Don’t write like a lawyer

Why exhaustive ≠ effective

Of all the copywriting hills I love to die on, it's become a favorite.

Lawyers are exhaustive by necessity. Language that leaves room for interpretation causes problems. It's how we get classics like "including but not limited to.”

Bases covered. In a legal setting, being exhaustive is effective. In marketing it’s just exhausting. In B2B land, it's easy to spot. It’s stuff like:

We combine human insight, creativity and technical expertise, honed from decades of experience, to build holistic solutions that deliver customer satisfaction, brand affinity and measurable ROI for growth-minded businesses seeking to expand their reach and efficiently increase their impact, no matter the industry, in perpetuity, until the end of time.

Writing like a lawyer usually starts with the priority of maximum clarity. It almost always ends with overstuffed run-on sentences that

"Let's specify that the ROI we deliver is measurable."

It better be.

"Let's make it clear that we work with growth-minded businesses."

"Oh and let's include 'human insight' somewhere, that way we can talk about AI while reminding people that we are thinking humans.”

How to fix?

For starters:

1. Don't underestimate the intelligence of your audience.

2. Cut what can be safely assumed.

3. Show, don't tell your audience that you understand them.

4. Go deeper. Say something true and worth reading. Which rarely includes the words "leverage" or "holistic."

Perhaps something like:

Your ideal customers are looking for you. At Screwball, we build ideas, experiences, and systems that bring you both together for good.

It's hard to nail without knowing more about our fictitious results-focused, data-centric creative marketing partner, but it's at least a step in the right direction, no?

Thoughts? To my lawyer friends, I love you.

Please don't sue me for slander.