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These words can be slippery. Here’s how we write them. (If it’s not on this list, defer to the AP Style Guide.)
- add-on (noun, adjective), add on (verb)
- back end (noun), back-end (adjective)
- best seller (noun), best-selling (adjective)
- beta
- brick-and-mortar
- checkbox
- coworker
- click-through rate (CTR)
- cost per click
- double-click
- drop-down (noun, adjective), drop down (verb)
- e-commerce (the industry)
- ePub
- email (never hyphenate, never capitalize unless it begins a sentence)
- To name
- From name
- Reply-to name
- Subject line
- Cc, Bcc
- emoji (singular and plural)
- front end (noun), front-end (adjective)
- geolocation
- hashtag
- homepage
- integrate
- internet (never capitalize unless it begins a sentence)
- login (noun, adjective), log in (verb)
- Like (the social media activity)
- multichannel
- nonprofit
- OK
- omnichannel (use sparingly)
- online (never capitalize unless it begins a sentence)
- opt-in (noun, adjective) , opt in (verb)
- pay-per-click (PPC)
- pop-up (noun, adjective), pop up (verb)
- pre-sale
- product-market fit
- signup (noun, adjective), sign up (verb)
- sync
- third party (noun), third-party (adjective)
- tweet, retweet
- username
- URL
- website
- WiFi
We use plain language, which means avoiding industry jargon. But some jargon-adjacent words can be appropriate in educational contexts. Only use these if you’re writing about marketing education and have room to briefly define them.
- buyer journey
- conversion
- customer lifecycle
- integrated marketing
- lead generation
- marketing funnel
- multichannel marketing
- omnichannel marketing
- product-market fit
- value proposition
- automagical (we used to say this a lot, and we’re embarrassed about it)
- funnel, incentivize, leverage, disruption, thought leader, learnings, or other fluffy corporate terms
- internets, interwebs, or any other variation of the word “internet”
- ninja, rockstar, wizard, unicorn (unless referring to a literal ninja, rockstar, wizard, or unicorn)
- young, old, elderly, or any other word describing a person's age
- crushing it, killing it
- crazy, insane, or similar words to describe people
- best-in-breed
- Silicon Valley cliches like rise and grind, or disruptor/disruption.
- activation (when referring to our presence at an event)
- blacklist, whitelist, grandfathered, slave, master, deaf, blind and any other racist or abelist terms