{"id":230,"date":"2011-08-02T09:29:37","date_gmt":"2011-08-02T16:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gordonbenzie.com\/blog\/?p=230"},"modified":"2023-05-22T22:14:45","modified_gmt":"2023-05-23T05:14:45","slug":"5-ways-to-shorten-copy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gordonbenzie.com\/blog\/5-ways-to-shorten-copy\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Shorten Copy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

– Blaise Pascal, (1623-1662) Lettres provincials<\/em><\/p>\n

It would appear the challenge or writing\u00a0concise communications has been with us for a long time.<\/p>\n

Today, shorter copy is needed more than ever.\u00a0Just look at the success of Twitter, the \u201cultimate\u201d short copy communications platform. Messages are mostly limited to 140 characters per tweet, requiring a new mastery of short communications.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Upon reflection at my own writing, I probably could do better. So I came up with five reasons why my communications might be too long, to try and write with greater brevity.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Too many examples<\/strong> \u2013 When presenting complex topics, the inclusion of examples to help explain a concept is sometimes necessary. If your objective is to teach, then providing more content may be right; in a business communication, perhaps it might better to offer a link or source for an example that already exists.<\/li>\n
  2. Too long an introduction<\/strong> \u2013 Perhaps your topic or challenge being solved is complex, or there are different nuances to the business challenge, and you need to be sure to explain what variation you are solving, requiring a longer introduction. I can\u2019t think of a shortcut here, other than trying to condense your topic down to a paragraph or less.<\/li>\n
  3. Too many industry buzz words <\/strong>\u2013 This is tough when seeking to improve Search Engine Optimization. The more industry terms, the better your chance of showing up higher on Google. Links to other web pages might help address this challenge.<\/li>\n
  4. Too many editors <\/strong>\u2013 This is a tough one. Often I have two or more stakeholders invested in my document with different points that must be included. More time to perform more edits is the solution, but, sometimes deadlines contradict this goal.<\/li>\n
  5. Too worried about missing a key point <\/strong>\u2013 When tasked with writing an important document, such as a business plan, as they say, you only get one chance to make a first impression. Considerable care must be taken to be sure all relevant points are included. Keeping a prioritized list can help address this challenge; if a point has already been made, perhaps it doesn\u2019t require duplication in a later section. Alternatively, future communications can be added to address omissions.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In the end, the path to shorter copy is to spend more time \u2026 time planning to identify the\u00a0most concise wording, and time writing more efficiently using shorter phrases that are edited several times. In the end, your goal is to make a lasting impression \u2013 getting your content read and understood \u2013 which is simply easier with a shorter message.*<\/p>\n

    *Note the first version of this\u00a0post exceeded 700 words; final version has 4<\/em>50.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Gordon Benzie<\/strong> is a marketing adviser\u00a0and business plan writer that specializes in preparing and executing upon business plans and marketing strategies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \u201cI have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter.\u201d – Blaise Pascal, (1623-1662) Lettres provincials It would appear the challenge or writing\u00a0concise communications has been with us for a long time. Today, shorter copy is needed more than ever.\u00a0Just look at the success of Twitter, the … Continue reading 5 Ways to Shorten Copy<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,4,19,7],"tags":[67,65,71],"class_list":["post-230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-communications","category-marketing-communications","category-search-engine-optimization","category-technology-marketing","tag-business-communications","tag-marketing-communications","tag-search-engine-optimization"],"yoast_head":"\n5 Ways to Shorten Copy - Making Every Word Count<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gordonbenzie.com\/blog\/5-ways-to-shorten-copy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Ways to Shorten Copy - Making Every Word Count\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cI have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter.\u201d – Blaise Pascal, (1623-1662) Lettres provincials It would appear the challenge or writing\u00a0concise communications has been with us for a long time. 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