THE LONG STORY
Is it ironic, or just weird, the number of times Straightup has been asked to write something, only to be told at some point in the process:
“No one really reads it anyway.”
Actually, people do still read.
A lot. We read to our kids. We read book club books. We read labels at the store, articles for work, too many text messages when we shouldn’t, more emails than we want and more online “news” than we care to admit. According to this smart guy, we today-humans are attempting to take in as much data each day as back-then people used to take in in a lifetime.
Sweet Georgia Brown no wonder we don’t read anymore.
But it’s like Yogi said: “Nobody ever goes there — it’s too crowded.”
How crowded?
In 2012, market researchers told us we had just seven seconds to capture our reader’s attention.
By 2014 that number had dropped to five.
Five seconds?
We’re drowning in data!
And so very thirsty for insight.
Which is why readers will stay with a narrative, but only when text is relevant, compelling or enjoyable.
Preferably all three.
Which is a strong case for communicating the straightup way.
The best way, the only way, to make a connection between you and your audience is to:
a. look within to find your story;
b. look without to understand theirs; and
3: bridge the two with language that sticks.
It’s all down to finding the right idea for the right audience — and integrating with graphics. Because whether it’s 140 characters or 140 pages, everything reads better with design.
Because you have something to say.