I Think Your Business Copy Might Be Trying Too Hard

Have you ever been on a business website and thought:

“Okay… but what do you actually do?”

Yeah, me too.

And I truly believe that the problem isn’t that the business has bad copy.

It’s just that the copy is trying really, really hard to sound like good, professional business copy.

You know what I mean.

“Empowering businesses through innovative, transformative solutions…”

I’m already zoned out.

At some point in time, it was decided that to be considered professional we had to use words that don’t exist in our everyday vocabulary.

Innovative. Seamless. Transformative. Elevate. Leverage.

You get it.

But here’s what I think:

People don’t want to feel like they’re reading some generic professional webpage.

They want to feel like they’re talking to you.

Do you support small businesses with admin tasks? Great, just say that!

If you specialize in wedding photography, say that.

Website design is your jam? Amazing. Say you create websites.

You don’t have to fill your sentences with $5 words when a $1 word will work.

And to be completely honest, there is something so refreshing about a business that presents itself as a real person.

The kind of website that makes you think:

“Oh. I like them.”

Having people truly enjoy reading what you have to say is much more valuable, if you ask me.

Because I don’t know about you, but when I’m looking for someone to hire, I don’t really care if they’re “innovative” or “results-driven”.

I need them to understand what I need.

I want to hire someone who’s easy to talk to.

I want to get a feel for their personality and who they are.

And I definitely don’t want to have to guess or search for what they actually offer.

So if you’re staring at your website right now thinking “Something just isn’t right here.”

Maybe you don’t need to completely rewrite it.

Maybe you just need to make it sound a little more like you.

Take out the words you never use or say.

Tell us what you actually do.

Write like you’re talking to one person instead of “your target audience.”

And don’t be afraid to let your personality show up.

Your business doesn’t have to sound bigger or smarter than all the other businesses.

It just needs to sound like you.

And honestly?

I think that’s the kind of copy I want to read.