Familiarity Breeds Neglect.

No, I did mean neglect. And the fact that you looked twice at that reinforces my point.

Familiarity with your brand is good. But with your messaging and how you communicate? Not so much.

Hear me out. Have you ever heard the phrases, "limited-time offer", "don't miss out", "before it's too late" or, a personal favorite, "congratulations, you've been selected"?

If not, you are one lucky bear, for these are some of the most overused phrases in marketing. And, as a result, they don't have the same impact as they once had.

With every use of a phase, its meaning becomes diluted and, with it, its impact. Readers stop reading and start glossing-over, which is the death nail for copywriters. (There you go, how many times do you see "death nail" in copy?)

To keep your audience engaged, it's best to keep your messaging fresh. Think, KIDS (Keep It Different, Stupid). After all, why is innovation so revered? Because it's new and exciting, it offers difference.

This also has an impact on spam. You may have heard that you shouldn't use the term "free", as it's spammy. Well, actually, that was true years ago, and it may be making its way back up the spam ladder, but one of the key things with spam is frequency of use. "Free" dropped down the spam rankings as people stopped using it, because of its spam connotations. 

How about "football"? Try it this week and you may have some luck. But if you used it some weeks ago during Euro 2016, you may have experienced lower-than-usual open rates, simply because of the amount of communications going out about the subject.

Use familiar words in your copy and you risk reader neglect, but drop in a few unusual terms here and there and you'll stop their subconscious from running the show.

This extends to everything. Emails, flyers, letters, POS displays, you name it.

As with everything, we'd strongly suggest testing. So try it out. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Not a dab-hand at copywriting? Don't you worry, we are. Get in touch, we'll get right back to you: [email protected]

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