YOUR LAYOUT

Format for skimmers

Let's face it, nobody reads any more. We skim. And when you're designing a message for skimmers, readability is job one.

* Choose a font size big enough for effortless reading. 11- or 12-point works well.
* Keep most sentences short. 2 lines max. BUT the odd 1-sentence paragraph can also be effective—just as long as you don't use more than one per page.
* Keep paragraphs shorter than 8 lines.
* Break page-ending paragraphs in mid-sentence so readers will flip the page to keep reading.
* Indent paragraphs to create an informal appearance. Justify left for a more institutional look.
* Organize the page with bullets and numbers.
* Messages with underlining, UPPERCASE, italics and highlighting generally out-pull plainer looking letters.
* Center your subheads in bold. Make them the same font as your body copy.

How about handwriting?


There are two schools of thought on this. One holds that occasional handwriting gets attention. The other finds it amateurish. Knowing your prospects inside-out is critical.

Same goes for arrows, lines, circles and margin notes. Use with caution. But, as always, your customer's opinion is really the only one that counts.

Back to our sales letter