College was a wild time for me.

I was a theology major and an English minor (that boils down to a LOT of papers I had to write), and as electives I took music, history, and psychology.

Psychology classes were fascinating to me since I had the best professor who answered all our questions with a chuckle, and he deeply invested into our time together.

On the other hand, I took an extensive amount of writing classes including creative writing (my favorite). I learned how to tell a good story in flowery words while peer reviews made me better at grammar.

My psychology teacher would praise me for well written essays while my English teacher would comment on my use of psychology in my creative pieces.

I always categorized them as separate, but equal, experiences and compliments.

But what if they were interconnected?

As I delved into the world of copywriting years after college, I learned more about the psychology behind it. The saying goes, writing copy is tough but writing persuasive copy is even more so.

I wish I knew the truth of that statement when I first started!

Like many things in life, we tend to put psychology and the English language in separate boxes. There in the box, they are separated and tidy, clean and distant, and they don’t mingle.

But, hear me out now, I think that’s a flaw. The two are not mutually exclusive. *cue the fanfare*

There is a strong connection between our words and our brains (surprise, surprise!), and this translates VERY well into….can you guess it?

Copywriting!

Learning the ins and outs of something as complex as the mind AND how we use words is a bit exhausting, but here are some basic suggestions when it comes to using psychology in your writing and marketing materials.

Active VS Passive

How we say things matters (you’ve probably heard your mom tell you that, haven’t you?)

When we learn to write our five point paragraphs in middle school, we tend to learn syntax and how to capture our readers through an active voice. However, many of us negate using an active voice as we grow up and opt for a more passive tone since that’s how we talk (friendly hint, how you talk is NOT how you should write).

Below is a great example of active vs passive and how to spot the difference.

Passive: Some tidbits and tricks are explained in this article.

Active: This article explains interesting tactics to push you forward.

See that subtle change? Finding the proper word choice will revolutionize your writing.

Don’t Be Afraid of Emotions

Our emotions are tricky, we cannot quite control them as we think we would like to. Some days we start crying for absolutely no reason, and in the same moment we’re laughing and having the best time.

Confusing, isn’t it?

Instead of using our emotions, sometimes we opt to stuff them down deep inside as to avoid what we perceive as weakness or even conflict. Let me encourage you with this:

Emotions are especially useful in writing!

Always, and I mean always, try and play to your audience’s emotions. Whether is frustration in failing on a project you can help with, or the joy you promise with your product: USE IT.

Praise Your Reader and Sound Human

Maybe one of my favorite tips: praise your reader in your writing while staying away from sounding…robotic. There’s something about the tone when you’re reading an article, blog, or website, and you feel like they just….get you. Ya know?

Most people probably won’t catch the subtle praise of the reader on their own accord, but once someone points it out – THEN you see it!

MailChimp has done a great job making that human to human connection with their messaging. Enchanting Marketing wrote a great article about tone in writing and mentions MailChimp mastering that perfect tone,

“…MailChimp’s real trick is to vary the tone of its writing. Its writers first think about their reader and their mood, and then vary their writing style depending on that mood. This is what makes them more human. For instance, here’s an example message from MailChimp – when a reader has successfully sent a campaign: ‘Fine piece of work! You deserve a raise!’”

Sounding human is a piece of advice we could all benefit from. That’s why brands like Amazon, Coca-Cola, and others pull in people with their marketing and words because they sound inviting and attentive.

Leave the corporate words out and instead aim for personable. It goes a long way!
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Whew, yes I know that was a lot of information pouring in but how do you feel about it? Does it feel attainable? Frustrating? Somewhere in between?

If you have questions on it, drop me a line. I love talking about writing and engaging!

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