From Puffery To Praise: How to Turn Hype Into Sales

A spin doctor is a person, mostly politicians and public relations firms, who attempt to do damage control by downplaying something truly negative. They try to put a positive “spin” on something unfavorable.

Are copywriters spin doctors? Maybe.

But there’s a difference between putting a positive spin on a negative idea, versus putting a product, a feature, or an idea in a positive light that can be perceived as negative.

Left to her own devices, a reader can come to many conclusions. Both right and wrong. Both true and false. Both real and nonexistent. Copy, in this case, has the power to steer the reader in the right direction — and therefore avoid going in the wrong one.

One such tool that enables copywriters to do this is hyperbole.

Hype is not bad and it’s often given a bad rap. The problem is not hype in and of itself. It’s when it is perceived as hype. When hype is conspicuous, that’s when the copy did a poor job, making the offer or its author appear smarmy, misleading, even scammy.

However, hyperbole is powerful because it helps to drive home some important points, and aids in the comprehension of critical or complex ideas.

So, how can you turn puffery into praise? “Hyperbole” into “hallelujah?”

(more…)