Is Your Messaging Awkward Or Appropriate? How To Create Tone In Your Copy
Written by: Sheral DeVaughn, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
"What were you thinking?"
"Do whatever you think is best."
"Is that what you're going to wear?"
Three written sentences.
Several different ways to interpret the meaning behind them. When you can see and hear the person, it's easier to understand the meaning behind the words. You can listen to inflection or watch body language to decide if the person is angry, indifferent, etc.
When you can see and hear the person, it's easier to understand the meaning behind the words. You can listen to inflection or watch body language to decide if the person is angry, indifferent, etc.
But How Do You Decipher The True Intent Of A Message When It's Written In Your Copy?
It comes down to written tone.
Tone in copy is the choice of words we use in a sentence to convey our attitude and emotions in a specific situation. Tone allows you to be more relatable to your audience. It helps you connect with customer emotions, needs, wants, and interests. The better you can relate to them, the more they will engage with your content and messaging.
How Do You Choose Your Tone?
While you want your brand voice to remain consistent, your tone should be subject to change. It should reflect the subject matter of your writing. Even if your brand is upbeat, if you're writing about the growing number of homeless people, your content won't reflect the same upbeat note.
Once you've decided what the subject tone should be, keep it from start to finish in your individual piece of copy.
To determine the tone of your copy, ask yourself the following questions:
1. What are you trying to achieve with your messaging?
Is there a certain reaction or response you're trying to get? Is it to generate sales or make others aware of a cause?
2. Who is the audience you're trying to reach?
Are you talking to a single twenty-something, or are you trying to connect with another business owner? Knowing your audience will determine how you speak to them.
3. How will the tone influence your audience? How will it bring about an action or motivate them to a specific call to action?
Which words do you think of as you answer these questions? Are they formal, friendly, educational? Are they happy, serious, professional, funny, sad, angry, or motivational? The best way to determine tone is to think about how you'd talk in-person to your audience about the subject. Then use the same tone and emotion in your writing.
How Do You Write Tone?
You've figured out the delivery tone you want for your copy, but how do you actually write it out? Do you need to think about your diction and your syntax?
Diction refers to the words you use (slang, jargon, emotional words).
An example would be the difference between "she laughed loudly" and "she cackled at the top of her lungs."
Similar messaging, but one is appropriate to tell in a meeting; the other is more appropriate for a chat with friends.
Syntax is how you string words together to communicate pace, inflection, and pitch in your writing.
Let's look at another example:
"She laughed so hard she shook."
"She shook from laughing so hard, shaking uncontrollably with each breath and giggle."
Both sentences deliver the same message, but the first one is more informative.
The second makes you feel it. It's more descriptive. Neither sentence is better than the other. Each one is appropriate for a certain situation.
Finally, be unique and descriptive. The tone of your copy shines through with the use of stories and examples. It helps your audience grasp the information and the context. It strengthens the connection between you and your audience. It gives greater opportunity for engagement.
Why Is Tone So Important For Your Copy?
We make the majority of our decisions using emotion over logic. One of the hard and fast rules of business is to appeal to a customer's emotions if you want to drive sales. The tone is what triggers and creates the emotions that drive us to make the decision to buy. Whatever our call to action might be, the tone is the vehicle to get your customer to answer it.
So if you aren't getting the results you're looking for in your business copy, maybe you ought to check your tone.
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Sheral DeVaughn, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Sheral DeVaughn is a word assassin in the Copywriting and Content Creation industry. She spent 15 years as a top-rated on-air radio personality, converting listeners to sales for the broadcasting company as well as advertisers and sponsors. She took those same verbal and writing skills into the Wine & Spirits industry, where she spent another 10+ years writing product descriptions, brand histories, sales sheets, and marketing/educational materials. She is the Owner/Founder of C3 Specialties, a Creative Copy Content service. She helped launch Ava Dean Beauty, the beauty brand co-owned by AJ McLean of the Backstreet Boys, providing website content and strategic email marketing content. She collaborates on projects with and for SB PACE, a high-energy boutique Business Coaching and Consulting firm producing online coaching academies and seminars, business podcasts, and Amazon best-selling books designed to empower small businesses. Her motto: "Every brand has a story to tell. It's my job to write it, so their voice is heard.”
