What does copy with personality look like when you are quiet, reserved, or an introvert?
If you are reserved or have a quiet personality you may have rolled your eyes when hearing that you need to have “personality packed” copy. Personal brands like preppy marketers or bold, audacious leaders are often used to describe copy with personality and that’s just not you.
But here’s the thing: Personality in Copy all comes down to storytelling.
What is copy with personality?
In a world of extroverted, bold celebrity entrepreneurs this often means bubbly, humorous, controversial, and sometimes too personal.
And if you suddenly flash back to that time in school where you were picked last at gym class because you were “shy”, I hear you.
Maybe you even start to think: Can introverts be entrepreneurs?
Short answer: yes.
All personality packed copy means is
Copy that is conversational
Easy to read
And feels human
You don’t have to be the class clown or the popular girl to have personality (okay, I guess we’re sticking with this high school analogy).
Let’s take a look at this example from a well known copywriter:
"Oh, sorry—didn't see you there, I was busy creating a color-coded, multi-tab spreadsheet as I revamp course curriculum simultaneously … which was a more fun idea in my head. But it's fine. Everything's fine. 🥴😅"
You may see this and think “okay she has a personality”. She shows humor and her obvious need for organization, but what you really see is:
Relevance
Emotion
Specific
Technique
This all trickles down to the anatomy of a great narrative.
How to tell a story in your website copy
Storytelling is a powerful tool. It’s what makes you say: “Wait, they were selling?!?"
Storytelling changes the world: with emotional connection.
Think about it: your favorite books, songs, films, and photographs bring us joy, nostalgia, or even serve as an escape.
With this storytelling framework, you can have copy that shows your personality.
Relevance in your Copy
1) You want to show that you are human, so you have to be relatable. This can look like cultural mentions:
Remember that time Elon bought Twitter? That's not how our agency works.
Note: To do this you have to be aware of who is in your audience. There could be regional/ generational references that might go over the person's head.
2) Relate to their struggles without agreeing with them. That way you still show that you know what you are doing.
If you're thinking "yeah, right Deenah, I can't write a whole website, you do this for a living" Honestly, I get it. That's how I feel about setting up my own Pinterest account.
Empathy in Copywriting
1) Show what brought you here:
I was tired of clocking in, doing work that no one seemed to notice, clocking out, coming home to a cold dinner– only to do it again. Can you relate?
Don't want to get too personal? An alternative would be to sketch out the life of your ideal client now vs where they could be with your offer i.e. show the transformation.
2) Mirroring
Repeat back the words that your right fit clients says by looking at market research from facebook groups, surveys, reddit threads, or past testimonials.
Every April 14, I rush against the clock to get my taxes done. I know I'm torturing myself, but I don't want to deal with it.
Becomes: Don't want to spend April 14, panicking to get taxes done, wondering why you're torturing yourself (again)?
Even if you don’t have that exact experience, the feeling of rushing and regret is believable and relatable to your audience.
Specificity in your Copy
What does that look like? Well you can take the climactic route
Instead of "It was raining and I had to run to catch the mailman.
Do this: "My boots became muddied, my necklace was thumping on my chest as my heart was thumping inside of it: but I had to catch up to him.
You always want to show, not tell (your English professor was right)
Telling–I won't ever make false 'cart close' funnel deadlines
Showing–I know what it feels like to miss the "deadline" of an offer and then feel the stab in the back when the person you looked up to, hasn't closed the cart. 17.days.later.
You also have an opportunity to do this with your values.
We value dedication so that you can get in front of the biggest publications
Turns into…
I'm here to be your wing woman; that means I'll go over your pitches with you, analyze the video presentations you send, and give examples on what you can improve on
Techniques
1) Punctuation: My high school business teacher once said, “Punctuation is the sound of your voice on your paper” and she was right.
Take a look at this example:
Bubbly
“I loooovee your work!!! It REALLY speaks to me especially this part___”
Melancholic
“I love your work...it really speaks to me–especially this part___”
You read both of these sentences in a different way in your head because of what you know about punctuation.
2) Tone of your voice
The tone of your voice can show your personality without telling people who you are and what you stand for.
Blunt:
Here's the thing...calling yourself a bad bitch is as tacky as being a girl boss in 2018. Are you focused on serving your ego or are you focused on serving others?
Thoughtful:
Here's the thing–you're not a "bad bitch" or a "girl boss". And those aren't the types of clients you want to work with either, right?
3) Consistent Messaging
The message is the heart of what you are trying to say and your copy and brand elements (tone, -isms, voice) is how you say it.
In a world that tells you to be consistent, I’m going to tell you this: It’s better to be persistent in your message.
It's okay to change your mind and the direction that you want to go through, but to be memorable it helps to always show up (when showing up) with the same core message.
4) Curiosity
Asking questions in your copy (like the headline)
How many times have you put “write website copy” on your task list?
Don't be afraid to answer it in the subtitle
Headline: What's the hardest part about setting up a Dubsado workflow?
Subtitle: The learning curve.
It can be disheartening when people say that you don’t click with you because you are reserved. Later you find out that they chose to work with the extroverted service provider.
Remember: those aren’t the people you want to work with anyway. Everyone has a personality and if they don’t “vibe” with yours, then keep showing up until you find someone who does.