repetition Archives - Scott Flood Writing

Repeating repetition repeatedly isn’t necessarily a bad thing

April 9, 2024 by Scott Flood

Many people have a strong aversion to repetition. It isn’t that they can’t tolerate others repeating a message; it’s that they don’t want to risk echoing their previous efforts when developing their marketing communications materials. The concern about repetition crops up most often in planning for ongoing marketing programs, such as social media or customer … Read more

“We already did that”

September 23, 2020 by Scott Flood

Like average Americans, you’re exposed to thousands of marketing messages each day, from TV commercials to billboards to slogans on fast-food drink cups. How many of the ones you saw yesterday do you remember? Probably just a couple – maybe a few if you really strain your memory. So why do so many companies and organizations … Read more

It’s okay to repeat yourself and repeat yourself

April 22, 2020 by Scott Flood

Many companies and organizations seem to have a paranoia about repetition. Once they mention something in an email newsletter, a blog, or on a website, they don’t think they should mention it again. If someone suggests a repeat discussion of that topic, they’ll reject it outright, adding “we promoted that already” or “we already told … Read more

Nobody cares as much as you do

September 18, 2018 by Scott Flood

About what you say in your marketing materials, that is. I wish that weren’t the case, but it’s absolutely true. I may spend hours trying to get a paragraph just right, even though I know that the audience is only going to glance at it for a couple seconds. You’d never know that from the … Read more

Should you repeat repetition repeatedly?

May 31, 2017 by Scott Flood

Many people have an aversion to repetition in marketing communications. At times, repeating yourself isn’t a good thing, such as when you’re writing a blog post or an ad and you need to make a quick impact. Or when you’re writing something like an ad or a blog post. Oops. In those situations, you have … Read more

REPEATING YOURSELF ISN’T A BAD HABIT

September 21, 2010 by Scott Flood

I’ve noticed that many companies exhibit an unusual paranoia about repetition. Once they mention something in an ad, a brochure, or on a website, they don’t think they should mention it again. I’ll often hear them react to a recommendation by saying “we promoted that already” or “we already told our customers that.”

The same thing often happens when they’re reviewing copy for a website. “We’ve already mention this on another page, so we shouldn’t repeat it here.” Okay, why not? “Because we don’t want to repeat something we’ve already said.” Again, why not?

BUT WE DID THAT LAST YEAR

July 13, 2010 by Scott Flood

How much of what you saw or heard yesterday do you remember? Estimates vary, but the consensus tends to be that the average American is exposed to thousands of marketing messages each day, from TV commercials to billboards to slogans on fast-food drink cups. And of those, you’re likely to remember just a couple – maybe a few if you really strain your memory.

For some reason, though, companies often believe that the audiences for their own marketing messages somehow remember each one in excruciating detail. So when given an opportunity to communicate again, they assume that only something fresh and new is appropriate.

SHOULD REPETITION BE REPEATED?

April 27, 2010 by Scott Flood

When writing an ad or a brochure (or even a blog post), repetition generally isn’t very helpful. You have a limited amount of time with your reader, and you need to make every word count. Besides, if you mention something once, you usually don’t need to do it again.

I’ve seen people try to apply that same logic to copy for websites. They’ll ask me delete an item or section on one page, noting that another page carries the same information.