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Quick Tip From Bootcamp:
Numerals or Words?

Here’s a Quick Tip from Bootcamp – from the master of catalog copywriting, Herschell Gordon Lewis.

When using numbers in your copy, decide what effect you want them to have. Numerals (like "56") have a more immediate, emotional, and dynamic impact.

When written out, numbers (like "fifty-six") have less immediate impact, but make a more sophisticated impression.

Use them both, depending on the effect you’re going for. A quick example: You would use numerals to describe a 123% gain. But "The Six Thirty-Three Club" written out on an awning seems classier than it would if it were written as "The 633 Club."

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Published: October 24, 2005

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