Let’s get to the point. No one’s really listening. And not many people are reading, come to that.
In fact, if you’re writing as a brand, you should start from the assumption that no one really cares. Our new normal is swiping, streaming, sharing. And we’re all in the same noisy boat.
So whatever you’re writing, make your content easily scannable. Make it easy to get a quick overview of you’ve written, without having to fully read it.
Which means information architecture is crucial.
Here are some examples:
- Use bullet points, images, infographics and lists
- Sub heads create an alternative point of entry into the main body of copy (a very useful tactic)
- Box outs are great to introduce a new concept
What are access structures?
Reading is far more than understanding what’s been written. People are increasingly navigating text for answers to questions, or to create a quick understanding. This is known as ‘strategic reading’. And to help people do this, we need to create ‘access structures’. An example is a heading. It can be easily spotted on the page, it can signify hierarchy within information (heading 1, heading 2), and it can give your writing a bit of a scaffolding, or structure.