Or Can Transparent Copywriting Create Customer Loyalty?

Transparency has rapidly become one of those copywriting buzzwords that has a malleable meaning. It can mean “honest” or “straightforward” or “clear” but what most readers are really looking for in copywriting transparency is for it to be sincere.

In your copywriting, transparency can lend your words credibility. Readers assume that sincerity equals honesty, and that means they won’t have to worry about getting tricked and trapped into a deal they don’t really want. Transparency is being straightforward about what you do, the services you provide, and the kind of people you are. That sincerity about your intentions helps readers believe in the truth of your writing and be more inclined to believe your arguments.

Unfortunately, transparency is a bit of a Goldilocks story. Too much transparency can mean that you come off as unprofessional. Too little makes you seem cagey. Here’s how to get that just-right amount of transparency that lends your copy sincerity without losing respect for your expertise.

Too Much Transparency

When you start disclosing information about a company that normally only some portions of the staff are privy to, you’re venturing into dangerous territory. Generally, you want to steer clear of over-telling the truth. Stating that the company is being acquired next week may be true, but it’s not relevant to the reader. Getting a little TMI (too much information) makes you seem unprofessional, like talking about your personal life with your boss.

The reader wants to know why they should care about the company’s products and services, not the company itself. If the company is getting acquired, don’t put that in the copy, just explain what that means to the customer. Getting rid of old inventory at a low price is a great transparent reason to stay engaged.

Too Little Transparency

Trying to hide things, on the other hand, is equally unprofessional and verges on scam territory. Obscuring what you actually provide in favor of vague promises just makes the reader confused, and often gives them a heads-up that your writing is disguising a poor quality of company.

The company may or may not provide a great service or product that will really serve the customer, but if your copy doesn’t accurately reflect what that product or service is and why it’s great for the customer to buy it, you’ll lose them. Keep your copy sincere and straightforward, and don’t try to exaggerate what you do.

Juuuuust Right Transparency

Telling the truth in a straightforward way doesn’t mean that you need disclose every single detail, relevant and irrelevant, about the company, but neither does it mean that you should try to get cagey about what you do. Play up your strengths, and let them stand on their own merits.

If you’re having trouble with transparency, try to explain what the product or service is in the simplest terms possible, as though you were explaining it to a small child. That simplicity can help you figure out what the important things to talk about really are, making your copy straightforward and sincere without offering so much information it undermines professionalism.