Bullet Points - Ally Or Enemy?

Commence reading a piece of marketing material these days and you will see bullet points left, right and centre. But are they used correctly or just thrown in there for no good reason? I am a big fan of bullet points if they are applied well. Such techniques are well utilized by Brisbane IT consultant. We live in a quick paced world and get bombarded with information everywhere we turn. These days we do not really have time to read through endless paragraphs of information. We want to have key benefits of your product or service given to us directly. 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 might be best. Getting each point across making use of minimum words is a plus. Your readers will be able to scan through the material you are providing and leave with maximum information about your product or offer.

There are times when longer bullet points may be needed. Perhaps you are describing 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 viewer.

○ 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 regularly. Use the same font, spacing and margins. It is considered fairly old fashioned to double space your bullets these days. Single spacing certainly 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 entire list. Full sentences or even questions should be ended with a full stop or question mark. Short statements don't need a full stop.

○ Do not make bullet points too long. They aren't a paragraph and are intended to accelerate information gathering. Try and stick to three lines as a maximum.

○ Know when to utilize 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 creating great bullet points in no time. Not only will bullet points benefit your readers, but they will help you too. You will not have to invest as much time developing sentences and ensuring your paragraphs flow. Bullet points enable 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 will not go wrong.

To get a better understanding check out Icreate Solutions.