4 Storytelling Tips for Magnetic Copy

As any writer worth their keystrokes will tell you, words have power. The right words in the right place and time can have tremendous impact. That’s certainly true when you’re writing copy. You want to set the scene for your audience and invite them to find out more. You want to tell a story, but unlike a novelist, you don’t have pages and pages to get your audience’s attention. To do that your copy will need to be many things, but most of all magnetic. Here’s how:

Be Bold. You have a limited amount of space to get your point across, so don’t waste it with weak words. Avoid qualifying words such as ‘likely’ or ‘probably.’ It’s not most likely the best thing ever. It IS the best thing ever. Don’t use passive voice either. You’re not passive. Neither is your product. So use an active voice that conveys how truly dynamic you both are.

Use short sentences. Have you ever been around someone who meanders around and never seems to get to the point? Don’t be that person when you write your copy. Make it short and sweet. If you want a good example of what that type of writing looks like, grab an Ernest Hemmingway novel and dive in. As a good rule of thumb, if your sentence contains more than two commas, it’s time to either reword it or break into smaller bites for your audience to digest.

Tell a story. Everyone loves a good yarn. That’s why many feature news articles start with a character rather than hitting you immediately with the facts. It humanizes the story and gives the audience a lens to see the world through. The topic may be hard to relate to like an esoteric government policy or a revolutionary scientific advance, but by first showing how that policy affects someone like them, the writer makes it more relatable.

Use rhythm. We’ve heard thousands of stories in our lifetime. Only some of them will stick with us, and the ones we’re most likely to remember are the ones that have a rhythmic structure. That’s why ‘Mother Goose’ stories linger to this day. Children’s authors use many of the same techniques so their young readers can more easily absorb the story. Don’t be afraid of a little repetition either. One of the oldest advertising strategies is “tell ‘em, tell ‘em what you told ‘em, and then tell ‘em again.”

So there you have it: 4 tips that will make your copy magnetic and attract your audience to you! Be bold and direct with your copy. Use short sentences to keep your audience’s attention. Tell a compelling story, and if we didn’t mention it before, try incorporating a little rhythm and repetition into your writing.