Ever heard of Rudolf Flesch?
No, of course you haven’t.
And I only heard of him because Drayton mentions one of Flesch’s books every now and then (It’s called ‘Why Johnnie can’t read’).
Flesch is known for his work in to what makes easy reading.
And that’s why some direct marketers have heard of him (well, the pros have).
Flesch was the first to say we read by recognising the shape of a word – not the individual letters.
And he’s right. What’s it’s easy to prove too. Then I’ll show you why it’s important.
So here goes. Can you read the below?
Most people can read it because it’s the shape of the word that allows for readership.
So how can this help us in direct marketing? I’ll show you.
Take a look at this ad. We run it with everything lower case.
Lower case ads usually perform a lot better. Not every time, but most of the time. But people don’t run them because they worry about ‘not starting with a capital letter’. Which is great news for marketers that couldn’t care less (me).
And the same goes for headlines. Just use one capital at the start. The rest can go in lower case. Take my word for it, it’ll be easier to read.
Or do you thkin I’m fllu of it?
Best
Al