Better Words
“In baseball, the difference between a .350 hitter and a .250 hitter is only a quarter-inch up or down on the bat.” Mortimer R. Feinberg
In eradicating the “(K)notty Words” to enhance your message; it comes down to a couple of things:
- Awareness of the words in play
- And, for most of them, the removing of 2 or 3 letters and an apostrophe (‘)
Here are some examples of shifting the paradigm with removing a couple of letters.
One of the best instances of using BETTER word choice is on your website. Your content conveys your message. If you have “(K)notty words” in your content – or in your main banner; think of how many people you may be pushing away.
Here is a recent example of BETTER Words for a client’s website. Sue and Steve Merrill own Houston Piano Company in Houston, TX. They have been in business for several years.
The main message on the Home Page Banner used to look like this:
Notice the main message: Don’t Pay Freeway Prices
Here is the new Home Page Banner after Better Words: (They have since changed the home page to reflect a new message about their pianos)
With some simple empowering word choice, the message is inviting!
Enjoy the Savings!
Wow, what a difference!!
When I had Bob Nicoll from Remember the Ice provide Articulation Proofing for our website www.houstonpianocompany.com; he covered EVERY WORD. From front to back, left to right, and everything in between. He even reviewed the scripts for our videos. Articulation Proofing is about re-framing the message from an empowered point of view. When I saw the new banner for our home page changed to “Enjoy the Savings”, I knew we were on the right track! Using the concepts of Remember the Ice and changing our word choice to be engaging and empowering has had a significant impact on our business — and our sales of pianos!
~~~~Sue Merrill, Owner, Houston Piano Company
Here is the link: Articulation Proofing
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Here is another successful example:
Cornelis deMaijer is the Managing Partner for Flaka Cruising, a luxury sailing gullet Yacht Company specializing in extraordinary week long cruises on the Mediterranean off the coast of Turkey. When I met him on Ecademy.com in October 2008, he was promoting his fabulous cruises with the following message:
Don’t Forget to Book your Cruise Early
Unfortunately, the advance bookings were almost non-existent. Cornelis really wanted to improve this aspect of his business.
Upon reading the story of Remember the Ice; he created this new banner and slogan for his entire marketing campaign:
He implemented the new slogan and embraced the concept right away. By January 21, 2009 he had booked 60% of his season; by February 15th he was at 85%! On May 4th, I landed at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam to begin my 7 week European sojourn; he was over 105% and using other ships to handle the additional bookings!
Cornelis started to book early for 2010; and ended 2009 up almost 200%. Moving into 2010, he added another vessel to his fleet, and booked several tours for 2011 throughout the year.
The message did the work. His clients did indeed book early! And they can have the dream of experiencing the Flaka concept of doing “Nothing”. What an experience!
These are just a couple of examples of the power of Articulation Proofing for your website and marketing materials.
For your personalized consultation to discuss your site and materials: Contact me! 907-862-1983 bob.nicoll@remembertheice.com