To Be Or Not To Be

Yesterday, I tweaked a friend’s book blurb
(marketing copy).
She committed a common copywriting crime.
She used the verb ‘to be’
again and again.

‘To be’
(She is, I am, You have been)

is a passive ‘weak’ verb.
It doesn’t pop.
It doesn’t sizzle.
It simply is.

Compare
“She was desperate for love.”
with
“She hungered for love.”
Hungered is active,
conveying movement.
That’s exactly what you want
the prospect to do
– to take action.

You might not be able to
completely eliminate
‘to be’
but you can reduce its frequency.

Do a search and destroy
on the verb ‘to be’
and replace it with stronger verbs.

Published
Categorized as Marketing