Unsponsored: Unbiased Reviews of Digital Marketing Tools (Hemingway App)

Edition 6: The Hemingway App

The best writing is simple. The best apps are too.

For every copywriter role we have, we get hundreds of applications. Maybe they were great at creative writing in school. Maybe they win at Scrabble a lot. Maybe they always get their Wordle answer in 2 or 3 attempts (alright, smartarse). Plenty of people think copywriting is easy.

Copywriting is not easy. Writing online copy is a real skill.

Fancy writing doesn't work - your reader isn't curled up by the fireplace with their cat on their lap, with all the time in the world to focus on your copy. They're walking, on the train, scrolling, multi-screening, talking to people.

Salesy writing will switch them off - they've seen it all before, a million times. They know the tricks, they're not easily fooled.

The trick to attract attention, engage your reader and get those conversions is to make your writing bold and clear.

The Hemingway App (created by Adam & Ben Long back in 2013) does just that. Named after the master of literary brevity himself, this refreshingly simple app edits your writing as you write. It helps to make your writing instantly more engaging.

How does it work?

The Hemingway App couldn't be easier to understand. Open the website and it's all right there in front of you. It's just one page with two modes: Write and Edit.

Write is a simple word processor, with simple formatting options up at the top.

Edit is where the magic happens. Down the right hand side, you get several scores and comments.

Readability - using the Flesch-Kincaid reading level calculations (based on the average sentence length and number syllables per word), you're given an American school grade of readership. Their example is a Grade 5 (that's Year 6 to us Brits). Don't try and go too high here, or you'll lose your layperson readers - something that SaaS companies tend to do a lot.

Word count - broken down into reading time, letters, characters, words, sentences and paragraphs.

Next, you get 5 colour-coded categories:

Adverbs - an adverb, for those of you that don't know, is a word that describes a verb, e.g. The dog ran to its owner quickly. Too many of them are often the sign of sloppy copy. For this example, the dog raced over to its owner is a much stronger, more evocative sentence. The Hemingway App allows you a limit number of adverbs - 2 or fewer, to keep you in check.

Passive Voice - using the passive voice is when the subject undergoes the action of the verb, e.g. the dinner was served by the host as opposed to the active voice, e.g. the host served the dinner. Again, this is often an indicator of sloppy copy, and wordy sentences, so it's best to cut this out where possible. The App will let you know when you've strayed into passive territory.

Simpler Alternative - as I said at the beginning of this article, a wide vocabulary and fancy writing doesn't get you very far when it comes to copy. Always use a shorter, easier word if you can. It won't make you look stupid. Remember, only people who truly understand concepts can explain them in simple terms. The App will highlight any overly complex words and offer you replacement ideas.

Sentence Readability - Finally, the App highlights sentences that are 'hard to read' or 'very hard to read'. They'll offer suggestions on how to avoid meandering sentences (something I'm particularly guilty of), and how to shorten or split it to make it easier to digest.

What's the damage?

Nothing - it's completely free. There isn't a paid version because there doesn't need to be one. I had a quick check, and they get nearly 250k visitors each month (and have 444k backlinks from people who clearly love it as much as I do), yet they don't have any ads. Which is again, refreshing.

They ask nothing of their users but better quality writing.

***

Note: This newsletter is, as it says on the tin, completely unsponsored. It conveys my own opinion, as the owner of a (reliably brilliant) copywriting and SEO agency based in Birmingham.