The Rule of Three

By Jennifer Stewart
Posted Saturday, September 18, 2004

"Third time lucky!" we all say.

"Bad news comes in threes."

Just what is it about the number three? We have the Holy Trinity and the Three Muskateers; the Three Wise Men and the Three Little Pigs; the three witches in Macbeth ... spells and incantations from all religions use the magic number of three ... and so it goes on ...

It's a number that crops up all the time in everyday speech: listen closely, next time a friend or associate is ticking off options, it will nearly always be along the lines of, "... first, there's A,; secondly there's B and thirdly, there's C ..." or "I can give you three good reasons why we should X ..." (Even the ellipse ... the dots used to indicate a pause ... is a series of three dots, no more and no less!)

So, if the number three IS such a powerful force, how can we harness this for our advertising purposes?

Easy.

You should always use bulleted lists, to make your key points stand out in your advertising, so organize your material into threes:
* give your buyers three reasons to buy your product
* suggest three benefits
* offer three different ways to purchase your product
* give three testimonials from satisfied customers

Any little advantage you can gain over your competitors helps you to increase your business. Try enforcing the Rule of Three in your next advertisement!

About the Author
Jennifer Stewart offers professional writing services for web pages, press releases, advertising material, business reports, content for autoresponders, technical booklets and articles for newsletters. For those who want their own writing double-checked for accuracy, Stewart offers proof reading or full editing. Website: (http://www.write101.com) Free writing tips: mailto:WritingTips-subscribe@onelist.com?subject=Tips