When writing your marketing content, follow these five golden rules to craft copy that's clean, lean, and clear:

1. Keep it concise. Avoid filler words like very, really, a lot, just, and quite. Beware the word that; it's overused and can usually be eliminated. 
Example: "The book that I read was boring."
Better: "The book I read was boring."

Also, steer clear of fluff adjectives; they're space fillers and time wasters.

2. Don't repeat, repeat yourself. Refrain from using the same world multiple times in a paragraph. Check out the blurb below; How often does the word home appear?
"Buying a new home can be frustrating and stressful. If you're in the market for a new home, then contact us, the new-home specialists. We'll help you find a home in no time!"
Home is mentioned four times - that's three times too many! Solution: Find synonyms for the word home, or reword the sentence so you're not guilty of repetition overload.

3. Go active, not passive. Using the passive voice often results in wordy, clumsy sentences. Choose the active voice instead for tighter, crisper writing. Examples:


Active: John loves Jane.
Passive: Jane is loved by John.

Active: Harold mailed the letter yesterday.
Passive: The letter was mailed by Harold yesterday.

Active: The kids will clean the house on Saturday.
Passive: The house will be cleaned by the kids on Saturday.

4. Get off your high horse. Phrases like ascertain the location of; not withstanding the fact that; in actual point of fact; and until such time as sound more like high-falutin legalese than simple, approachable copy your readers will relate to; so tone down anything that reeks of self-important mumbo jumbo.

5. Take the shortcut. Tempted to use a wordy phrase like on a daily basis? Think of a concise equivalent, such as daily or every day. 
Example: "She calls her  mom on a daily basis." 
Better: "She calls her mom daily." 

More examples:
Instead of "a majority of" ... say ... "most"
Instead of "currently" ... say ... "now"
Instead of "utilize" ... say ... "use"
Instead of "in the near future" ... say ... "soon"
Instead of "lacked the ability to" ... say ... "couldn't
Instead of "based on the fact that" ... say ... "because"
Instead of "despite the fact that" ... say ... although
Instead of "take into consideration" ... say ... "consider"

What’s one of the most important – yet neglected – elements of your sales message? The call to action. That’s where you tell your prospects what to do next, e.g., call, write, subscribe, visit, view, or buy.

That’s silly, you might say. Everyone knows what to do, right? They know how to pick up the phone or shoot me an e-mail or swing by my office. Uh, don’t they?

Technically, yes. But your odds of success soar when you let your prospects know exactly what to do and how to do it. Better yet, give your call to action a sense of urgency by telling your clients when to act: today, by 3PM, this week, this month, now.

Also, don’t hide your call to action in some dark corner of your Web site or brochure. Make sure it stands out and that it communicates your message clearly. Each page of your site should tell readers how to reach you. What happens if they have to look too hard to find your contact info? They will get frustrated and run into the arms of your competition.

Need some call-to-action inspiration? Here are a few examples:

• Send for your free brochure today
• Download your free report here, while supplies last
• Claim your complimentary subscription
• Call today for a free estimate
• Sign up now for our two-day teleclass
• Contact us today for a no-obligation consultation
• Visit our Web site for contest rules and details
• Subscribe by April 30 and receive a free gift
• E-mail us immediately for more information

Remember, if you don't ask for the sale, you may not get it.  So start including a call to action in all your sales materials - today!

My grandmother, Alice, was a strict grammarian. She would scold me at the dinner table whenever I announced that I was done. "Cakes are done, people are finished," she'd chide. "You are finished with your meal."

To this day, I feel my neck hairs bristle when a waiter asks if I'm "done." Although I inherited some of Grandmother's grammar snobbery, I still mess up. Recently a friend chastised me for misusing the word "anxious," as in, "I'm anxious to to win the lottery." "Anxious means worried," she pointed out, "eager means excited." Okay, so I was eager to win the lottery.

Her point was well taken, though, and it got me thinking about other confusing word pairs - words we use interchangeably that actually have different meanings. So I dug up some more tricky combos. Be wary of these when writing copy:

BECAUSE OF versus DUE TO
Use because of when you can restate to ask, "Why?" "The seminar was postponed because of the blizzard." Why was it postponed? Because of the blizzard.

Due to is used with a noun. "The cancellation was due to the blizzard."

COMPLEMENT versus COMPLIMENT
Complement means to "complete" or "enhance": That fuchsia dress complements your complexion nicely.

Compliment is something we all love: praise and flattery! "Thanks for complimenting me on my fuchsia dress."

Complimentary also means "free," as in "Call for your complimentary one-hour consultation."

FURTHER versus FARTHER
Choose farther when referring to physical distance: "Wow, the finish line is farther than I expected."

Further refers to figurative distance and can mean "moreover" or "in addition," e.g., "I'm too tired to make it to the finish line; further, my running shoes are killing me."

THAT versus  WHICH
That is used with clauses that are essential to the sentence: "Writing is the aspect of marketing that I enjoy most."

Which is used with non-essential clauses and needs commas: "Writing, which I've enjoyed since I was a kid, is now my profession."

Now, you'll never be fooled by tricky word combinations again!