by The Green Fairy

Created on: December 21, 2009

Writing that maximizes impact is writing that engages the reader and remains focused.

There are two ways to engage the reader. One is to create text so compelling they have to continue to the next sentence or paragraph. Every phrase must entice the reader to continue, to see what comes next. The best writers retain the interest of readers with no interest in the subject under discussion, but who become absorbed in quality copy.

The second way to engage readers is to focus on subjects that are of immediate interest to them. This is why articles about how to make money are always among the most popular even when they're poorly written. People want to know how to earn more, ideally by doing less. 

The other way to maximize impact is to remained focused on the purpose the message. Every piece of text has a purpose. Whether it's a letter of complaint, a university essay, an article on a website or a column in a newspaper, it has a specific purpose. As soon as the text deviates from the purpose it is weakened.

Writers will tell you about the importance of having a strong opening, a compelling body and a powerful conclusion. These are all true but they must also comply with the rule of focus.

It is too easy for the writer to become distracted as they write and to take the content in interesting, but not entirely relevant, directions. This dilutes the focus, weakens the argument and reduces impact. 

A key to writing with impact is to stick to the facts. As soon as the reader realizes they are encountering unfounded opinion and not facts they begin to lose interest. Opinions might be fascinating, but everyone has them and only the privileged few are able to sell them. The rest of us have to stick closely to facts, or at least opinions substantiated by facts.

The second key to writing with impact avoiding unnecessary words. A popular writing exercise is to create an article on a subject of no more than one hundred words. Having written it once the writer goes over it again to see by how much they can shorten it. Unnecessary words are removed and sentences rewritten to say the same thing in less.

The result is concise, clear copy that delivers maximum impact in minimum words. Every piece of fat has been trimmed leaving lean, meaningful content.  When writers have to deliver a specific word count they can be tempted to throw in extra words to reduce the amount of effort required. Instead they should focus on delivering quality content that maximizes the potential of the given word allowance.

Writing with impact does not come easily but it does come with practise. Some writers are naturals when it comes to the original turn of phrase or perspective that causes their work to turn heads. But most aren't gifted so, meaning they must deliver impact through accurate, condensed and unambiguous messages.  

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