The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and
a good ending; and to have the two as close together as possible.
a good ending; and to have the two as close together as possible.
― George Burns
New-media company Axios, launched in January by former Politico staffers, intends to distinguish itself among the legions of online newsletters by "writing short."
There's a lesson in this for business bloggers, egged on by experts to blather for SEO's sake.
“Journalists are writing for journalists. That’s the biggest problem in media right now,” says Axios co-founder Jim VandeHei. “People don’t want the pieces we’re writing. They’re too damn long.”
Ad-free for now, Axios will generate revenue eventually through $10,000 subscriptions, the founders hope.
"Smart brevity" is the key to attracting those subscribers. The newsletter's website describes the idea:
If you think about your evolving habits for consuming news and information, you realize you have less time, and a shorter attention span. Our content, our ads and our platforms are designed specifically to adjust to these new habits and demands. We aim to make the experience more substantive and meaningful—and therefore more valuable. When we pull this off, it will free people up to spend time on content truly WORTHY of their time, on our platform or elsewhere.
Axios, you might guess, is Greek for "worthy." By writing short, VandeHei plans to steer clear of the "crap trap"―the dead end publishers turn onto when they forget readers come first.
