Why do we use three bullets in copywriting?

You may have noticed that, in general, in copywriting, we always use three bullets or bullet points to emphasise concepts. Sometimes you may see five and rarely find two or four. There are several reasons and in this article, I will explain why.

Bullets, more popularly known as bullet points, are those dots that appear in a list and that usually summarise key concepts. Bullets are also great for shooting zombies, but that’s another story.

Each line can be preceded by a dash, a round dot, a square, any fancy element, or nothing. But don’t use “nothing”, because that’s just silly.

However, in Copywriting they should always have the same structure, length and use. Otherwise, they will look like a mess and confuse your readers.

Using a group of bullets or bullet points will make it easier to read a longer text, help us pay attention to key concepts and make it easier to memorize concepts. To understand this better, let’s take this same paragraph and turn it into bullets:

• They make it easier to read a longer text
• They help to pay attention to key concepts
• They make it easier to memorize concepts

Don’t you find it easier to remember ideas in bullets than within a paragraph? Well, that’s why. Also, within a long text, they help to give some air and are a resource that allows the reader to go directly to the key information. And who doesn’t like some fresh air and shortcuts?

Like everything in life, if you overdo it, it loses effectiveness. That’s why it’s not advisable to abuse this resource. In Copywriting, used with precision it is effective, used excessively it is a serious mistake. Just like chocolate cake before the summer holidays.

The balance of the number of points to use is based on 3 for several reasons. One of the points will work as a beginning, another as a climax and another as an ending. The first one catches the attention, the second one generates interest and the third one becomes memorable and easier to remember. It’s like a mini-story with a twist.

But what if you need to use 4 bullets? You can still create a structure with 4, and you can even brag about calling them “the 4 pillars of…” and look like a guru. In that case, the order should be the same: the first one catches the attention, the second and third generate interest and the fourth is the memorable one.

So remember that although you can use lists of five, ten or other numbers in any other type of writing, they are not recommended for Copywriting. The main reason is the persuasive effectiveness of the copy and the memorable structure of key concepts.

So there you have it. Three bullets are better than two or four. Unless you’re fighting zombies, then you might need more.

If you have any questions about this topic, leave your comment below. If you want to use part of the content of this article you can do it as long as you reference and link to it. And if you want to contact me for any private matter, you can fill out the contact form. Thank you very much for reading me.