Why You Definitely MUST Sweat the Small Stuff

In copywriting we constantly talk about the importance of specificity.

For example, in Early to Rise we discussed it on June 10, 2006 and on Novemeber 4, 2004 and even on May 12, 2005.

Small details bring writing to life and make your story credible. Michal Masterson once told me "Vagueness, generalization and summaries are death!".

Details count in products as well. Kathy Sierra of "Creating Passionate Users" gave a packed talk yesterday on "Tools for Enchantment: 20 Ways to Woo Users" at SXSW.

At her talk she gave an example of the WOW factor caused by just one little detail...

Have you seen the iPhone?

Have you scrolled it?

Have you noticed the little "bounce" when you stop?

Cool, right?

Just a little detail, for sure, but Sierra explained that the little details add up to the difference between a mediocre product - and a cultural phenomenon like the iPhone.