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For many years, the Marktplaats company credo has been: Ga ervoor (“Go for it”). This credo also guides us in everything we say and put in writing. We want to make sure you can do everything you want.

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You will find whatever you need at Marktplaats: no matter how weird, you know you can buy it or sell it there. So don’t wait any longer and just do it: go to Marktplaats and go for it!

This energy and enthusiasm are reflected in everything we say and write. Whether you’re looking to inspire people, show specific examples, send an invitation, place a bid or show selling options. We therefore describe our tone as:

  • Energetic
  • Encouraging
  • Inspiring
  • Simple
  • Enjoyable
  • Strong (short is good)
  • Activating

We write all our copy at CEFR-level B1. This means the majority of people (80% of the Dutch population) can read our written content without any problem. People with a higher level of formal education also enjoy reading texts at this level, as their clarity ensures they don’t take a lot of time to read.

Activate

If you’re looking to activate people, we describe a familiar situation or activity in the first sentence. We end this with the sentence: “Go for it.” Examples:

Baby on the way?
Go for it.
Surprise your nephew?
Go for it.
Inspire

If your goal is to inspire people, you mention a moment, event or activity in the first sentence and use the second sentence to add something else (this can be something upbeat, funny, or a nuance or twist). Examples:

A luxury holiday.
In your backyard.
For the young.
And young at heart.
Inform

If your goal is to inform people, you should use two sentences
to convey the most essential information. Examples:

New.
Payment on delivery.
Letting your business grow.
With Admarkt.
Two short sentences

Headings always consist of two short sentences. We split the message in two: a strong main message and a brief addition. This ensures that the message ‘lands’ easier and conveys what we are trying to say more powerfully. What we are trying to say and how we say it is also determined by the purpose of the content.

In order to visually enhance the strength of the heading, both sentences are given a different colour. The main message generally appears in navy (or white against a dark background). The additional text appears in terra.

Tone of voice in business communications

We also use “Go for it” as the basic idea for business communications, but on account of the purpose, target audience and content of these types of communications, our business communications generally have a less informal feel to them than consumer-focused content.

Like communications for the consumer market, we do keep business communications as simple as possible, avoiding complex sentence structures and the use of unnecessarily difficult words. We remain as close as possible to the (B1) level we use for consumer communications. At the same time, we do keep in mind that we are communicating with relatively knowledgeable, well-informed people. This means we don’t avoid the use of professional jargon if necessary.