How can copy stand out in a flooded attention economy? 

As consumers, we have a reflex against bad content. Not everything we scroll past is worth our undivided focus. This is particularly difficult for sponsored content, as advertising interrupts the consumer’s existing relationship with their (media) environment. As attention spans decrease, us in the advertising industry must adapt our craft.

Long-form copy is dead, more or less. It used to work in the newspaper, when people didn’t have much else to read. Now there’s too much content to consume. If you want to compete in the flooded attention economy, you have to be quick.

The subject of every sentence requires clarity, preferably early-on within the sentence. If an introductory clause elongates the description of an unknown subject, they click off. Same goes with audio, a meandering speaker that takes too long to get to the point is near-on infuriating. It’s too much to ask of someone to have patience for an advertisement of all things.

Big words are a no no. Some words in this article (written for a specific audience) I would not use in an ad (written for a general audience), merely on the basis of complexity. You might be well-read as a writer, but if you stray from simple word-choice, you might confuse the viewer and convolute the message. Remember, hardly anyone has the patience to figure out the point unless you make it obnoxiously clear for them. 

Now more than ever, people couldn’t care less about ads, which is why writing compelling copy is such a skill. Cater to the sentence skimmers, those who can’t wait to click away from your work. Work tailored for fragile attention spans is work that will stand out against the flooded attention economy.