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Copy Writing: Now it’s Personal

copy-writingWriting copy for anything can be daunting. Writing copy for a marketing campaign or advertising can be downright frightening. But, never fear, these days you just have to get personal.

In the early days of advertising pretty much all you had to do to sell your product in a catalog or newspaper was write a catchy tag line and a little description about why it was so great. (It’s true, I’ve seen old copies of the Ladies Home Journal!) Yes, we still have to have catchy tag lines and we still have to tell prospective customers how great our product is, but now we need to get personal with it.

The internet changed marketing.

No surprise there, the internet pretty much changed everything, and marketing is certainly no exception. The internet is, for all intents and purposes, a one-to-one communication tool. An individual (hopefully your target demographic) is sitting in front of a screen and a keyboard and if they happen upon your website or ad or video or social media presence you have the opportunity to essentially talk directly to them, one-to-one. An email tool as a one-to-one communication goes without saying.

Everything is smart now.

Now we have tablets, smartphones, internet-ready smart televisions! These devices are used for social communication purposes. People are quickly getting used to texted or tweeted acronyms, web-speak, and unfortunately, loose grammar. But the key is your customer or potential customer is already in a social mindset, sometimes even while they are at work. A formal bit of marketing communication is probably going to leave them cold.

People want to be special and to be “friends”.

One thing that hasn’t ever changed is people like to feel important, to be treated with a little extra attention, and to believe they are friends of the “in” group. Not since, well probably ever, have friends communicated using formal language and gestures. Consumers like to get special, exclusive pricing, they like to be the insider who’s in the know, who only gets the best, and they like to buy things from their friends. So why not be their friend?

Write your ads and marketing communications to those friends, even if you aren’t writing a web communication. Letters, print ads, post cards, signs, etc. all can be written in such a way that it projects a personal tone and message.

Of course there is that fine line we marketers need to walk, friendly, but not too friendly. You certainly don’t want to overdo your slang, do be careful with your grammar and spelling, and never get too personal (either positively or negatively).

How to get personal in your marketing copy?

Here are a few ideas.

  • Share good things that are going on in your company.
  • Encourage people to talk about good experiences with your product.
  • Thank your customers—not just for buying your product, but for other interactions as well.
  • Use social media for more than just promoting your latest product or sale.
  • Engage your customers in social media and let them have fun with it.
  • Respond directly in a positive way to a public error.
  • Use friendly language in your communications and message.
  • Have fun!

Just like that last bullet recommends, writing your marketing copy should be something fun. Not sure what to write? Find something that interests you, then pretend your are telling your friend a story over a great cup of coffee.


Still need help writing friendly and personal marketing copy? Call or email EVH Today.