Easy Copywriting: Develop a conversational style

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Summary: What makes writing copy for everything from sales
letters to ads to your Web site easy? Developing a conversational
style.

Total words: 600

Category: Small Business

Easy Copywriting: Develop a conversational style

Copyright (c) 2002 by Angela Booth

What makes writing copy for everything from sales letters to ads
to your Web site easy?

Developing a conversational style. Try the tips I've outlined
below if you're trying to write copy. (Or dialog for a script, or
a novel, for that matter.)

If you initially find writing in a casual conversational style
difficult, relax.

You can do it. It's just a matter of getting the hang of it.
Write as you speak, with the redundancies, which we all use in
conversation, chopped out.

* It's vital that you learn to relax while you write*.

We all tend to tense up when we write. Writing, or any creative
task, produces anxiety because of the adrenaline pumping through
our body. We need this adrenaline, it gives our words energy.

However, unless you're aware of the problems that too much
adrenaline can cause (anxiety, tense muscles leading to health
concerns like RSI and tension headaches), your creative tasks
will be more pain than pleasure.

If you have concerns about tension, do a relaxation course.
You'll find books and tapes on relaxation in your local library,
or at your bookstore.

The tips below will help you to build your conversational writing
style. The transcribing exercise is especially helpful.

=> TIPS:

* Record a few minutes of TV commercials using audio-tape.
Transcribe the tape into your word processor. This lets you see
what a conversational style looks like on your computer screen---
this is handy if you're trying to write an audiovisual script.

Note: please do this simple exercise, even if you have no
intention of writing audiovisual scripts.

When I wrote my first two novels, I had a real problem with
dialog. I audio-taped a couple of movies and transcribed them. It
worked. For an investment of maybe eight hours, I've found dialog
easy and fun to do ever since.

The bonus --- not only did it improve my dialog 1000 per cent,
but it also improved all my performance writing as well. I formed
a mental link between how the words look on the page, and how
they sound.

* Write, then: read your words aloud. Or: talk. Start talking to
yourself (it helps if you have your own office) about the product
you're writing copy for. Include sound-effects. Be outrageous.
You'll create excellent copy.

* Think about sub-text. This is the underlying meaning of our
words. The better the script (dialog) writer, the simpler the
writing, because it relies almost completely on sub-text. This
is difficult to do. However, don't let that stop you. The more
practising you do, the better you'll get. Look for examples of
sub-text when you're watching movies and TV, and write the
examples down in a notebook.

* Listen to the conversational styles of the people you meet.

Unless they've made an effort to change it, their conversational
style reflects their early family environment. So you'll find
that someone who's grown up in a home where her parents are from
another culture may not speak her parents' native language, but
she nevertheless has some of that language structure in her
conversational style --- in the way she uses words.

You can use this knowledge to add veracity to your conversational
style.

Try the above approaches. For a small investment in time, you'll
improve your copywriting skills.

***Resource box: if using, please include*** When your words
sound good, you sound good. Author and copywriter Angela Booth
crafts words for your business --- words to sell, educate or
persuade. Get in touch today for a free quote:

mailto:ab@digital-e.biz

Free ezine: Creative Small Biz --- subscribe at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Creative_Small_Biz/

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About the Author

Angela Booth writes business books and copy for businesses.