When it comes to instructions, less is generally more. Often, it seems, the wordier the instruction, the more confusing it is to understand. This is especially true for products that are sold in various countries around the world and that are translated into many languages. Or even worse, are written in English for the global market by someone whose first language is clearly not English.
Ikea has an excellent solution in that they simply offer diagrams. While you still have to study them carefully, diagrams can answer a great many questions that poor writing simply can’t.
As with instructions, so it is with sales literature. When writing sales material, it’s important to think about all the questions that your readers are likely to come up with - and make sure you answer each and every one of them. Because in the absence of a sales person who can answer specific queries, it’s vital that you cover all bases so that nothing impedes the sale. Of course it makes sense to include at the end of the piece ‘if you have any questions, or would like to know more, please contact us on 1234 567890'. This then doubles as your call to action.
No comments:
Post a Comment