Loosen Up a little?
Keeping it casual
Thats the thing about making connections with people over the internet - anything you write & publish becomes everyones first impression of your brand and of you.
Feeling the pressure to ‘get it right’ you run all your posts, tweets, emails through a grammar machine and sometimes that machine takes out all the good stuff.
Sure, all the ‘your, you’re, you are’ mistakes will be caught & thrown out. And the finished product would make your English teacher proud - but filtering how you speak, no matter how causal or ‘wrong’ it might be, removes the personality and emotion from your message.
Thats a big problem.
Its OK to sound Normal.
Have you ever written an off-the-cuff email to your list and someone replied with a ‘that sounded a little unprofessional’. [insert eye roll]
Shake it off and keep shooting off your plain text, casual messages because those? Those are the ones your true fans (and buyers) love.
Brands that find a way to make meaningful connections with their readers make money in their sleep take month-long vacations from their computer. How? Because they’ve mastered the art of casual conversation thats primed to sell.
And by mastered, I mean that they figured out how to have honest conversations with their audience by remaining human.
In business, it’s wise to strive to remain human.
So simple, right?
Humanizing Your Brand
All too often, I see brands slip into this weirdly proper alter ego that sounds nothing like their ideal audience - because they think ‘sounding more professional’ is the only to make a good first impression. It’s not.
If you’re shooting to make a good first impression, be sure your message sounds trustworthy and the best way to do that is… to sound human.
Here’s how:
Get personal.
Humans crave connection. Its just how we’re wired. And to create that connection, you need to establish some sort of relationship, which requires you to ‘get real’.
That looks like sharing funny stories, allowing readers to get to know you on a personal (but not intrusive) level, and maybe sharing content that looks like it could have come as a text from their bestie.
Want An Example?
A lot of people believe your success as a copywriter comes down to your ability to churn out hilarious headlines and follow sales page formulas perfectly.
But I'm convinced the real copywriting success starts with your ability to make the reader feel something. Because that feeling grows into something really amazing. I'll explain...
Let's say you have two writers take on the exact same project in an unfamiliar market.
Writer one comes in with a closed mind. They say "I've done this a million times before. I know exactly how *this and that* should be sold."
So they start writing on day 1 and churning out work. Jumping headfirst like writer one works if you're right about what you think you already know.
Writer two might not churn out copy straight out of the gate. They'll take some time to deep dive into the audience's subtleties... and use that knowledge in their copy.
Why?
Because copy that reflects their innermost thoughts, feelings, perspectives resonates deeper and, in the end, performs better.
Using words that resonate on a deeper level not only converts better, but it also deepens the bond between reader & brand - which positions THAT brand for future conversions.
Early on, I thought the only way to become a super talented copywriter was to pump out witty catchphrases & million $ launches.
But in reality, to become a really amazing copywriter lies within my ability to get inside my reader's mind & join the conversation they're already having inside their head - using the same words, tone, voice & behavior.
If you're looking for a takeaway or 'how to' from this blog, its this:
It's OK to take things slow when you're trying to figure out what works for your emails + audience.
It's OK to seek clarity. It's OK to not know everything about everyone.
Its OK to sound like a normal human, loosen up a little bit when you’re writing, and use casual words in your copy.
The only thing that's not OK is to believe you already know everything & that it's your way or the highway. That's bananas.
