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Cut the fluff. You’re not fooling anybody with those extra words in your copy.
You know what?
Just get the fluff outta here.
That’s what I’d like to say the next time someone submits copy to me that filled to the brim with unnecessary words.
Just be ruthless when it comes to cutting filler words out.
Remember: The most effective writing is lean and succinct, pared down to only the words that are vitally important and purposeful. Filler words and bloated phrasing act as deadweight that dilute your message’s clarity and impact.
Here’s the entire section of the article before I decided to cut the fluff
Cull wadded phrases like “it is a fact that…” and simply say “the fact is…” Delete redundant modifiers and dull intensifiers like “really,” “very,” “quite,” etc. Scrub unnecessary qualifiers such as “kind of” and “sort of.” Axe fluffy filler words like “that,” “then” or introducing clauses like “there is/are.”
Go through line-by-line and ask yourself if every single word is essential and doing real work to convey meaning. If not, kill it. Trim lazy device words like “basically” as well as excessive hedge phrases like “I think that” or “it could be argued.” Strong copy should be confident and unequivocal.
Even individual letters can be pruned. Do you really need to say “does not” instead of “doesn’t?” Or repeat “the the” when one will do? Look for opportunities to shorten words to their purest form – “info” instead of “information,” “pic” not “picture.”
Apply the same ruthlessness to cut bloated, meaningless corporate-speak and jargon terms like “impactful,” “synergize,” or “bleeding-edge.” If the phrase doesn’t replace the distended version with something punchier and more straightforward, nuke it.
Filler words suck huh?
Filler words bore readers because they lack meaning.
Tight copy is impactful and commands attention.
Ahhh but this is getting too long.
So I’ll end it here.
Oh yeah… I remember this slogan I used to have:
Copy Too Long?
Need Some Tulong?
Get a professional copywriter’s services here:
chipcanonigo@gmail.com
Need more copywriting advice? Got comments/suggestions/reactions?