Top 10 list of overused words for 2012

2 YOU

I don't know if this counts, but it's a word that is overused verbally and literally...

Intentional or intentionality.

Also..."community." Building it, most times.

And, of course...intentionally building community...or building an intentional community...

#11: Fiscal Cliff

"Next Level"... whatever that is...

no-brainer. I find it a bit insulting when used. It insinuates that if you don't do whatever the person is advertising, that you are somehow stupid.

"Awesome" - tooo much.

"done for you"
"cash-sucking"
"autopilot"

rinse and repeat

engage and audience

"One-stop-shop"

...Turnkey...

Every time I read it I think it says "Turkey"


Steve

"recession"
"cash"
"cheap"
"marketing"
"facebook"
"like"
"twitter"
"follow"

Overused

(HAW!)

economic collapse
scandal
apocolypse

I watch a lot of news maybe thats why I heat this a lot

I think game changer was used pretty heavily last year too.

Also, let's add "stupid simple" and "drop dead easy" to the list.

@Ewen, yeah I know what you mean with the, "Trust me." or "Believe me".

It's almost like when someone says, "well, to be completely honest..." or "to tell you the truth..."

it begs the question, "So, you weren't being completely honest with everything you said before now and you didn't tell the truth this whole time?" lol.

At which point exactly were you lying? And of all you've said up to this point, which were the lies and what was true?

Can I believe anything you say? Don't answer that.

So any copwriter worth his/her salt knows to take the aforementioned with a grain of salt.

Another tell-tale sign someone is trying to manipulate you is when they ask you,

"Hey, can you do me a favor?"

Especially if they use the words "real quick" following it (although '"real quick" may just be a southeastern United States colloquialism).

"Killer"

Ugh, hate it.

Couple more:

"Autopilot"
"Brain dead" (as in brain dead simple)
"Next-level"

Anything that has the phrase "...action" in it. Although, I'm guilty of using it myself. Ha!

Be well,

Lane

FREE


it's the one word i see again and again

Revealed.
Exposed.
Attention!

Almost forgot to add Ninja to the list. Thanks Seth!

[anything] Domination.
Best
Finest

...I would like to say I don't mind "mindset" (I now know what the word means...).

And I fully agree with Doug and Seth lets delete "killer" and "ninja" forever.


Steve

WSO
WTB
WTS
WTT

Are these in the dictionary yet?

I'm not a guru

Free

So easy

Ninja -- as in SEO Ninja
Guru -- as in Adwords Guru
Rockstar -- as in Programming Rockstar

Blackhat
Penguin
Panda
Those SEO terms

Relationships

massive
ninja

get instant...
finally...
revolutionary..

I think most of us IMers are sick of these words, especially if we've been exposed to the "Making Money" niche for any period of time. But, these words work! Especially when used in niches others than "make money" because those people probably haven't been overexposed to those words or phrases yet. But, I hear you, some of those words and phrases grate on my nerves too.

One phrase that I hear a lot now is "reach out to..." - although I don't seem to see it sales copy that much. But online, it seems to have really caught on this year. Every time I read that, I think of someone stretching their arms out in a desperate attempt to get help.

"SEO" for the win

Haha Ken. I hadn't seen "begs the question" used in sales copy before.

Any examples you can point to? (Would be a "pity" if not 'cause it would be funny to see it used).

"Sidenote:" I actually like "Killer" for copywriter because it doesn't "beat around the bush"
with "meaningless superlatives" like "Best" but "goes straight for the jugular" with meaningful
specifics, statistics and proof. So it's "evergreen".

Marketing phrases that have lost their meaning. - YouTube

"newbie-friendly"

Thought Leader, Tribe Leader, Niche Celebrity, Trusted Go-to Source of Reliable Expert Information, Trusted Advisor, No one else, Authority, Guru, But enough about me, etc.



"So easy a kid could do it"

"weird trick"
"step by step"

"Begs the question", since it's mostly used incorrectly. Originally, it was used to integrate a relevant question that was usually ignored, i.e. you are begging for this point to be discussed. Not, "I'm an SEO marketer, which begs the question-- how successful have I been?" Blergh. No.

Also, 2011's most overused resume buzzwords - CNN Pretty close.

ACCESS
Instant Access
also CASH
& No Questions Asked

Some of those terms might be overused, but they work! I think as IM'ers we are tired of seeing them because we work with them, are exposed to sales letters a lot and scrutinize other people's copywriting. But if a casual website visitor in a non-making-money niche sees those terms, he or she may not be as put off by them.

Oh, forgot.

"Weird"

It's on a lot of ads on high traffic sites so I'm sure it's working for some people, but it's getting old.

"update", especially when connected to Google...

"actually" as in any instructional video where they say, "now we're actually going to click the widget, so let's go ahead now and actually click the widget."

It might have been better in a 2011 list, but "loophole" bugs me.

In training webinars often used: "does that make sense?"

Oh shudder...

Since phrases seem to be permitted, I'll go with

"Top 10"

What about yolo?

KISS.. keep it simple stupid... pretty annoying

Googlefication

Take action lol

- free
- secret method
- loophole
- make $$$ in next 24 hours

But the most annoying phrase:

"Hi I am **** and I am SUPER EXCITED about this webinar/ product/whatever"...

"utilize" when "use" would work perfectly well

1 weird tip for (insert whatever niche topic here)

"boost"


..........I'm guilty.

I see this all over the place "buy now"

In Canada it would be "Ah" or "Eh" ( I spelled that in both Canadian and American English)

A word can only be considered "overused" when it has stopped working.

Some of the replies to the OP give words that still work very well. "You" and "Free" for example. "Weird" is another one.

Alex

I've just noticed in general that people are more and more trying to use a "cookie cutter" impersonal marketing formula, where all online information product sites look like clones of each other; but what people are really looking for in the social internet age is to feel relationships and connections with people... and just talk to people about your products like you would talk to a friend about something really cool you discovered.

Look at Apple (this most successful company on the planet, who made more in profits than Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Amazon, eBay, and Facebook COMBINED in 2012):

Apple - iPhone 5 - Learn about what it took to make iPhone 5.

It doesn't feel like someone trying to show off, impress you, or brag; it just feels like a normal conversation with a friend trying to educate you about their amazing product.

And notice the rest of the business world; all these people trying to be "cute" or "flashy" or "hype" in their marketing; everyone else is in a worldwide recession, while Apple made more profit this year than any company in HISTORY.

Check out this eBook that gives a breakdown of their marketing formula inside and out:

http://www.chrisnosal.com/AppleMarketing.pdf

I'm noticing most of the "buzz words" now look try-hard, and that people in order to stand out need to stop trying to put on a show, and simply start showing themselves, which will connect with people, build trust, and get them customers far more effectively than just using a generic, impersonal marketing approach that was developed before we could socially connect on the internet.

This era is the era of the online relationship... and it's about building a business by sharing yourself, and your products as an extension of you.

"don't get me wrong"

Accountability

The (Insert Proper Name Here)'s of the world (An especially irritating commonly heard on sports talk radio. Especially annoying when more than one name is used, thus defeating the entire purpose of the phrase.)

This thread has certainly covered most of them! There are also these: "blown away," "who else?", "shocking," "wtf," and king of them all, "take action."

"step by step"
"weird trick"
''awesome''

I'm starting to pick up on a phrase that is being increasingly used in business contexts, as well as more specifically in marketing...

"Crush it."

Maybe I'm slow to notice the trend, but it's popping up for me everywhere in forums, emails, chat, etc.

"guarantee" is really overused... and abused.

Panda
Penguin
Obama

"Crushing it"- Last time I checked, you crushed something because it sucked, not because it was good.
"Auto Pilot"
"Ninja"

When an interviewee (99% of the time on mainstream news) says "that's a good question" after being asked a simple, straightforward question a five-year old could come up with.

Bonus points: "national conversation." As in, "we need to have a national conversation about gun control/the economy/whatever."

Pisses me right off.

Corey

amaaaaaaazing! everything is now amaaaaaazing!

space, when talking about business categories. We compete in that space.

ecosystem, in terms of business discussions.

transparent

Dude. PERFECT.

"Completely Blown Away"

Ray Lewis, Biance, lip sync, and all the super bowl hype