4 Tips For Writing With Personality

As a business owner, you want your customers to feel like they know you.

That's easy enough when you're face-to-face… but what about when you have to write for your website, social media, emails, or other content?

Suddenly you feel like you sound either…

a) Stiff as a board and way too business-y, or
b) Weird and fake

The good news is, you don’t necessarily have to be a professional writer to write with personality.

Here are a few tools you can use to find your voice and capture it in your writing:

1. Steal from yourself.

When it comes to writing with personality, the best place to look for inspiration is… you!

Think of how you talk to people you know. When and how do you use humor? What words do you use (or not use)? Pay attention to nuances in your everyday conversations, and bring them into your writing.

Don’t worry whether it’s “professional” or even grammatically correct. Just write how you talk.

When I write for clients, this is how I capture their voice: I just listen a lot.

2. Share stories of yourself or customers

Telling a story is the most reliable way to make your content more human - and make it stand our entirely from others. Even if you're saying the same thing as someone else in your industry, only you have access to your personal and business stories. Use them.

Remember: people will choose a story over a sales pitch any day. An email with a story in the body and a pitch in the P.S. works better than a full-blown sales letter.

3. Create customer personas.

Communication requires an audience. So why don't we write as if we're writing to other people?

Creating customer personas gives you a tangible person to imagine in your mind as you write. Start by writing down what you know about your best customers, clients, or donors.

4. Visualize a real-life conversation.

Once you have your customer persona in mind, imagine you're at a coffee shop talking to them over an oatmilk cortado. Or a pumpkin spice latte. Or a plain ol' cup of drip brew. Whatever.

Just close your eyes and imagine yourself saying things to a real person. What words are you using? What words are you not using? What tone do you take?

This is especially helpful for writing 1-on-1 communications like emails, fundraising letters, and social media posts.

Bonus Tip: Don't overthink it!

You don't have to be anything you're not. Don't try to sound like anyone else.

It's easy to envy the most bright, spunky, fun, and super-creative brands. But it's 100% okay to be a brand that's warm and nurturing. Or clean and professional. Or outlandish and shocking. Or just plain weird.

So feel free to use wit, puns, humor, or four-letter words… just make sure that it’s intentional, authentic, and relevant.

Writing with personality doesn't have to be hard.

Keep these tips in mind when crafting copy for your website, emails, or social media posts...

You might just find yourself actually enjoying writing!