Like playing tennis on a plane.

Are you trying to be too fancy in your writing?

There’s two kinds of writing in this world, when it comes to marketing your business.

Regular and too fancy.

Regular is when you just say “here’s what I’m selling” and just—PLUNK—put it out there. A lot of fliers do this. Unfortunately, so do a lot of emails.

Regular writing doesn’t work so well when it comes to promoting your business.

Because regular writing rarely answers the question “what’s in it for me?”… which is the question that your reader is asking herself. Without talking in HER language about the results SHE wants, your stuff falls on deaf ears. Or blind eyes.

On the other end of the spectrum is fancy writing. There are two strains here. One kind of fancy writing is the kind where you’ve been a student of marketing, you’ve read the books and know the lingo.

So things start getting all superlative and 6-figures and easy. And underneath all that sweetness, your real personality starts to erode. Because we can’t tell how you are different than anyone else who’s speaking in the superlative, 6-figures and easy voice.

The other strain of fancy writing out there can be found among smart people who want to avoid sounding like they are marketing.

So they write a marketing piece like it’s a college essay. Lots of multi-syllabic words and heady themes. Lots and lots of big, longwinded sentences.

It’s not much fun, so it rarely meets your readers desire to be delighted, inspired, and entertained.

The trick is to craft a message that’s neither too regular, nor too fancy. That captures attention, AND has enough “meat and potatoes” to keep them reading.

It’s less about the words you use
…and more about your message.

It’s about whether you get all fired up and geeky about a certain aspect of your work. It’s about whether you take a stand for what you believe in, and link that to WHY you started your business in the first place. And it’s about plugging into THAT every time you sit down to craft a piece of marketing. Glory Hallelujah.

Dude. If you are in the NYC area, and you are wrapping your head around how to marketing your service-based business in a way that’s fun, feisty, and wins you raving fans + high-caliber clients, consider rolling up your sleeves and spending the day with Stella at UNCORK NYC. May 18. To RSVP + for tickets, see: http://moneymakingmoustache.com/uncork-nyc/ Note that Early Bird ticket prices are good through April 23.

Mighty thanks to tumblr for the photo; no photo credits on this one.