You Are What You Eat…and Write

Business blather is a lot like junk food.

Eating sugary, fatty, salty, processed stuff not only lacks essential nutrients needed for good health, it fills you up so you’re less likely to consume more nutritious fare.

In the same way, while blather may “taste” (sound) good, it isn’t really nourishing your understanding of what it’s addressing.

Further, it’s stealing time and attention you might spend consuming more useful information. Lose-lose.

Here’s an actual example:

BUSINESS BLATHER: We are a full-service accounting firm that caters to your specific business needs. As a team of highly trained professionals, we provide targeted accounting services tailored to the ever-changing needs of your growing business. With a collective 60 years of experience, we are equipped to assist you in every capacity. Our passion is to work with business owners to create a unique accounting program that focuses on your business’s financial goals.

Sounds pretty decent, you may be thinking.

So what’s my problem?

This: The passage subscribes to the notion that if you have little to say, say it again. And again. Okay, we get it. You serve your clients’ needs. Then repeat that almost verbatim. And for good measure throw in “goals,” another way of saying needs.

Would it have killed the writer to mention what some of those “specific business needs” might be? And give an example or two of what “targeted accounting services” they offer that meet those needs? Or capacities they’re “equipped to assist you” with?

Hey, give ‘em a chance, you protest. They’ll get to it. Trouble is, the reader may never get to it. The average visitor spends less than 15 seconds on a website. This is probably why. You’ve wasted precious seconds of their time spouting vague redundancies.

Don’t make people fish around for the information they came for. Put it right out there, upfront, so they’re compelled to read more.

BETTER: Overwhelmed by the complexities of payroll? We unravel it for you. Books in disarray? We’re masters of today’s most efficient accounting systems. Crushed by taxes? We’ll help you slash them. We’re a full-service accounting firm our clients love because they don’t have to deal with this stuff. While saving a bundle. Learn more.

In just 53 words this blunt introduction blows away the 71-word pre-ramble it follows. It hits the prospect’s pain points. Offers answers. And presents a call to action urging readers to explore further, a critical element the first statement lacks.

The takeaway? Say something that immediately whets the reader’s appetite, offers specific benefits they can sink their teeth into, invites them to learn more. Avoid needless repetition, superfluous words and generalities, the junk food of communications.???????????

TIP: What’s with this gimmick of describing experience in dog years? 60 years of collective experience means nothing if you don’t know how many people work there. It could be 60 novices with a year each. Or one old relic with 59 years and an assistant with one. Or anything in between. Avoid see-through arguments readers or listeners can easily deconstruct.

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? 2024 Jerry McTigue

Jerry McTigue is an industry-honored copywriter and acclaimed LinkedIn profile writer who is the author of seven books and a member of the American Society of Journalists & Authors (ASJA).

Based on the book Business Blather: Stop Using Words That Sound Good But Say Nothing! Available on amazon in both print and Kindle editions.