I believe it was Mark Twain that once said, "If I would have had time, I would have written a shorter letter." His point being... it takes much more thought and time to write a short, concise piece than a long one. It's true, too!

Think about it. How hard is it to get your point across in a very limited amount of time or space? Ever tried to write copy for a postcard mailing? How about a 30-second radio commercial? How do you tell customers everything you want them to know in just a few words? Truth is... you don't.

Short copy has some special considerations. The first (and most important) is that it isn't meant to make sale. Then why do you write it? *To spark interest!*

Short copy plays an important role in advertising process. It can be used as a lead generation tool, an announcement, a teaser to build interest, and in lots of other ways. Extremely short copy is simply meant to lead to other means of closing a sale.

Postcard mailers might instruct reader to send for an information package. Pay-per-click search engine listings will guide reader to a Web site just full of copy. Ezine ads do same thing. Small display ads in newspapers or in-store signage may encourage reader to get more details. You get point.

Short copy needs to be extremely targeted. For example, if you're running a small display ad in a magazine you'll want to take into consideration "why" readers bought that magazine. Then create your headline and copy to speak to their special interests.

Get Read To start with, web users don't read pages. They scan them, looking for interesting information. They always want to move on and don't always believe what they read.

To gain and keep their attention; you need to be relevant, interesting, up-to-date, brief, consistent, easy to understand and accurate.

Know your audience A good place to start is with your audience. Think very carefully about who they are. This is obviously easier to do if your business is aimed at a niche market. If not; remember that you can't be all things to all people - and find out who your most profitable customer group is. Aim your content at them.

How do they talk, how do they think, what do they know and what do they want to know? Ensure you know your audience and write at their level and in their language. Make it relevant to them.

Get scannability Write in an inverted pyramid (say point and then explain it). Start with a really good headline that offers relevant benefits of reading text. Next, summarise your point. Put who, what, where, when and how in first two sentences. In next paragraph, briefly explain why and then move on.