When to Be Redundant, Repetitive, and Say the Same Thing Twice

When to Be Redundant, Repetitive, and Say the Same Thing Twice

Reader Comments (47)

  1. Great points Sonia.

    I have noticed that repetition, as you’ve said, if executed strategically also manifests confidence in whatever you are trying to convey to your readers. When you are confident about something and when you feel good about something you feel like repeating it whenever it is appropriate.

    But of course repetition should be a complimentary ingredient of your overall presentation.

  2. If executed in the right strategic way I agree that it’s very necessary to include in posts. People are reading so many different things whether articles, ads, billboards, etc. that including valuable repetition will help get the message and point to stick.

    Craig
    http://www.budgetpulse.com

  3. Goofy blog palz: I has dem.

    Man, I am playing with all kinds of fire introducing lolspeak into copyblogger. Sorry, Brian, hope I don’t break the blog forever.

  4. Hi Sonia,

    Great post! Just wanted to add to your first and second points: sometimes repetition is good within the same piece. For example, I usually put repetition in my brochure copy. My reasoning is that nobody reads a brochure cover to cover — they pick out certain parts, so you better have your key messages everywhere!

    Also, another thing you touched upon is saying the same thing differently, which always helps. You could say something like “it saves time so you can spend more time with your family”, but that won’t resonate with everyone. So you can add something like “it helps you spend less time, giving you more time on the boat”. Again, the idea is to reach and resonate with as many different types of people as possible as well as repeat your key messages.

    ~Graham

  5. Some German (?) research suggests that one person repeating an opinion 3 times has 90% of the persuasive power of 3 people stating the same thing.

    So repetition helps if you want to convince.

  6. Oops, the code brackets I used made my comment not show. Let me try again:

    (INVISIBLE COMMENT)

    Couldn’t resist the LOLCatz reference.

    Ironic that by using the GT/LT charactes, my comment really did become invisible …

  7. I enjoyed this post. And, I encourage you to repeat it – with variations – throughout the year.

    Yes, my fifth-grade teacher did tell me not to use the same word in the same sentence /paragraph. Somehow, I took that to mean “never.”

    I would like to believe that my fifth-grade teacher was encouraging me to “stretch” for a different word. So, I don’t repeat the same word unless it serves one of the strategic purposes that you highlight.

    Re: Repeating posts. I admit that I have just recently started to do this. Not verbatim, mind you. Rather, thematically.

    I am maintaining 4 different blogs in addition to my training and speaking engagements. Viewers, readers and clients consistently find me with the same key words. So, rather than trying to come up with a new idea on a new theme each morning I am framing my consistent themed from a different angle.

    This is much easier on me. And, I hope, for my readers.

    Danny Rocks
    http://www.thecompanyrocks.com/blog

  8. This is the first time I read about this topic and you made it interesting to study. However if I may add that repeating what you have just said can annoy others, so I think finding the right timing should be considered.

  9. Sometimes saying same thing in a different way can be best. Because “winners don’t do different things but same things differently”.Anyways thanks for a beautiful article.

  10. I agree with you, but one of your reasons causes me to stumble. Repeat for the person willing to read your post through. Repeat for the person willing to read it twice because it was so well written. Please don’t write for a skimmer, because a skimmer has made a conscious decision to miss things in a rush to get the gist. When the skimmer thinks your post is good enough to slow down and read what you have written through again, he should find well written, tight text that warns him to stop skimming what you write. If he slows down and realizes that you have written for him because your posts are too repetitive, you are encouraging the wrong behavior. You are not respecting your own content to write for him.

  11. I like the way you describe how to repeat the key theme..
    It can attract new and old readers to remember our article..
    I must follow your advice to get a loyal traffic..

  12. Or:
    “Great Copyblogger post on ‘good’ repition, by Sonia Simone”

    Or: Sonia Simone: “It IS ok to repeat your take-away
    phrase so it’s taken away”

    Or:
    This was Hemingway’s gift; repeat simply, for impact

    He mastered relevance through rephrase.

  13. You’re right. Sometimes it’s like hearing an old song for the first time. Other times, it’s like an old song, sung a new way.

    I’ve heard this song before, but I like the way you sang it.

    I’ll remember clarity, certainty, comedy, and poetry … and something about the murk of my memory.

  14. Repeat yourself for a reason, not just because you’re too lazy to cut pointless redundancy.

    This is an important mantra that many people either forget or don’t realize. If there’s no reason for doing anything, don’t do it.

  15. Makes sense that we need to continuously repeat the key message, I skim blogs. I usually read the first paragraph and then the third…

    For normal websites the same would then also be true, tell the visitor the same thing in a different way just to make sure they get it.

  16. que emitie MTV, Y que el canal Mega compro la licencia de realizar una version local de este programa que es un furor tanto en los Estados Unidos como en el resto de Latinoamerica en donde se emite.

    En el primer caputulo emtido ayer al final de la tarde se mostraron tres citas en cuales tuvieron distinta suerte entre ellas, una fue en donde encontraron el amor, la segunda fue en donde las cinco chicas fueron desechadas y la otra fue en donde el tipo no quiso otra cita y prefirio la plata.

    El programa se emitra diariamente a las 18:30 por Mega y en su primer capitulo logro derrotar a la competencia con más de 13.9 puntos de rating logrando un peak de 16.

  17. I loved this post and the comments are cracking me up 🙂
    But i wanted to say that this post is so true. I think one of the best things you can do to make your blog post or article stick is repeat at the end what all you have said. Often this is all the reader will remember.

  18. Dear Sonia,
    I came across you when you were guesting on Darren Rowse’s blog, and I must say that I like your style of writing. So much so that when I was speaking in London last week at a meeting of music publishers who were interested in learning more about blogging, I mentioned your site. I’ve only been ‘at it’ myself for a few months but find, as an author, that blogging is a very satisfying way of marketing my books. Thanks for all the help (you and Darren) so freely give.
    Mel Menzies, author of A Painful Post Mortem

  19. Because “winners don’t do different things but same things differently”.Anyways thanks for a beautiful article.

  20. On the same topic I’ve written posts with 500 words and 3000 words. Some people prefer the shorter articles; others the longer ones.

    But the core message is reinforced in each post, and each satisfies a different audience.

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