Home Builder #MarketingMondays: Write Like You Talk

One of the most critical skills for the modern salesperson or marketer is to write like you talk. If you want to convert more home shoppers to home buyers, your emails, social media posts, website copy and email campaigns need to be conversational and authentic. Ditch the stuffy corporate jargon and fluffy marketing copy. Instead, try the following tips to make your writing more conversational:

1. Read your copy out loud as you write, or after you write it, read it out loud. If you have trouble reading it out loud, that’s the first sign your writing is not conversational enough.
2. Pretend you are having an in-person conversation as you write the copy. Mimic the tone, language, and cadence of a conversation between two people. How would you phrase the message if you were eyeball to eyeball with the intended receiver?
3. Imagine that you are writing for one person at a time. Stop writing for the masses and write for one person at a time. Your writing will come across much more authentic and personal when you picture just one person as you write.
4. Drop the industry jargon and acronyms. Always assume your audience is not familiar with the subject matter. If you must use inside language or acronyms, then be sure to define them.
5. Be professional. Just because you are writing conversationally, doesn’t mean you should use slang, curse words, emojis, and emoticons. Unless, of course, those things are an accepted part of your brand or persona. Know your FANS and let them dictate your use of pop culture and politically incorrect language.
6. Follow conversational sounding brands on social media. You can learn a lot by watching other’s who get it. One of my favorites is Starbucks. Their Facebook posts are fun, inviting and casual.

For more info, and a dash of humor on this topic, here’s a very short clip (1:11)  from Meredith’s FANatical Follow-Up Keynote (pardon the old branding and logo).

Additional Resources

I found several good articles on how to develop a conversational writing style.

How to Write Like You Talk: Becoming a Relatable Writer

Write how you talk #1: The basics

7 Tips for an Authentic and Productive Writing Process

Categorised in: FANtastic Selling Tips, Home Builder Marketing & Sales, Marketing Mondays