This piece of genius came from a seed planted during a conversation I had with one of my fabulous clients. That seed continued to rattle around all afternoon, until finally it found fertile ground. It took root and then turned into a mighty idea that’s still bearing fruit.

As I’ve discussed in previous emails… words are powerful.

Words can be a wand you create magic with. Or they can be a weapon you use against others… or yourself, if you’re not careful.

One of my mentors once told me that money doesn’t have a conscience (because it goes to bad people and criminals as easily as it does to good people)… and I think the same applies to words.

Words don’t have a conscience… we do.

And for professional writers of words… this can be a problem.

Words that were once used with gay abandon (with unrestrained impulsiveness and enthusiasm… by the way, “gay” here means happy and without cares), are now scorned and outlawed.

You don’t need to look far for a great example… To “trump” something means you outrank it or defeat it. And although the meaning is still the same, there is a highly emotional link to the American President with trump as his surname.

So, if you are trying to elicit a strong emotion in your reader… you want to make sure it’s the right one.

Which is why it pays to think about the words you choose.

As we all know, words have a magical and powerful way to make us to recall emotions and memories. But it works positively and negatively.

I hear and see all the “badass” gurus out there spruiking (Australian for promote or publicize) their special blend of “Badassery” B.S. They tell their followers to say what they want and don’t care about what the “snowflakes” think.

They say it’s good to polarize people and have a clear message.

Good on them! I mean the guru, that is.

Their followers on the other hand, well, they have a problem they don’t even know they have.

The problem is, there’s already a person out there being a “badass” … the guru! So, anyone else who uses the same wording and message just looks like a me-too marketer.

The words the “badass” gurus use walk a fine line between positivity and negativity. And I’d say that fine line leads right to marketing mediocrity.

Why? Well, when everyone is saying the same thing, the same way… no one is different. No one stands out.

And when the message is the same, the emotion of the words and message is dulled down.

Instead of the impressive badass “no fucks” given message they think they’re sending… all their message conveys is “meh!”

Emotion is what gives words their edge and power, especially when it comes to marketing.

Using tired or negatively loaded words, will kill your message.

Which is why you need to…

Knowledge Nugget #149: Choose Your Words Wisely!

When I was first learning copywriting, I was often astonished when one of the industry influencers said they labored over a sentence or a word for an hour.

I thought it was ridiculous to spend that much time working out which word worked best.

That was… until I did it myself. And when I did, I finally understood why they did it.

What I didn’t understand is, using the wrong word, sentence or phrase are like little “ejector seats” or “booby traps” (can we still say booby?) in your writing. And they will make your reader stop reading.

Anytime you make a person think or prompt a memory you can’t control with your writing… you’ve lost them.

So, this is why master copywriters slave over their copy, making every word count. Because they know that one false move will sink them!

Another thing these masters know is, when you polarize people, you significantly reduce the number of people you can sell to.

That means when you use inclusive and positively loaded words… you can boost your potential sales.

So, all the followers of these bad ass gurus need to do, is to convey the same message a little more eloquently.

Wow! What a groundbreaking idea!

This principle also works in the Multi-Level Marketing space. People in these businesses all regurgitate the same message over and over.

What might have once been a unique and exciting message, is now old and overdone.

When you know that words are portals to emotions and memories, you can easily stand out in a sea of sameness.

While other people try to spread messages filled with empty words, you can take people on an emotional journey with word pictures… just by using well thought out words.

Most people think that copywriters just slap together some words and that’s it. Well, some do and it’s obvious when they do because the words lack any emotion.

But a true wordsmith will be specific with their word choice.

Parris (my mentor) regularly asks me to justify why I have chosen a particular word when other words might have worked as well. His question helps me to only chose the best words.

Last week, my client quizzed me on my word choice a few times. She was curious because she wants to be a better writer herself. I happily took her through my thought process and she was amazed at the depth I went to when I write.

Then she gave me a huge compliment… “I don’t only read and hear your words… I feel them too.”

In that moment, I realized that my pursuit of perfect words is not wasted. It makes a difference. In fact, it makes a huge difference.

So how can you make people feel your writing?

The famous Chinese proverb by Benjamin Franklin (… no one actually knows who said it first) “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn” gives us a huge clue.

You need to involve your reader in your writing. (People like to learn things. It gives them a little shot of dopamine!) And a great way to do that is to make them feel or remember something.

But remember, if you upset your reader too much without any reason, you will trigger the wrong emotion and chemicals… and they will stop reading.

When words are used properly they are multidimensional… they will transcend the page.

This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes…

“At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did,
they will remember how you made them feel.” ― Maya Angelou

Make people feel words.

Until next week… take care and happy writing : )

Pauline xxx

Pauline Longdon
a.k.a. “The Copy Alchemist”

P.S.   The Second Edition of the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary contains full entries for 171,476 words in current use, and 47,156 obsolete words. There really isn’t any excuse for using the same tired, old words as everyone else in your writing.

There’s a warning though, these words are not created equal. Be careful of words with a negative loading. If you notice, there are 47,156 words that were once used, but are now outdated. If you’re not sure of what meaning a word has, look it up or use another word. There’s plenty to choose from.

P.P.S.  As I’ve said before, when these “badass” gurus use the F-bomb to differentiate themselves… where do they go when the F-bomb fatigues? Well, some have been firing the C-bomb around for effect, but it makes them look stupid and it’s fatiguing fast. So, what’s after that word? It looks to me like they’re about to run out of words!

P.P.P.S.  “Feeling” writing is more than just feeling emotion. Each word carries an energy and when they are placed together in a sentence… they work together, or against each other.

It’s kind of like building a stone wall. Some stones sit together perfectly and build a strong, attractive wall. But when a single stone is put in the wrong place, it can compromise the strength and the look of the entire wall.

Choose your words wisely!

Thanks For Reading   : )