Banish the old buzzwords and talk to people
Ok, I admit it. I’m somewhat of a Facebook stalking junkie. I belong to a few Facebook groups that are relevant to my business (but unsubscribed to the ones who did nothing but bitch).
I don’t often participate (I’m a tad introverted like that), but I do take notice of things people say (thanks to the active folks).
While trying to rest my brain over the summer holiday, I paid closer attention to groups, silently reading like a kid hiding under a doona with a torch. One thing people were saying stood out to me as a copywriter.
They were sick of the sales buzzwords they’d seen too many times during 2017. These words or phrases had totally lost their meaning and become a tad cliched.
And it’s true. I think we’re all too smart in today’s online world to be fooled by cheap and tacky sales buzzwords.
- Are you a guru?
- Will you boost your business?
- Will you take it to the next level?
- How many secrets will you reveal?
- Are you going to hit the ground running?
- Will you think outside the box?
- Do you value add?
- Is your product a game changer?
- Are you an influencer?
The hard sell, overused buzzwords won’t cut it in 2018
I hate the OBVIOUS hard sell. You’ve seen it. You’ve probably even clicked on a few links. But you start reading through the sales page and feel like gagging at all the obvious pitches thrown at you.
And what emotion are they usually appealing to – fear? Fear of missing out.
So, they’ll tell you what will happen if you DON’T follow their methods. You won’t: create a 6-figure business, retire early, grow your business, find new customers, make more sales, or rank in Google.
Shit, you MUST need them as you’re not doing it right.
Does this work – yeah mostly – it’s an age-old copywriting method.
Are we still loving this or falling for it – not as much.
I think in an online world that can become quite full-on and competitive, we’re all getting a bit sick of ‘if you don’t follow my methods, you won’t be as amazing as I am’ type of pitches.
What I’d like to see in copywriting for 2018
I’d love to see more people keeping it real. So many of us are online virtual buddies, so let’s cut the crap and be real about who we are.
I want to see copywriting that’s like have a convo with your mates.
- ‘This course is like my brain’s put into modules. It’s taken me ages to create as I didn’t realise how much info I can share with everyone. It covers all the methods I’ve learnt over 10 years to write conversational copy for my clients. It’s something all business owners should learn, but they must be committed to spending a little bit of time with me every week. I bloody hope people put their trust in me.’
- ‘Everyone knows that Google rules the world (you’d be lying if you said you don’t turn to Google for answers). And there are so many little things that make it bloody tick that it takes constant updating of your skills to keep up. But if you love SEO, you should learn this stuff with a course that updates as often as Google does. It’s not for everyone, but those with SEO skills will always survive in this online world.’
- ‘A lady rang me the other day and started grilling me about my knowledge like it was a bloody job interview. If I hadn’t been in business for so long, I’d probably have cried a little. She was asking me questions that had nothing to do with my skills but my financial situation. I know – inappropriate yeah? So, I decided to share my ideas about how to tackle these awkward moments when people surprise you on a phone call.’
What are your copywriting buzzword predictions for 2018?
If copywriting is all about tapping into people’s mind, and we can see that people are over the buzzword sales pitches of 2017, it makes sense to alter the words we’re using right?
Luckily, buzzwords do eventually go out of style, and all the cool kids learn new words that take their place.
What will 2018 bring us? I’d love to hear your predictions.
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