Arrrrr! 🏴☠️ Welcome to a 🔒 subscriber-only edition 🔒 of Category Pirates. Each week, we share radically different ideas to help you design new and different categories. For more: Dive into an audiobook | Listen to a category design jam session | Enroll in the free Strategy Sprint email course
Dear Friend, Subscriber, and Category Pirate,
Let’s play a game.
When someone asks what you do, can you answer in 10 words or less—without sounding like you’re performing rocket surgery?
Most people can’t.
In business, this lack of clarity costs you customers.
Most marketers, entrepreneurs, and creators are so focused on sounding smart, they forget how to be clear.
They use complex, jargon-filled language that no one understands. The result? Word salad that says everything but communicates nothing.
"Our vertically integrated, full-stack solution leverages AI-driven, synergistic optimization across omnichannel touchpoints."
Meanwhile, Walmart wins with four simple words:
"Save money. Live better."
Putting our feelings about the word “better” aside, here’s the point:
Simplicity, clarity, and repetition matter far more than cleverness.
Legendary (clear) marketing makes the cash register sing.
It resonates because it’s clear, not convoluted. Yet, many businesses default to industry garbley-goop, hoping to impress (who exactly?)—and end up saying absolutely nothing.
In today’s Pirate Jam Session, we tackle the complexity problem head-on. You’ll hear why confusing language is ruining most companies' marketing and growth. You’ll get real-world examples and stories, like a FinTech CEO who described his company's product in six different ways... in the same press release.
Here’s what else you’ll learn:
Why “being so smart you’re stupid” ruins your marketing, and how to avoid the cleverness trap
How to frame your message with clear, simple language that grabs attention
The secret to using unique words to create new, powerful mental imagery
The counterintuitive framework that creates legendary Languaging breakthroughs
Most importantly, you'll understand why clarity = velocity in business — and how to achieve it without dumbing down your message. Because customers don't need the Wikipedia version of your Category POV. They need the SparkNotes.
Want to know how Category Kings create legendary Languaging?
Tune into the full Jam Session to find out. 🎸
Arrrrrr,
Category Pirates 🏴☠️
P.S. - As a reminder: Category Newsletter Creator is going live on Monday, November 25th.
This product, from our friends and fellow Pirates, Dickie Bush & Nicolas Cole, has everything you possibly need to create a Category Newsletter with the potential to reach 6 (maybe even 7) figures in annual revenue in 2025.
If you’ve been meaning to start a category-defining newsletter, check it out here.
