The next important step as you're writing this piece of content is to avoid a trap many professionals-turned-content marketers fall into.
Every company, industry and profession has its own virtual dictionary of terms outsiders have little or no use for. “Insiders,” though, use these terms regularly, even affectionately.
The more technical the subject of your project is, or the more your audience is limited to “insiders,” the greater the likelihood you’re going to fall into the use of jargon.
And, this is natural. Especially since the last chapter encouraged you to write like you speak, and if you're neck-deep in your industry and you're constantly surrounded by people who share your insider knowledge, than “like you speak” may include tons of industry jargon.
Why do you do it?
You’ll notice this step is not simply “Eliminate Jargon,” since this is not only impossible, but may even be detrimental to your content.
But, limiting the amount of jargon you infuse into your copy is very important, especially if your audience includes any who may not be familiar with the words you’re using.
Depending on the audience and the purpose of what you’re writing, you may decide that some use of jargon, perhaps even a lot of it, is justified. Maybe it even adds to the power of the message.
If so, go for it.
But, if you can’t completely justify a jargon-laden message, change it.
How do you do it?
Limiting or eliminating jargon has to start with identifying it.
The most effective way to do so is to run your initial draft past someone who is completely removed from your industry or profession and making note of every word or phrase that trips them up.
Of course, this may not always be practical.
At the very least, review your initial draft word by word and ask yourself, “if I wasn't immersed in this subject every day, would I know what ____ meant?”
If there's any doubt at all, think about how important that particular word or phrase really is to the power of the content, and either eliminate it or clarify it accordingly.
After you've been through this process several times, you'll probably be able to limit or eliminate jargon without thinking too much about it. Just be careful not to slip back into old habits thoughtlessly, or to pick up unnecessary new jargon as it's coined.
Exercise #21 – Limit or Eliminate Jargon
1. Review your draft from Exercise #20
2. If it contains any industry-specific jargon that's not absolutely crucial to the effectiveness of the article, zap it.
3. If the jargon is important enough, add clarifying statements to make sure that anyone not familiar with your industry will still be able to benefit from your content.
4. Read the next chapter.