Truth is the most powerful marketing tool in your bag. I don’t mean truth in advertising, as in not making false claims and being ethical in your communication practices. That’s an obvious given to anyone with an ounce of common sense.

I’m talking about being transparently honest with your audience with regard to who you are and how you relate to your public. Companies are so obsessed with putting a positive spin on information, whether its about the company itself or its products, that the public has become numb to it. You, I and everyone else out there can spot a whitewashed PR statement or an exaggerated product claim in an instant. But, too many corporate executives and business owners continue to believe they are somehow camouflaged from their lack of authenticity.

One of the best examples of a radio commercial that embraced truth was for a telephone company some thirty years ago. It had a reputation for providing poor service. So they made a number of internal adjustments to improve their service and then ran a radio campaign to promote themselves. The commercial began with the predictable statement about how good their service was. But, then, the announcer was interrupted with gales of laughter. By poking fun at themselves they immediately identified with the listeners beliefs, which laid the groundwork for presenting their message. The campaign was a huge success.

There are other examples of unexpected truths being used to provide powerful advertising messages, such as:

• Orville Redenbacher:  The world’s most expensive popping corn
• Avis:   We’re number two, so we try harder
• Listerine: The taste you hate twice a day

There is something about being flat-out honest about something that not only catches people’s attention, but leaps out at them from the crowd. It’s not what we, as consumers, are used to. And, that’s only one of the benefits.

When you say something that might be considered potentially uncomplimentary, you create credibility. If you’re willing to say something negative about your product, then you are obviously truthful, so can be trusted when you say positive things.

I’m not suggesting that companies should go out and start advertising negative things about themselves. But, you should not hide behind canned language that contradicts commonly held perceptions. It actually hurts you more than it helps.

The truth is powerful. The funniest jokes are the ones that are based in truth, the most memorable quotes are the ones that strike our deepest sense of truth, and the most powerful advertisements are the ones that are truthful.

And, that’s the truth.

When you write a headline for your ad, make sure it’s so clear that someone who has never heard of you or your product will understand it. Follow this rule and your ads will perform better every time.

One of the most common mistakes made by advertisers is coming up with some clever headline that leaves the reader clueless as to what is being advertised. With business owners and copywriters alike, there is this nagging need, born of some unwritten expectation, to create something clever and glib when writing a headline. Sometimes it works, but unless you’re an experienced copywriter who understands the difference between clever and clear communication, just state your message. Sure, it might be boring. But at least the readers will know what you’re about and you’ll have a chance to engage them if your product solves a problem they have.

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I read this phrase in a marketing book a number of years ago, and unfortunately, I don’t remember the name of the book or the author. But, of all the pieces of advertising advice that I’ve accumulated over the years, this is the most direct and universally useful.

It’s about them, not you.

In my 30+ years of helping people advertise their businesses; one of the most recurring issues is the owner providing reasons for customers to buy based upon the owner’s perspective. This is both completely understandable, and completely wrong.

When an entrepreneur throws his or her life into an effort to create a product or service to sell, it’s all-consuming. Not only is your investment and income on the line, but you tend to live your business every waking hour of the day. So, when you explain what you sell to potential customers, it’s only fitting that you describe all the things you do to make your product valuable.

What you should be doing is describing the benefits of your product from your customer’s point of view. Will it make your customer feel better, look better, richer or happier? How hard you work, your experience, how much you’ve sold, your education: none of that matters in an ad. It might matter later in the sales process, but not at the point of first contact, which is your ad.

It’s about them, not you is a great phrase to measure your ad copy against. It’s easy to be distracted by clever double meanings and playful ideas. But, if they don’t pass this test, don’t use them. Be fanatic about connecting more directly with your customers’ real needs and you’ll be rewarded with more effective advertising.

You’ve got your marketing plan worked out. Your budget is more than you would like, but you’re willing to commit to it. You’ve decided what media you are going to use, and you’re pretty proud of the deal you were able to negotiate. You’ve got your offer or message worked out. All that’s left to do is write your ad and get it produced. No problem. At least, that’s what most business people think.

Good business people are highly disciplined at measuring value. And, every step of the campaign development process has some basis in being able to measure something except the creative step. That’s where almost every entrepreneur falls down. Even the good ones.

Time and time again, I have seen the manager/owner write his own copy or try to direct a writer to create copy that is full of ad clichés that neither stand out nor convince. The result is predictable. All that time, effort and money is neutralized by ad copy that is only efficient at blending into the great background hum of “white noise”.

With that in mind, I have created a list of phrases and words to avoid. If you find any of these in your ad copy, re-write it. You can find words to get the same ideas across with more personality and originality.

1. Once in a lifetime
2. Friendliest store in town
3. Why pay more
4. Lowest prices of the year
5. Dare to compare
6. Lowest prices in town
7. Save like never before
8. Make an offer
9. Highest quality, lowest price
10. Best service in town
11. The perfect gift
12. For any budget
13. Public notice
14. Buy with confidence
15. Check out our great selection
16. Nobody beats our prices
17. We’ll save you money
18. Store-wide clearance
19. We sell more (item) than anyone
20. Hurry in
21. Everything must go
22. Never lower
23. Follow the crowds
24. Now is the time to buy
25. Don’t miss this sale
26. Save today
27. You won’t find deals like this…
28. Unbelievable prices (bargains, deals, etc.)
29. Boss is away
30. Gigantic sale

If you find yourself using any of the above phrases, go back and think of a more unique way to say the same thing. These phrases have been used so many times for so many products that there is simply no credibility to them any longer.

In fact, there are probably more that I have overlooked here.

Please feel free to add any others that you would like to never hear again.

We knew industrial air filtration would be a challenge, but we didn’t know how big. After a number of obstacles on the client’s part that could not be anticipated, we were recently able to complete an altogether new web site for Filter Technology Ltd. My hat goes off to Bob Hood, who was blindsided with a severe illness which created significant challenges during the developmental process. We are now happy to report that the site is complete, but more importantly, Bob is back to his old self, 100%.

Filter Technology is a company that designs, engineers and builds industrial air pollution control systems. You can visit the site at http://www.filtertechnologyltd.com/ . After having written much, and edited all of the copy for the site, I am now more knowledgeable about industrial air filtration that I ever thought I would be. Not that I know all that much about it. But, this is a shining example of what can be accomplished when the client supplies the knowledge and the agency puts it into words.

Bob is personally, one of the most authoritative experts in the country when it comes to high temperature filtration, using air to air head exchangers. You can see the page at www.filtertechnologyltd.com/products/high-temp-filtration/ . There are only two…maybe three others in the entire country who are as accomplished as Bob in the area of high temperature filtration.

Moreover, his business isn’t restricted to the United State. He recently completed six process dust filters in Qatar. See www.filtertechnologyltd.com/products/process-dust-filters/ . More information is listed on the “Projects” page.

Consulting is an important part of Filter Technology’s service, with a large portion of the business in bringing existing systems up to date. These days, many companies don’t want to spend the money to completely replace their old systems, so the look to Bob to help them up-grade what they have. You can read more about it at www.filtertechnology.com/services-industrial-filtration/ .

We’re pretty pleased with this new site, and so is Bob. He has already experienced an increase in visits and business activity as a direct result of launching his new web site.