Small hassles and extra steps can sharply reduce action.
More quotesDraft one: “Exciting news! Our amazing new experience launches soon!”
The editor removes the marks.
“Exciting news. Our amazing new experience launches soon.”
It is now obvious that the sentence contains no news beyond “soon”, and even that lacks a date. The punctuation was doing unpaid emotional labour for two adjectives.
Draft two: “Bookings open on 12 June. Existing members can book on 11 June.” Nothing needs to squeal. The dates justify attention by being dates.
An exclamation mark is perfectly capable of warmth. “Thanks!” can feel friendlier than “Thanks.” A comic rant may need several because excess is the joke. But an error message saying “Your payment failed!” sounds as though the software is delighted. A legal warning with three sounds drunk.
Frequency changes meaning too. One mark in an otherwise calm letter can register genuine surprise. Ten reduce every sentence to the same volume. A launch date, a minor update and a fire alarm should probably have different voices.
The useful test is removal. If “Half price until 5pm” survives, the offer had substance. If “An incredible opportunity” goes flat, the mark was concealing the absence of one.
Often the repair is a noun or a number, not alternative decoration. Say what opened, changed, sold out or became available. The reader can supply excitement if the fact warrants it.
The final email retains a single exclamation mark in a colleague’s reply: “You fixed it!” The customer announcement has none. Somebody in approvals adds one after “12 June”, then asks whether it feels more engaging.