It’s pretty clear to see that there is more text-based content on the internet than ever. Years of forum posts, millions of blog posts, and don’t get us started on social media updates.
Moreover, in a world of AI generation, some even specialized tools like the famous AI Book Writer, trying to stand out with your writing can feel like running uphill. With one leg. And trying to carry a rhino on your back.
For this reason, any small business that hopes to use flavor text and copywriting to help their business seem exciting and interesting might struggle a little. How do you define yourself apart from the crowd?
For the sake of authenticity, we’re not going to teach you how to prompt AI in this post, though many good guides have been written on that subject. However, we can suggest a few methods of making your copywriting stand out. This means that even a small firm, perhaps a firm without the funds to hire a specialist, can still make good use of human-written content that draws engagement and stands out from your peers.
Without further ado, let’s consider:
Delivering Your Message Promptly
Nobody enjoys reading through three paragraphs of text just to understand what a business offers. That’s why many people become exasperated when looking for a recipe online only to receive six hundred words about how this particular variant came from a past relative and how much the author’s children enjoy eating it. It’s nit to have that human touch of course, but are people looking for that in your business, or in the content they search for? Odds are, no.
For that reason, modern readers appreciate content that gets to the point. This doesn’t mean rushing through important details, but rather organizing them efficiently and presenting them in a clear way, without losing your human touch.
It’s said that good copywriting flows naturally while moving the reader toward your main point. Some businesses achieve this by opening with a clear statement about their service, then expanding on the details step by step, perhaps explaining why a certain driveway material is so popular, and then explaining how the installation process goes. Others use compelling questions that lead directly to their solution to answer exactly what people are wondering.
If in doubt, cut some of the fluff if you can. It’ll help your writing come across more confidently unless you’re writing a blog post like this one in which most of the little details allow the piece to seem vibrant.
Add A Relatable Human Flair
More than ever before, consumers believe that corporate speak and overly formal language can make your content feel cold and distant. Of course, sometimes it’s highly valuable. A law firm that deals with personal injury or bereavement disputes is hardly going to try and seem super fun and jovial in their content, but that means they’ve understood the audience and the mood they need to reflect.
For many other businesses adding human touches to your writing helps readers connect with your message. This could mean sharing simple anecdotes from your business journey or acknowledging common frustrations your customers face before going on to explain how you solve them,
Keep in mind, however, that being relatable doesn’t mean being unprofessional. You can maintain authority while being approachable, but try not to be too informal in order to seem like you’re “one of the guys” or whatever modern businesses try to achieve through social media platforms. It’s a balance but one your brand can achieve.
Be Authentic, Honest & Consistent
Readers can spot inauthentic writing and that’s one of the (current) main disadvantages of AI. If your business specializes in plumbing, don’t try to sound like a luxury fashion brand, with chopped and changed language and structures that seem somewhat generic. Your voice should reflect your actual business personality and values, even if that’s not too far distant from other brands, your personality and outlook on the industry should still be present in your writing.
It might be that you dislike an old standard of plumbing and so you make reference to how the new improvements, offered by your firm, aren’t going to inflict that level of frustration unto your customers. As you can see, there’s a small aside there that gives you humour and a human touch without denigrating your message.
Also, try to be as consistent as you can with this approach. That’s because if your website has a friendly, casual tone, your social media posts and email newsletters should match, and vice versa. At least for the most part. Super-serious brands like airlines and museums have found some potential by posting informal social media updates on platforms like TikTok while still trying to seem hyper-professional while they can, but this really does take a deft touch and can limit any writing you try to publish in the future.
Use Spellcheck & Grammar Review Tools
Nothing undermines credibility faster than obvious spelling mistakes or grammatical errors – customers are much less willing to accept that when they know grammar and spelling checkers are free and available to everyone. Of course, nobody expects perfection, but remaining basic errors can make readers question your attention to detail and why they’re reading you to begin with.
If we had a tidbit of advice, it would be to use, but not rely solely on automated tools. They might miss context-specific errors or suggest changes that don’t fit your voice or the method of speaking you’re used to. For example, British colloquialisms are certainly different from Americanisms, and while neither is “incorrect,” one is likely to seem less appropriate for your audience.
For that reason, a quick human review, perhaps by someone else in the content team, can catch things that machines miss, especially in industry-specific content where certain terms might be flagged incorrectly.
Make Use Of Brevity
You might not be expecting this piece of advice in a blog post designed to hit roughly 1,500 words, but brevity is your friend.
There are exceptions to all rules of course, but in general, short sentences pack more punch and read more easily. A recipe should have imperative, simple instructions for instance. Brief paragraphs keep readers engaged for the most part too, so split those up.
When you can make your point in ten words instead of thirty, do it. Though remember that this doesn’t mean oversimplifying complex topics, but rather expressing them clearly and concisely – the good thing is that you’re the authority on what your business does and why, so you get to make those decisions. If you need to be flowery and verbose, then at least you’ve justified it.
Many copywriters achieve success by breaking longer content into digestible chunks. Instead of one massive wall of text, use subheadings, bullet points, or short paragraphs to make your content more approachable. This blog post is a relatively capable example, but more stringent copywriting is best presented in numerous visual forms. And hey, if you have a graph or image or two to break up the pace, that’s nice as well.
Place Pertinent Information Upfront
Print journalism is a good inspiration for certain aspects of copywriting. That’s because journalists typically start with the most important information, and then add details as they go. This “inverted pyramid” style (as it’s known) tends to work well for business content too.
Put simply – your readers should understand the main point of your message early on, even if they don’t read the entire piece. This approach respects your readers’ time and helps them decide quickly whether to dive deeper into your content. Now, as search engines and content aggregate sites increasingly use AI to give a snapshot of what you have to offer, pertinent information upfront could potentially show you as a more authoritative source than anyone else. That’s not a bad place to start. Though of course, make sure you’re right and that the information is appropriate, not just that you’re first.
Structure Your Content For Easy Navigation
A long post like this one is nevertheless quite easy to review because the subheadings demonstrate what the main points are. In other words, even if no one reads these particular words being typed at this moment (thank you for doing so, however), most people should still get the gist of your points from the subheading.
Of course, an FAQ section, a contents section at the top, and a navigability area can’t hurt if you have control over the design of your website. It means that customers have more of a chance to find what they want with you and not look to others, or perhaps an AI tool pulling from your content, to decide what the answer is.
With this advice, we hope you can more easily make your copywriting stand out. Of course, there are various elements of copywriting, from structuring landing pages to blog posts and more specialized technical writing. In general, this principles will help you sustain your beginner’s approach and avoid looking amateurish. We’re certain you’ll do a great job.
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