If you’ve taken the trouble to write something really good, you definitely don’t want to waste it. (Lawyers call reusable documents "precedents" - marketers call them boilerplate.)
But, beware boilerplate that is so generic - or, conversely, beautifully crafted for one particular purpose - that it's ill-fitting for this time.
Avoid these traps inherent in copy which too broad and generic:
- you run the risk of it being so general that it’s near meaningless
- when you write broad messages, you won't alienate anyone, but you’re not about to convert the masses with over-generalised words and ideas
- vague, general material tends to make you sound just like everyone else in your sector
- really broad, generic, undifferentiated “motherhood” statements mostly leave readers bewildered … just wondering what you're on about and how it applies to them.
Try these remedies to broad, generic boilerplate:
- focus your messages on differentiation
- highlight your unique attributes
- check that you don’t sound just like most of your competitors
- speak in your own voice rather than following the often sad, professional norm: tedious, heavy, dull, undistinguished marketing collateral.
Poor boilerplate makes you sound just like your close competitors.
Try this simple test: if you globally searched your firm name, and replaced it with that of your closest competitor, would the copy sound equally applicable
to them ?
What you’ve carefully crafted for one very specific business opportunity is risky, too.
You must:
- check that it resonates with other markets
- make sure that it doesn’t alienate your new intended audience
- check, do the benefits hit the mark ?
There’s a place for boilerplate: slices of well-written copy which can be quickly assembled and “individualised” or “personalised”.
The trick is to make sure that body copy communicates benefits to its intended audience.
Then, that it resonates with the recipient by clearly telling why these benefits matter - that is, translating benefits into meaningful differentiators which hit the mark.
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