Content and copy writers: ensure that you never use the word ensure again
When I was in 7th grade, I had an English teacher who freaked out when a student spoke or wrote in any form of the verb “to be.” Her reaction to a “to be” was so outrageous and embarrassing that after one use, you dared not do it again. Note: If you’re unfamiliar with the “to be” verbs and wonder if you’re guilty of overuse, this handy little guide explains how not to use “to be.”
More than one student shed a tear over “to be” in that teacher’s classroom, but to this day, I remember that valuable lesson and try my damndest to keep “to be” at a minimum in speech or writing, lest my teacher jump around a corner and ridicule me. (Go ahead and count how many times I inadvertently use it in this article and feel free to ridicule.)
Those of us who make a living from content and copywriting understand that active, direct language is far superior to the passive blahs of “to be.” But I believe that a new culprit has crept into our vernacular, causing equal harm: the word “ensure.”
“Ensure” and its companions “need to” and “must” permeate corporate copy and content. Websites, blogs, customer stories and corporate marketing campaigns all tell me that I “must ensure,” and in order to ensure, “I need to do __” or I “have to ___.”
For example:
In order to ensure that my cat is eating a proper diet, I must feed him both wet and dry food. Yet, in order for cat food companies to continue to please the increasingly finicky palate of today’s domestic cats, they need to continuously update their flavor offerings.
Does this sound like something on your website? Something that you wrote in your blog?
I understand it. Creating compelling content day after day is tiresome and difficult. Not every subject inspires us. Sometimes we want to blob something down and move on. I’m in favor of using a familiar, more casual tone in corporate writing. And I’m prone to blob on occasion.
But, the thing is, nobody has to do anything. The cat food company doesn’t need to continuously update its flavors. Additionally, introducing words like “ensure,” “need,” and “must” almost always require the use of passive verbs and unnecessary wordiness — another pet peeve of my 7th grade teacher.
In short, the ensure argument isn’t compelling, active or direct. It’s lazy!
You’ve probably heard this one before in an English class: “show me, don’t tell me!” Show me how the combo of wet and dry food improves my cat’s nutrition. Show me the results of the updated flavor offerings vs. no updated flavor offerings in regards to the cat food company’s sales. Make a nice chart. Tell me an interesting story. Throw caution to the wind and use a “to be” verb if you want. But please do not ensure me, because I’m not buying it, and neither are your potential clients.
We can do better, I ensure you!
