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PAUL BRINGE'S ADVICE FOR WRITERS
One of the all-time great letter experts was Paul Bringe of Milwaukee. Unfortunately, he never
wrote a book to share his knowledge. But, many learned from the advice he gave during one of
his frequent speaches at direct mail meetings. In one of his presentations, he offered this advice
on what it takes to be a good direct mail letter writer:
Test It.
■ Good writing requires a knowledge of the abilities and limitations of your reader
We cannot talk with people successfully until we know a lot about them. You won't
be able to get into the mind of another with little black marks on a piece of paper
until you know which door to his mind is open and how wide open it is. Or, if the
door is closed, you must know how to unlatch it. There is a door waiting for you in
the mind of every reader and if you know your reader, it will swing open for you.
I suggest testing everything you write for readability. This is not difficult nor time-consuming.
After you do it a dozen or two dozen times, you will estimate reading level without testing. There
are many different formulas for measuring readability, but the most popular, and certainly easiest
to use, is the Rudy Flesch formula.
The Flesch formula, and most other formulas, are based on two facts that have been demonstrated
over and over.
1. The longer the sentence, the less the reader will get out of it.
2. The more short words, the more the reader will get out of it.
Now this sounds very simple, and if we follow it to its logical conclusion we would write nothing
but one-syllable words and three or four-word sentences. Surely, then, everyone would understand
so they would, but few would read.
The Flesch formula is based on the average length of sentences and the average length of words.
Some sentences must be long and some words must be long, but if they are varied with short
sentences and short words, the overall readability will be good. Writing at the correct level of
readability for your audience will not in itself ensure a successful piece of copy — but at least you
will know you are not throwing roadblocks in your reader's path.
Verb-Adjective Ratio.
The next thing to watch for is the verb-adjective ratio. Verbs are the motion words of communication
— they carry the reader along, they paint pictures of action in which the reader can see himself
as an actor. Verbs bring movement, excitement, and flow, and lead the reader quickly to the
conclusion you want him to reach.
Writing you cannot put aside until you have finished has a high verb-adjective ratio, about three
verbs to each adjective. This ratio follows reading difficulty. Too many adjectives force the reader
to stop and reconstruct his mental picture — each additional adjective adds more qualification to
your statement, adds another fact the reader must carry in his mind to arrive at complete under-
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