Today, I’m going to talk about a common mistake that many marketers, including massage practice owners, frequently make.  It’s obvious that when you look at their marketing materials, that they have made a real effort.  They wanted to create an advertisement or marketing piece that will generate more sales.  While there are a number of different mistakes that they can make when they create their marketing, one of the most common ones I see is using the wrong language.

I’ll use massage therapy as an example.  I can read an advertisement written by another massage therapist and have a pretty good idea how the ad is working without even asking the therapist themselves.  As a fellow massage therapist, I know exactly what they are talking about in their advertisement when they use industry stock phrases like sciatica, myofascial pain syndrome, and ischemic tissue.  The problem is…other massage therapists aren’t their targeted market!

Using phrases like this with the general public means that you are talking above their heads.  For most of the general public, you are throwing out big medial-ese words…words that they have no idea what they mean!

In the United States, the average American reads on a sixth grade’s reading level.  For those of you who have been in the working world for a while, that means the average person reads at the same level as a 12 year old child. 

According to an article I recently read, the U.S. Army has written all of their basic training manuals on a 9 year old’s reading level!  (Note: In our massage practice building manual, Help Your MASSAGE Practice, Eric and I explore this topic deeper.)

So what does this mean to you, as a massage therapist?  The answer is easy—simplify your marketing message.  Instead of saying things like ‘ischemic tissue’, use ‘muscles that are painful or tender to the touch’.  Instead of saying ‘myofascial pain syndrome’, use ‘constant pain’.  The marketing message is still targeted, but easier to understand for everyone.

The idea is to use easier to understand language for your readers.  Does this also work with highly educated prospects? 

Absolutely!  I’m fortunate that my massage practice is located in an area where the average income is quite high.  I have plenty of doctors, lawyers, PhDs, and so on as valued clients of mine. 

Many times, these highly educated working professionals have told me that they enjoy reading my special reports and issues of “Keeping In Touch” (my massage client education newsletters) because they are easy to read.

Think about some of the magazines you subscribe to that aren’t professional reading.  It’s very likely that they are written to be easy to understand and to be read quickly.

Keep this in mind when you are writing your next marketing piece to generate new sales. Simplify the language you use in your marketing. Remember to K.I.S.S. your marketing—Keep It Simple Silly!

Until next time,

Michael Humphreys
Help Your Practice