The Trap Of The High-Fallutin’ . . . Why You Should “Dumb Down” Your Copy For Increased Sales

Hi folks,

Welcome back to the HWW blog.

In today’s *big* first post of 2008 I’m going to reveal a super-simple method you can use to “dumb down” your copy for massively increased sales . . . Plus I will literally put my foot in my own mouth as I praise a feature of my *least favorite* software program.

(Tangentially, I hope you had a Happy Holiday and a Rocking New Year. I went on a whirlwind tour of the East Coast followed 3 days up at Whistler Mountain in Canada followed by about 4 days of excruciating pain back here in Seattle as my back decided that I’d had just about enough fun and that it was time for me to suffer. But enough of that . . . back to the point.)

Ok, quick quiz, what are the three big traits that your copy needs to have if it’s going to close a sale?

Think about it.

No, really, I mean it.

Done yet?

Ok, I’ll tell you:

Copy that closes sales and makes money absolutely *has to be* . . .

1. *Exciting*
2. *Persuasive*
And
3. *Simple.*

*Exciting* means that your copy needs to be compelling and even fun to read. Your reader should actually be *enjoying* herself as she slides down the slippery slope towards a sale . . .

*Persuasive* means that your copy needs to stack up emotional and logical arguments that make it just about impossible for your prospect *not* to buy what you’re selling . . .

And *simple* means that your copy is written in a way that you’re average semi-literate 7th grader could easily understand.

A lot of newbie copywriters and business owners who are writing their own stuff fall into what I call “the trap of the high fallutin’”

They pack their sales letters and ads full of jargon, 10 dollar words and weird, circular sentence structures all in a desperate effort to look smart . . .

And they completely fail to connect with their audience and *make money.*

My friend and mentor David Garfinkel turned me on to a great quote by Ernest Hemingway (who’s one of the *simplest* writers out there.)

Hemingway said: “I use the oldest words in the English language. People think I’m an ignorant bastard who doesn’t know the $10 words. I know the $10 words. There are older and better words which, if you arrange them in the proper combination, you make it stick.”

What Hemingway is saying here is that if you use shorter, punchier and more powerful words (and shorter words are almost always more powerful) you’ll make a much bigger *impact* on the mind of your prospect . . . and will have a much higher chance of making the sale.

Need another example? Think about George Carlin’s “7 Words You Can’t Say On Television” (This is a family blog, so I won’t type them out here.) or just think about swears in general. There’s a reason the “best” swears are all 4 letters long . . . and that’s because *short,* *simple* words have impact that *long,* *complicated* words utterly lack.

“But Chris,” I can hear you saying “My audience is full of Harvard MBA’s, brainiac tech heads and folks who wasted their youth getting a Masters in English Literature. Doesn’t that mean that I have to write in a ’smarter’ style?”

And the answer is “not even a little.”

No matter how specialized or (over)-educated your audience is, you’re still selling to *people* . . . and *people* respond to simple, conversational, persuasive prose.

Now, that doesn’t mean you have to write to the lowest common denominator . . . if you’re writing to a specialized group with their own common jargon that they use in their everyday speech, go ahead and throw it in . . . but make sure your copy is written in a simple, friendly way that actually engages your audience.

*OK, Here’s A Little Tip On How To Do This Simply*

Now, I *hate* Microsoft Word.

I think it’s a frustrating piece of bloatware that makes writing a heck of a lot harder than it has to be.

But there is *one* feature of MS Word that keeps me coming back to the program again and again no matter how hard I try to get away, and that’s the “readability index.”

This is a cool little tool that will help you get your copy tighter and more powerful . . . and that most folks just don’t know about.

To use it, open up word, and go to “Tools” at the top of your toolbar.

Then click “Spelling and Grammar.”

In the spell check box that pops up click “options.”

And then select the box under “Grammar” that says “check readability statistics.

After Word finishes checking your spelling and grammar, it’ll show you a handy-dandy little box explaining how “readable” your copy is.

And way at the bottom you’ll get a stat called the “Fleshsch-Kincaid Grade Level.”

What you want is for your grade level to be right around 6th or 7th grade . . . which means your average 12 year old could read your copy without being terribly confused.

(As a side note, the grade level on *THIS VERY BLOG POST* is a 7.8 . . . slightly higher than I’d like, but still pretty darned readable.)

So there you go. Now you know how to use my *least* favorite piece of software to make your copy simpler and more powerful . . . and to close more sales.

Later,

Chris “Mr. Moneyfingers” Haddad

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