Ever pour your heart n’ soul into writing something for your business…

…and then realize it sounds NOTHING like you?

Maybe it sounds waaaay too formal.

Or boring and snooze-worthy.

Or dry and robotic.

Or hypey and salesy and just ick.

Yes?

Well, m’friend, you’re in the right place.

Time and time again I see sunny, vibrant people who are full of personality in real life come across as complete strangers in their articles, website copy, video scripts, and more.

The good news is, there are simple things you can do to start adding more personality to your writing.

So let’s dive into it together…

Corporate-Speak vs YOU-Speak

It’s tough!

We’re taught all sorts of rules and standards in school or in corporate environments, and breaking out of those patterns takes work.

You might be thinking…

Yes! Everything I write is professional, but it doesn’t sound like ME at all!

That’s because there’s a BIG difference between Corporate-Speak (or High School AP English-Speak) and YOU-Speak.

And it’s the YOU-Speak that draws people in and helps promote your business and services.

When I started out as a copywriter I knew that I needed my clients to connect with ME and how I share my voice.

So when I was brainstorming, I knew my personality came through best when I was connecting via copy that was “sparkly” and “energetic.” (I’ve gotten on the phone with people so.many.times. where they’ve told me, “Oh, wow – you sound exactly like how you write. That’s totally your voice!”)

It’s a two-way street…

I write so my clients get to know the real me…

AND…

I write using language I know will attract clients who want to work with me!

You might be wondering…

• What if “sparkly” and “energetic” are not me at all?
• What if my business is more serious? I don’t want my copy to read like a bunch of heart emojis.
• How do I balance ME-speak with getting all my information across?
• What if people have trouble understanding what I mean when I talk in my own voice?

Those are GREAT questions.

In this post, I’m going to be using my own writing as examples, but know that everyone is different, and that’s GREAT.

Remember what we talked about in the About Page article?

The whole point of your copy is to connect with your potential clients.

As long as it’s authentic and from the heart, it will come across on the page.

So how do I start?

I’m so glad you asked 🙂

The Quick-n-Dirty Truth about writing copy that connects with your ideal clients: use THEIR language.

That’s how you get them to think, “Wowza, you’re reading my mind! You totally get me.”

(Psst… I wrote a whole article about how to start using your client’s language in your writing.)

Here’s what I tell my clients:

• When you’re writing about the problem, struggle, or obstacle that your ideal client or customer is currently facing – write about it the way THEY TALK about it. (Not the way YOU talk about it – you’re the expert, so you have a way different vocabulary for how you think + talk about it.)
• When you’re writing about the dream, desire, want, or vision they have – write about it the way THEY TALK about it. (Again – you, as the expert, have a totally different idea of what’s *actually* possible for them, so sometimes you start talking about things they can’t really connect with.
• When you go into educating your reader (sharing your Point of View, opinion, approach, or method), THAT’s when you can spend more time writing in your own voice.

The good news about this is – for those of you who are currently struggling to “find your voice,” this makes it waaaay easier.

Because most of your writing will be pulling from your ideal client’s voice to start out!

Now, let’s look at what to do in those times where you can’t write in your client’s voice.

How do you add more YOU-speak to those instances?

Experiment with adding more personality to your written voice by starting with what you already have!

Using copy you’ve already written, go back in with a fine-toothed comb and look for places to add little asides or parenthetical comments.

These kind of add-ins will allow your voice to shine through without distracting from important content.

They say either what you’re thinking or better yet, what everyone else might be thinking!

For example…

I was reviewing a newsletter that had a section that explained a Gift Concierge Service to clients. She wanted her copy to sound more conversational, but didn’t know how to change what she’d already written.

She had this:

The end of the first quarter is fast approaching, along with graduation and wedding season not too far behind.

Instead of having her start from scratch, I simply told her to add in a little joke at the end:

(I know, we’re freaking out about all the invitations and gifts we have to give, too.)

Beginning to see how it works?

There are lots of ways to punch-up your copy. Parentheticals and asides are just ONE option.

Another great way to add in YOU-speak is to…

Brainstorm a word bank of YOU words + phrases.

These will be fun words and phrases that match your brand personality.

Think about your real little arsenal of words…

What’s something you actually say on the phone?

Do you greet people in a particular way?

Once you have this list ready, try to scatter them throughout your copy. Why not give people a taste of who they’ll be talking to off-screen?

For example…

MY little arsenal of words + phrases might include:

• sparkly
• delightful
• warm n’ fuzzy
• comforting
• xoxo, Cheryl
• totally
• so.much.fun. (I often do the “word-period-word-period-word-period” when I want my reader to “hear” the melodramatic, staccato emphasis I would use when saying those phrases out loud. Otherwise, as phrase like “so much fun” might get glossed over.)
• waaaaay (as in, waaaaay easy, or waaaaay fun)

Your turn! What are some words that reflect your personality that you could start to sprinkle into your copy?

Allow yourself to go on a passionate rant.

You can do this one out loud and record yourself, if you’re not good at “ranting” while writing.

Or ask a friend to come “interview you” and ask a bunch of questions like…

“Why are you so passionate about what you do?”

“Are there things happening in your industry that you disagree with? Or that upset you?”

“What are the biggest breakthrough realizations your clients have when working with you?”

Again, record this conversation, then go back through and pull out phrases that make you think, “Wow, I sounded pretty smart there!”

Or even ask your friend to highlight phrases that she loved – we can be realllly good at overlooking our own brilliance, so sometimes you need someone else to say, “Whoa, that was really good.”

(This is basically what I do with my private clients – I create a safe space for them to get passionate, then ask them a bunch of questions and keep pulling answers, stories, and mini-lessons out of them until we get to the juicy stuff.

I can’t tell you how many times I hand someone copy or notes from our calls, and they say, “Wow, you made me sound brilliant!” and I tell them, “That came out of YOUR mouth!”)

One of the best ways to see a “passionate rant” versus a” lukewarm explanation” in action is to see a set of examples.

Let’s take a peek at some copy from the actual Copy Luv About Page:

What is Copy Luv about?

Copy Luv is about loving the words that represent you and your business.

It’s not about having copy that makes you think, “Meh. . . That’ll be okay for now.”

It’s about abso-freakin’-lutely LOVING your copy.

It’s also about sharing your love and passion for what you do — in a way that takes care of your clients and prospects.

Your words can give your people a sense of relief, a sense of, “Wow, it’s gonna be okay. I can do this.”

You have amazing gifts and knowledge to share with the world. But if your words don’t show that, you’re missing the chance to take care of people — because those people will never quite get that you could absolutely change their lives.

Now imagine if I wrote it like THIS…

About Copy Luv

At Copy Luv, we believe it’s important to love the words that represent you and your business.

Copy shouldn’t just be OKAY for the time being…

Your copy should be something you LOVE and are willing to commit to.

Share your love and passion for your work, so your clients and prospects know that you are responsible and will take care of them.

You are your words. Your words matter. They can make people feel relaxed and calm.

Share your gifts and knowledge with the world. Use your words to deliver your message.

If you don’t, you’re missing a critical opportunity to connect, take care of people, and change their lives.

Fine. Right idea. But does that sound like ME?!

No wayyyyy! Who is that?!

Exactly my point.

Pssst… Want help taking your passionate rant and turning it into a powerful Point of View Statement? Grab a free copy of my guide, The “Craft Your Point of View” Workbook. You’ll learn how to create a bite-sized statement that stands out + connects with your ideal clients:

Snooze Alert! (words and phrases to avoid in your copy)

When I work with clients who tell me their copy is boring, but they’re not sure how to fix it – it’s usually because they’ve followed what they THOUGHT were tried n’ true formulas.

But those formulas are usually taken straight from the most boring, corporate-company-speak websites on the internet.

Snooze Alert #1: Patting yourself on the back before I even know what you do or why I should care:

• We strive to…
• Our mission is…
• We pride ourselves on… // We take great pride in… // We’re proud to offer…

For example, I often see Homepages that start with copy like this:

Here at Snazzy Underpants, we take great pride in providing you with cute, comfortable underpants.

Your reader (and potential buyer) doesn’t care what you take pride in. So you’ve just added a bunch of fluff and filler before they get to the part that matters – comfortable, cute underpants.

Which means they may get bored with that first sentence and start skimming and (*GASP*) never even see the most important part!

You could easily change that opening line on your Homepage to:

Comfortable and cute. What more could you ask for in a pair of underpants?

(Note #1: This is a 100% made-up example. I’m sure if you were to start your own underpants company, you would conduct market research to find out what your ideal customers *actually* want in a pair of underpants.)

(Note #2: I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve used the word “underpants” on my website – and I’ve now used it SEVEN TIMES. Allow me to high-5 myself.)

(Note #3: See how I’m using these parenthetical asides to add humor and personality? Just like we talked about, huh?)

Snooze Alert #2: Using buzzwords that aren’t really buzzwords so much as vague, overused words:

• Excellent customer service – Instead, tell me what you do and how you do it that makes your customer service so excellent.
• Quality – If you TELL me it’s quality but don’t actually explain why, that’s a red flag that your stuff is, in fact, very not-quality.
• Value – You can use the word “value” if you actually give me a dollar amount (i.e. The total value for this program + all the bonuses is $4,000, but you’ll only pay $1,000!). But please, please, don’t tell me “it’s a great value!” and expect me to take your word for it.

Now. There’s one more important caveat to adding in personality…

Don’t go overboard with ridiculous personality.

The danger with overusing fun words and lots of personality is that people might not understand what you’re actually saying.

So find the balance between information and flair!

Let’s take a look at the Gift Concierge Service again.

If we had gone totally overboard on making that copy sounded super-clever and funny, it may have ended up like…

Can you even believe that the first quarter is almost over? O-M-Freakin-G! The end is near, and that can make us flooded with emotions of over-the-moon happiness, super gratitude, and full-body excitement for summer-lovin and beachtime fun! And before you know it…. ABRACADABRA!…. It’s graduation and wedding season! So. Many. Presents. To Buy.

Why not give your pretty lil’ self a well-deserved gift that says “I love me soooo much” when you’re buying so much for others!? A GIFT Concierge Service, that is! Take the headache-inducing brainwork out of giving and let yourself refresh, recharge, and TREAT YO’SELF!

Soooo… yeah, it’s fun…

It’s got some personality-laden phrases…

But I still don’t know what the service IS. Are you telling me to get a massage for myself? *Confused.*

I get so distracted by the fun adjectives that I’ve gone off on a summer-lovin’ and beachtime fun tangent… and am no longer following the actual thread of what you’re trying to say.

Now go write!

You have all the tools to make your copy stand out.

These are general structures to follow that will support your unique voice and message.

And don’t get me wrong, what you’ve learned about writing is important.

Having templates and guidelines and a basic, information delivery system is FANTASTIC!

But why stop there?

By breaking the habit of stiff writing, you’re able to be yourself and find the best clients for what YOU offer.

Awesomesauce, right?! 😉

xoxo,
Cheryl

Pssst… Want help taking your passionate rant and turning it into a powerful Point of View Statement? Grab a free copy of my guide, The “Craft Your Point of View” Workbook. You’ll learn how to create a bite-sized statement that stands out + connects with your ideal clients: