Cut the 80%.

The law of the Vital Few or Pareto’s principle claim is straightforward. For a given event, 20% of actions generate 80% of the consequences.

So, 80% of your blog traffic is driven by 20% of your published articles. 20% of your system bugs amount to 80% of its crashes and errors.

The same principle can be applied to your copy.

What if 20% of the written words can communicate your main idea?

I bet you’ve come across dozens of articles, description pages full of pretentious language, buzzwords, and adjectives. But with no real meaning. Or sharing an idea that could have been summed up in a paragraph. Your audience faces a similar problem. Why give them more of the same?

Choose to be concise and clear. Eliminate the clutter and keep what’s compelling. Be human. Write like you talk. Use shorter sentences. Start with your customer’s needs. And add your brand voice and personality. Infuse some wit into it.

Say more with less words.

Or reduce the words to 0

Do you remember the Lego campaigns?

via Designer Daily
via Designer Daily

That’s when your story needs no words. For the rest of the time use fewer.