The "briefcase" mistake far too many business owners make

I have no interesting stories for you today (if you can even call ‘em that). No “trigger” event that happened to allow me to add a bit more drama to this one. All I have is something that’s been grinding my gears recently because I’m seeing it pop up more and more. 

So, what’s stuck in my crawl? 

Well, on the surface, it may seem like a big ol’ nothingburger. But when you take a deeper look, it sabotages one of the most important things between you and your email list: Your relationship. 

I’m talking about the use of jargon in your copy. 

Now, on the surface, like I said a paragraph ago, the use of jargon doesn’t seem all that insidious. Calling a lead gen person an SDR should make sense to just about everyone in the sales niche, right? 

Wrong. 

Not only does this potentially cause mass confusion (which is mayhap the worst thing you can do to your entire email list since confusion is the death of the sale), but it also eliminates an extra layer on the relationship onion. 

Your relationship with your list, like an onion, has several layers. Problem is, your relationship with your list is based on trust—and trust can quickly break. Especially if you’re using so much jargon in your copy that your audience doesn’t even know wtf you’re talking about. 

I see this happen a bunch in the alternative health space. Instead of acronymonial (is that a word? If not, it is now cully!) jargon though, it’s scientific jargon (which is even worse in my biased, but accurate opinion because at least you can google acronyms… good luck googling—and understanding—scientific jargon). 

But despite these two major disasters waiting to happen, there’s something even more insidious that happens each time you use jargon in your copy: 

You destroy the World you’ve created for your audience. 

The great Quentin Tarantino uses this in his movies all the time. 

For example, remember how you never see what’s in the briefcase in Pulp Fiction? Since Quentin leaves what’s inside to the imagination, it makes the viewer a part of the story. Now, every audience member has their own “side” to his story. It makes them feel more involved. And it makes it so that each audience member can walk out seeing a different movie. 

Using jargon severs this tie. 

And this may be the most persuasive tactic you can use in your copy. 

Anywho:

If you read through this and noticed you’re using too much jargon, mayhap I can help. 

Hit reply and let’s see what happens, eh? 

John