Jargon: Handle With Care
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Marcia Yudkin
Apr 22, 2013, 8:30:03 AM4/22/13
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Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Marcia Yudkin
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Article Title: Jargon: Handle With Care
Author: Marcia Yudkin
Word Count: 513
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=133938&ca=Marketing
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=133938
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=133938
*********************** ARTICLE START ***********************
When I reviewed business Web sites for the Webby Awards earlier this year, one of the most common and annoying obstacles I ran across was jargon - insider language that got in the way of understanding what the business behind the site actually did for its clients. The same barrier detracts from the effectiveness of many press releases and sales letters.
Troublesome jargon comes in at least three varieties: buzzwords, or trendy phrases used by people who consider themselves on the cutting edge of their field; acronyms, the dizzying alphabet soup of obscure abbreviations; and technical or specialized phraseology that just isn't much known outside of a particular niche.
"GCKL's Enterprise-level Viral Marketing Solutions Offer Leading Value-Add for the P2P Revolution": that's a fictional headline containing no less than seven buzzwords. Most journalists hate buzzwords, and you should therefore avoid them, just as you should try not to complete the previous thought in this sentence with "like the plague." If you think my made-up headline makes perfect sense, then please take my word for it that the number of people who truly understand such messages is extremely small. Usually when you attempt to translate buzzwords, all that comes from the effort is mush.
Acronyms such as "CRM," "CSS," "CSP" and "CTR" are a bit trickier to provide advice about, because they are much likelier than buzzwords to become elements in searches of the Internet at large or press release databases. In other words, potential clients and media people might actually search for "CRM for small business" or "CSS tutorials," so that you want those phrases to appear in your release if that's what you do.
Even so, you need to remember that many media people and potential clients may not have a mental definition for such acronyms. For instance, publishing insiders can email each other about "POD initiatives," but in a press release "POD" should not only be clearly explained as "publishing on demand" but that term given a brief gloss as well. By using both the acronym and the written-out words that the letters stand for, as well as further definitions when a phrase is relatively new or specialized, you communicate clearly and set the stage for your news to be found through search engines.
Now what about specialized vocabulary - "hematoma," "habeas corpus," "chakra" and "candlestick charts"? Such phrases have precise and established meanings in certain fields, but people who don't use the terms every day may have a hazy comprehension of them. Thus, you should handle them as I recommended for acronyms. Provide a brief, unobtrusive definition in close proximity to their first use in a release.
When you do this subtly, tucking an explanation into your release, neither the in-group nor the outsiders take offense. For instance, within Eastern medicine "qi" is a standard term. You could define it discreetly as in this sentence: "Acupuncture restores balance and regulates the flow of qi, the basic life force." The last four words prevent both confusion and insult.
About The Author: Marcia Yudkin is the author of 6 Steps to Free Publicity, Persuading on Paper and Web Site Marketing Makeover, and a seven-time Webby Awards judge. She teaches a six-week course on no-hype copywriting for business owners and marketers; complete details: http://www.yudkin.com/copycourse.htm .
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=133938
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
- For more free-reprint articles go to http://www.isnare.com
Message delivered directly to members of the group:
publish-the...@googlegroups.com
*****************************************************************
Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Marcia Yudkin
*****************************
IMPORTANT - Publication/Reprint Terms
- You have permission to publish this article electronically in free-only publications such as a website or an ezine as long as the bylines are included.
- You are not allowed to use this article for commercial purposes. The article should only be reprinted in a publicly accessible website and not in a members-only commercial site.
- You are not allowed to post/reprint this article in any sites/publications that contains or supports hate, violence, porn and warez or any indecent and illegal sites/publications.
- You are not allowed to use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) or SPAM. This article MUST be distributed in an opt-in email list only.
- If you distribute this article in an ezine or newsletter, we ask that you send a copy of the newsletter or ezine that contains the article to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=133938
- If you post this article in a website/forum/blog, ALL links MUST be set to hyperlinks and we ask that you send a copy of the URL where the article is posted to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=133938
- We request that you ask permission from the author if you want to publish this article in print.
The role of iSnare.com is only to distribute this article as part of its Article Distribution feature ( http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php ). iSnare.com does NOT own this article, please respect the author's copyright and this publication/reprint terms. If you do not agree to any of these terms, please do not reprint or publish this article.
*****************************
Article Title: Jargon: Handle With Care
Author: Marcia Yudkin
Word Count: 513
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=133938&ca=Marketing
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=133938
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=133938
*********************** ARTICLE START ***********************
When I reviewed business Web sites for the Webby Awards earlier this year, one of the most common and annoying obstacles I ran across was jargon - insider language that got in the way of understanding what the business behind the site actually did for its clients. The same barrier detracts from the effectiveness of many press releases and sales letters.
Troublesome jargon comes in at least three varieties: buzzwords, or trendy phrases used by people who consider themselves on the cutting edge of their field; acronyms, the dizzying alphabet soup of obscure abbreviations; and technical or specialized phraseology that just isn't much known outside of a particular niche.
"GCKL's Enterprise-level Viral Marketing Solutions Offer Leading Value-Add for the P2P Revolution": that's a fictional headline containing no less than seven buzzwords. Most journalists hate buzzwords, and you should therefore avoid them, just as you should try not to complete the previous thought in this sentence with "like the plague." If you think my made-up headline makes perfect sense, then please take my word for it that the number of people who truly understand such messages is extremely small. Usually when you attempt to translate buzzwords, all that comes from the effort is mush.
Acronyms such as "CRM," "CSS," "CSP" and "CTR" are a bit trickier to provide advice about, because they are much likelier than buzzwords to become elements in searches of the Internet at large or press release databases. In other words, potential clients and media people might actually search for "CRM for small business" or "CSS tutorials," so that you want those phrases to appear in your release if that's what you do.
Even so, you need to remember that many media people and potential clients may not have a mental definition for such acronyms. For instance, publishing insiders can email each other about "POD initiatives," but in a press release "POD" should not only be clearly explained as "publishing on demand" but that term given a brief gloss as well. By using both the acronym and the written-out words that the letters stand for, as well as further definitions when a phrase is relatively new or specialized, you communicate clearly and set the stage for your news to be found through search engines.
Now what about specialized vocabulary - "hematoma," "habeas corpus," "chakra" and "candlestick charts"? Such phrases have precise and established meanings in certain fields, but people who don't use the terms every day may have a hazy comprehension of them. Thus, you should handle them as I recommended for acronyms. Provide a brief, unobtrusive definition in close proximity to their first use in a release.
When you do this subtly, tucking an explanation into your release, neither the in-group nor the outsiders take offense. For instance, within Eastern medicine "qi" is a standard term. You could define it discreetly as in this sentence: "Acupuncture restores balance and regulates the flow of qi, the basic life force." The last four words prevent both confusion and insult.
About The Author: Marcia Yudkin is the author of 6 Steps to Free Publicity, Persuading on Paper and Web Site Marketing Makeover, and a seven-time Webby Awards judge. She teaches a six-week course on no-hype copywriting for business owners and marketers; complete details: http://www.yudkin.com/copycourse.htm .
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=133938
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
- For more free-reprint articles go to http://www.isnare.com
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