Observed

I’m a big fan of consistency.  And its cousin, repetition.

These qualities make a lot sense…most of the time.  Such as getting in the habit of flossing my teeth.  Or, putting together an effective ad campaign.  Or, getting my Sunday New York Times delivered every Sunday.

I want some things the same way pretty much every time I want them.

Except when I write.  Or communicate.  That’s when a little variety every once in a while can help.

The What and the How

Variety can help what I write get better noticed and remembered.  I use it to better engage my readers and keep them engaged.  So, I:

• Vary the length of my sentences.  A long sentence is 14 words.  Better to shoot for seven words.  In any event, vary.
• Vary the length of my paragraphs.  Short paragraphs are OK.  So are long ones, provided everything relates to my topic sentence.
• Avoid overusing the same word.  Notice I didn’t say vary?

The same concept applies to scheduling what I aim to communicate.

The When

Here’s an example of what I mean by When.  Some newsletter publishers believe a quarterly newsletter must be mailed the beginning of each new quarter.

This kind of rigidity, however, reduces the impact of the piece by making it seem too routine.  Better to mix things up a little.  Mail a little early or late.  Maybe even throw in a fifth quarterly issue of the newsletter.  (Oh!, heresy.)

And, then, there’s the notion of asymmetry.  When I do something thoughtful for someone, for example, I want it to be remembered.  That’s hard to do when what I do is being smothered by everyone else’s thoughtfulness.

The giving of holiday gifts and cards to clients is a perfect example of this symmetrical, upstream selling.  While I do send cards, I don’t count on them to make much of an impact.  They’re just table stakes.  It’s expected.

Instead, I’ll do something really thoughtful for a client just about any time other than the holidays.  Since I’m from Louisville, Ky., home of the legendary Louisville Slugger, I’ll send great clients a real bat on, say, opening day for Major League Baseball.  Or, in time for Game One of the World Series.

You get the idea.

Like a rose bush in a pig sty

Just to make sure my conceptual footing is good, I have a pop quiz.  Quick, without looking, how many figures are in the image of the stone frieze at the top of this post?

My guess is that if there were an incongruity among the carved figures, you would have noticed and it would have stuck.  Good or bad, you’d notice.  And, when you notice, the details of the whole image would be more memorable.

That’s a home run, any day.