The Word Wrangler

Every single one of us fails to hit the mark 100% of the time, and since we can all learn more from our failures than from our successes, I’m going to show you a few examples of copy that tries too hard in the hopes that you’ll learn from them.

Copywriting has quite a bit in common with reporting in that the clear communication of your message is the ultimate goal. So, I decided to pull a few examples of copy that simply doesn’t work from a local news web site. Keep in mind that it’s not my intent to embarrass anyone. We’re all prone to making mistakes and we should all be able to learn from one another.

Marketing copy - like reporting - isn’t about the words, it’s about the message. So leave the fancy stuff to the literary writers.

I’m going to focus on the page that reports on the recent council meeting.

The first type of fancy writing to leave behind is alliteration. The piece we’re looking at uses alliteration in several places: “Adena Balances Bleak Budget” and “battle barren budgeting” are two examples that - while creative - come off sounding awkward and forced. A good rule is: If you wouldn’t say it in conversation, leave it out of your writing.

Writers also have a tendency to grasp for bigger words than are required. This is sometimes done out of ego, and sometimes done out of a lack of confidence. Here are some of examples: “Horton heralded” and “The village of Adena operates scantily with only a skeleton crew.” Again, the rule is: If you don’t use the language in conversation, don’t use it in your writing.

Of course there are exceptions where writing in a literary style can be to your advantage, but they rarely come up in marketing and advertising.

In copywriting, you’ll mostly be writing to the average Joe, which is why it’s important to use the same language he uses.