Why Don’t You Turn Your Copy Into A Conversation…

So do you fancy yourself as a copywriter…

I must admit, I do, though I suspect I’m not as good as I’d like to think I am

One of the things I’ve learned over the years when writing copy  and this applies regardless of what you’re writing, whether it’s a blogpost, article, sales message, etc. – your copy should sound personal and relevant to the person reading it. because if it sounds even a tad monotonous then you’ll turn folks off quicker than anything.

Or in other words, you don’t want to sound like you’re writing a textbook to a class of students or a news article to the masses when you’re writing copy. Instead, your tone should be similar to a one on one conversation with a friend.

So how can you achieve this?

To be honest I think the answer lies with a little research and a healthy dose of imagination. This is one of those tricks natural writers do without thinking about, and the rest of us can learn with just a little practice, because what you’re going to do when you write is create a “persona” of your ideal audience member.

For example, if you’re writing a sales letter, your persona is your customer. Hopefully you have a good idea of who your customers are, and if not I suggest you might want to engage in some research to find out exactly who they are..

So choose one customer: Someone who’s purchased your products in the past and you know reads all your stuff. This person can be real or imaginary, it doesn’t really matter. Now write a bio for your customer, answering these questions:

*Male or female?
*Age?
*Where does s/he live?
*Occupation?
*Likes? Dislikes?
*Desires? Goals?

Do you get the idea? You’re creating this person just as if they were real and sitting there in the room with you. Picture them in your mind, or choose a photo off of the Internet of someone so you can picture them in your mind. (I’m not advocating stalking someone, I promise)…

Now for the fun part:

Make friends with this customer. Imagine having a face to face chat about your latest product or the blogpost you’re about to write. What do you tell him or her? What questions do they have? Do they understand what you’re saying, or do they need some clarification?

If you’re thinking you can’t do this, it simply means you’re out of practice. Most if not all children often have imaginary conversations in their heads, heck I still talk to myself on a regular basis…

This is your chance to let your subconscious mind go to work, filling in the words your persona would say to you in a conversation. You’ll be surprised by what you discover because you’re opening the door to knowledge you didn’t even know you had.

Once you’re got a good sense of who your persona is, go ahead and write that blog post, article or sales message directly to your them, just as if you’re writing a personal letter. This is important, make sure you’re connecting with them on an emotional as well as intellectual level. Your persona is the only one who matters when you’re writing because it’s just the two of you having an intimate conversation with each other.

You probably think this sounds really stupid, don’t worry, just try it. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much better your writing can become when you’re writing to that one specific person you have in mind.

BONUS: As you get to know this person better, you could even try asking them questions and quietly listening for the answers.  For instance your person can maybe tell you why your marketing is falling short, or how to market your product for more sales, and even what product to create.

Once you’re well acquainted with your first person, consider getting a second one different from the first. For example, if your niche is Internet marketing and your persona is a 50 year old male looking to make extra money to squirrel away for retirement, your second persona might be a 22 year old looking to earn a full time living online as fast as possible, or perhaps a newly divorced 35 year old mother of 3 trying to make ends meet and wants to look at working from home…

These personas will make your writing come alive, as well as accessing useful and sometimes brilliant information and insights that take you by complete surprise and significantly add to your bottom line.

Try it and see what happens 🙂