"Listen to this, it is important."

“This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals–sounds that say listen to this, it is important.”

- Gary Provost

4 Ways to Get a Reader to Read More Than Just Your Headline

After having been a professional writer for a few years, the hands-down most annoying thing about the job is that whenever you write something, it is extremely unlikely that most readers will give it more attention than a brief glance at the headline, the picture, and if you're lucky, the first paragraph.

That's it, you heard me right. If you're reading this, congratulations! You're one of the elite few who've made it to this second paragraph. After all, we live in a modern fast-paced world, right? I mean, within the time it's taken to read BOTH these paragraphs, you may have even had time to squeeze in reading four or five tweets from famous people.

The 'inverted pyramid' style used in newspaper reports was drummed into me when I was a wee li'l budding journalist. "Give the most important information first, and the least important information last." People were busy, and didn't like having to sift through a load of trivial tripe to get to the actual nitty-gritty of a news story. I was never a big fan of this kind of formulaic writing but I could see that it was nonetheless effective, especially when people are trying to, say, read an entire newspaper on a train trip to work. I, however, didn't want to approach my writing like that.

Despite this technologically imposed attention deficit disorder that seems to be infecting us from the teenagers up, I'm here to tell you not to lose hope! We may be getting more easily distracted, and we may be sick of the torrents of articles and information surrounding us in day-to-day life, but I have a few tips and tricks I've picked up over the years to keep the attention of that elusive audience. It may seem simple to some, but if you want more people to read your words, here are a few handy hints:

1. Come for the picture, stay for the wit.

Look at this goddamn polar bear. He is adorable. Do you even remember the point of this blog? How are you even reading this right now with him crawling toward your screen like that? I'll tell you how. 

Try not to let this baby polar bear distract you from the blog.

Well, your brain is pretty powerful. Before you get too flattered, I'm talking about the fact that we can perceive many symbols, images, text and external stimuli at once, and so once you've seen the polar bear once, cocked your head and said "naww", you have cognitively processed this image and can return to reading the words around it. That's why the Page 3 of most tabloid newspapers almost always include a very attention-grabbing image -- it's a proven psychological effect that sells papers and makes the articles surrounding the image seem more interesting by proxy. I mean, realistically I could write any old rubbish, and it will still probably read like Chaucer next to this cuddly little guy.

2. Everyone loves a list.

"10. Discover why humanity loves lists so much."

Admit it. You love them. Even popular humour website Cracked.com makes hilarious list-based articles part of their blockbuster formula, and there's a pretty obvious reason why. Humans without exception have a compulsive need to find out what's on a list. Scientists don't know why, we just do. (...Citation Needed)

 Even if we don't read list based articles, some people will just skim down and focus on the bullet points. To them, that feels like they've accomplished something. 

Apart from making your articles visually delicious to the human eye, the use of a list allows you to organise your thoughts when you're writing it and break down that burning mess of ideas in that  noodle of yours and translate it into something on the page that's actually readable.

3. Have something to say.

"HEY EVERYBODY CHECK OUT THIS PHOTO OF MY DINNER"
#instagram #foodie #howdidpeopleeatbeforeinstagramlol

You would think this one would be obvious. You would think. But what do we hear in mainstream and social media alike? A cacophony of voices and opinions, usually not researched, and usually broadcast for the sole purpose of hearing one's own voice (or reading one's own status waiting for the Likes to roll in...) We, the readers of the world, are used to it, but we are sick of it. It is simply another worthless piece of non-information that we have to scroll past. Educate yourselves, inform your opinion, and make your point quickly. Readers will thank you for it.

4. When in doubt, wrap it up.

It's not rocket science. You know you hate to read when you don't have to, and so does everyone else. It's the Achilles heel of many a writer to outstay their welcome, over-explaining a point when in reality there's nothing left to say. Less is more. In fact, that reminds me of this one story...

What Can Britney Teach My Charity About Marketing?

What could single mother Britney Spears, who has admitted to “dabbling” in drugs and is renowned for going out without her knickers, have to teach the charity sector about fundraising?

1. Baby One More Time - Britney knows her product really well; it is herself. A talented singer, she was a teen icon who defined pop music in the late ‘90s. Baby One More Time sold 1.4 million physical copies and more than half a million digital copies for the 16 year old. Lesson one is – be very good at what you do.
2. Oops, I Did It Again – Still rocking her “sweet 16” persona, Britney shows with her second album that she could pull off the same stunt – twice. So lesson two is – just because you’ve used a tactic once doesn’t mean you have to “refresh the brand” straight away. You can have success doing the same thing - again.
3. I’m A Slave For You – Britney decides – after turning 19 and three headline-laden years in the industry –to show that she’s an adult and a strong, mature singer with real ability. So lesson three is – if you have used the same formula for a while, consider how you can branch out and make the most of what you have.
4. Toxic –Britney’s 2004 hit showed that she could deliver a seriously good tune, which became a dance anthem – reassuring her fans that she had what it takes to be a star and not just a diva. So lesson four is – despite your challenges and failings/failures pick yourself up and do what you are good at – now is not the time to be a fundraising diva, it’s time to deliver.
5. Gimme More –That’s a fundraising tagline that you probably won’t be using – at least put as baldly as that. However, Britney was ramping up her raunch factor in 2007 and capitalising on her strengths. So lesson five is – now is the time to turn up the dial on your fundraising efforts. If you need more, ask for it.
6. Piece of Me – December 2006 was disastrous for Britney – her parenting was questioned, her fan site closed, she was voted worst dog owner, and she broke up with Paris Hilton. Apart from that she kept forgetting her knickers. Britney turned to music in 2007 and she made lots of money. So lesson six is – ensure your donors know you don’t just want a piece of them – let them know that you value them. It’s time for some donor care.
7. Womanizer – a naked Britney in a steam room? Seriously, I can learn from this? “I know just what you are,” Britney sings – she gets it in one. So lesson seven – do you know just what and who your donors are? Segmentation –also known as ‘community building’ –works.
8. 3 (That's the name of the song, just '3') – After 11 years in the top searches on Google and with more than 4 million followers on Twitter (in 2009), Brittany decides to go back to basics - 1,2,3.

1. The focus is on her
2. She sings a catchy tune, and
3. She puts her best ‘foot’ forward. 

So lesson eight – what are your charity’s three basics in fundraising? Identify them, stick to them and promote them.

Britney Spears on a downward trend

9. Hold It Against Me – Britney has two personas by 2011 – the sweet innocent that fans loved when she was 16 and the raunchy diva of 2011. She offers up both in the lyrics and music video with this hit. She has also learned the art of merchandising and cross promotion and the video features her perfume and make up. So lesson nine is – are you merchandising, do you cross promote and are your charity’s personas tailored to each community?
10. Till (sic) The World Ends – even Britney needs a good copywriter, as the title of this song shows (it should be ‘Til as in ‘until’, not Till – which is a either a cash register or something farmers do to soil). In this post-apocalypse anthem Britney is still singing and, with more than 113 million hits on this December 2012 video, why wouldn’t she be? So lesson 10 is – while your hits might be trending downward (just like Britney’s), it’s not over until the world ends. See what a good copywriter can do; let us help you trend upwards again. Come visit us here or there or what about this place?, or even somewhere else or maybe, even here.

As The Copy Collective heads towards achieving 50 "likes" on Facebook, it put managing editor Maureen in reflective mood.

I remember turning fifty. I asked my husband to organise an event with my friends – a weekend away at Duralong on the NSW Central Coast. It was wonderful to spend time with dear friends, family and in a beautiful setting. My sister, Helen, baked fifty cupcakes and decorated them with fifty pink candy flowers. I had more than fifty reasons to smile – I don’t think I stopped smiling all weekend. I remember turning fifty, it seems like yesterday.

Paris

At The Copy Collective, when we want fashion advice or retail marketing copy we turn to our resident fashionista, Athina ‘Tina’ Antarakis. This young lovely has relocated from Barcelona to Paris, just in time for the frenzy that is Paris Fashion Week. Tina tells us:

“Contrary to popular belief, life in Paris is not an endless loop of fashion shows and sunset drinks sipped within alarming proximity to a shimmering Eiffel Tower.

Oh wait. That’s right. Actually, it is, but perhaps not quite in the way that you might think.

Yes, there are the famous, high profile fashions shows- and wondrously inspiring ones at that - but since Fashion Week turned into a crazy circus, where celebrity bloggers and stylish attendees have become almost as important as the show itself, those of us who like our fashion  less frenzied tend to look to our local street or neighbourhood bistro.

The paparazzi may be nowhere in sight, but back in the real world the Paris fashion show is very much a daily occurrence. Whether the ensembles are bright and blingy, chic yet conservative, or - believe it or not, sometimes even a little dull and dowdy - totally depends on which part of town you happen to be in or the metro line you hop on that day, such is the diversity of cultures and fashion creeds here in the world’s fashion capital.

Spending time in Paris certainly reminds you that there are still plenty of people out there in our increasingly-homogenised world who are not afraid to make an effort or to express themselves a little differently. I love to be taken by surprise by someone sporting a sequinned top, sky-high heels, or bright red lipstick in the middle of the day - anything goes and why shouldn’t it? We are in Paris after all!

Surely, there are still plenty of French people dressed in their uniform of monochromes and neutrals but that can be lovely too, especially when you are close enough to notice the little details. I love to see contrast stitching on the reverse side of a coat lapel or the care with which a tie has been matched to a pair of socks.

And while some may say that Parisian women are generally rather boyish in their style of dress, all slim pants, loose-fitting tops, and flat shoes and boots, they are almost always supremely fashionable and very nicely put together indeed.

And as for that view? Well, I have been lucky enough to find one, as my current abode has a most fortuitous aspect of a certain Parisian monument. I don’t know about you, but I think that makes it almost obligatory to raise a glass or two of something bubbly of an evening, in honour of discovering that there is still plenty of opportunity to stand out in the City of Lights, it’s just a matter of finding your corner to shine in."

Now that’s what I call F for Fabulous. 

If you want to read more about the adventures of Tina in Paris, visit her here .