Yesterday, I visited my friend Tara’s place and noticed that she put a large piece of paper on her bedroom wall, next to where she slept.

On it was written some quotations and general life principles. Tara wanted to remind herself of these words when she woke up everyday and before she went to bed. It’s a self-improvement trick to overcome negativity and focus on the important things.

So I got curious and read what she wrote. After I came home, I tried recalling what I read but could only come up with two lines. The rest were a blur.

If it was up to me, I would split the large piece of paper into little post-it notes, each with one message and paste them all on the wall or different parts of her room, perhaps one in the closet, two on the bookshelf.

I think they’ll have more impact than a large piece of paper, crammed to the brink with powerful lines. Ideas spread when they are remembered. And they stick in the mind better when they stand alone, without competition from other opposing ideas.

A persuasive blog post or sales letter argues one point and accentuates it thoroughly with analogies, metaphors, examples and references. Just one point, because too many and you’ll not only lose your own focus but the attention of your audience. You don’t want to distract them from taking action.

Too many statements and important points can be an obstacle. When you want your audience to remember a message, make it clutter-free and uncomplicated. Good marketing campaigns condense the entire event, website or product into one slogan, a few buzzwords and a tagline. And it works marvelously well.

If you can’t sum up your business in one sentence, if your visitors can’t figure out the purpose of your website in 10 seconds, you’re not communicating. You’re not sticking in their head. And that doesn’t help your ideas or brand to spread.