The 40 tells · Phrases · No. 27
"Whether you're X or Y": why it reads as machine-written
Flagged "Whether you're X or Y"
"Whether you're a beginner or a pro" tries to welcome everyone and ends up speaking to nobody. It is one of the most common sentence shapes in machine-written marketing.
Pick the reader the page is really for. The others will still find their way in.
Before
Whether you're a seasoned chef or just starting out, our knives are perfect for you.
After
If you cook most nights, this is the one knife you'll reach for. It holds an edge for months.
The fix
Pick one buyer and talk to them.
What the checker matches
A pattern match. In plain terms: "whether you're x or y".
\bwhether you'?re\b[^.!?]{0,60}\bor\b