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by Frank Chamberlin
on Aug 20
As an experienced and knowledgeable professional marketer, Frank Chamberlin has been a full time copywriter for ten years.
He teaches Direct Marketing at the Masters level at Monash University and he offers a one-day ‘business writing skills’ course for corporates. He also convenes the popular dm Forum in Melbourne.
As a successful copywriter and owner of Action Words, he does all sorts of work for large and small companies.
One of my pillars of good non-fiction writing is brevity.
Essentially, brevity means saying things in the most economical way. A good writer does not give the reader anything he or she does not need. Writing is like a good watch. It should function smoothly with no extra parts getting in the way.
Generally in writing, short is better than long. Short words are better than long words. Don’t use ‘numerous’ when you can use ‘many’. Don’t use ‘assistance’ when you can use ‘help’. Short sentences are better than long sentences. Short paragraphs are better than long paragraphs.
And why is this so?
Quite simply, because readers comprehend more when you keep things brief.
If you liked this post, check out the Related Articles over in the sidebar. You might also consider reading some of Frank's other posts, or better yet, subscribe to the RSS feed for the Copy Corner blog and get Frank's copywriting tips direct to your reader.
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'Three words please.
Five words at the most.'
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