Copywriting: How to Nab the Voice
February 26th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.comYou’ve probably come across those articles on the web that work nicely as a sleep aid. You can’t really pinpoint a problem with the writing or grammar… but just the same, they’re about as exciting as the warning label on the back of a box of Tylenol.
What makes one article jump off the page and suck you in immediately, while others are merely yawn-worthy? The strong article clearly expresses a voice. The weak one does not. Writing can be a lot like people in that way. No one wants to hang with a dullard. So DO apply a personality to whatever you’ve penned.
Mind you, this is not about the logical arrangement of paragraphs, or the sentence structure. It’s about word choice - verbs, adjectives, adverbs. It’s about colloquial expressions and natural speech - even purposeful errors that wouldn’t fly in a grammar stylebook. It’s also about pauses and establishing rhythm in your writing. You’re not just stringing lines together; you’re singing your song.
That said, how do you know what type of personality to infuse in your writing?
(Can I hear all the copywriters shout the answer in unison?)
Know your target audience. Yes. The “who am I speaking to” is the most critical piece of the puzzle. Once you figure this out, you’ll be able to take that Plain Jane message and juice it up to make it sound appealing to a specific group. This is where the slant or the spice in your writing originates from. If you’re writing something of a persuasive nature, then the writing voice really comes in handy.
Some factors that will affect the ‘voice’ in your copywriting:
Age. Seniors communicate much differently than teens.
Income bracket. Yes, the wealthy enjoy an easy, breezy, and sophisticated manner of speech… or a formal and authoritative tone, depending on other factors.
Gender. A piece of writing that’s skewed toward the traditional female voice tends to be softer, more nurturing, less aggressive.
Industry. Think about how the voice might vary when writing about sports, the pharmaceutical field, entertainment, or the juvenile furniture industry.
Sometimes writing voice can get complicated; for example, if you’re “selling” to kids, but you’re writing benefit-driven copy that appeals to Mom. In that case, you’d do a kind of back-and-forth flip flop between the two styles. This can be a challenge to inexperienced copywriters, but once you get the hang of it you realize how commonplace of a technique it is in the advertising world.
How do you learn to adapt to an existing voice - for example, if you’re just starting out with a new company?
Listen. Literally, if you can get some audio from a past commercial or marketing campaign of theirs, play it. Then play it again. Then play it six more times until you “hear” the voice the way musicians can “hear” melodies and play them by ear.
Read aloud. Pick up a copy of their stuff, and do your best announcer voice. Adopt the tone of the ideal customer - be it male, female, young, old, or whatever the case may be.
Perform your copy. After you draft their marketing, put on your best voice over again, and give it a whirl. Does this voice sound like the same one you heard in that commercial?
If you want to write copy that sells, you MUST capture the voice or tone of the organization you’re writing on behalf of, and include that as a part of your deliverable to clients. This is what people hire you for.
Without the voice, you’re just another dyed-in-the-wool hack, maurauding as a copywriter.
Copyright 2008 Dina Giolitto, Wordfeeder.com Copywriting and Marketing. All rights reserved.
Popularity: 10% [?]
Email Dina@Wordfeeder.com for a copywriting or website marketing quote today.
Comments are closed.
