Bullet Points – Friend or Foe?

Start reading a piece of marketing material these days and you’ll see bullet points left, right and centre. But are they being used correctly or just thrown in there for no good reason? I’m a big fan of bullet points when they are used well. We live in a fast paced world and get bombarded with information everywhere we turn. These days we don’t really have time to read through endless paragraphs of information. We want to have the key benefits of your product or service given to us straight up. No messing around, give it to us short and sweet.

Good bullet points:

• are simple to read
• draw your attention
• give you the real facts
• break up the copy

If possible, short punchy bullet points work best. Getting each point across using minimum words is great. Your reader will be able to scan through the material you’re providing and walk away with maximum information about your product or offer.

There are times when longer bullet points may be needed. Perhaps you are explaining some features, or giving instructions. Longer bullet points can be effective if you follow a few tips:

• Highlight the key words of each point. Underline or bold this text – this ensures that your main message is conveyed to the reader.
• Make your bullet points consistent. If you have 5 bullet points they should be either short statements, full sentences or even questions – but not a mix of each.
• Format your bullets consistently. Use the same font, spacing and margins. It is considered somewhat old fashioned to double space your bullets these days. Single spacing is definitely the way to go for short points, but extra spacing can be used between long or numbered points.
• Punctuation should be consistent. Choose to start each point with a capital letter, or in lower case – but use the same for the whole list. Full sentences or questions should be ended with a full stop or question mark. Short statements do not need a full stop.
• Don’t make bullet points too long. They are not a paragraph and are intended to speed up information gathering. Try and keep to three lines as a maximum.
• Know when to use a bullet rather than a number. Actual bullets are good when there are only a few. If you have more than 6 points, numbering them may be easier for the reader to keep track of.

Understanding these basic principles will get you writing great bullet points in no time. Not only will bullet points benefit your readers, but they will help you as well. You won’t have to spend as much time developing sentences and ensuring your paragraphs flow. Bullet points allow you to use simple punctuation and structures which will save you valuable time. Treat your bullet points like headlines – short, informative and persuasive – and you won’t go wrong.

So, are you the conveyor of fantastic bullet points, or are you guilty of misusing this great tool? Perhaps this article has made you think that your marketing copy may need some revamping. Why not take some of your sales material and give it a ‘bullet point audit’. Are you using them effectively, badly or not at all? Better yet, send it through to me and I can evaluate if for you. Contact me today at info@icreatesolutions.com.au or 0417 792 021.

soniakeen
Hi, Sonia Keen here, owner of iCreate Solutions. I am also a graphic and web designer, passionate about helping your business succeed with outstanding design that helps your business grow.