I just returned from devouring the Signal vs. Noise Blog.
The blog is championed by 37 signals and it is a gem.
Here’s why.
It cuts through the corporate b.s. and delivers stuff you can use. I have a soft spot for that brand of clear-eyed practicality. Moreover, I shouldn’t be surprised that this would come from the creators of Basecamp and Highrise.
But while romping through the posts, I realized that straight-talk is a dying art among independent professionals. Afterall, we are encouraged to dress up and sell $5 words when a nickel phrase is all that’s needed. We get lost in snazzy jargon and hopelessly idiotic phrases that makes us feel good but leave our clients cold.
We need to stop this and I mean now.
The best copy tells it like it is. Repeats it. Then sells it. Simplicity can sell billion dollar government contracts and $10 ebooks. Here’s why. I bet that our clients secretly hunger for a consultant that makes it easy for them to understand:
1. Proposals
2. Statements of Work
3. Invoices
4. And all the fancy pants strategy documents too.
I bet that being plain-spoken allows our clients to get up close and enjoy the process with us. Our words no longer create distance and barriers. We look and sound like normal people.
And, I believe that normal, smart, simple people can outearn, outsell, and outhustle the buzzword prima donnas.
Here’s what you can do to jump on the plain-spoken bandwagon:
1. Go to your website and eliminate all 4 syllable words.
2. Now axe the jargon and buzzwords
3. Trash unnecessary adjectives and adverbs.
4. Shift to the 2nd (You) tense and start speaking to your readers, clients, and prospects
5. Rinse and repeat with every shred of literature in your business. Be ruthless.
You gotta do this now.
Tell me what YOU think.