Copywriting Tip: Do Away with the Fluff Filler
March 18th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.comWhen you get hit with bulk article assignments, it’s tempting to write the articles in a wham, bam, thank-you, ma’m fashion.
If you’re looking to speed up your article production, hey, that’s super. But beware the tendency to create “fluff filler copy” when you’re in too big of a writing hurry. Trust me, nobody wants to read this junk!
I’ll give you an example of what I mean. Let’s say you’re writing an article titled “How to Eat Better When You’re Constantly Pressed for Time.”
Suppose this is your traditional list article, the format of which is pretty standard. Create a two or three sentence intro. Add five or seven key points. Write two or three supporting sentences beside each point. Formulate your two to three sentence conclusion.
Now let’s say that Point 2 looks like this:
“Make ahead meals. Prepare your meals in advance so this way you can just grab and go.”
That’s what I call “fluff filler copy.” Why? You basically just said the same thing twice. I can’t stand it when I find myself doing it, and I really think less of other copywriters who call themselves professional yet “fluff up” their stuff in this manner.
If you want more substance and less fluff, you might change this section to something like:
“Make ahead meals. Gather ingredients for a crock-pot dinner on Sunday. Simmer all day, then store in single-serving Tupperwares that you can heat and eat later.”
(That’s not perfect, but it illustrates the technique. Offer an idea, give a concrete example. If you can’t “see, hear, taste, touch or smell” the example in your mind as you read it, then you did it wrong.)
Go back over some copywriting jobs you worked on in the past. Do you offer concrete examples and include details to illustrate your points? Or are you overdosing on fluff filler?
If it’s the latter… time to get in the habit of using examples to make your point. Practice makes perfect. You can do this!
Copyright 2008 Dina Giolitto, Wordfeeder.com Copywriting and Marketing. All rights reserved.
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