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Insights From Our Experts

5 Lazy Marketing Words to Avoid at all Costs

by Cynthia Hayes

Apr 19, 2023

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter. ’tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”

― Mark Twain, The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain

I get it. You’re busy and you need to get your next blog post out into the world before your competitor steals the show. So what are you to do? Do you plunk out whatever words fly off the keyboard and move on to the next task? Or do you take the time to thoughtfully edit your work and make it sizzle?

Of course, I’m going to tell you to take time to make your material stand out. Why? Because you will only receive a marginal return on a marginal piece of marketing content. 

Your marketing materials can’t be predictable or it’s not worth taking the time creating them in the first place. 

So, how do you write compelling copy without getting caught up in the wheel of predictability? 

Simply avoid using ANY of the words below in your marketing copy and you’ll be well on your way to creating content that is meaningful to your readers and provides a return on your investment.

  1. Customer-focused. Don’t say it, demonstrate it by writing content that focuses on your customer. You’ll be much more believable.
  2. Unique. Everyone says they’re unique. Everyone. Again, demonstrate this trait with your creativity and by educating customers about your competitive differentiators.
  3. Expert. If I walked up and told you I’m a TikTok expert, would you take me at my word and hire me on the spot? Or would you want to see samples of my work and hear other clients talk about how amazing I am at helping them become TikTok famous before you believed me? Prove it, don’t claim it.
  4. Revolutionary. Unless you have figured out how to orbit Mars in 15 days while achieving world peace, you’re probably not doing anything truly revolutionary. And your readers know it. You’re just using a tired, empty word that no one pays attention to. 
  5. Help. We discuss this word often at Liger. We help each other internally all the time, but we don’t “help” our clients. That’s weak. We rock out content that converts, videos that inspire, and social media that engages. You’re a professional with valuable knowledge and skills. You do the work, you ensure clients hit their goals … you don’t help them do it. 

As a bonus here are more words and cliches lazy people use to lull readers to sleep, such as:

  • Value-added
  • One stop shop 
  • Win-win
  • End-to-end
  • Best in class
  • Impactful

You can do better than this, friends. 

Write down all your thoughts using boring words if you must, and then replace them with more meaningful phrases. Uncover the Mark Twainian gold hiding within your keyboard! 

You can do this! 

And if not, you can hire a Liger to do it for you. Afterall, we are unique experts ready to help write revolutionary content with a customer-focused approach. Any day of the week.