How to Use Your Copywriting Voice to Really Connect with Your Customers and ProspectsOne of the least talked-about areas in sales writing is copywriting voice. This is probably because it’s tough to set general rules for something that’s so personal to each of us. Personality, upbringing, environment, education ... all these and more go into forming your voice when writing sales copy, no matter whether you're a grizzled old veteran or a raw newbie. I’d like to try here for a minute to tackle the subject of voice in copywriting. I’ve identified a couple of areas that I believe are the most important when it comes to making your copywriting voice more credible -- style and tone. By improving these two areas, you'll connect with your audience in a much more genuine and sincere way ... and increase your sales while doing it. Communicating on a down-to-earth gut levelThe most successful copywriters all have one thing in common -- an uncanny ability to communicate on a down-to-earth, gut level with their readers.And that's one of the true keys to their success. How do they do this? First and foremost, by removing internal editors, and writing as if they were speaking to a friend. When you sit down to write, you need to make a psychological leap and forget everything you ever learned about writing in school. Yes, I know you’ve got those “ghosts of harping English teachers past” sitting on your shoulder, whispering in your ear about how you should write. And when you're writing formal prose, you probably should still listen to them. But if you want to write good sales copy, then those internal editors and ghosts will have to be tossed out. And you'll need to start to write in a whole new way. A whole new kind of copywriting voice ...In order to make your copywriting voice more effective and persuasive you absolutely must learn to write like you talk.This is much easier said than done, and requires a fair amount of practice and work in order to "de-program" yourself from your educational background. More than anything, writing like you talk means being informal. And when you write this way you'll have to break a few rules. Which is what you do when you talk, anyway, at least in conversational speech! Speaking in formal, stilted prose won't make you a lot of friends or influence a lot of people ... Start by using contractions ...Writing informally means you can use contractions (like can’t and won’t and I’ll and we've).It also means you can use fragment sentences. Like this. And it even means you can start sentences with “and”. Or with “or”. You can tail off sentences with ellipsis markers (those three dots) to show hesitation ... And you can have sentences that have only one or two words. Like this! And you can use really short paragraphs to express a quick thought. Or a bit longer paragraphs to express a longer thought. There’s an awful lot you can do. And you’re really only limited by that internal editor/critic. So the sooner you throw that critic out the door, the better. Keeping things warm and friendly ...When writing informally, you also need to be able to keep a warm tone.One way it’s put by some sales professionals is to imagine that you’re making “a referral to a friend” rather than “a sales pitch to a customer.” The two examples you’ll usually hear for this are the kitchen table conversation or the barstool conversation. The best way to develop this warm tone is through identification. Put yourself in your audience's shoes. Study the things they read and watch. Learn their "lingo." Get to know them well. This allows you to identify first-hand with their hopes, dreams, desires, and needs. It all boils down to empathy ...In truth, the main thing an informal and warm copywriting voice relies on is empathy. Identification and empathy are two peas in the pod.Great fundraising letters are a sterling example of this kind of empathic copywriting voice. But how do you develop empathy? Simply by putting your customer first. By going the extra mile to find out what it is that keeps them awake at night. By becoming obsessed (in a good way) with bringing them a product that will solve a problem and make their life easier and more enjoyable. Put yourself in your customer's shoes and you'll start getting that empathy. And with it will come that warm, familiar tone in your copywriting voice. And greater sales!
Professional copywriter and direct marketing strategist Bruce Carlson would like to help you take the next Big Step with your business. Get your 10-point Website evaluation along with a free copy of Bruce's informative report "17 Surefire Tips For Building Your Online Business With Blockbuster Web Copywriting" by visiting him at http://www.dynamic-copywriting.com
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