“Why do I feel like it just keeps spitting word salad at me?”

“Initially, I think it sounds great. But then I look again and realize it communicates absolutely nothing.”

“Oooo that’s a sexy sentence! But wait, what the heck is this even trying to say??”

~~~

​Yesterday’s AI copy tell was copy that sounded like it could belong to anyone.

Today’s is close kin: copy that’s pumped-full of vagueness, fluff, and generalities… ultimately *sounding impressive.* Until you try to figure out what it actually means.

(The answer, my dear reader? Not much at all.)

Because no matter how much you “train” it or feed it your voice or what have you, AI just luuuuurves to spit out this exact flavor of fluff. It really is what it does best.

To offer an example of what might look like in the real world (based on a composite of copy snippets I’ve reviewed recently) ⮯

“You’re doing all the things you ‘should.’

And yet, life often feels heavier than you expected it to.

You’re constantly managing details, keeping a million plates spinning, and trying to stay one step ahead of everything that could fall through the cracks.”

Now admittedly, this isn’t the worst example I’ve seen! It’s certainly less “word salad-y” than a lot of other copy out there.

But it’s also not copy that’s working very hard, nor is it particularly unique (I mean, how many times have you seen the word “heavy” recently on sales pages and web pages… or if you haven’t noticed before, I know you will now 👀).

And most importantly of all: it’s not doing what good copy is supposed to do: make someone feel, in their bones, that “oh my gosh, this person *gets* me.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, vague copy doesn’t really do a great job at getting anyone to act because us humans generally don’t feel truly seen by generalities.

To fix this – and not just to make it feel less AI-y, but to make it stronger and more likely to convert overall – here are two things to try:

#1) Bake in specificity.

Take “you’re doing all the things you ‘should.''' Should according to whom?

If you’re a woman running her own business, those “shoulds” might be posting daily on socials, outsourcing what you can, or ~charging your worth.~

If you’re a working parent, those “shoulds” might be scrambling to pack lunches and make every school pickup, climbing the corporate ladder, or still finding the energy to be present at dinner.

Whatever they might be, get specific in your copy and name 'em!

Another example: take “you’re constantly managing details.”

But what details? School pickups? Client invoices that haven’t been paid? The tax deadline creeping up that you haven’t thought about in weeks?

Go ahead and bake all those bad boys (specific details and all) into your copy.

Your copy will be better for it – more resonant and persuasive for your readers, and a lot less like the same fluff everyone else is putting out these days.

#2) Borrow liberally from your audience.

If there’s one single thing I want you – nay, I beg of you – to do before you sit down to write copy, it’s this.

Talk. To. Your. Audience.

Because writing copy is, ultimately, an educated guessing game.

So instead of guessing what specificity to add, go straight to the source (i.e., your audience!), ask them about it, and use what they say in your copy.

(So you’re hitting the pain points that actually move them. The hesitations keeping them stuck. And the outcomes they truly care about.)

In sum: talk to your people. Read their reviews, their DMs, their replies to your emails. Ask them via a survey or an interview how they’d describe whatever’s going on in their own words. Then borrow liberally.

~

Okay, that’s all for today. Stay tuned for Beyond the Em-Dash AI tell #3 tomorrow. It’s kind of a sneaky one.

~Nicole

P.S. In case you’re wondering, those quotes at the beginning came directly from a conversation I had with the women in my Monday mastermind about their experience writing copy with AI. Glad to know I’m not the only one seeing word salad everywhere I look! 🥗

Nicole Elliott Human-First Conversion Copy & Messaging Strategy Non-salesy sales copy that sells w/out the sleaze   hello@nicoleelliott.co www.nicoleelliott.co

Unsubscribe | Update your profile | 600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246