Get More Sales By Improving Your Writing (part 3 - Stop Waffling Around)

In this article series we’re covering how to improve your writing and how you get your customers glued to their screen while they devour your marketing. If you haven’t checked out the previous two posts, they’re here: Get More Sales By Getting People Hooked On Your Writing and Get More Sales By Improving Your Writing 2.

Ok, Do you know what really kills sales?

Being boooooooooooring.

And the most boring thing in the world is something we know all too well… Waffling.

You may not understand the term right now, but soon it’ll become clear what I mean.

How To Recognise And Ruthlessly Kill Your Waffling

Take a look at this sentence:

“The meeting will be held at five and what will be discussed is ‘the sorry state of business writing.”

Or this one:

“I’m reaching out to you because we've been in the process of developing a new marketing system geared towards the generation of leads for home service businesses.“

Or this one:

“I know you’re probably busy and I don’t want to take too much of your time since your schedule is probably packed.”

You know what they have in common?

They’re WAFFLING. There’s so much passive, weak, dull language used there.

You’re supposed to cut through all the clutter and BS. Trying to cut through the clutter with waffling language is like trying to chop down a tree with an over cooked spaghetti noodle. 

Won’t work. What we need is a chainsaw.

Cutting Through The Clutter With Active Language

Ok, let’s fix these three awful sentences.

“The meeting will be held at five and what will be discussed is ‘the sorry state of business writing.”

Boring used napkin of a sentence.

Here’s an active version.

“The meeting’s at five. Subject: ‘the sorry state of business writing’.”

BOOM! See how that’s much more to the point?

Next one:

“I’m reaching out to you because we've been in the process of developing a new marketing system geared towards the generation of leads for home service businesses.“

ZZzzZZzz. BORRRRING!

“Reaching out because we generate leads for home service businesses. Would that be of interest to you?“

To the point. Concise. Compendious.

Last one:

“I know you’re probably busy and I don’t want to take too much of your time since your schedule is probably packed.”

Ok. This is the easiest one to fix

“.”

That’s it. 

The entire sentence doesn’t do anything! Why are we telling someone that they’re busy and we want to keep it brief?

Just by writing these words we’re wasting their time. Which is the last thing you want to do, right?

The Death Of Waffling

Let’s stop using passive language. Let’s stop being so careful, so timid, using neutered language

Write like you’re kicking down doors, ripping up fences, storming the barricades.

Take charge in your language and see your sales and results soar.

Happy hunting,

-Jason

P.S. Want to know how I’d make sure we’d eradicate waffling and keep your prospects glued to their screen, unable to stop consuming your content?

Get in touch with my agency today. If we’re a good fit I will personally take a look at your company and your marketing, come up with a strategy of what I’d do differently and discuss it with you in depth on a call.

No cost, no obligation.

If you want to work together I’ll tell you exactly how that works, if you don’t want to work together that’s fine too. No hard selling, no pressure, no annoying sales tactics.

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