When I was working on my writing degree in college, I got a lot of good advice.
One professor was especially concerned about avoiding what he called “tired” words and phrases – ones that we use all the time to describe things. For example, we might say someone has a “broken heart” to mean that he or she feels a deep sense of loss.
My professor had a good reason for avoiding these phrases. He knew that words and phrases we use frequently lose a lot of their effectiveness over time. Sure, we all know what they mean, but we’re not affected by them as much as when we first heard them.
This kind of writing happens in business all the time. It’s born of meetings where management tries to come up with a way to say exactly what it is their business does.
And it almost never works.
What does work is getting your business leaders together and focusing on how you want your prospects to feel when they read about your business.
Don’t write to answer all their questions, write to raise questions. Questions your business can answer better than anyone else.
We’ve been talking about blogs a lot recently, and with good cause. They’re a great way to build community around your business, and develop a sense of loyalty among your clients and potential buyers.