To Bullet Point or Not to Bullet Point?

A few of the more cherished truisms among today's marcom professionals are:

• Everyone is incredibly busy
• Nobody reads anymore
• People have short attention spans

So it comes as no surprise that marcom writers are under constant pressure to keep their copy as short as possible. When the objective is to convey the maximum amount of information with as few words as possible, bullet points are often the tool of choice.

But there's just one problem: the objective of marketing communications is not to inform, it is always to persuade—persuade audiences to take action (e.g., buy your products or services), persuade them to embrace and be loyal to your brand, persuade them to refrain from choosing your competitors' solutions, etc.

Providing information is a means to achieving that goal of persuasion, not an end unto itself. And that's where the efficacy of bullet points can start to break down.

To be sure, they can be extremely effective to:

• List product features and/or specifications
• Preview messaging points
• Summarize messaging points

In short, the best use of bullet points is to support persuasive narratives or themes, not to supersede them. For example, bullets are often employed to list key messaging points in a marcom article. This gives readers a quick, easy-to-scan summary of the article's viewpoints, which are then convincingly explained in expository text. Take away these explanations and bullets become simple "take it or leave it" propositions—and many readers may leave them.

Remember that B2B audiences are inherently more wary of marketing materials than the general public; these business professionals know that you have an agenda and thus will understandably question everything you say. But that doesn't make these skeptical professionals an intractable audience—quite the opposite.

Indeed, it's their predilection for logic and proof that makes these B2B audiences so responsive to rational, articulate arguments that are rooted in fact. Present these readers with a seamless thread of reason, each point implying the next until your central assertion becomes an inevitable conclusion, and they'll readily concede your viewpoint. To do otherwise would effectively deny the validity of rational argument, which underlies every business decision they make.

Bottom line, bullet points are an excellent way to call attention to information such as product features or specifications, as well as important messaging points. But they will never take the place of well-reasoned, convincing prose when it comes to the essential goal of persuading your audience to actually do something.