The Delightful Sound of Personality In Your Writing
How do you give your writing more personality? You write with style, character, and excitement.
Hi, I’m Ben Watkins 👋 Thanks for joining another edition of La Vie Ben Rose. Every week, I unravel copywriting questions, examples, and conversion tactics from the most recognized brands. I also look at the online writing trends that revolutionize how you write.
My wife and I are watching the BBC Sherlock with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. And it’s so good.
One thing I noticed is how Sherlock needs Watson. Then, I realized that Watson is the voice of the reader. He’s the personality. You can’t have Sherlock, this robotic, brainiac, non-emotional human, be the entire show. You need someone with Sherlock to be relatable.
That’s what your writing needs. That’s what your readers need. You can’t have knowledge and experience without personality. I mean, you can. But what fun is that?
You also don’t need permission to write with personality. Your English teacher isn’t looking over your shoulder. Nobody is saying, “WHOAAA, tone down the personality.”
Readers are craving writing with a personality more than ever.
The good news is that there’s a simple way to achieve it.
Get Excited About the Topic You’re Writing About
If you’re not excited about the topic you’re writing about, your readers will definitely see it.
Reminds me of this quote I read from the wonderful William Zinsser:
Your writing needs you to believe in it. You need to write with excitement and passion as if you love the topic you’re writing about.
You want the reader to care about the topic you’re writing about.
Drink Coffee
Get the French Press out and make a pot right now. I’ll wait.
All good? Onto the next one.
Throw Perfection Out the Window
When I was ten years old (more like twenty-five), I ruthlessly aimed to write perfection. I wanted to share my knowledge, so I wrote articles like a pompous weirdo.
Word of wisdom: Throw your perfection out the window. It crushes your personality like a bad-tasting, store-bought pie. Instead, make that pie homemade. And if it tastes terrible, oh well. You try again until it tastes like it came out of a 1940s pie commercial.
Write With Humor
This is my favorite way to write with personality. Inject a shot of humor into your writing.
But don’t force it.
Nothing is worse than trying to force funny. Believe me, I’ve tried. I’ve tried in the most awkward of real-life situations. Humor should come naturally. If it doesn’t land, laugh it off like you’re an insanely weird person.
The thing with humor is that some people will think you’re funny. Some people don’t think anything is funny.
Find your crowd. They’ll love what you have to say.
Get Honest
Everyone loves a good, honest story. You should be honest if you want to get personal and let your personality shine.
Your stories are unique. Disclaimer: you don’t need to tell a sob story every time. Tell stories that you believe are worth telling.
Nobody Cares About Vanilla Opinions
Vanilla opinions are boring opinions. They don’t hook readers.
Writing with personality is about believing in something. You have something to say because you feel it in your bones. So, don’t sit on the fence. say it with confidence and proclaim it.
Some creators take this to the extreme and literally say crazy opinions all the time because they like creating a stir. You don’t need to go that far.
The point is, don’t be afraid to share your opinions.
Use Similies and Metaphors Like…
Readers appreciate it when you paint a picture in their minds. They want you to stir their imagination. They want your words to help them understand your stories.
Your writing personality is like a chef preparing a meal in front of you. When you see how they do it, you have more appreciation for it. You visualize it. You understand on another level.
Paint that picture for your readers with similies and metaphors.
Write for Your 1,000 True Fans
This particular point is so important that it’s worth an extra half point.
Growing up, you may have realized you didn’t need 100,000 friends. You didn’t even need 100 friends. Or 20 friends. You needed one friend who would listen to you. And that friend was always by your side.
The same is true with writing. Your 1,000 true fans need your personality. You want to write to one reader, that one friend. They want the weird, sassy, and snarky writer that you truly are. Or maybe you have a wildly different personality.
No matter what, you only need one reader to love your work.
Remember, your personality is more important than ever in the age of growing an audience faster than the speed of light. You don’t need to write a certain way or style or apply every copywriting principle under the sun.
What your writing needs and what your readers crave is personality.
They crave what you have to say and how you say it.
When you're ready, here are a few ways I can help you 👇
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Thanks for reading!
Ben Watkins
What a delightful post! Using simple language from your heart to mine was exciting and motivating. Thank you