You should feel pain when unclear
2009-10-12
Email blasts are the best training for being clear.
At my last company I had about 2 million customers.
When writing an email to everyone, if I wasn't perfectly clear, I'd get 20,000 confused replies, which would take my staff all week to reply back to each, costing me at least $5000 plus lost morale.
Even if I was very clear, but took more than a few sentences to explain something, I'd get thousands of replies from people who never read past the first few.
Writing that email to all customers would take me all day, carefully eliminating every unnecessary word, and reshaping every sentence to make sure it could not be misunderstood.
One unclear sentence? Immediate $5000 penalty. Ouch.
Unfortunately, people writing websites don't get this kind of feedback.
Instead, if they're not clear, they just get silence. Lots of hits but no action.
I see new websites trying to look impressive, filling their site with hundreds of puffy unnecessary sentences.
I feel bad that they haven't felt the pain of trying to email that text to thousands of people, to directly see how misunderstood or ignored it is.
Very true, of course. In fact, more than the users of the sites, the site owners would probably love to have that kind of feedback, but without the user base, it's not possible to get it. And, of course, without the feedback it's difficult to build up the user base....I'm getting dizzy
Can you please explain further? Just kidding
What great timing! I am helping build a website for a friend and am in the process of editing his material. It really helps to think of the reader and what they know and don't know.
Also (now that I'm not so dizzy anymore), 5k may be worth paying for such quality feedback. Companies do surveys all the time and before twitter, the only way to get good feedback was to pay a survey company 25k+ for the same information.
Good point! This would make a good argument for paying for real user-testing of a website, measuring the users' actions, quizzing them for retained knowledge afterwards. -- Derek
Writing is a bit like topiary design. You let the words grow out and fill a big space, then trim away all the excess until you have a beautiful sculpture.
I understand exactly what you mean, even when I think I am being clear people still get the wrong idea, but its a learning process that can only be bettered by the experience of doing it, is that clear?
people don't read on the internet and even less when reading email. they scan. there are no physical cues to stop the human response to form a reply before finishing.
it's takes great concentration for less to be more.
eg
best short sentence i ever read by Hemingway.
For sale. Baby shoes. Never used.
Profoundly Stated!!!!!!!!
I am the first to respond!! yea.
Was that clear? LOL
I constantly think about what I can deliver in a visual or REALLY short sentence.
Attention spans online are REALLY short.
Mykel
Simple is always better.
NO feedback means often searching for a needle in a haystack. Wishing I had the immediate response you've had Derek, even though it cost you, at least you were hearing back.
On a clear day you can see forever and ever and ever more ;-)
So what is the clear way to say...if you like my music please BUY it?
rada
The flip of this is that if you are getting views but no action, you can tweak. And tweak. And tweak. Email blasts, like print, are a one time, "Whoops, wait, I mispelled...". A great example from thenextweb.com - http://thenextweb.com/2009/10/10/typo/
Great point! As long as you really are testing and tweaking and testing and tweaking to see improvements. -- Derek
Sounds like you been talking to Earnest Hemmingway....he said creative writing was 95% editing. Brevity is clarity, I don't know who said that. 5000 dollars is a small price to pay for lack of succintness when you have 2 million customers. Some people loose thier entire careers due to ego driven verbosity.
Think and Grow Rich: Plan with a clarity of thought and follow through.
I've felt unclear for a few weeks, the pain I've endured is a small on and off headache. Not painful but annoying.
Yep, very true... I sometimes work on my band's fan-updates intermittently over the course of a couple days before they even get sent, just to make sure it's immaculate... then again, it still never is. *smirk*
I remember that email. Someone with a law background told us that a site you reccomended would be taking all of our music from us.
I remember saying, shhsh I wouldn't want to be Derek right now. The poor thing.
We may live with a global mindset. But our world is nowhere close to being on the same page. The use of language, colloquialisms, age driven slang, and now my new favorite "e-speak", well it's no wonder we experience consternation in communication.
But here I will go again, back to Scripture. God never intended that we be all things to all people. He created us to first have relationship with Him.
I write devotions every week to a wide audience. I proof, reread and take great pains to be as accurate as I can. But I often make mistakes. I guess I chalk those up to being human.
What I strive for is a sense of peace - a deep peace within my soul that I have written that which God would have me say.
When I have strayed from that principle and written what I want to say - my words are hollow and fall flat.
So having said that... "May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
Mary Catterton
Ouch! Thank you for sharing that. You have summed up in words what I have been feeling and trying to explain to others.
Present company excluded of course.
Wow - that really puts things in perspective. I will try and apply that to my website.
Yikes, back to the drawing board.
Derek,
You're always so good ---and clear! Good timing for me as I begin to focus on my website,
Thanks,
Rae
Yes...brevity is usually king! Though I did recently have trouble explaining CD Baby's $5 group sale concept via e-blast. Some pain is OK...
Same can be true of songs and their lyrics. If you have to explain the lyrics, then they aren't doing their job.
Good point. I had a lucrative consulting contract at one company that, after two frustrating weeks, I walked away from. Management sent mixed signals and morale went down. I finally sat down with the one manager and said, you've got to make in layman's terms. I also sent an email out to make sure that everyone was clear on the project. Quiz everyone, get them involved, re-calibrate, motivate. Nope ... the project failed and the company eventually was absorbed. Management continued with their PhD level emails ... they should have been writing to their specific audience. They should have been open-minded to what an experienced consultant what telling them ... especially if they were paying thousands of dollars for this advice ... oh well. The sign of the times for many organizations heading into oblivion ... the Minute Manager (don't bother me, you got your instructions) and the Who Moved the Cheese (figure it out yourselves, we're busy making money and not planning for the rest of you) misguided mentalities. (By the way, just because it's a best seller does not make it a good business practice ... consultants like myself read these books to get a good chuckle on what not to do in the real world of business).
How would you recommend achieving that same immediate feedback you experienced with the emails - but with websites?
Stan in comment #4, above, mentioned paid user testing. Great idea. -- Derek
Write short, with short, old words. (W. Churchill). It helps if you can think clearly as well.
Right Derek, Short, Precise and interesting is the way to grab the attention. I have more than a few books that I've only read partly through, because I lost interest.
As far as website philosophy goes:
Brevity=Clarity
Clarity=Understanding
Understanding=Interest
Interest =Sales
Sales=Growth
Growth=Success
Great points. The importance of clarity was much more obvious before email/web, when we had to print and physically distribute messages. Email may seem like a "free" way to do this, which would be more forgiving, but there is certainly a cost and you've hit on it.
If anybody wants help with making better sales communication, "Robert Collier Letter Book" is excellent when it comes to this topic.
In my book I wrote about thinking like a waiter; if you get a tip (instant positive feedback) you do more of that; if you don't, you do *less* of *that*
The trick is making it safe, easy, fun, and attractive for folks to give that feedback.
Okay; two tricks: the other one is to actually *do* something with the feedback.
I wonder if the folks at the re-launched CD Baby read your blog, Derek.
Just saying...
I used to work for a web development company during the early stages of SEO - Search Engine Optimization. We preached and preached about the wording and content of our client's website. Some of them got it but most are just concern about the fluff, colors and graphics. Finally, I came up with this thought...we all have some level of ADHD when it comes to reading. Especially when reading anything electronic. We get this sudden need to be rushed into things. Remember when our only means of communication was the snail pace U.S. mail or good ole land land? YES! No internet, no email, no cellphones! Oh, I miss those days.
When writing anything think about what is your "call to action". Do you want them to call you? Do you want them too email you? Do you want them to go to a website? Do you want them to buy a specific product? There can only be one otherwise you will just dilute whatever your sending with unnecessary information and then you lose your audience and worse - YOU LOSE MONEY!!!
So I agree with your Derek, I say spend a little more time thinking about what you're sending before sending it because that could cost you time and money. Nobody likes to lose anything!
...this is unfortunately too common. When writing any communications...it is critical to understand:
1) know who you are directing your communications to (the targeted market);
2) what is the message (your objective/goal);
3) be clear and concise
If you are not "good" at doing this...GETTING THE MESSAGE ACROSS EFFECTIVELY..rather than trying to do it yourself, jot down your "message" and hire or delegate to someone capable...they can do a "remix" and send out!
Don't want to lose your viewers...audience...and if they are your employees...ya definitely want to make sure they understand what your message is!
Thanks for another great post. Assuming writing style is equally concise, do you suppose it's better to send less frequent email with more info, or more frequent email with less info?
More frequent with less info. That's what I've been disovering with this blog, too. This post (above) was originally 3 times longer, including more aspects. But I've learned from experience that it's more effective to just make one small point. Save your related point for another day. People are busy, and don't spend more than a minute or two, it seems. -- Derek
I've noticed that your blog posts are often composed of short paragraphs and simple sentences, yet you always manage to get your point across very clearly. I get it now!
I put up a Dog Owner's survey on Survey Monkey (http://bit.ly/yyEko ) and some responses are strange. For example "How long have you owned this dog?" One woman wrote "64 years." That kind of calls my entire reality into doubt. I made it as simple as possible, only 12 multiple choice questions with room for comment. The results are very interesting and helpful, but some of the results certainly make it appear that people don't read, they just glance.
I often use Amazon's Mechanical Turk to get people to look at a new website. For very little money you can get lots of feedback and some of it is incredibly helpful.
Interesting! I'm going to email you to ask more details about this. -- Derek
What's with the photo?
brilliant. you and i had this conversation about people not reading stuff or not paying attention. and it didn't even have anything to do with details. even a show date and time plastered in black and white in 300 pointt font would still get a response, "wait, when is it again?" and keeping emails simple, especially when booking shows has proven valuable to me. thanks again,
Dave
Your article and references to Hemingway in the replies- I believe I finally get it! Great post Derek!
Derek:
I'm sitting here eating a piece of new apple pie. When I was young I didn't enjoy the crust and left it on the plate. Now, I don't even leave crumbs for my dog, well maybe a few.
$5000! Yep, that gets your attention. But, that's just another lesson learned. Now, if I were in the pie business, I'd just watch to see how many crumbs were left on the plate.
It seems to me that you get so many relplies from people like me that you don't have any crumbs left on the plate.
Check out www.BradleyWParker.com and let me know what you think?
Brad
That hurts...
As a teacher addressing a group, sometimes I start to speak very softly. After a moment of realization, the entire class is super-focused.
And I also keep the big stick handy (thank you, Teddy Roosevelt).
"Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler." --Albert Einstein
Songwriter Chuck Cannon said, "If you have to explain it, it ain't art."
I like to be brief and to the point in my writing, yet I find some of my high verbal fans want intricate explanations. I guess everyone has a different learning style so maybe I would be wise to create an "on point" paragraph and then elaborate more in the second.
Politicians love this stuff - they're very good at using very general terms like 'freedom' or 'values' or 'prosperity'... but these things mean different things to different people. They're able to make a point without really commiting to any kind of clarity. Business, however, is just the opposite - clarity is absolutely necessary! General terms will get 100 people all doing the wrong thing right!
As a communications major and media arts professional and as a musician I totally concur. People accuse me of being to too detailed but it's because I don't intend on reiterating everything 1,000 times if I don't have to.
I used to edit my managers' emails before they went up the food chain. I love to hone language down for agility and for clarity. I'd bet if everyone thought they would get 20,000 emails back with questions they would get it right the first time.
My real feeling is that people don't take writing and communication as seriously as they should. This laziness towards effective communication reveals itself like a sore thumb.
I guess that should have read as a communications major, media arts professional and musician...lol into a nice run-on sentence...
Hi Derek,
I worked probably harder than anyone on my site www.thecount.org on how important it is to end human starvation and malnutrition throughout our tiny planet earth. Everyone should check it out: www.thecount.org
Steve Bruce
Quite an eye-opener... I too have been guilty of writing too much quantity. I guess the luxury we have before we have millions of subscribers/fans/followers is that we can tweak and edit as we go along, i.e. publish a website as a work-in-progress, which it is anyway. Not so an email blast though, which is a one-time affair (hopefully, as you underlined).
But your article did make me want to go back into heavy edit mode for my homepage.
Caveat is that nowadays we have to be our own writers, and our own editors... and those are different heads that need some distance from each other.
What?
Its great to see in 40 you may get something back Derek from someone for all you give to others great to see sharing although the balance is pretty lop sided
I worked for one of the greatest copywriters the advertising business has seen....David Ogilvy. One of the lessons I learned was the value of ruthless editing.
We try to maintain this standard on our bands web site. We don't always succeed but more often than not I think we do.
By the way the same lesson applies to public speaking....go shorter than the allocated time. A lesson I learned early on.
You previous business doesn't bother to answer email now. They send a form promising to get back to you, but they never do. I've sent three queries. Given up. So, there's the simple solution!
I used my blog as the email because I send regular email notifications when I post and Tweet. The are short--no more than two sentences.
They are effective.
Less IS more....most of the time.
When I receive an email the info. that's not clear jumps right out at me and I often cringe when I receive email back that highlights my blaring inability to simply get the point across. As a cartoonist, I spend my time trying to simplify complex concepts into a picture and a word or one line. You would think this would translate to emails. Thanks for highlighting this Derek and for driving home the point with "big numbers".
Corporations spend big bucks training their proposal writers.
Otherwise they wouldn't win contracts.The best course I've seen is called the "Fog Factor". It's basically a formula. You count the sentences and divide that into the total words used. Then you add the three plus syllable words and the acronyms to that.If the number comes out larger than 10, it's too foggy. You build an outline of the points you want to make. Each point can't be larger than 5 words. The outline is then used to make the writeup. I would watch writers go nuts trying to do it. But it won contracts, all else being equal.
Island Frank
Dale (comments posted far above),
Rudyard Kipling was the fella who said,
"Brevity is the soul of wit."
Perhaps that's who you were referring to?
And further, when it comes to blogging and website layout...
Is a picture still worth a thousand words?
With images.google.com and photobucket.com and forty dollar digital cameras in most chain stores... are we still swept up by the encompassing and metaphoric nature of the image?
Or is concise wording more sacrosanct?
Brevity is the mother of understanding, but pungency and succinctness are the father of sustained interest.
Yup! That's definitely a man thing!!
Oh if only we could all be writers - I hirer a writer for my websites, press releases, etc. It's money well spent!
Thanks for this - I just went through sending out emails to ask for by fanbase to request a song from my new album. I didn't supply everyone with a straightforward link which guaranteed that no one would make a request as it took everyone more than 10 minutes to figure out where to go. After some research I found the proper links but then forgot to link them. Hmmm - what does this tell me about what I'm doing? It's worth it to take a little extra time to check what you're doing, you don't want to waste peoples time or take advantage of their generousity. Good timing for me on this point - thanks!
See I did it again - the first sentence should read - "I just went through sending out emails to ask my fanbase..." Perhaps I should give up the coffee.
Mo
Neat.
I didn't read all 60 replies so hope i'm not duplicating anyone!!!
So true, and true for printed communications as well; anyone who runs a school or business knows that!
if "brevity is the soul of wit" (which it is), then clarity should be the essence of meaning.
or in other words, getting your point across.
Derek, I couldn't agree more. Slaughter syllables!
Mykel said: "Attention spans online are REALLY short."
Hah! Attention spans nowadays EVERYWHERE are really short! I was watching a talk show the other day and I wanted to smack the hostess because she wouldn't even let her guest finish a sentence answering one question before interupting with another question.
We tend to forget just how much "listening" is a skill. As a storyteller I sometimes find myself having to warn people that they may be impatient with how long it's taking me to get to the point, but that the wait is going to be worth it!
This blog reminded me of a commentary on print ads...a good ad in color will attract more attention than the same ad in black and white, but a GOOD black and white ad beats a bad color ad every time.
Our websites are our main advertising venues and we need to keep looking at them and asking ourselves if they're as plainly comprehensible and easy to use as they could be.
I used to be a college professor teaching 500 freshmen. Oh how I know the agony of ambiguity...
Ultimately it made me a better songwriter - every word, every moment - a reason to be there or it is axed. And the fear of having to go back to teaching keeps me pretty focused as well. I thank those students for the gifts they taught me.
You should feel pain when unclear....
It might be clearer to say you GET pain when you are unclear.
"I see new websites trying to look impressive, filling their site with hundreds of puffy unnecessary sentences."
So...you know my 'former' web guy then...ha-ha.
I prefer less and straight to the point. You're doing a great job with that Derek!
;)J
I like to keep learning about what drives me, motivates me, fuels my purpose, lights me up..
Then, put that out in as few words as possible to get the point across.
That is a commitment for me.
Then, when people run across me and my world, they can easily choose whether to be a part of it or not..
A good word Derek
Reff:
http://bible.cc/ecclesiastes/9-17.htm
It's an audience issue, too. For general emails to a large group, like the example, only a very small percentage are going to be those real *fans*, the evangelists that will hang on your every word. For the bulk, it's skimming. To hit both of those groups with something of meaning...that's some talent!
Like someone said above, surveys are awesome tools to test with. And free offers you need an opt-in for, so you can truly see which group you're hitting - the outer circle, or the inner circle.
A fellow who writes liner notes, etc for me told me a story: A friend sent him a long letter, and apologized for it not being shorter, but he was in a hurry! Takes time to be clear.
Less is more
and Kiss
keep it simple stupid
I constantly have to remind myself of these two facts.
I once saw a website design firm whose site had a 1000+ word essay. I don't think anyone ever read it!
Great advice. Short and sweet is the way to go.
Love number 62!
Just can't let this slip by...
"Brevity is the soul of wit" comes from Shakespeare through the rambling, long speech of Polonius(irony, of course.)
Perhaps Rudyard Kipling was quoting his elder?
It is a timing thing too. Because emails are less personal and if one sentence comes across wrong - the person reading it stews on it for a while before getting a reply. And even after a relpy that may still want to retort. That is when a actual phone conversation comes in handy. Sorry if this is not clear.
It was Voltaire who wrote the long letter with an apology for not making it shorter, I do believe...
Brilliant. Thank you.
As a former music editor (working on both music and text), I find a large portion of writing to be poorly thought out. Even when it is 'clear,' sentence structure and basic rules of grammer seem to escape many 'writers.'
A good wordsmith is a marvel to behold!
I belong to a variety of online musician forums and have learned that brevity and clarity are paramount in getting your point across. One hastily typed sentence that doesn't perfectly elucidate your position, and suddenly you have a barrage of backlash and it takes forever to straighten everything out, sometimes with hard feelings along the way.
But these same forums have been indispensable for providing all kinds of feedback, from web design suggestions, album and t-shirt design input, and, obviously, opinions of your latest music. We are where we are today because of them. But you have to know how to communicate clearly or, as you say, suffer the consequences!
what?!!! just kidding, good point!!
Ah yes, "obfuscatory scribevry." Very common in academic settings.
I teach at a university and half (maybe more!) of the memos I get get deleted before I finish reading them because I can't figure out what the person is trying to say or why they're sending it to me.
I have several friends/fans that I trust. Most often I follow their [editing] suggestions. This has worked well in some respects. --JH
Derek and Friends,
Yes... it takes a lot of thought to be absolutely clear. I probably spent 5000 hours creating my site www.thecount.org because it is imperative people understand the amazing benefits that come from ending human starvation! The very process of ending human starvation is the human species best hope in avoiding terrible things regarding nuclear weapons! That is just one very important benefit. When people spend some time on www.thecount.org, revelations materialize in people's minds and a new consciousness unfolds.
Steve Bruce
Reminds me of Denzel's line in 'Philadelphia' - "Explain it to me like I'm a 5 year old."
It's difficult to match clarity with brevity in an email.
No emotional tone apart from smiley symbols.
Just as well we're NOT customers here although most of us have 'product for sale'.
Doesn't this type of forum allow for nuance - for thought to be teased out?
I'm still on the last topic - "how do we rate ourselves?"
In the time available for THAT topic before the grandchild arrived, I didn't touch on - "in what capacity?" .... there are plenty of areas in life where I'll never be more than 'mediocre with good intent' and it's not a question of learning new skills.
I could give plenty of examples of where my talents don't lie but mechanical skills will serve as an example.
I enjoy writing and perhaps should write less with greater clarity than belt out a response but - hey - a large part of the pleasure HERE is just being part of a community where the interchange of ideas is the 'product.'
None of these comments on this site are 'for sale' - it's all freely given and I'm not so busy ALL of the time that I can't perk up with a new topic to chew on.
.... now ... how do I get a smiley face to end this ...
So glad you brought that up. Colleagues of mine have pages of words about themselves, this and that on their websites. I really don't care and just can't bring myself to read it all. I thought I was wrong by saying so little on mine. Thanks for showing me it's OK! Cheers Vicki
Unfortunately, pain is often a prerequisite for learning. Consider this: we are born naked and helpless, able to only express our discomfort as a means to get what we need. Hungry=cry. Wet=cry. Lonely=cry. Cold=cry.
As we grow, we learn to clothe and take care of ourselves, but we are still driven by discomfort. Hungry=get food. Wet=get towel.Lonely=get friends. Cold=build fire. Burned=don't play with fire.
All of those things have attendant issues that are related. Get food=figure out how to kill and skin/figure out how to make money. Wet=build a better shelter/make money to buy one. Lonely=learn how to be a cool person so you'll always have friends. Cold=make enough money to buy fuel or move to better climate. Burned=learn how to handle fire.
It goes on and on. We are usually driven by needs related to some sort of discomfort, BUT it doesn't have to be so.
I told my kids: A wise man learns from his mistakes. A wiser man still LEARNS FROM SOMEONE ELSE'S.
Be wise and conquer pain forever. Be wise and be forever clear.
"the grass is green,
the sky is blue"
_"woke up, got out of bed
dragged a comb across my head"
great writers
abraham lincoln
bob dylan
stephen king
walt whitman
please send any of your excess money to ian bruce
po box 222, ashfield,pa 18212
thank you, thank you very much
bright musical ways
ian the being
Concise.
For years, I had a newspaper headline taped to the 'fridge:
"Communicate effectively in clear, concise sentences."
Yeah.
point taken. i'll go edit/reduce my website's text right now.
Everything to do with web-sites, Gigs, Albums etc. should take people on a comfortably munipulated journey, although they must not feel trapped by it!!
Realistically, if someone is going to become noticed in the music business then it is astrologically written in the stars regardless of whether their website looks fantastic or not.
DESTINY is pre-determined before birth. Become the Master of your Destiny.
Great point.
As a rule, feedback is very important. And, unfortunately, it's hard to get if you're just starting out. I wish there were a good solution to this problem, but I'm not sure there is.
Nicely said! Simply posting and publishing information or updates isn't enough if it doesn't reach the target.
I'm not at all clear about this post. ?
The rule for me is to keep it simple and get to the point and that helps to eliminate the "what does that mean" factor.
You are a great email writer Derek..I try to keep my emails short sweet and simple as well.
Yes, I always strive for the utmost clarity.
On the other hand, my friend Steve Espinola was giving testimony at a public hearing where a huge developer is trying to tear down a large chunk of Brooklyn to build some horrible 60-story skyscrapers. My friend wasn't clear at all in his speaking...in fact, he was completely strange. But by being strange and unclear, I think he cut through all the mockery that was being hurled at him, made an egoless statement, and totally got under the consciousness of all the listeners. Watch and see what you think!
http://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2009/08/breaking-circle-or-making-circle-why.html
Adam
Derek,
very amusing, to think of the market as an editorial critic...so maybe the web has a positive affect on literacy and prose clarity after all! One thing I would suggest is to avoid the transfer of direct mail copywriting style into one's blasts. Rather than all the "FREE's" and "Special Offers'", etc., and the repetitive piling on alleged benefits, use great essayists like George Orwell or E. B. White as models of Plain Style...much more honest and convincing.
Speaking of your former company, I was just there today. They miss you, but the company is still going great! And who is that little cutie in the front office? Hmmm, you probably wouldn't know....If she was there when you were, you probably wouldn't have left!!! I almost didn't!
Re Comment #8, from Adam: I checked out the Espinola clip, and he was brilliant in (at least temporarily) busting an imposed paradigm, and trying to free up the discussion and evoke a higher consciousness...but it was very situational & within a social dynamic...doesn't really speak to the issue of one-to-many one/way text communication. Cool stuff, though. I love exceptions!
COULD BE THE SAME AS PUBLIC SPEAKING.
TELL THEM WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO TELL THEM --
THEN TELL THEM--
THEN TELL THEM WHAT YOU TOLD THEM --
IN AS CLEAR AND CONCISE AS YOU CAN.
JOANIE
Thanks for the good, useful info (as usual) Derek.
Reminds me of John Lennon's offhand remark about popularity in the '60s.
Great example! You're right! -- Derek
Inexpensive, comprehensive and very important for those of us who perform in front of an audience:
http://www.toastmasters.org
I joined 8 years ago and it has helped me tremendously with my music.
Robert Van Horne
Pianist & Entertainer
If paying the staff to respond costs so much, then it's the staff that should be asked if 'they' think the email or wording in general is easy to understand. Ask 10 people on staff and if all 10 people can figure it out (and explain it to you without help, so their not just trying to kiss ass) then everyone else will to, typically anyway. In business, this concept is used all the time to get an idea how a large percentage will respond by tabulating the replies of a few to get a percentage. I think they call it a cross sample or cross marketing, or perhaps there is a different term for it. The trainer at a former company I worked for, would not uncommonly ask if I understood, before she released a new policy and procedure, because I was always the slowest to learn new things. It should have hurt my ego, but it never did, because it reminded me of how smart she was to see if the dumbest guy could figure out what she was saying or teaching. It's a great way to screw up a fast food survey if you want to get back at 'THE MAN'. If you tell them, by an email response that you're a woman over 50 and your a actually a male under 25, don't be surprised if in a month or two you see a commercial for the same company with a 52 year-old lady in it. LOL
Incidentally, I find the above picture interesting. What are the details?
Sorry I don't know. One of those random photos I found floating around the 'net, with no credit. -- Derek
I quite like to write short, concise mails - now I can let go of the lingering bad consience I used to have not to be more affluent
An english scholar told me to write and speak very simply so that even a child of three can understand what one is talking about.No misunderstandings.
Be brief, proper, and to the point,
the power of pen and ink,
Words are things like sunbeams, when condensed they make the audience think.
very relevant. I will be launching a new site in a couple of months and will keep in mind to avoid unnecessary clutter.
Useful links for Stan Kozadayev (4), Morgan Howard (28), Thomas Gapinski (37), and others:
How to write for the web:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9703b.html
Writing headlines, subject titles etc:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980906.html
Writing and formatting for your email list:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000820.html
Writing for web findability:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/search-keywords.html
How little do users read?
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/percent-text-read.html
More on email newsletters:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040217.html
Testing a website with 5 people:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000319.html
Full archive of Jakob Nielsen's free advice on web usability, testing, etc:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/
Professional and research-based.
It's all just for fun anyway
Maybe it's my German heritage but I can appreciate clear, direct, and efficient. This year, I once again learned a hard lesson, losing significant time and money by not asking enough questions, not getting clear answers, and then expecting others to negotiate my life. I'm working once again to rebuild my life, asking a lot of direct questions and forgiving as I do this. It's my goal to balance clarity with positive emotion. I admire your direct, clear, honest, and friendly leadership.
You will always feel pain when you are unclear of who you are and what your purpose is here on earth.
One great thing to know is that YOU ARE PRECIOUS TO GOD!
Precious - Meaning of High value
When you can't love yourself, know that GOD loves you unconditionaly.
When you know this and why you are here you can began to share your precious light with others.
Each day that GOD gives you breath, and another opportunity to create and share your positive light, THIS ALONE should make you happy, I know it makes me happy.
Thank you GOD for your mercy and grace!
Well said Derek.
Feedback from unresponsive people is sometimes the BEST feedback of them all.
*Jared
Thanks. I went to mine and will be making changes,aiming for clarity and brevity. I have just trusted it to a webmaster but I am a good word man and I can see it needs my own attention. You are appreciated, Derek
Brevity & clarity are beautiful things. I have a colleague who fashions herself to be 'above' others who is notorious for sending unclear and un-thought-out messages that usually wind up being recalled and revised. The result? Most of the staff generally ignores her messages. The devil is in the details...
Clarity is everything. After thinking on any particular subject for some time, I go ahead if I am clear on my thoughts. Otherwise, some that thought comes to me at some other time. Here too, I guage its clarity before moving ahead.
Love it! Do you have any advice on how to help us avoid such mistakes?
I receive quite a lot of e-mail from companies, services and all sort of providers of whatever stuff that will boost my music career, and so often are they taking so much time and space boasting on how what they offer will change my life so deeply you wonder how mankind could have survived until now that they almsot forget to describe what it is they are offering... Like bands who introduce themselves by bragging that they are "an unprecedented aural experience like nothing you've ever heard before", that turns me down immediately and I almost always send such crap to the trash.
Cut the crap and get to the point. That's how you talk business.
not sure about this?
When writing music reviews for a newspaper (in Iceland) 1990-2000, I was told to use as few words as possible. That didn't necessarily mean I always had a clear idea beforehand of what I was going write, but I acquired the habit of using rather short sentences in rather short articles. This one is unusually long.
Great blog. Feedback is important. What an opportunity and huge responsibility it must have been sending an email out to 2 million clients.
Good points well taken, like it or not, it's probably human nature that we can't be clear to all people at all times...on the lighter side, it reminds me of a joke Tom Lerher used on one of his albums..."People are always complaining that other people don't understand them...wives bemoan the fact their husbands don't understand them...parents complain that their kids don't understand them...I feel that if a person can't be understood by others, the very least they can do is to shut up."
...I always thought Tom Lerher was a remarkably clever "Professor-Artist"...to my knowledge he only came out with three albums, but I remember them all as being gems...I used to do some of his songs at gigs occasionally when it seemed appropriate...
Wow! I really need to try more simplification. I've done some with my website, but I need to do more. Just to level the playing field. Thanks Derek!
You can use this thought for another theme: music should also be clear. The way you are developing a motif or the structure of a song should be clear. The articulation of the singer should be clear. The production should be clear. With music you want to send a message to a recipient, it's the same like an Email. The question is, which recipient you want to reach.
How true! The best way to get clear is stop in your tracks and stay silent for a while. Then, allow the garbage and negative voices to pass.
I have been going through this process for the past few months now with all the areas in my life.
I recently moved back to NY after being in LA for 7 years.
Now I am on a new journey and it has been so painful because what I wanted 7 years ago isn't the same now.
The journey I am experiencing right now is wild. I am searching out people I respect and asking them to get coffee with me and talk about their journey thus far.
I have found myself re-reading books like, "Rich Dad Poor Dad" and putting list together of other books people have been recommending to me randomly.
I have started listening to Anthony Robbins again and the one thing I want to share is this:
Success come from doing 4 things:
1. Figure out what you want.
2. Decide by taking action.
3. Observe what is and isn't working.
4. Change what needs to change
from your observations.
And when we hit road blocks we need to remember it is up to us to move them. We must take responsibility and not blame others for where we are.
Yup, there's nothing like taking a good course on copy writing to keep customers interested and properly informed. I just can't believe how many people overlook the subject when the basic foundation is good copy and seo.
We always believe that being "Crystal Clear" is utterly important when discussing anything with clients. It's a shame you would have to go through such a loss.
But as they do say, defining moments of clarity do come from such painful lessons. We've all been there. Thanks for sharing.