Good vibrations: writing copy that resonates

If you’re a grownup belonging to a ten-year-old whose primary school boasts an orchestra, you’ll know two things:

1)   They're using that term very loosely. What they actually have is 16 recorder players, 4 violinists, 2 trumpeters, 1 clarinetist and a kid playing the triangle. And the repertoire usually consists of the national anthem and classics hits such as Mary Had a Little Lamb. (Although to be fair, even Stevie Ray Vaughn covered that one.)

2)   If you possess an ear that’s even slightly musical, you’ll need to dig deep into that well of parental love and loyalty (or arrive packing noise-cancelling earplugs) to survive the listening experience.

Well, I was that lonely clarinetist in the third row. Even back then, nothing made me want to stab myself in the ear quite so much as a bunch of instruments playing slightly off-key.

Mercifully, our orchestra leader, Mr A, was of the same mind. He took great pains to teach us to tune our instruments. Even the recorders.

The secret, he said, was to listen to the people around you and adjust your tuning until you felt a gentle buzz in your ear. I’ve no idea if there’s any science out there to back that up, but according to my own anecdata, it works.

Certainly, if you hit a tuning fork and there’s another tuning fork set to the same pitch somewhere nearby, it will spontaneously vibrate in sympathy. It resonates. Neat, huh?

Well, a quarter of a century later, I was listening to the first-ever Goop podcast – the one where Gwyneth Paltrow interviewed Oprah. It was a bold listening experiment that didn’t last beyond that first episode, but I’m glad I caught it.

Oprah, being the clever, insightful and eloquent woman she is, said something that, 3 years on, is still bouncing around my brain:

What I started calling ‘aha moments’… it's a vibrational frequency that's touching what's already there. That's what makes you go, ‘Aha! I knew that. I just wasn't able to express it in that way. That feels familiar. That sounds right. That feels like the truth to me.’ That's what an ‘aha’ is… it's a resonance and it's a remembering of what you always, always knew.

Right?!

See, an idea is just like a soundwave – a musical note. It’s vibrating at a certain frequency and if something inside you is tuned to that same pitch, you can’t help but react. Just like the tuning fork.

When something we see, read or hear resonates like that, it feels awesome. It wakes us up. We feel seen and understood. Connected to something bigger than ourselves.

Conversely, things stubbornly resist vibrating with frequencies that don’t match their own. And, unfortunately, it doesn’t take much to miss the mark. In fact, it’s often even more off-putting when something only just misses.

As a copywriter, I’m always looking to make a connection with the reader. That’s what grabs and holds their attention. It’s also what conjures up that “Yes! These people get me” feeling which helps your message stand out amongst the throng of tired, empty promises and buzz-wordy copy.

So, how do you fold Oprah-worthy “Aha!” moments into your copy so there are slightly melty chocolate chips in every bite?

#1 Just ask, already

Customer research is the most important step for writing effective copy, yet most businesses skip right over it.

As a result, too many creative briefs are nothing more than a list of assumptions. Either because the client “knows” their customers or because the copywriter has been forced to spin gold out of their own belly-button lint.

Look, I know I keep saying it, but there’s only one way to find out what’s going on in your customers’ hearts and minds: TALK TO THEM.

When you let the person writing your copy interview your customers, you’re handing them the keys to the copywriting kingdom. They’ll be gathering:

• Lists of the things your customers have in common: attributes, emotions, desires, beliefs, fears, pain-points, hurdles, reasons they chose you over the other options – all the raw ingredients for irresistibly persuasive copy 
• The exact words and phrases your customers use when talking about your brand, products and services – now you can literally speak their language
• Personal stories and specific examples about life before you walked in, the problems you’ve solved and how you’ve changed their world for the better (awwww)
• Inspiration to spark a Big Idea, because every piece of copy needs one (yes, even if it’s not an ad)

#2 Make careful comparisons

Analogies and references add colour and movement to your copy – they’re the spoonful of sugar Mary Poppins bangs on about.

But that’s not their day job.

These tools are most often employed to explain something new or complex, since they allow readers to anchor an idea using something from their experiences.

Movie quotes, song lyrics and current events work well, but often just seemingly mundane stuff from the reader’s daily life is most effective – it’s more personal.

That, of course, means knowing what your customers’ daily lives look like.

See, this is the moment when the importance of #1 hits you right between the eyes.

Writing copy without doing the research is like trying to pick up lunch for someone without first asking what they like to eat.

You proffer the tuna on rye you chose for them, then wonder why they decline, saying “Thanks, but I’m not that hungry after all” before raiding the vending machine the second your back is turned.

Turns out, they’re allergic to seafood.

It really is easier just to ask.

#3 Take your copy for a test-drive

Every writer has a first reader. A trusted person who offers an outside-my-brain perspective.

Sometimes that oh-so-clever line turns out to be cryptic or tired to fresher eyes. Best those don’t make it out the door.

But valuable as they are, a first reader is just that - a first step towards knowing what’s working.

If you have access to people who fit the target market, have them check your copy for anything confusing, boring or unnecessary. Also, ask for their general impressions and what specific action they believe the copy was nudging them towards taking.

Some copy, like email subject lines and CTAs (calls to action) you can A/B test easily enough by working up two options and sending each to half your email list. Tracking open and click-through rates can give insight into what your customers find most appealing.

If there’s budget, you could even consider using more formal methods. Testing platforms, like Crazy Egg, can be great for seeing how your website copy performs in the wild.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of ways to test copy, but you get the idea.

Making sure your copy resonates with your intended reader is just like tuning a musical instrument – you keep adjusting the pitch of your copy until it’s bang-on.

That’s why I believe copywriting projects should ideally resemble a test-kitchen, rather than a factory build. That’s easier (and, perhaps, cheaper) when you have a copywriter on staff, but I do think it’s time we start structuring even freelance projects this way.  

It may seem like an expensive prospect, but there’s a not-so-hidden cost to settling for off-key copy. If your words aren’t resonating, they’re not selling. If they’re not selling, it’s not worth the money you saved on skipping the research.

Basically, either you tune into your customers, or they’ll tune out.

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