4 Simple Steps to Conversational Copywriting

Copywriting / 18 Aug 2021

What makes great copywriting?

There are some subjective answers to this question.

You’ll want a good grasp of the English language. Grammar and spelling are important.

You should probably ensure you’ve mastered the elusive art of the Oxford comma.

These are tools that can make your copy good.

At least, on the level that Word won’t flag your document with the squiggly red line of shame.

But great copy isn’t only about the technical aspects of writing: it’s about engaging a reader. That’s no easy task. It’s one thing to capture attention with a punchy title. Compelling someone to continue reading is a whole other ballgame.

In digital marketing, the problem is amplified. Your clients are in different sectors, with different goals, and different target audiences. But the challenge is the same. It’s getting that target audience to engage with your client’s content.

Conversational copy is one of the best ways to engage a reader.

Think about it. We consume more written media than any other generation before us. Texts, blogs, emails. Reddit posts, Tweets, Instagram captions. And they’re all conversational. Formal writing can seem out of place online. It’s jarring – to the point where there’s a whole generation of people convinced a full stop in a text is a sign of anger.

Copywriting Doesn’t Have to Be Formal

And a lot of the time, it works better when it isn’t. The misconception that professional is synonymous with formal is detrimental to marketers everywhere. Content writing can be captivating, enticing, engaging, and whimsical. It should read that way too.

Copywriting is about persuasion. It’s about selling a product or service. But people hate feeling like they’re being sold to. Why do you think everybody hangs up on cold callers?

By using conversational language, you can lose that irritating salesperson exterior. You lessen the chances of a digital door slam. You’re tapping into some of the psychology that makes copywriting work (which is far less sinister than it sounds, honestly.)

When it comes to blog writing and social media posts in particular, writing conversationally can resonate better with your audience. Why? Because people like being talked to, not at. And ultimately, your target audience will thank you for producing content that enamours them rather than lectures them – they left uni a while ago.

So how do you do it? Here are four simple hacks.

Write the way you speak

Even if that means breaking the occasional grammar rule or starting a sentence with a conjunction.

Use the same words you would in an ordinary conversation, rather than breaking out the thesaurus to sound clever.

Use emotive language, show personality, ask questions.

Not only will this make your copy more engaging, but it can also make your call-to-action feel more powerful and inviting, instead of like a sales pitch.

Use contractions

Remember when your English teacher berated you because you substituted ‘it is’ with ‘it’s’? Great. Now erase that lesson from your memory.

Using contractions is one of the simplest ways to make your copy flow more conversationally.

It feels more natural, it improves readability, and it makes your writing sound more friendly and warm.

Use staccato sentences

The human attention span has shortened over the years. There have never been so many distractions. Particularly online, which is inconvenient for your long-form content, since that’s probably where you’re trying to market.

However, just because your copy is 6000 words, you can still capture attention through one simple trick: staccato sentences.

Not only is it easier to scan for human eyes, search engines can also scan a lot quicker. A win-win.

Use an active voice

An active voice will add impact to your writing and keep your reader engaged. A passive voice usually requires more words, punctuation and explanation to arrive at the exact same conclusion. An active voice will capture the attention of your readers.

By using conversational copywriting, you can avoid alienating any reader, regardless of the target audience. Your copy will be personable, inviting, and easy to understand. Most importantly, it’ll be engaging – and that’s the key to getting a reader to take the next step and follow your final call-to-action. And when in doubt? Book with us. We’ve got our conversational copy nailed, and we can do the same thing for your clients.

Throw Out the Grammar Rulebook

Lastly, no matter what. Remember that writing is subjective. It’s creative. It’s a form of expression. Yes, there are rules, and some of us love all the grammatical rules. However, you don’t always have to use them. Sometimes it works better to write in long-winded sentences, with no commas, and with as many prepositions as humanly possible.

There is no judgement on your preferred writing style when it comes to briefing our writing team. We’ll create whatever you want us to.