For instance, I've been searching the Internet for treadmills because I'm fascinated with the idea of creating a treadmill desk. As you can imagine, there are no lack of retailers selling treadmills online.

One company claims it's the "#1 Seller of Quality Fitness Equipment on the Internet." Another one declares, "We are the LEADING distributor in the fitness industry." Yet another boasts as having the "#1 Rated Treadmill."

The similarity these companies' sites share is none of them include evidence backing their statements. If you're truly a top seller, industry leader or retailer of the best-rated product, wouldn't you include some proof?

With so many companies making comparable claims, we've almost become immune to their ridiculousness.

Without evidence, inflated claims are just empty words that fill space in your marketing materials. Worse yet, they leave you open to criticism, while increasing the risk of losing trust with your prospects.

When you make one debatable declaration, readers will question the validity of other statements in your marketing materials.

You don't have to work hard to find examples of inflated claims. Many common marketing terms are easy indicators.

Leading-edge ... industry-leading ... fastest-growing ... world-class ... value-added ...

These examples of overused corporate babble might sound effective, but not one word is believable without proof.

Here are 8 ways to make any claim more credible:

·         Statistics

·         Testimonials

·         Guarantees

·         Success stories

·         Before/after demonstrations

·         Side-by-side comparisons

·         References to research

·         Third-party endorsements