Tips For Making Your Writing Easier To Read (So Your Ideal Reader Will Actually Read It)

Here’s something that the creative writer in me hates: 

The way your post looks is at least as important as what it actually says. 

I used to think that if we told a good story, if we gave good information, that it would rise to the top and the right people would like it, share it, and act on it. 

But that’s just not true. 

That’s one of the reasons behind the “starving artist” stereotype. 

Pouring our brains & hearts & souls into our work doesn’t guarantee that other people will recognize it. 

And that’s doubly true on social media. 

So here are 3 things to focus on that will give your posts the best possible chance of getting read by the right hiring managers. 

1. Lots of white space
2. Simple language
3. Stay focused

Let’s dive in: 

1. Lots of White Space

We all learned about the 5 sentence paragraph in school. And that was fine for writing essays in 6th grade. 

But when it comes to writing content that will be read on a screen, and not the printed page…

I want you to take almost all of the advice your English teacher gave you in school, crumple it up, and throw it in the trash. 

Because the kind of writing that would have gotten us an “A” back in the day… Will get us ignored now. 

Why? 

Several reasons. 

One: Dense, wall-of-text paragraphs are physically harder to read on a screen. 

When I’m slogging my way through a 10-line paragraph in an email from a client at the end of a 10-hour day on the computer… My eyeballs hurt. 

It’s simply more difficult to read through. Which is why the emails I send you have a ton of one, two & three line paragraphs in there. 

Two: Many social media users are seeing your posts on a smartphone screen. 

That 5-line paragraph on your computer becomes a 15-line behemoth on a phone. 

Which just compounds the problem. 

Three: If it looks like work to read… People won’t read it. 

Remember, your prospects aren’t in school. They’re not being forced to learn from you. And they’re not being paid to read your stuff. 

It has to be something they want to do. And most people (even really smart people) just don’t want to give their brain a workout during the 10 minutes they’re scrolling LinkedIn while they take a break from their real job. 

Which brings us directly to the second point: 

2. Simple language

Here’s something that can be tough to swallow: 

You need to write at a 6th grade reading level, MAX. If you can make your point at a 1st grade level… DO IT!

“But Rooooss, my audience is really smart. They have Master’s degrees and do really complex shi… er… stuff at work!”

Yeah, yeah. I know. 

But it’s not about their ability to understand. 

It’s about their willingness.

Because again, people aren’t coming to their LinkedIn feed to learn deep concepts. Or to struggle to understand something. 

They’re usually killing time in between meetings, after a long day, or - as I’ve written about before - while they’re waiting at a stoplight in their car. 

But beyond the fact that simpler language is easier to read… and thus more people will be more willing to read it…

Using simpler language forces YOU, the writer, to be really clear about the point you’re trying to make. 

And that laser-like clarity will really help the hiring managers you’re trying to influence. They’ll understand what you do, how you work, and how they can best take advantage of working with you. 

Because there are no awards for using SAT words in marketing. But there are awards for clearly communicating in a persuasive way. 

So use simple language, and…

3. Stay focused

I’ve heard from at least 147 recruiters (a number I totally made up, but I do think it’s in the ballpark) that

“I’m good at selling on a call, but I can’t get people on calls”

Not at all uncommon for experts who are good at what they do. 

Because on a call you have a lot of opportunity to go back & forth. To try new ways of explaining things when the first thing you said didn’t totally land. 

To kind of meander around, fill in gaps, and circle back. 

You don’t have that same luxury with LinkedIn content. 

A post needs to follow the 1-1-1 rule: 

1 post - 1 reader - 1 takeaway

Otherwise we run the risk of going in a bunch of different directions…

Leaving the reader not knowing what they’re supposed to actually think.

If they even reach the end of the post at all. Most likely… They’ll just scroll on by. 

Now it’s okay to put in extra stuff, give redundant examples, and do what I call “throat clearing” with your first draft. 

But on your second draft? Be ruthless. 

Ask yourself “who is this for, and what takeaway do I want them to have?”

And delete EVERY. SINGLE. WORD. that doesn’t contribute to that takeaway. 

You’ll end up with a post that is much more clear, much easier to understand, and that will leave your ideal hiring manager nodding their head and thinking about what a dang genius you are. (hopefully) 

Conclusion

Structure matters a lot on LinkedIn. There’s a reason that all the big influencers write those posts that are full of short lines. It’s what works. But hopefully now you understand a bit more of why it works, and how to do it for yourself. 

So here’s the homework.

Write a post. Don’t worry about the format, just get the ideas out of your head. 

Then, do these 3 things. 

1. Break up your paragraphs. I recommend no more than 2 lines per if you’re writing on a computer. (Because plenty of your readers will be reading on a smartphone with a 2.5 inch-wide screen) 
2. Go to hemingwayapp.com (it’s free!) and paste your post in there. Cut big words and chop long sentences into smaller chunks (who cares if they’re fragments, your English teacher isn’t going to pay your next 5-figure fee) until you hit that 6th grade level. Lower is better. 
3. Go through the post a 3rd time and get rid of anything that doesn’t contribute to the 1-1-1 rule. I always aim to cut 10% of my wordcount. If I can cut 50%, even better. You’re clearing away the rock to get to the gold here.