Spent 18 months writing blog posts nobody read until I stopped using cybersecurity jargon

Switched to plain English headlines and case studies about real breaches like the Target incident and our organic traffic jumped 340% in 90 days - has anyone else tried dumbing down their content?

3 comments

3 Comments

fiona9856d ago

Honestly the word "dumbing down" kind of rubs me the wrong way. You're not making things stupid, you're actually making them clear. Nobody sits around reading technical writing for fun, especially not busy people who just want to know if their data is safe. The Target breach story worked because everyone remembers standing in that checkout line wondering if their card got stolen. Plain language builds trust way faster than impressing people with fancy terms they have to Google.

the_jennifer6d ago

Used to roll my eyes at those simplified explanations... thought they were talking down to people. Then my buddy tried explaining his work in network security to me using all the technical terms and I was completely lost after thirty seconds. He rewrote it like a story about locks and keys and suddenly it clicked. So yeah you're right, making it clear isn't dumbing anything down. It's actually harder to write that way, takes more skill than just throwing jargon around.

janarivera6d ago

You ever try explaining wifi to a non-techie relative and realize halfway through you sound like a robot from the future? @the_jennifera totally been there. I started keeping a "plain English" version of work stuff saved in a note on my phone so I can just copy paste it when people ask. Works way better than trying to come up with it on the spot, because trust me, Ive tanked plenty of conversations by winging it.