so do our messages. And as our readers become more international, so must our writing. While there are several tried and true techniques for localizing content, simplifying our writing is one easy shortcut to success.
We’ve already learned how to adopt easier language and sentence structures. To broaden our reach, we can also eliminate some words altogether.
We can simplify our writing by taking out words that don’t add value:
- Eliminate unnecessary adverbs. Do we really, truly, essentially need them?
- Reduce the noise. Let’s ask the question “Is it possible to explain the same thing in a simpler and shorter way?”
- Don’t state the obvious. Do you think, believe, and feel that you must state what you imagine, suppose, and feel to be true?
A smaller wordcount is more accessible to non-English natives: fewer words translate into fewer translations. You see, as we adapt our marketing content to audiences around the world, we can go further and say more with less.
Was this article helpful? Do you think you will use simplified writing techniques more when writing your marketing content? Let us know in the comments below!
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