Examples of clichés & tips on how to avoid them!

Are you looking for a handy article on avoiding textual clichés? You’ve just read the first one. Online, you’ll find plenty of texts that begin in exactly the same way. Whilst this isn’t grammatically incorrect, you can convey your message in a far more engaging way. After all, you want to grab your target audience’s attention and keep it. But what’s the best way to do that? One way to tackle this is by taking a critical look at your own writing and avoiding textual clichés. Watch and learn…

Clichéd examples

When you read web copy, there’s a good chance you’ll regularly come across the same standard phrases. These are also known as textual clichés. Here are a few examples of clichés that are particularly clichéd:

• Are you looking for...
• Then you’ve come to the right place!
• We’re always here for you
• Service is our top priority
• For us, the client comes first
• Whether you… or…
• … is just around the corner
• Read on to find out more!
• We’d be delighted to help you!

And we could go on like this for a while with examples of clichés.

Beat it!

A textual cliché in content marketing is all too easy to write, believe us. Especially if you write a lot of copy and have developed your own style, there are certain words and phrases that you – unconsciously – use regularly. Pick out a piece of text and print it out. This will allow you to take a critical look at one of your own texts. Highlight all the clichés you come across. These are areas that need closer scrutiny.

What message do you want to convey? You can safely leave out a cliché such as ‘are you looking for’. Instead, try to use examples. Speaking of examples: we’ll share one with you.

Not: Are you looking for an Italian restaurant in Deventer? Then you’ve come to the right place...

Wel: In 1997, head chef Fabrizio decided to leave his Neapolitan restaurant to build a new life in picturesque Deventer. A few months later, he opened X: an Italian restaurant serving traditional Neapolitan dishes. As well as the authentic flavours, the interior also has an Italian touch. Mamma Mia!

Need help avoiding textual clichés?

Take a close look at your texts and get started on improving your content to turn them into sparkling masterpieces. Are you struggling to find your way and suffering from ‘writer’s block’? To round off with a bit of a cliché: you’re not on your own – our content marketers are happy to help. Why not have your content checked by one of our specialists?