There's no shortage of online blog lists advising you of what words and content to avoid using in your marketing copy. So I thought I'd add some phrases of my own that are unnecessary and just shouldn't be used.
Marketing copy needs to be informative but punchy, eloquent but succinct, and creative but effective. Copywriting is a balance between function and flashy, but there are numerous phrases that while sounding nice actually burdens your content down with superfluous words.
Remember: If you can say more with less, do it!
In that vein and without further ado here are 7 unnecessary phrases to avoid in your marketing copy.
1. "Are you tired of..." or "Are you sick of..." or "Are you looking for..."
Once upon a time these sort of phrases probably worked. It makes sense: lead with a question that highlights a relatable problem and then hook the potential customer in with your amazing solution. But your customers are not stupid. They'll get the message without being asked unnecessarily if they are tired/sick of a problem and looking for a solution.
You achieve the exact same effect with "Are you sick of aching knees? Try our soothing massage cream!" as "Soothing massage cream for aching knees!"
2. "We understand..."
I understand this one. I do. As a business you want to let your customers know that you've identified their pain point and understand what they're going through. There's nothing wrong with the thought process, but you can make the same effective point without the cumbersome extra words.
Compare this: We understand that car insurance is expensive. That's why we offer lower premiums.
With this: Save on your car insurance with our lower premiums.
3. "State of the art"
State of the art sounds good, doesn't it? It's modern, up to date, innovative, high quality, top of the line... blah blah blah... But it's a claim with no context that anyone can make about anything without backing it up. So if you're going to use this phrase you need to follow it with substantiated evidence. And if you've got the substantiated evidence to include then preempting it with "state of the art" is unnecessary!
"Our electric toothbrush is state of the art."
Huh? What does that even mean?
"Our electric toothbrush offers state of the art triple bristle-motor rotation."
Okay, I made up that weird mumbo jumbo at the end, but at least it sounds kinda high-tech and fancy.
"Our electric toothbrush boasts triple bristle-motor rotation."
Keep the impressive mumbo jumbo. Ditch the rest.
“The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.” - Thomas Jefferson
4. "We care about our customers"
Everyone knows that companies care about their customers... or at least they all should! You don't need to spell it out. But you do need to prove to wary potential customers that you walk the talk and not just talk the walk by using an example of something that demonstrates how much you care!
"We care about the health of our customers which is why every muesli bar we make only contains organic and healthy ingredients."
Slice it down to just: "Every muesli bar we make only contains organic and healthy ingredients."
You don't need the intro. You're marketing healthy muesli bars, so of course the health of your customers is paramount. Use the space for better, more effective copy.
5. "One stop shop"
This one is just too generic to be helpful, so it ends up just being unnecessary content clutter. Again, the intent is clear and relatable. Your auto-repair service isn't limited to just routine service checks; you also offer 24/7 emergency repair and panel beating etc... But there are more creative, effective ways to say the same thing as "one stop shop" without using the cliche.
Replace "we're your one stop shop for all your automobile repair needs" with "There's simply no repair we car-n't do!"
6. "Market leading"
This one is a pet hate of mine. Mainly because I just don't understand it. If market leading just means you're leading the market in sales, why should I care? Make the connection between the popularity of your product and the benefit I'll receive as a customer! As it is "market leading" is just confusing and therefore unnecessary copy. Much like #3, follow the golden writing rule and "show, don't tell".
"Our construction safety-wear is market leading." Generic sounding isn't it.
"70% of construction companies trust our gear to keep their workers safe." If everyone else uses your gear to keep safe, and I want to keep safe... The sale's in the bag!
7. "Did you know?"
This one is the easiest to explain and one of the hardest to root out your writing habit. We're accustomed to trivia questions starting with "Did you know..." It's an innocuous phrase that you think serves as a soft and elegant introduction. But it's completely redundant. Why? Take any sentence that starts off with "Did you know..." and simply strike out those first three words. To the point. Concise. That's good copy.
"Did you know our interior design services won the 2020 award for best interior design services?"
"Our interior design services won the 2020 award for best interior design services!"
PLEASE NOTE: When you strike "did you know" make sure to get rid of the question mark at the end too!
Conclusion
Running over your marketing copy carefully to trim away all the unnecessary phrases and words will certainly strengthen your content and increase its effectiveness. The more concise and punchier your marketing copy is, the better the end result.
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