I came across the following question today:
So this is one thing I’ve been trying to explore and develop.
I can write and convey ideas or messages, but it mostly comes out pretty dry (I’m a pretty boring person overall).
But I often read that punchy and upbeat copy, where you can really hear ‘voice’ and character come through.
Has anyone got any tips or articles or videos or professional quote makers they can recommend to develop this side of my writing?
Or should I just focus on writing dull informative stuff?
I’m also a pretty boring person, so this is a question I used to worry about as well. But I don’t worry about it any more. It seems to have taken care of itself. I asked myself how.
Here are a few ideas that came out — maybe they will be useful to you:
1. Write more. Swagger comes from lots of walking, up and down the same street.
2. Write faster. You’ll find stuff on the screen that makes your eyes pop out. “Where did that come from?”
3. Show and then tell. Punchy and upbeat copy is less about how you say it than about what you say. And it’s less about what you say than what happens in your reader’s head as a result.
4. Copy other writers for a while. I once read that Henry Miller would type up entire books by his favorite authors.
5. Self-consciously work on developing your voice. Invent your own phrases. Your own twists on cliches. Your own spelling. Most of it will be stupid. Most.
6. Infuse your own interests into your copy. Comedian Andrew Schulz: “Who cares if they relate to it? Make them relate to it.”
7. Get enthusiastic before you write.
8. Limit your editing. This is the second half of #2 above, for after you’ve finished writing.
9. Write more casual than you think is ok. You can always edit later.
10. Inject more drama. This goes back to #3 and #6 above. Your voice, like your writing in general, is more about what you say than how you say it.
And here’s a bonus #11:
Consciously do stuff that you know is wrong. For example, listicles like I’ve just written — they violate the Rule Of One, right?
Right. You probably won’t follow any of my ideas above, or even remember them come tomorrow. Even so. The more sacred a writing rule is, the more important it is to break it on occasion.
But here’s a rule that’s too sacred to break:
If you’re writing sales copy, you have to have a call to action. Otherwise the whole message was pointless. And in that spirit, my CTA to you is to sign up to my email newsletter about marketing and copywriting. If that’s something you can relate to, here’s where to go.