Give Your Website Copy the Old Razzle-Dazzle (AKA Pack It With Personality)

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How To Write Personality-Packed Website Copy That Works

If you’ve ever sucked on a Warhead candy, you know that sour, mouth as dry as the house plant you keep forgetting to water feeling, right?

That’s the feeling you don’t want your readers to have when they skim your website, blog, or social media.

Instead, you want potential clients to be so enthralled by your words that they can’t blink. You want them to be invested in you, your brand, and your work. You want to not sound like a stuffy, suit-wearing, corporate executive (unless it’s a b-o-m-b pantsuit). 

You want to infuse personality into your website copy so that you sound like you and motivate your readers to work with you. Easy as 1-2-3, right?

Unfortunately not.

Creating lively, personality-packed writing usually results in people reverting to their MSN/AOL days by adding lol, ikr, or !!!!!!!! to their content. Don’t get me wrong, I love some well-placed slang. But there are other ways to banish humdrum writing and replace it with a little oomph that makes you irresistible to your potential clients. 

Keep on reading for three ways to create personality-packed website copy.

 

Get Weirdly Specific And Detailed In Your Website Copy

I don’t mean telling your readers that you picked up surfing at the age of 32 and now are learning to conquer green waves, cross-stepping, and turtle-rolling. Not only are these specifics too technical for most of your readers, but they’re also not thought-provoking or gripping.

But if you get specific in your writing by sharing your feelings, quirks, and personalities…that’s where the fun begins.

For example, did you start surfing because you watched Blue Crush when you were 14, wore a puka shell necklace for 3 months straight, and promised yourself you’d move to Hawaii the second you graduated so you could live in a beach shack, surf every day, and become the face of female surfers?

(I’m 100000% not talking about myself here…)

Those details – the dreams, thoughts, embarrassing moments, and little pieces of your life – that you share are what your readers connect with. Far more than listing all your certificates and degrees.

You don’t need to make up outlandish stories. But adding super-specific details paints an image your readers can envision and relate to. After all, show me someone who didn’t want to be a surfer after watching Blue Crush.

Here are a few more examples though to get your brain brewing:

Are you a graphic designer who loves creating custom typography for your clients because it’s reminiscent of hot pink poster boards covered in bubble letters at a science fair?

Are you a social media manager at a tech startup who doesn’t just draft press releases, but writes social captions that make even Macbook buyers question their dedication to Apple because of how freakin’ amazing you make your business sound?

Or maybe you’re a sustainability consultant who drops subtle Parks and Rec jokes because you’re rewatching it for the 856th time and you know your readers will get it. 

Adding dashes of who you are, your past, your likes and dislikes, and your personality into your copywriting keeps readers engaged with your content, your business, and you.

Jazz Up Your Verbs For A Little Dose Of Personality

As a mobile bar service, Grog on the Go brings the drinks to you and your party. Our professional bartenders make classic cocktails or personalized drinks to fit your birthday party, wedding, or corporate event. We prepare everything from glasses and ice to menus and even take away all trash and recycling at the end of the night. 

Book us now for your next event.

What’s wrong with the description above? It sounds like your standard introduction to a business, right?

Exactly. 

It’s what you’ve read in some form 5,632 times before. So why would you choose this company over any others?

But if it said…

As a mobile bar service, Grog on the Go brings the drinks to you and your party. Our professional bartenders pour up classic cocktails and personalized drinks for your birthday party, wedding, or corporate dance-off. At every event, we haul ice, arrange glassware, draft menus, and pour drinks to take care of all your needs. And at the end of the evening, we even trudge away with all the lipstick-stained glasses, tiki umbrellas, and empty cans so you can get a headstart on nursing your hangover away. 

Book us now and guzzle a G&T wherever your next event is.

You can picture this mobile bar service, can’t you?

You can imagine a crew showing up at your backyard BBQ with bags of ice over their shoulder. The perfectly organized glasses. The customized cocktails to fit your theme. And at the end of the night, you can see your uncle snoring away in a hammock while bags of recycling and garbage are quietly hauled away. 

The messaging you use inspires your ideal clients to picture what working with you is actually like. So help your clients do less guesswork by painting that picture clearly with a little personality. 

How?

While I included a touch of suggestion #1 (super-specific details) by talking about lipstick-stained glasses and snoring in the mobile bar example, the biggest change was in the verbs I chose. 

Verbs are action words. They give movement and energy to your writing. 

Make, fit, prepare, take…these are all vague verbs that don’t paint a picture of what’s actually going on in your story. Swap them out for high-energy, concrete words, like haul, pour, trudge, or guzzle, and you instantly see, feel, and understand what’s happening. 

Drink your Blue Hawaiian vs Chug your Blue Hawaiian

Improve your writing vs Electrify your writing

Plan your schedule vs Carve out your schedule

Verbs set the mood for your story. If you’re picking bland, vague, corporate-sounding ones then that’s how your message comes across. Instead, choose verbs you can see, feel, hear, and imagine in your mind. 

Build A Word Bank To Match Your Brand Personality

Your word bank is where you go to instantly liven up your messaging. 

It’s a collection (a list, an Excel sheet, or lime green Post-it notes scattered around your desk) of words that fit your personality and tone of voice. So when you start using any humdrum, boring words like improve, advance, or good, you have a go-to spot to pull from when you need to add some oomph. 

What should be in your word bank?

The standard verbs, adjectives, and nouns, but also include phrases, idioms, or core messaging that resonate with your brand voice and your target audience. 

How do you find words to add to your word bank?

Browse Wordhippo or PowerThesaurus and jot down any words that strike your fancy.

Keep a running note on your phone to add to whenever you read a phrase in a book, on a website, in an email, or even on a coupon.

Read the lyrics to your favourite songs or skim the back-cover blurbs of your must-read books.

But always keep in mind your brand’s tone of voice and audience understanding above all else. If the words you choose don’t fit your brand or confuse your readers, then they aren’t making the impact you want. 

For example, the word bewitching conjures up an entrancing image but it doesn’t fit my earthy, grounded, approachable brand vibe. 

Personality-Packed Website Copy That Bursts At The Seams

Let’s have a quick recap on adding personality to your writing. 

First, get more specific about your likes, dislikes, goals, and skills than the oversharing grandma who asks for help reaching a can of beans at the grocery store. Then, swap your lacklustre, colourless verbs for high-energy words you can picture in your mind. Finally, build a word bank of on-brand words and phrases to make your future writing easy and breezy. 

Treading the line between genuine personality-packed writing and junior-high flashbacks is tricky. If you’re struggling to land on a brand voice that feels genuine and captivating, then reach out to inquire about done-for-you website copy!

It’s time to ditch the corporate buzzwords and add your personality to your writing.