Words are a great tool that can send your content soaring to new heights — but it all depends on how you opt to use them in your communications efforts. It’s important to choose them
wisely so as to get the intended message across.
Remember, your style and tone are influenced by the brand or audience you’re writing for. And, although this may make you eager to try and spice things up by using sophisticated language, don’t fall for that urge! Why, you ask?
Well, simply because using plain language can have a positive impact on your audience.
Here’s how to keep your language short and simple:
Write for your audience
When writing content, try to see things from your target audience’s perspective, not yours. Ask yourself:
- Who is my audience?
- Where are they from?
- What does my audience know?
Once you’ve answered these questions, it becomes easier to write in a way that they’ll be able to understand, allowing them to connect with your content.
For example, if you have to write for a marketing campaign aimed at attracting new consumers, avoid jargon that isn’t commonly used or understood by that specific audience. Rather tone it down to the standard language that people use to communicate on a daily so that you don’t end up confusing any of your readers.
It’s important to always approach things from an ‘I don’t know much about this’ attitude; put yourself in your readers’ shoes and remember that you are writing to inform them about something they might not be well aware of. This is a useful way to create content because you’ll be able to write it in such a way that is simple and explanatory. This means that it will be understood by
anyone reading it.
Keep your writing clear to the point
Write in a way that is plain and precise. The whole point is to make it a breeze for your audience to read your content.
In this regard, your audience will be able to find it convenient to use and understand the information you’ve written.
Here are some fundamental pointers that will help keep your language simple:
- Only use figure of speech where and when necessary
- Decode jargon to avoid confusing the reader
- Keep sentences short and paragraphs to four lines maximum.
- Cut to the chase. Don’t spend too much time on unnecessary information.
Keep in mind that, for every complex term, there’s a simple term with the exact same meaning. For example, instead of saying something is ‘deleterious’, why not just say it’s 'harmful'? It won’t take away the seriousness of your message.
See what we mean?
Make your copy reader-friendly
Font and design also play a role in keeping information readable and simple to consume.
If readers have to squint at your written content in order to figure out what you’ve written, you might be in trouble. This may even lead to readers jumping off your page simply because they struggled to read it. Another important aspect to take to consider is the fact that poor use of fonts and graphic elements can contribute to content clutter.
That’s why you should stick to
one font style (that’s easy to read) in order to keep your work consistent. For example, if you’re putting together a piece that will include an infographic or video content, be sure to check the font and see if it matches that of your content style. Ensure that all the headings are consistent with what you’ve always been pushing out; keep it uniform.
Don’t forget to also enlist the assistance of a proofreader to check for basic stuff that might have gone amiss, such as weird spacing in between words or paragraphs, overuse of italicised words and bold fonts. These factors can also contribute to a lack of simplicity.
For example:
Is this text easier to
read, or
Is this text easier to read?
Think we’ve made our point!
Now that you’ve learned about how to keep your writing simple, what are your thoughts? Do you think simplicity is better? Let us know in the comment section below.
So, now that you know how simplified writing is done, why not read on, How to improve your SEO writing.
*Image courtesy of
Upslash