🎓 The 3 science-based rules of writing

Keep your content simple, snappy, and exciting. Research found that people are 25% more likely to read until the end.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 March 07, 2023 | [Read Online]( The 3 rules of effective writing Keep your content simple, snappy, and exciting. Research found that people are 25% more likely to read until the end. [Thomas McKinlay]( [fb]( [tw]( [in]( [email](mailto:?subject=Post%20from%20Ariyh&body=The%203%20rules%20of%20effective%20writing%3A%20Keep%20your%20content%20simple%2C%20snappy%2C%20and%20exciting.%20Research%20found%20that%20people%20are%2025%25%20more%20likely%20to%20read%20until%20the%20end.%0A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fariyh.beehiiv.com%2Fp%2F3-rules-effective-writing) New to [Ariyh](? This is a 3min practical summary of a scientific study 🎓 Join 16,319 evidence-based marketers that grow using science, not opinions 📈 [Subscribe here]( Today’s insight is brought to you by… [Why we buy]( [Why we buy newsletter]( Wanna market smarter? Why We Buy is a free newsletter that uncovers the hidden reasons why we buy. According to happy readers like [Alison](, “In a sea of ‘meh’ newsletters, this one is a giant iceberg with 50 unicorns having a dance party. Yes, it is THAT good.” Get dancing unicorns in your inbox* [Join 40k smart marketers]( * Fine print: You won’t get unicorns. You’ll get a rad surprise though 👀 Want to sponsor Ariyh? I’ve opened up new slots. [Book yours]( before they sell out. 📝 Intro Your content, ad copy, and messaging is only useful if people actually read it. Scientists from Wharton, University of Maryland, and Emory University analyzed ~650,000 reading sessions of over 35,000 articles to understand what makes people continue reading until the end. Here’s what they found. P.S.: Want to learn to use more persuasive words? [Jonah Berger](, one of the authors of this research, releases his new book today: [Magic Words](. I’m a big fan of his previous books, especially [Contagious](, about how to boost word of mouth of your products. Previous insight: [Coupons earned with a friend drive more sales]( (more insights [here]() People are more likely to finish reading exciting, short, and easy-to-understand content Channels: Copywriting | Content | Messaging | Website | Email For: Both B2C and B2B Research date: January 2023 📈 Recommendation When writing: - Use shorter, common, and concrete words to make your writing easier to understand (e.g. ‘similar’, not ‘almost indistinguishable’) - Avoid long or complex sentences or using the passive voice (e.g. ‘Sign up now to access all benefits’, not ‘Creating an account allows users to access a host of unique benefits’) - Keep your readers’ attention through an excited, anxious, or hopeful tone (e.g. use words like ‘thrilled’ or ‘excited’ instead of ‘pleased’) People will be more likely to finish reading your message or content. Even if your topic isn’t the most engaging. [The 3 rules of effective writing] Pro tip: using generative AI (e.g ChatGPT) to help you write a piece of content? Try copy-pasting this recommendation as part of the instructions you give it. 🎓 Findings - Text that is easier to read and uses more emotional language excites readers more and captures attention better. That makes people more likely to finish reading, no matter what the content is about. - In an analysis of 600,000+ readings of 35,000+ pieces of content, people were ~25% more likely to finish articles that were easier to read (using simple language and familiar words). - Two additional experiments found that: - Anxious language made people want to continue reading an article 28% more than sad wording did - People were respectively 5% and 15% more interested in reading when they felt excited, compared to hopeful or at ease 🧠Why it works - Easier sentence structure and simpler, familiar language make an article easier to understand. Because it’s [easier to mentally process](, we will read it for longer. - Uncertainty builds suspense within us - [it makes us more attentive]( because we want to find out “what happens next”. - Things that arouse our emotions, such as strong language, raise our energy level by making us more anxious and alert, which makes [sustaining our attention easier](. [Become a privacy-centric marketer]( Data protection is crucial if you want customers to trust you. If they don’t trust you, they won’t buy from you. From the authors of Crawl, Walk, Run: Advancing Analytics Maturity with Google Marketing Platform, it's now time to zoom out and make your whole marketing org privacy-centric. How? [Grab your copy on Amazon to find out]( This announcement was sponsored. Want your brand here? [Click here](. ✋ Limitations - The tone and language that capture attention is not necessarily the same tone and language that encourage customers to buy a product. - These are general trends to increase attentiveness but may not be ideal for all types of brands. For example: - Brands positioning themselves as sophisticated and elegant, such as luxury brands, may find simple words and short sentences don’t fit with their brand persona - Uncertainty generates suspense and keeps readers hooked, but may not work for brands hoping to promote their reliability, strength, or timelessness - While negative emotions such as anxiety and anger may keep readers hooked on an article, they may create negative mental associations with your company. 🏢 Companies using this - Most of these recommendations were already proposed in 1946 in George Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language”, in his [six rules of writing](. Now we have scientific confirmation that they work. - Clear, simple, and short content typically requires more time to produce (e.g. many rounds of editing) or more experience (e.g. more expensive writers). Still, most marketers favor this type of content because the benefits usually outweigh the higher costs of production. - Much of the media industry has been adapting to shorter, snappier content, with the [AP and Reuters]( both changing their guidelines on length for articles from 800 words to under 500 words. ⚡ Steps to implement - Break up your content into easy-to-read, short, simple sentences. Three 10-word sentences keep attention more effectively than one 30-word sentence. - Keep your content short - news organizations say full-length articles shouldn’t exceed 300-500 words. - Use excitement and suspense to hold attention: - Start your piece with an emotional hook to grab readers’ attention - Put less exciting content immediately after more exciting content to try and capture the spillover of energy from the first piece - For example, to promote a productivity playbook, say “Time is running out! Grab your copy now to learn how to work more efficiently”, not “Only limited copies remain - Explore how our resources enhance productivity for companies of all sizes.” - Monitor your content’s performance by looking at metrics such as time spent on the page. If the average time spent on the page is relatively short, many people may be avoiding reading your content, and you can try to optimize it. - Remember, clickbait headlines aren’t the best way to keep readers’ attention. They drive more clicks, but they [make readers feel manipulated](, which makes them up to 48% less likely to share the content. 🔍 Study type Online experiments and market observation (analysis of 649,129 reading sessions of 35,448 articles across several news and entertainment sites). 📖 Research [What Holds Attention? Linguistic Drivers of Engagement](. Journal of Marketing (January 2023) [Research from the American Marketing Association]( 🏫 Researchers - [Jonah Berger](. Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. - [Wendy W. Moe](. Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland. - [David A. Schweidel](. Goizueta Business School, Emory University. Remember: This is a new scientific discovery. In the future it will probably be better understood and could even be proven wrong (that’s [how science works](). It may also not be generalizable to your situation. If it’s a risky change, always test it on a small scale before rolling it out widely. 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