There are so many effective ways to say to keep something simple, clear, concise. A new one for me was the “Sesame Street Simple” made popular by the Procter & Gamble CEO. In Effortless, McKeown describes it as “Don’t go for the overly sophisticated message. Don’t go for the one that makes you sound smart. Go for the straightforward message that can be easily understood and repeated.”
This message of simplicity and clarity can be found across all domains and is applicable to just about every aspect of business. When writing copy, it is recommended to keep it short, use headings to draw the reader's attention (and use it as a summary), and keep it at a 5th-grade reading level (although 3rd-grade is best). Writing copy for your website, social media posts, marketing emails, and other marketing materials is best done with these things in mind. For me, that is easier said than done. Most of the writing I have had to do for work or school has required a higher level of comprehension, so adjusting to this new concept of simplicity has been a challenge. But the more books and articles I read, the more that the idea of clarity over cleverness is so abundantly apparent.
Take a few minutes and go look at your business’s website and social media posts. Look at it from an outside perspective (your client’s perspective) without the knowledge of the inner workings of your business. For someone with no knowledge of your products/services, are the messages you are putting out there clear, simple, and easy to understand? If not, think about how you can adjust things to make things simpler. A big reason to consider this change is that the average attention span for an adult in the United States when reading online content is about 8-12 seconds.
Here are a few websites that fully embrace the simplistic model:
Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!