I am a talker.
As a young girl, my parents offered to pay me money for 5 minutes of silence. I never saw a dime. In High School, my teachers would make me sit beside other kids they didn’t think I would talk to. They were wrong.
If something listens to me, I’ll talk to it. (But, only living things; otherwise, it would just be weird.)
Conversations are a way for people to say what they need to say while the other person listens. They can make you feel more trusting of the other person, even if they’re a complete stranger.
That’s why turning your copy into a conversation with your customers is so important. It can help them feel connected to you. More trusting of you. And, isn’t that what you really want? Because, we always buy from people (or brands) we know, like, and trust.
The most essential element of conversational copy is to be yourself. If you speak it, don’t be afraid to write it.
I see this happen all the time.
Business owners find other brands they want to be like. So, they make all the copy they produce sound just like the other persons. They use the same words and phrases. Use the same pitches throughout their ads. It’s nauseating.
You’ll never attract clients to YOUR business if you spend all your time trying to sound like someone else.
Do you use certain words or phrases often? Incorporate those in your copy. It will sound more like you, and you’ll feel better writing it.
There are programs (Dictation on Mac is one) that will actually type out words as you speak them. If you struggle writing as you would in a conversation, have one with yourself. The program will type everything out, and you can go back in and remove whatever you don’t need. Two birds, one stone.
Have conversations on social media, in your blog posts, and your email newsletters.
Unless your audience is super formal, you should be using conversational copy. You don’t want them falling asleep after the first paragraph. Otherwise, how would you sell anything?
When you write copy for your social media, don’t talk “at” your audience, talk “to” them. Write your posts and ads as if you were talking to your best friend.
Let’s say you’re selling a toothbrush…you could say this:
“This is a great toothbrush! It cleans better than any toothbrush I’ve ever used.”
Or, you can add some conversation to it like this:
“Let me tell you about this toothbrush. I’ve been using it for a week, and my teeth have never looked this good! I get bad plaque build-up around my gums, and this thing took it right off. See…look how clean they are!”
Which of these would you rather read? The first one or the conversational one? My bet is on the conversational one. That’s because it’s fun, engaging, and you feel like your friend is telling you about an awesome toothbrush. Not like someone is trying to sell you something.
But, how do you write conversational copy?
It’s easy.
· Use simple words
· Use contractions
· Forget what they taught you in English class (sometimes)
If your reader needs to break out their dictionary every time they read one of your articles, you’ll lose them. Keep your words simple. Long, formal words don’t work here.
If your audience is more formal, conversational copy may not be a fit for your brand. Test it out and if you don’t get a good response, keep your formalities.
Another way to increase the conversation in your writing is to use contractions. Instead of saying, “I do not know where the Library is located,” say, “I don’t know where the Library’s located.” We speak with contractions, so why not write with them too!
You know in English class when you were told never to start a sentence with a conjunction? Well, I say, forget that. Using words like but, and, or so at the begin of a sentence can give your copy a more conversational feel. If you speak that way, don’t be afraid to write that way.
Some people may not agree with that, and that’s ok. But, using conjunctions at the beginning of sentences is kind of my thing and, I haven’t heard anyone complain yet!
Do you use conversations in your copy? If so, feel free to share a piece you're proud of in the comments below (links work too!).