Perfect your brands story and tone of voice and live a little with copywriting
I’ve heard it all before. My business is too boring/professional/un-inspiring to be exciting. And to that I shout LIES! Yes, there is a way to make any business interesting no matter what you sell…and it lies in the copywriting.
Importantly, creating engaging and interesting copy expands your audience network and has people remembering who you are. If you work in a big… quote-unquote… “boring” industry, you actually have a leg up.
Why?
Because I bet my left toe that most of your competitors are writing copy that is as boring as batshit. You have a unique opportunity to steal customers from them, and all you have to do is tweak your copy.
To be specific, a boring business can be turned around by a 2 step copy facelift.
- By flipping the story you’re telling
- Adding in pizazz in how you tell it
Storytelling Using Copywriting
Let’s start with an example. I am going to tell you a story, so listen up. Ready? Here we go.
Once there was a friendly accountant. They can do a wide range of services like — your tax, consulting, legal services and more. They will get this done on time and on budget, meeting your expectations. Are professional and reliable.
Would you even classify that as a story? Probs not. But a lot of accountancy firms are telling their customers that exact dribble— yes I Googled it and yes, sorry, I am classifying accounting as boring.
Why would the audience be interested in it, what’s in it for them? Not excitement, joy or curiosity, just a sprouting of the absolute basics of human decency when you pay for a service.
We all know those people who open their mouths and talk all about them — they talk AT people, not TO them. Which is what a lot of boring businesses do.
As a boring business (or any business really) you have to flip the switch here, tell a story that your audience is going to want to listen to.
Shut up, talk to your audience and enough about you already.
So stop, do not pass go, do not collect $200 if you have not taken the time to understand your audience. How do they speak? What type of content do they engage with? Who ARE they and what to THEY want?
How You Tell It
Right now we have gotten that out of the way — let’s dig into the nitty gritty of how you can make the boring words interesting.
Use a Mix or All The Following
- Humour
- Relevancy
- Curiosity
- Shock and awe factor
- A voice that represents your unique brand
Research from Sprout Social, shows us that the key traits consumers want to see in terms of brand voice are:
- Honesty (86%)
- Friendliness (83%)
- Helpfulness (78%)
- Humour (72%)
- Trendiness (43%)
- Political correctness (39%)
- Being snarky (33%)
Also, good gauge is that if it scares you…that’s where the magic is. Life is about being fun, finding human connection, why can’t you inject that into your business too?
Now, I’m going to tell you another story. This time I’m going to talk to you and let you know what’s in it for you, project a bit of humour and honesty into the mix.
Ok, so once there was a boring accountant — before you walk away, hear me out. They KNOW that doing the horrid stuff like tax (yes, you still have to pay tax) and legal mumbo-jumbo like contracts can make your bum clench. BUT they thrive on it, honest…and to be perfectly braggy — they’re actually pretty good at it.
The Copywriting Takeaway
Finally, you need to write in a way that speaks to and connects with your audience. That’s the end goal, the BIG secret.
The number one rule of business, and repeat after me, write it on your bathroom mirror with lipstick if you have to.
Your brand or business is not about you, it’s about what your audience wants.