Why I Can’t Stand Clichés and Non-Sequitur Blogs

Why I can’t stand Clichés and Non-Sequitur blogs

First lets define what I mean by Clichés and Non-Sequitur. Wikipedia gives an fairly accurate description, at least for my purposes anyway.

“A cliché...is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been OVERUSED to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel.”

Non-Sequitur means:

A non sequitur … Latin for “it does not follow” is a conversational and literary device, often used for comedic purposes. It is a comment that, because of its apparent lack of meaning relative to what preceded it, seems absurd to the point of being humorous or confusing.

In today’s open market of advertising, especially online,  it is easy to go with the flow and use Clichés to try and catch your readers attention.  Short catchy statements like  “Birds of a feather flock together” and “Just Do It” can be seen in just about every place you go!

But there is such a thing as too much of a catchy thing.  In today’s world Clichés like “Get Rich Quick” and “No Recruiting Required” GLARE out at us. Demanding we give them time in our thoughts.  But they are so overused that these Clichés often have lost their impact! Causing our eyes to glaze over and our minds to take a hike somewhere else.

Which brings me to my next point about non-sequitur and Clichés:

Those same Clichés are often scattered in blogs that make no sense or the writer takes the exact opposite position. Such as when a person uses Clichés like “Is xxx a scam” or the “xxx Scam?” and then makes a complete reversal of their opening title and statement. Ensuring that the body of the text Does NOT follow the implied meaning of the title. People that do this think that the old “Bait and Switch“ is good for drawing unsuspecting readers to your blog and then shoving your business in their face.

In reality the type of person being drawn to this type of blogging content is actually someone looking for a reason not to do something and often they are not going to change their mind just because you say they should. In fact it will actually make most of them mad at you and brings negative advertising to the company your blogging about.

Non-Sequitur blogs also show a lack of continuity, only explain things halfway, or are clearly rambling on in a manner that makes it obvious the writer has very little understanding of the topic and they have no action plan. There are no steps for accomplishing the goals of whatever topic they are discussing. As my readers know I am all about action and if you are going to tell someone about a good program or plan then you need to be able to lay out the actions necessary to bring about success.

Personally, I loathe this type of behavior!!

That’s right I said it and I will say it again, I loathe Non-Sequitur blogs

Why?

Because they are nothing more than gimmicks, packed in a nice casing of flashy design, meant to trick you and gain your trust so you can be easily swayed into doing anything the person “selling you the gimmick” wants you to do. The writer often does not really understand the topic and doesn’t give you an action plan to follow.

Take for example a gimmick I saw the other day: “Earn $20,000 a week”

Honestly, if you truly were making almost $20,000 dollars a week, not only would you NOT be trying to “sell” me something, but you’d be on the cover of every financial magazine and rag mag you can find, with some hopeful news/story teller trying to “get the edge” on what horrible/wonderful thing you did this week so they can make money too.

Let’s not forget the biggest Clichés and gimmicks:

Such as a “Ground Floor Opportunity” this should produce a WARNING in big flashy lights, Anything new is going to have glitches and glitches mean trouble. Of course there is always the possibility that your getting into something that will never get off the ground too. And if its “never been done before” then there is probably a good reason why!

That doesn’t mean that all ground floor opportunities are bad, but you really need to be diligent in researching them and be aware that they are often not without a catch. So do your research.

 Finally, one of the most recent Clichés that clearly demonstrates the edge of “E Pluribus Unum” “Let the buyer beware because it clearly is not saying what it means: Is:  “You follow me and I’ll follow You!!” 

Come on now, tell it like it is, you are really saying let me spam you and I’ll let you spam me…No thanks…If  you don’t want to follow me because you like my content then I don’t want you too.

As for Non-Sequitur Blogging

This is NOT the same as Blogging With a Purpose, which is a perfectly legit way to build lists and make money through marketing on your blog or blogging about a business of some sort. Non-Sequitur blogging is full of illogical trains of thought and generally hits the BS meter over the top! This type of blogger, can be spotted a mile away. They often overuse Clichés, especially ones with no real connection to the ongoing blog, often copy other people’s work and don’t give credit for it, and spew half true information with no real proof.  This type of stuff is NOT good for your branding…you will become known as a liar, a “know it all” and lose all respect in the eyes of those few you do manage to connect with. And Search engines hate duplicate content that has not be properly credited. So Don’t do it!

So to wrap this up: Am I saying Clichés are all bad?

Not at all!  We thrive on the use of Clichés. They help us make fast connections to similar things and there are a lot of good ones out there. BUT if you are going to use them need you need to use caution and “wake up and smell the roses.”  Today’s customers want to do business with people that know what they are doing, someone they have a relationship with (even if it is only online), or a company that has a purpose or a mission that matches the customers own.  Your market wants to know they can trust you and when you use Clichés that border on lies: Well frankly: If the shoe was on the other foot, You wouldn’t trust you?

Something to remember when you  are writing your blog:

 “If you wouldn’t believe  it, then chances are no one else will either”

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