You and Yours...
... is there anything in the world that interests you more?
One of the greatest crimes of the technical writing orthodoxy is to discourage use of the word "you". It is almost impossible to read a sentence with the words "you" or "your" in it and not be just a little bit interested. So working to avoid them is like going out of your way to bore your readers. For a web site to succeed, it must have a clear structure and effective SEO. Is less interesting than If you want your web site to succeed, make sure it has a clear structure and effective SEO. (Even though it's shorter.) Using these magic words is like giving a direct command to the brain: "care", "be interested". In a Dummies guide, virtually every sentence includes the word "you". I'm using one on buying houses at the moment. And it almost never talks about "the house", "a mortgage", "an insurance policy". It's always "your house", "your mortgage", "your insurance policy". A simple trick that makes a huge difference to engagement and readability.
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagner-machado-carlos-lemes/
Comments [7]