'Flesching' Out Stronger Copy
If you write copy using Microsoft Word, don't write another sentence before you do this:
- Go to the File drop-down menu and click Options.
- From the Options menu, click on Proofing.
- Look for the bold heading that says When correcting spelling and grammar. Click the box that says, Show readability statistics.
- Close out and now open a Word document that was written for a donor or prospect. Run spell check. You should now see a box that looks like the image on this page.
You've just launched the Flesch-Kincaid Readability Index, developed in 1975 for the U.S. Navy by J. Peter Kincaid. Originally designed to assess the difficulty of reading technical manuals, it has been expanded to use in hundreds of different situations.
- Categories:
- Creative
- Direct Mail
- Companies:
- Microsoft Corp.
Willis Turner believes great writing has the power to change minds, save lives, and make people want to dance and sing. Willis is the creative director at Huntsinger & Jeffer. He worked as a lead writer and creative director in the traditional advertising world for more than 15 years before making the switch to fundraising 20 years ago. In his work with nonprofit organizations and associations, he has written thousands of appeals, renewals and acquisition communications for every medium. He creates direct-response campaigns, and collateral communications materials that get attention, tell powerful stories and persuade people to take action or make a donation.
