Of the two greatest sins B2B marketers cannot resist—jargon and pomposity—the more deadly is pomposity.
Jargon merely baffles brains.
But pomposity kills affinity—and engagement.
Though it's tempting to reach for flowers like endwise, discoverable, holistic, generative and ninja-like, it's self-defeating.
"Godfather of direct marketing," Herschell Gordon Lewis, puts it plainly in Copywriting Secrets and Tactics:
“Overstretching for colorful words can damage reader empathy. Stay within acceptable bounds. Once again we see hard evidence that strong direct response writing can require the discipline of vocabulary suppression.”
Tempted by showy vocabulary?
Stifle yourself.
Jargon merely baffles brains.
But pomposity kills affinity—and engagement.
Though it's tempting to reach for flowers like endwise, discoverable, holistic, generative and ninja-like, it's self-defeating.
"Godfather of direct marketing," Herschell Gordon Lewis, puts it plainly in Copywriting Secrets and Tactics:
“Overstretching for colorful words can damage reader empathy. Stay within acceptable bounds. Once again we see hard evidence that strong direct response writing can require the discipline of vocabulary suppression.”
Tempted by showy vocabulary?
Stifle yourself.
