The 40 tells · Words · No. 03
Why "seamless" makes writing sound machine-made
Flagged "Seamless"
Every product claims to be seamless. Software, banking, moving house. Because nobody ever promises a lumpy, difficult experience, the word carries no information. It is the default setting of sales copy.
Readers skip it, and the ones who have been burned before read it as a warning that the hard part is hidden.
Before
Our platform integrates seamlessly with your existing tools for an effortless experience.
After
Connects to Gmail, Slack and Google Drive in about two minutes. No code, and nothing to install.
The fix
Swap it for the concrete thing. What does it do, in words a buyer can check?
Write this instead
- name what it connects to
- how long setup takes
- what you don't have to do
What the checker matches
Any of these, in any case:
- seamless
- seamlessly
- effortless
- effortlessly
- frictionless
- hassle-free