As the amount of content that crosses my desk increases on an almost daily basis, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what makes a piece of written content not just good, but great.
Great writing inspires people, makes them hungry for more, and drives them to take action. Serious action. Like buying your product, supporting your cause or writing you an email begging for a job. Bad writing hurts your reputation, devalues your brand and causes people to give up on attempting to understand what you’re trying to say before they ever get to the second paragraph…or the second sentence.
The bad news? Most of us are writing content that falls flat and doesn’t get you the results we crave. The good news? Improving is easy. You don’t need to get a journalism degree or go through some fancy training. You just have to develop one super important skill that everyone has the capacity for, but few people have unleashed.
That skill is writing with
voice.
The fact is, most of the content businesses put out is bland, boring and blah. Don’t think you’re the exception to this rule simply because you’re running a mission-driven organization that’s making an impact. Unfortunately, your good intentions and high ideals aren’t going to make your content any more engaging than the next guy’s…unless you learn to write with a strong, unique voice.
Ready to unleash your own voice and start writing content that gets results? Here are three steps that will help you get started.
Step One: Study the pros.
Chances are, you’ve been exposed to so much bland, voiceless marketing that you’ve forgotten what good writing sounds like. Luckily, there are some brands doing amazing things with voice and personality. You just have to know where to look. Here are some brand voice examples that I absolutely adore.
Voice Rockstar Example #1: CrowdRise
Thanks to their fun, irreverent voice, CrowdRise has established itself as more than “just another crowdfunding platform.” They’ve become the crowdfunding platform everyone wants to be friends with. Just take a look at their homepage and tagline:
Yep, if you don’t give back, no one will like you. They went and said it. And what about this paragraph of copy on their about page?:
“CrowdRise is about giving back, raising lots of money for great causes and having the most fun in the world while doing it. CrowdRise is way more fun than anything else aside from being all nervous about trying to kiss a girl for the first time and her not saying something like ‘you’ve got to be kidding me.”
Tell me you aren’t at least a little intrigued by CrowdRise after reading that. There’s a reason they have some 29,000 “likes” on Facebook.
Voice Rockstar Example #2: Duluth Trading Co
Just like their target customer (rugged, modern outdoorsmen), Duluth Trading Co. uses a voice that is blunt, sarcastic and straight to the point. No piece of copy is left untouched. Take, for example, their customer guarantee:
My heart just skipped a beat. Don’t you wish more brands would be willing to take risks like this and consider the little details (like the guarantee that supposedly no one reads)?
Voice Rockstar Example #3: Kris Carr
When I first heard of Kris Carr and learned that she got her start with a book and documentary called Crazy Sexy Cancer , I knew she was going to be one to watch. I mean, who would dare to put the words “sexy” and “cancer” in the same sentence? Kris did, and she did it with gusto. She’s since built an entire Crazy Sexy empire focused on health and wellness tips for women who want to cure or prevent illness and live their best lives. Everything Kris does is brimming over with a voice that’s unlike anyone else’s. Just read this “sales” paragraph from her about page and you’ll see what I mean.
Step Two: Write like no one’s listening…then go public.
Now that you’ve reminded yourself what strong voice feels like, it’s time to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and start developing your own.
Take an important piece of content that you’ve already written for your company (your About page or informational brochure are good options) and rewrite it like no one is listening. Don’t worry about replacing your existing content with whatever you write for this exercise. This rewrite is just for you. Since no one will be able to see what you create, let loose and write without fear. Write like you’re having a casual conversation with your target customer. Write what you feel. Inject humor and personality. Then, put it aside.
A few days later, return to your rewrite and assess it. Chances are, it will be dripping with a strong, powerful voice you didn’t even know you had. Continue to practice in this fashion until you become more comfortable with the sound of your own voice. Then, little by little, begin to incorporate it into things you write for public consumption. Soon, it will become second nature.
Step Three: Help your team master the voice.
As you continue to practice developing your voice, it will become clearer and more defined. The problem is, unless you own a single person company, you’re not the only one who needs to be able to write in the voice of your brand. To help others master the voice of your brand, I suggest personifying your business and profiling its personality for your team. This might seem a little odd at first, but give it a try. Imagine that your business is a person. Is it male or female? Does it live in an apartment, condo or sprawling suburban home? Does it enjoy fishing or yoga? What does it do for fun on the weekends? Write out a detailed profile and bio. Get your team involved so they can bring their own ideas to the process. Then, encourage them to continually refer to this persona profile when developing content, and to practice writing like no one is listening like you did in step two.
Before you know it, your boring, blah content will be a distant memory. The best part? Your writing will start getting the results you crave, and your impact will continue to grow.
Photo Credit: Pete O’Shea
