What’s the easiest way to get a response from your readers? Ask for it. Seriously. You’d be surprised how many emails, presentations, and other documents don’t. Yet, it’s one of the quickest, simplest ways to improve the effectiveness of every document you write. In this post, I’ll show you some specific examples. They’re all based on a simple, yet powerful concept borrowed from the world of advertising.

In advertising jargon, this is known as the “call to action.” Copywriters learned years ago that if you don’t actually tell your readers to “order now” or “call today”, they probably won’t. You can spend hours crafting advertising copy that perfectly describes all the benefits of your product or service. But if you forget to tell your readers to take that next step, you won’t get the response you’re looking for. This was one of the first things I learned when I began working as a copywriter with John Reed (the guy behind 3000messages). And it has stayed with me ever since.

The call to action is just as important in your everyday business communications. That’s because the purpose of business communication is always to get a response. Writing an email to your boss? Don’t just tell her about the problem you encountered on your current project and assume she’ll give you the desired response. Instead, explain specifically what you’re asking her to do about it (e.g., add more people to the team, provide more resources, obtain buy-in from senior management, give you feedback, etc.).

Here’s how to use the “call to action” in different writing situations…

Presentations
Let’s say you’re introducing a new company policy to your employees. Don’t just talk about the policy itself – tell them exactly what you’re asking them to do differently. Presenting to a new prospective client? End on a slide that lays out the specific “next steps” needed to move forward.

Cover letters
Writing a cover letter to a prospective employer or customer? Even if it’s one of those “don’t call us – we’ll call you” situations, you can still encourage the reader to follow up by asking for a response. Instead of just listing your contact information on the letter, include a sentence near the end that invites the reader to get in touch.

Websites
A good website should guide the reader from the homepage all the way through to the desired action – whether that is purchasing a product, calling a sales rep, or scheduling a presentation. One way you can do this with a corporate website is to create some kind of special offer, such as a free initial consultation. This may be something that you already do for your clients anyway. By turning it into an offer, you can add a more compelling reason for prospects to get in touch.

Articles and whitepapers
You have to be careful with articles and whitepapers because you don’t want to come across as too salesy. These documents are supposed to be helpful, not pushy. So, make your call to action helpful. Tell your readers where to go for further information. Invite them to get in touch to learn how this new discovery or process (or whatever the article described) could impact their company.

One final example
Now that you’ve finished reading this blog post, pass it on to a friend. Or just click on the “retweet” button below to send it out to your Twitter followers. (See how easy that was?)

It’s a dark art. Most of us learned it first as schoolchildren and then perfected it later as college freshmen. We did it because the teacher asked for a three-page paper, but we only had two pages worth of meaningful thoughts. So we blathered on about nothing, repeating ourselves…rambling…struggling to reach the bottom of page three. Along the way, we learned how to write extra words just to fill space. It got us through school. But it’s killing our business communications. And it raises a very important question….

If you’re not being paid by the word, why add extra ones?

Why use 50 words when five will do? You’ve probably done it for at least one of the following reasons. I’ve done it for all them.

• To impress the boss – or the client, or that guy in your department who’s gunning for your job. You think bigger documents make bigger impressions. But what happens when your reader realizes all the extra weight is fat and not muscle?
• To meet expectations – everyone is expecting a 10-page report, so that’s exactly what you give them. You figure it’s easier to grind out the 10 pages than explain why you only wrote seven.
• To hide a lack of knowledge – you’ve been asked to comment on something you don’t understand. You try to look intelligent and rabbit on about who-knows-what. Politicians have this down to a science. Don’t do it – especially in writing. It’s boring. It’s inauthentic. And it shows.
• To cover every eventuality – your readers don’t really need to know every conceivable detail that might possibly have something to do with your message. They simply want enough details to make an informed decision and take action.
• To quit work early – yes, it can be easier to write a long document than a short one. Shorter documents require more care and feeding. You have to craft and edit them more extensively. You face all those painful decisions about what to leave in and what to take out. But the effort is always worth it. The more work you put into writing your document, the less work it is for your readers.

But is shorter really better?

Absolutely. Here are three short reasons why.

• Shorter gets read first. A stack of documents land on your desk. Most are long. One is short. Which would you read first?
• Shorter gets read completely. Everyone gets the whole message. No one resents having to read it.
• Shorter gets a response. When all the overgrowth is cut back, the main message is easier to see. Your readers get your point and can act on it quickly.

Shorter is better. Just remember that shorter is also relative. A 45-page document is wonderfully short if it originally started life as a 70-pager.

Okay, but what about your team’s expectations?

You need to set the expectations yourself. Before you show up at tomorrow’s meeting with your newly slimmed-down document, make sure your team knows what to expect. Tell the boss that it’s going to be a crisper, shorter report this time. Warn fellow presenters that you’re cutting the PowerPoint from 40 dull slides to 20 sharp ones. Give the marketing department a heads-up that your next white paper will take less paper, but pack more punch.

So what does it take to write shorter documents? 

All it really takes is courage. Stop stockpiling words. Buck up, be a hero, and cut your text. Do it now. Organize your thoughts and eliminate the fluff. Your readers will love you for it. And your English teacher will never know.

Take a quick look at the two documents below. Both have exactly the same 150 words. Even without understanding any of the words on the page, you can immediately see that one of these documents would be much easier to read – much more inviting.

This one?

Or this one?

Now think about the look of your next email, article, or business presentation. Is it one big block of uninviting text? If it is, you’re going to scare off your readers. Instead, break it up. Use subheads. Bullet points. Numbered points. Shorter paragraphs. Do anything you can to make it look easier to read…and more people will want to read it.