Best of 2009 Copywriting Clichés: Tips For Killer, Rockstar Writers Who Don't Want to Suck

I love my readers. You challenge me all the time. A smart, inquisitive bunch you are.

Soon after I hit "publish" on last week's post, I heard from some of you.

"Don't just tell me how to wake up an old blog post," you said. "Show me." 

Okay. That's a fair request. I went fishing through my old posts. And I found one in particular that had touched a nerve. In fact, it's still one of the most googled posts I have ever written.

The topic? The runaway use of cheesy clichés in copywriting.

So hearing the same old tired words can make us a little crazy. Our eyes glaze over when we hear "We go the extra mile," "discover the difference," and "out-of-the-box."

But why?

Now, I will admit. Clichés became clichés in the first place because they were powerful. People just got what you were saying immediately when you used the word or phrase. You could picture it.

But if every product is "cutting edge," then what does cutting edge mean? It means nothing anymore. It's a tired, deflated party balloon, once full of energy, now just sad.

The three clichés that made my new list for 2009

Okay, it was hard,but here's the list: Best Clichés of 2009. I wish I could give them all an award (she smiles). Cause they're all winners.

Counting down, in David Letterman reverse order: 

3. 'Killer'

I'm finished reading a piece when this word rears its ugly head. In a Google search, you'll find 457,000 entries with the word "killer."

We have killer apps, killer websites, killer ads.

Aside from who wants to kill anyway (aren't there laws against that?), how did this word worm its way into our language? And what did it mean when it was bright and shiny new?

I think it started out as another word for great. Awesome. What does it mean now? Nothing. A simple search turned up hundreds of articles with "killer" in the headline:

"Increase Your Click-Throughs with Killer Title Tags"

"Get More Online Dates by Writing a Killer Profile"

And my all-time favorite, she says, tongue firmly embedded in cheek:

"Become a Killer Writer: Avoid Overused Adjectives" (Huh?)

2. 'Sucks'

This one took a close second.

"How to Succeed at Content Marketing Even if Your Content Skills Suck"

"How to Write a Good eBook—You Know, the Kind That Doesn't Suck." 

"6 Words That Make Your Résumé Suck"

And now, my personal favorite:

"Clichés Suck"

Okay, ready? Time for the guy in the  tux to pass me the sealed envelope on silver tray). And the winner of the Best Cliché of 2009 is:

3. 'Rock star' 

If I hear one more writer compare a person or thing to a rock star, I'm going to light an incendiary device under my computer monitor, just like in those old movies where the trailer trash guy shoots the television.

Blog like a rock star.

Network like a rock star.

Use QuickBooks like a rock star. (Okay, I made that one up.)

All right. Enough with the "rock star."

Even the top bloggers, who I will be nice enough not to name here, are guilty. Here are two recent post titles:

"How to be A Rock Star in Your Niche"

"Rockstar Plugins You May Not Know About" (Now even a WordPress plugin can be a rock star!)

Rock star meant something once. Charismatic, passionate, attractive. (On second thought, looking at Arrowsmith's Steven Tyler, maybe not so much that last one).

But these words have had the life sucked out of them. The visual imagery is gone. Because if everyone can be a rock star, then it isn't that special anymore. 

There you go. Avoid these three clichés and you'll be on your way to becoming, as my blog post title so cleverly described:

A killer, rockstar writer who doesn't suck. 

Comments

[Carl Coddington]

Your article was Killer. You ARE a rockstar to me.

Seriously. I really enjoyed your writing style and could not wait to read what came next. I am bookmarking your blog.

BTW.. Whenever I use Killer in a title for an ebook, my clickthru rate goes "through the roof".

[Judy Dunn]

Carl,

Don't know how you found your way here, but I'm glad you did. And thanks for the compliment.

I am not surprised that you have good open and click-through rates with "killer." But the more we see it being used, the more we use it ourselves because it must work, right? And that pushes it closer to cliché land.

Personally, I aim for fresh writing and tend to stay away from "flavor of the day" words, no matter how popular they are.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this, Carl.

[Carl Coddington]

I found your blog via copyblogger. I liked your comment so I checked your site out.

[Jack Duncan]

As a writer, I'm always struggling with language. It's often challenging to find the right words for marketing copy that stimulate the reader. Cliches don't. We are bombarded with the same phrases over and over in promotional copy. They become ingrained in us and we resort to them because we are lazy.

It's easy to say 'avoid this'. The real question is: What do you DO to come up with fresh phrases that work?

[Judy Dunn]

Jack,

Thanks for your insightful comment. I think you are right. The more we read the same tired phrases in promotional/marketing copy, the more they seep into our brains and suddenly we find ourselves using them, too.

How to come up with fresh language is a very good question. I deal with this question much more often in my weekly marketing etip than my blog.

This particular post had a very specific objective. My previous post told how to take an old blog post that was very popular, update it and republish with the goal of driving more traffic and getting new readers. So I took one of the most googled posts I have ever written and revived it. It just happened to be an opinion/ranting post and not my usual how-to article.

I am a big fan of metaphors and analogies and use them a lot in my copywriting.

You have given me an idea for a new post. Thank you.

[Carl Coddington]

There are tons of bloggers like coppyblogger who always write original content and stay away from cliches. He would be a good source to check out original content.