One of my biggest pet peeves is what I call “blah blah blah" marketing copy. Here’s an example:
“XYZ provides the ideal combination of advanced technology and expertise to information providers. Our solutions and services lower costs, streamline operations, create efficiencies and generate new revenue for our customers. Our mission is to unlock the true potential of your market and partner with you in growth."
Logically I know I was reading a description of what XZY company does, emotionally all I heard was “Blah Blah Blah”. I had no idea what this company did. None!
Be honest – you’ve done it too right? Read something and had absolutely no idea what the product was or why you might benefit from buying it. You’re probably like most of us, who don’t admit this for fear of looking dumb or uninformed.
Many marketing people I know find it easy to pump out words – they can jump right up and start writing, often on their first day on the job or project. Their words flow onto the page, looping into just the right sized paragraphs. Paragraphs which usually contain an abundance of the latest buzz words.
These words turn into product brochures, web sites, press releases, white papers and blog posts, and prolific marketing writers are praised for their ability to “produce” and “deliver”. They measure their clicks and downloads and honestly believe they’ve done well.
I beg to differ.
In 1868, writer Mark Twain said
“Anybody can have ideas–the difficulty is to express them without squandering a quire of paper on an idea that ought to be reduced to one glittering paragraph.”
In an age where attention spans are shrinking, and 140 character sound bites are all you are allowed on marketing vehicles like Twitter, it is once again time for writing less to become a valued marketing skill.
Writing less actually requires more work, not less, but here are 10 tips to help you along.
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