I recently had gastric bypass weight loss surgery. No kidding. I’m on a quest to lose over 100 pounds and remedy some potentially serious health problems.

As part of my new post-op lifestyle, I choose to eat a high-protein, low-carb, no-sugar diet. And to do that, I use whey protein powder and bariatric protein supplements.

I recently ordered some vanilla whey protein powder and was not only surprised to receive it within 2 days, but I also received a personalized email follow up exactly one week after my order.

The email confirmed that I’d made a smart choice (nice!) and offered both a helpful hint and a link to an article to help me get the best results (value add). This is one for my swipe file. Why?

Because the email was:

• Relevant
• Concise
• Conversational
• Personal
• Helpful

And, better yet, I’ve not been bombarded since with emails I didn’t opt into. A simple follow-up email based on your customer’s interaction with you will go a long way toward building relationship and loyalty. You can bet I’ll shop there again.

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Are you guilty or innocent of complicating your message and thereby making it less clear? Let’s find out.

Do you favor big words over small ones? If you say “utilize” instead of “use,” you’re guilty.

Have you created your own language by turning a noun into a verb? Really now, if you say “bulletize,” give yourself another guilty.

You’re guilty again if you craft sentences that rival those of Charles Dickens. Learn to self-edit (delete words and condense phrases) and to chop sentences into two or more thoughts.

Are you driven by your organization’s lexicon, throwing buzzwords and acronyms into every (or even a single) sentence? Guilty again. Save the jargon for emails to your boss. Instead, talk to your customers about what matters most to them in a way they (or even your own grandmother) can understand.

Post your worst sentences here and I’ll give a few of them a before-and-after makeover.

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Loved this initiative from Kemba, a Columbus, Ohio-based credit union.

It’s a fun, relevant and timely way to address a scary subject like financial doom-and-gloom while: (1) creating new customer relationships, (2) driving member interaction and (3) strengthening customer loyalty.

The only drawback? A lengthy contest application.

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If you’re a corporate communicator, creative director, marketing manager, small or medium business owner, solopreneur, marketer, blogger or writer of any type, please take heed.

Stop — right now, right this minute — writing, saying or speaking these words or any variation, thereof:

In these tough economic times …

In times of uncertainty …

In these interesting times ..

Please, just stop. These words are overused, not to mention highly annoying. Why? Because they mean absolutely nothing to your customer, reader, client or audience. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Nyet.

Let me be blunt about what using these words means. It means someone (you or your writer) is lazy. It means you’re not taking the time to think about your customer’s need. It means you don’t know how to communicate how current events relate to your customer through you or your product or service.

What precipitated this bold and forceful blog post? Just the umpteenth email newsletter that began with some of those very same words. Aargh. I cannot differentiate one company or offer from another. And I cannot relate to, nor care about, what these companies want to tell me. I’m doubing their perceived value in my life and my business. I may click “unsubscribe.” I may not read their next few newsletters. I may miss the important offer that was buried beneath the mumbo jumbo filler copy.

So, before you put another word in front of your customer, take 30 seconds to think about what really needs to be said. Then say it. Simply and clearly. Speak to the point from their perspective, not yours — and certainly not from some vague collective “we.”

Here’s a made-up example to illustrate my point:

Save $50 today only.

Now that is lead copy that’ll get attention a lot faster than this, wouldn’t you say?

In these tough economic times, everyone is looking to save money.

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