Boron - Chapter 18

Let's see now. Oh yeah. When I left off last night one of
the last things I mentioned was how the judicious use of
parenthesis (like this) can provide "eye relief" for your
reader.

Alright. Now, let's talk a bit more about eye relief. Have
you ever looked at a piece of writing and decided not to
read it because it looked so forbidding? I'll bet you have.
Many times.

Usually, this kind of writing will have long sentences, long
paragraphs, narrow side margins, small type and very little
white space anywhere on the page.

Now, we certainly don't want people to avoid reading
our copy for stupid reasons like this, do we? You say you
agree? Good. In that case, I'll press on.

Now, listen up. When a person first looks at something you
have written it should be something that looks inviting to
read. Easy-to-read. When he looks at your page of copy he
should be drawn to your copy like a convict is to a
Penthouse Magazine.

Your page of copy (be it letter or space ad) should be laid
out in such a manner as to be an attractive "eye treat" for
the reader.

This means wide margins, a certain amount of white space,
double spacing between paragraphs, short words, short
sentences, short paragraphs and an attractive, inviting
layout.

And now, my dear son, you are about to learn one of my very
most important secrets. What I am about to tell you is so
important that you can get as much as 500% more readership.
Yet, at the same time, this important consideration remains
almost virtually unknown by almost every agency and
advertising person I have ever encountered.