Don’t try to sound smarter than your customer.

Clear beats clever. Simple beats complicated.

What it costs you

Clear beats clever.

You know your business inside and out. The terms, the shorthand, the way people in your line of work talk.

So that’s how you write.

“Comprehensive solutions.” “Proactive strategies.” “Optimized outcomes.”

It sounds impressive to you.

To your customer, it sounds like homework.

And nobody does homework for an ad. They stop reading, and they call somebody they understand.

A real example

The accountant’s two emails

In November, an accountant sends her clients an email.

“Year-end tax planning: leveraging proactive strategies to optimize your liability position.”

Nobody answers. A couple of people forward it to their spouse and ask what it means.

So she tries again, the way she’d say it across the desk:

“Want to pay less tax in April? There are a few things you can still do before December 31. Call me this week, and I’ll tell you which ones fit you.”

Her phone rings that afternoon.

Same accountant. Same advice. Only one of them sounded like a person.

Why it happens

Why the big words keep showing up

“It makes us sound professional.”It makes you sound like everybody else.

“Our customers are smart.”Smart people are busy too.

“That’s what our industry calls it.”Your customer isn’t in your industry.

“Simple sounds cheap.”Simple sounds like you know what you’re doing.

If they have to read it twice, they won’t.

Do this instead

Say it the way you’d say it out loud.

Write the way you talk to a customer at the counter. Short words. Short sentences. One point. Then read it out loud. If you wouldn’t say it, don’t send it.

Instead of	Say
“Comprehensive vehicle maintenance solutions”	“We’ll keep your car running.”
“Proactive year-end tax strategies”	“Pay less tax in April.”
“A holistic wellness experience”	“You’ll leave relaxed.”
“Premium canine grooming services”	“Your dog comes home clean and happy.”
“Retirement income optimization”	“Know when you can retire.”
“Please do not hesitate to contact us”	“Call me.”

Same goes for the line on your pen, magnet or T-shirt. A clear line always beats a clever line that nobody gets. If you have to explain it, pick another one.

Do this today

Cost: $0Time: 15 minutes

1
Pull up the top line of your website and your last email.
2
Circle every word you’d never use talking to a customer.
3
Rewrite each sentence the way you’d say it across the counter, and end with what you want them to do.
4
Read it out loud to someone outside your business. If they get it in five seconds, send it.

Nobody ever called a business because its vocabulary impressed them. Make it clear, and make it easy to call.

Stolen from the masters · David Ogilvy

David Ogilvy was one of the greatest advertising men who ever lived. He built one of the biggest ad agencies in the world. He didn’t care if an ad was pretty. He didn’t care if it won awards. He had a motto he repeated to everyone who worked for him: