How to fix limbo copywriting
Mediocre copy is a missed opportunity.
As a marketer, you need every lever you have to win. You could have an incredible product… But if you have poor messaging, all your hard work is wasted. The bad messaging obscures your value.
On the other hand, good messaging is an amplifier. It takes a seed of something good and aggrandizes it.
The benefit is a transference of emotion. Of course you feel excited about your product. With good messaging, you can TRANSFER that feeling to your customer.
To improve your messaging, you can do three things:
Improve your writing
Improve your idea
Improve both
It’s hard to quantify the value of clear thinking and clear writing
When writing is obviously bad, you fix it.
When writing is obviously good, you ship it.
But what if it’s not terrible—but it’s not good either?
Now we’re in a grey zone where there’s no easy fix.
I call this limbo copywriting.
It’s just kind of there. Neither dead nor alive.
Editing limbo copy takes a disproportionate amount of mental effort. Because the problem isn’t the copy. The problem is that the underlying idea is fuzzy.
The lack of a point of view expresses itself as mediocre copy.
As a marketer or product owner, there simply aren’t enough levers to treat copy as a throwaway. We have to use every lever to the max.
Here’s how to fix limbo copy, depending on the underlying issue.
When the problem is the writing execution
There are lots of good resources on how to write well, so I’ll keep this short.
Add rhythm by varying the sentence structure. Rhythm is hard to put your finger on. It’s what gives writing a good pace. It’s why people say, “The book was long but it felt fast.”
Use a mix of short and long sentences for a dynamic feel. This is an easy and fun one. Read through your writing and mark sentences you want to make longer or shorter.
Trim excess fat to make your writing tighter. Say it in fewer words. If you feel bored reading it, remove it. If it’s too much backstory, remove it. Start right before you get eaten by the bear.
Strengthen your claim stronger by adding data points, surprising statistics, numbers. You won’t have to shout because these help make your point. Your reader comes to your conclusion themselves.
Swap out weak nouns and verbs. Get rid of adverbs while you’re at it. You can usually remove descriptors if your readers won’t need that detail.
Sound like a human, not what you think a business professional sounds like. No one talks like the corporate machines from your college career center manuals.
Avoid double negatives. Double negatives are confusing. Don’t make your reader think too hard.
When the problem is the underlying idea
Clarify what you want to say in the first place. Writing is the vessel to express your idea. If you don’t know what you want to say, no amount of good writing can compensate for the lack of an idea.
Finish the knock-knock joke. Does the idea feel incomplete? Sometimes, we write the first half of a knock-knock joke, but we forget the payoff. If that’s the case, add the “Who’s there?” to complete your thought.
Even a tweet has a narrative arc. Even in 280 characters, there’s a beginning, middle, and end. That’s why you can’t pull a few random sentences from a blog post and turn it into a tweet. It will feel incomplete because there’s no tension. Make sure whatever you’re writing is a standalone unit, whether it’s a work email or a 280 character tweet.
“I am not a crook” makes people think you are a crook. Plant ideas you want people to think of. My favorite example of what NOT to do is Richard Nixon saying, “I am not a crook.” Then everyone said, “Hmm I couldn’t put my finger on it before… But you are TOTALLY a crook.” That’s right folks, inception is real.
Explicitly state your assumptions and rationale. It’s like showing your work in math class. Share the thought process behind your recommendation. This helps your boss give feedback on specific logical gaps instead of tossing out your whole idea. It creates the basis for a productive conversation.
Scarce + relevant = valuable. Teach something people don’t already know. What’s both surprising and true? Instead of summarizing and recapping, how can you make your contribution additive? There’s too much of the same-same already.
Clarify your stance. Have a spiky point of view rooted in evidence that others can disagree with.
Articulate the action you want your reader to take. Once you have your call-to-action, give them reasons to give you an enthusiastic yes.
Remember: Messaging is one of the few levers available for getting your customers to take action. Besides the product design, the messaging is how you set expectations and offer surprise and delight. It’s how you build intimacy with the customer. It’s how you frame your product’s value. Don’t waste this lever.
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