3 builders who never spoke to each other

Address one reader, and address them often

Write to the single person in front of the page rather than an imagined crowd, in the second person, as though you are already mid-conversation. Pack the copy with pronouns, since people pay attention when they are spoken to directly. Typing a real person's name at the top of a draft and deleting it before sending is the cheapest way to hold that voice.

The method

1. 01

   Write to the single person reading the page, in an informal voice, rather than to an imagined crowd of a thousand.

2. 02

   Bring the reader into the copy rather than addressing them from a distance.

3. 03

   Draw the reader into the post instead of addressing them from a distance.

4. 04

   Pack the copy with personal pronouns, because people attend when they are addressed directly.

5. 05

   Address one specific ideal customer in the second person as though mid-conversation, because copy written for a category reads as robotic.

What it returned

• He picks someone whose objections he can pre-empt, which also stops the writing sounding pretentious

• He writes to his brother-in-law, who texted afterwards that the broadcast had felt personally addressed to him

Sources

• The 80/20 of Copywriting: How Copy Can Elevate Your Freelance Game In Just 7 Days - Double Your FreelancingListon Witherill · doubleyourfreelancing.com · Improve Your Copy In Just 7 Days · 2015-08-28
• The person on the other side of the screenJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · The person on the other side of the screen · undated
• My guide to conversational copywritingHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · 1/ Don't write AT the reader · undated
• 7 practical ways to write copy that convertsHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · 5) Write for one reader · undated
• 70% of Calvin Klein's tweets are questionsHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · 70% of Calvin Klein's tweets are questions · undated
• How I use email for marketingNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · How I write · 2013-06-28
• How to write marketing emails that don’t suckNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · How I write emails · 2013-04-12