Eight Easy Ways to Turn Off Your Reader

Keeping your reader engaged — whether in an email, sales letter or blog post — is a delicate proposition. Piquing curiosity with a headline is key, as is a strong opening paragraph. But what about the rest of the piece? How do you keep readers moving along so they get to the end?

Back when I was a fulltime journalist, a writing coach once said you should use “golden coins” as strategically placed nuggets – an anecdote, a statistic, a vivid image – to keep readers walking along the story path. Rather than putting all your good stuff in the beginning, a strategy many writers use, he suggested spacing the golden coins throughout the narrative to maintain interest.

While the golden coins theory is useful, it’s also helpful to remember the things that cause readers’ eyes to gloss over to the point of boredom. Here are eight guaranteed ways to lose your reader’s attention in a hurry:

Take Forever to Get to the Point. Don’t hem and haw in your writing. Say what you have to say and get out of the way. Too may propositions are killers: “In an effort to provide employees with more time for their families, I would like to suggest that we try a four-day work week.” ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Telling Readers What They Already Know. Here’s an annoying way to begin a business letter, for example: “You wrote to us on June 4 asking for…”

Length. Closely related to the first point. No one wants to read more than they have to. Taking five paragraphs when three would do is a great way to lose interest.

Using technical terms. Imagine your reader having to stop every other sentence to figure out what your important-sounding acronym means or trying to decipher industry jargon.

Be Mysterious. Piquing interest is one thing. Being deliberately obscure is another. Make it clear from the start what you are writing about.

Using “I” A Lot. When you use the first person, it shows a sense of self-importance. Writing should be about the reader, not the writer.

Using “ing” Words. In addition to being generally wordy, using terms that end in “ing” frequently convey a feeling of uncertainty. “According to our phone conversation the other day, we are thinking about beginning…”

Saving the Best for Last. I’m all for concluding on a high note, but burying the lead is inexcusable.

Avoid these eight writing blunders, and your readers will make the journey from beginning to end with no interruptions.

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