101: [Greatest Hits] The Trouble with That (and other words to cut out of your marketing)
Want to make your copy sound a little more elegant?
In this episode of ill communication, I'm digging into my archive and rebroadcasting one of the top fan-favorite episodes.
This quick episode will help you write stronger, clearer, and more compelling copy by removing one simple word.
We are talking about the trouble with “that.” You may be surprised to find you can eliminate it (and other unnecessary filler words) from most of your copy, and it still reads the same while sounding so much better.
This episode is a must for everyone, whether you're a copywriter, an entrepreneur, or you have a corporate day job where you write emails or reports.
Let's go way back to episode six for the trouble with “that” and other words to cut from your copy!
Topics We Cover in This Episode:
The secret to stop using “that” so much
Other filler words you can easily remove from your copy
Why this simple adjustment works so well and keeps your readers engaged
Of course, there will be instances where you need to use these filler words, but in general, cutting them out will make your copy stronger. more elegant, and easier to read.
If you’re enjoying what you hear, please leave a rating and review. It means so much to me to know people are actually listening and getting something out of the podcast. If you have any ideas for the podcast, I want to hear them! Connect with me on Instagram and send me a DM. I truly love hearing from you!
-
ILL 101 FINAL.mp3
[00:00:00] Speaker1: Hello my sweet friend and welcome to the summer programming on the Ill Communication podcast. As I mentioned in episode 99, three Tips to Make Business and Life Easier Over the Summer. I'm switching things up a little bit over the next few weeks, in July and August, I'm digging into my archive and rebroadcasting some of my favorite episodes and some of your favorite episodes based on the download data and what listeners like you tell me. I'm handpicking the episodes with powerful messages and actionable tips, and today's greatest hit episode is a fan fave. This seven minute episode will help you write stronger, clearer, and more compelling copy by removing one simple word. This episode is a must for everyone, whether you're a copywriter, an entrepreneur, or you have a corporate day job where you write emails or reports. Let's go way back to episode six for the trouble with that and other words to cut from your copy. Welcome to ill communication, copywriting tips and sales strategies for small business. I'm your host, Kim Kiel. I'm a copy coach, sales strategist, and direct response copywriter. It's my mission to help women leaders and changemakers amplify their voices through copy. It's why I'm dishing out all the juicy tips, writing prompts, and sales formulas to help you generate more leads, book more calls, and get more high value clients on repeat. Sounds pretty good. It's time to ditch the overwhelm you might be feeling and find confidence in your copywriting so you can get your message out there and attract more soulmate clients.
[00:01:46] Speaker1: Let's get started. Hello my friend, and welcome to episode six of the Ill Communication Podcast. Today we're going to talk about the trouble with that. That's it. That is it. The trouble is with that. Well, now, before I let this spiral into a crazy Abbott and Costello comedy sketch, I want to tell you about someone who taught me a big copywriting lesson many years ago, before I became a quote unquote professional copywriter, I was a fundraiser at a public radio station, Ckua radio. And side note if you're a music lover, especially of indie, non-mainstream, noncommercial top 40 radio, you have to listen to Khou.com. It's truly the best. But back to my story. When I worked as a fundraiser at Kakwa, I had the absolute pleasure and honor of working with some of the best broadcasters in the business, including one absolute icon in broadcasting named Jack Hagerman, whose radio name was John Worthington. He was involved with Ckua for over 70 years, and he was on the air into his 90s. And when I met him, he was celebrating his 88th birthday. To mark the occasion, the fundraising team ran a campaign to encourage donations in honor of his 88th birthday and to celebrate the longevity of the station, which is actually the oldest radio station in Canada. I was tasked with writing a donation letter from Jack. I poured my heart and soul into the letter and gave it to Jack to review and approve. And what I got back was a letter filled with red circles and x's, mostly over one word I'd used repeatedly.
[00:03:38] Speaker1: The word was that Jack explained, DJs are trained to eliminate unnecessary words, and despite how we're taught in school, one of those unnecessary words is that when I reviewed the letter and removed nearly every instance of that, it read just the same, but a little more elegantly. Eliminating the word that from copy is one of the biggest lessons I've carried through to my professional copywriting today. Any time I write a piece of copy, I review and edit out as many instances of the word that it's surprising how often it pops up in our language and how you actually don't need to use it very often. That is a filler word. It clutters your copy and gives your readers more words to read than they actually need. Here's an example. My client was thrilled that her open rates doubled versus my client was thrilled her open rates doubled. Its the same sentence, but it reads more smoothly without the word that another common phrase you'll hear or see in sales copy is so that you can buy this product so that you can get more high ticket clients. But if you take out the word that it becomes, buy this product so you can get more high ticket clients. Removing that makes the sentence easier and quicker to read. That isn't the only useless filler word. There are a few other words that you see. See what I did there? There are a few other words you can and should edit out of your copy.
[00:05:15] Speaker1: Just for example, I was just saying this to my client the other day versus I said this to my client the other day, or really, there's no way to really tell versus there's no way to tell. Another good one to cut from your copy is very copywriting formulas make writing very easy, versus copywriting formulas simplify your writing. Other phrases like basically, for what it's worth, in my opinion, all of these phrases can be eliminated from your copy to improve the clarity and readability. And here's why this is so important. We are hit with over 5000 messages every day. Most of us are seeing those messages on a tiny smartphone. With every piece of copy you put into the world, you have to ask, how can I make this easier to read? Because when people are distracted by thousands of messages and words every day, they're going to be very choosy about how and with whom they spend their time. When you make your copy simpler and more enjoyable to read, more people will actually read your copy and hopefully take some kind of action from it. So that's it for today's episode about the trouble with that and other words you can cut from your copy. Of course, there will be instances where you will still need to use the word that or just, but in general, when you cut out those filler words, your copy will be stronger, more elegant, and easier to read.
[00:06:43] Speaker1: Hey, as this is the sixth episode, I want to genuinely thank you for listening and following the show. In fact, on the morning I'm recording this podcast, I learned that. This little podcast is actually charting at number 32 on marketing podcasts in Canada. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you truly for tuning in. If you're enjoying what you hear, please leave a rating and a review. It means so much to know people are actually listening and getting something out of the podcast. And if you have any ideas for upcoming episodes, I want to hear them connect with me on social media and DM me your ideas or share any feedback. I'd truly love to hear from you! Well my friend, that's a wrap on today's episode. Please come back next week for another tip or strategy to amp up your copy. Hey, thanks for joining me for today's episode. But before you go, I want to make sure you've grabbed a new tool to help you assess the effectiveness of your sales copy. It's an easy to use tool that will help you identify what's working well, and what could be improved among all of the copy assets you have in your business. Grab the Sales Copy scorecard right now to find quick and easy ways to improve your sales copy and boost sales. Get your free scorecard over at Kim Kiel common Scorecard. I'll be back next week with another quick tip writing prompt or sales hack for you.
[00:08:11] See you then.
Resources Mentioned
Listen to episode 99: 3 tips to make business and life easier over the summer
Additional Resources
Follow & Review
Are you following the podcast? I want to encourage you to leave a review and follow today so you don’t miss any future episodes.
I would also appreciate it if you would leave me a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! I read each of them, and they help me make sure I am providing the content you love to hear! Plus, you get to pay it forward because it will allow other listeners like you to find the podcast!