Your writing sucks (probably). The problem? You write too much.
Think about it. You pick up your pencil (or open your laptop) and start writing your message to your audience. Naturally, you will over-elaborate. Your writing will become verbose as tangents populate.
That is why editing copy is so important, and why every human has to do it. We are imperfect, therefore the first version of anything is overly complicated.
But, the secret to writing better copy isn’t to just edit it. The secret is to cut it in half.
Why? People read to learn, to be inspired, to escape — your job is to make that easy.
To make that easier, you must take away anything that doesn’t truly move your copy towards that purpose. The easiest way to guarantee that there is only quality content within a given piece of copy is to cut it in half.
Here’s a challenge:
Take anything you’ve ever written — a blog post, an email, a tweet; make it your goal to take 50% of the words out of it.
Ask yourself: how can I say what I’m saying in half the amount of words? It’s not going to be easy (especially the first time). It’s not always as simple as just deleting sentences. You have to really think about how you structure your sentences — every word you use must earn its place.
Once done, you’ll be amazed at how unnecessary most of your copy was. What else? You’ll be amazed at how much better your copy is — how much more effective it is at getting to the real purpose of its existence.
Don’t believe me? Here’s this post, but cut in half:
Your writing sucks (probably). Why? You write too much.
When writing, you will naturally become verbose and create tangents.
That is why everyone edits — we are imperfect.
But, the secret to writing better isn’t to just edit.
It’s how you edit.
Edit your copy by cutting it in half.
Why? People read to learn, to be inspired, to escape — Your job is to make that easy.
How? Take away anything that doesn’t move your copy towards its purpose.
Challenge:
Take 50% of the words out of something you’ve written.
Rethink your piece — every word must earn its place.
When done, you’ll be amazed at how much more effective it is at getting to the real purpose of its existence.