CopyDiva

One of the pitfalls in high-tech marketing is that more often than not, the language used to speak with potential customers, journalists and investors is nothing more than, well, bad. Too technical, full of jargon, hard to read. Many high-tech marketers assume that customers looking for a technology solution want technical terms tossed around. In my experience, this is almost always a bad assumption.

Let’s put it this way: if I can’t understand why I need or want you (your product, service, application, etc), then I don’t need you. Period.

But, should all materials read at a 4th grade level? If you’re writing a best-selling book or magazine, definitely. For marketing and other writing, it really depends on your industry and the pre-existing knowledge of the reader. Example: One of my clients sells a sophisticated business intelligence service to Wall Street investors. Do these traders care how the technology works? No. In fact, that will just confuse them. They just want to know how it helps them improve investment strategy. If this service was sold to engineers experienced in artificial intelligence, the approach would be different.

Readability scores like Flesch-Kincaid, and the Fog Index help you determine readability, but are not a perfect science. These tools rely on artificial intelligence rules that don’t always apply. For example, one parameter of the Fog Index is the number of syllables per word — more syllables means more complicated. But, is that always right? Are the words “asparagus” and “integrated” really the same level of difficulty? They both have four syllables, but most people know what asparagus is.

The best way to improve readability in marketing, blogs, articles, even white papers:

1. Use the active voice: Write your sentences in the active voice instead of the passive voice. Active engages readers, passive drags down readability.

2. Use simpler language: Perfect example — instead of “utilize,” a 3-syllable word, try “use.” Opt for shorter simpler words wherever you can. Don’t try to impress with your large vocabulary.

3. Vary sentence length: Write the way people talk. Most people speak in phrases that vary in length, especially good public speakers. Write a mix of sentence lengths to keep the tempo lively.

4. Use the language of your audience: Writing for people who have specific technical knowledge? Use terms they understand, but sparingly. Too much jargon bores even the most technically-adept person.

5. Drop the word “solution” from your vocabulary: Unless you sell mixtures of chemicals, think of a better way to describe what it is you sell. This is the most abused word in high-tech marketing, and it’s my personal mission to eradicate that word from all of my client’s content and marketing. Join the good fight and get rid of it in yours too!

Back in the Web 1.0 days, dot-coms and big companies alike used endlessly ridiculous phrases (always ending in solutions, of course) to try and puff up their image and make it sound like they actually had something to sell. Some very funny person created an auto-generator of these sound-bites that I was happy to learn is still live. Have a little fun at the web economy bullshit generator and discover that, alas, many of these phrases are still in use…