A little negativity goes a long way. Make more than one negative statement and you sound stuffy, mealy-mouthed and unfriendly, even on a micro-scale. People will pick up on it, consciously or not, and you won’t sell as much stuff as you might have.
It’s time to revisit your copy and check for stray caveats. Here are three examples of mini-downers along with friendly, positive copy alternatives.
- replace ‘not included’ with ‘available separately’ – it’s best to avoid negative words like ‘not’ altogether
- never tell people to ‘please note’. It’s both superfluous and pompous
- replace ‘limited time offer’, which sounds mean, with ‘offer ends soon’, which sounds exciting
Need help? I bet you I can make the most negative caveat or piece of small print into something that supports your sales message instead of spoiling it.
