Clear out your content

Depressions bring fresh breezes. Now is the time to clean up and strip back your communications to a point where your message is clear. To do this, look at everything you give your audience to read, and for each document ask the question: what’s the point? What is the purpose of this piece of writing? And is this the best way to achieve it? The brand team at E.ON applied this test and cut the annual volume of mail sent out by about 860,000 letters. When Royal Mail reviewed the purpose and design of its redirection instructions about ten years ago, it led to changes that reduced admin costs by £10,000 a week. If everyone could do this perfectly then junk mail wouldn't exist. That would be a real spring clean for our world.