12 Tiny Tips to Make Your Marketing Messages Sing
Why are some messages missable while others are irresistible? It’s the tiny techniques in your writing that are music to your audience’s ears.
It’s that feeling when you first hear a song that hits you in the heart. You don’t always understand what makes something stand out from the rest of the noise. Yes, a killer beat captivates. But, it’s also likely it’s the rhythm of the words that’s reeling you in.
I grew up in a music-obsessed household. Naturally, the magic of music captured the hearts of my sister and I. While most children danced their worries away (and I did too), I was also absolutely enchanted by the lyrics. I’d clip lyrics featured in Smash Hits magazine. I’d print them out from the internet. I’d study them. I was fascinated by the mastery of songwriting at play.
My inability to carry a tune meant I never entertained the idea of songwriting. But, decades on, I realise, that my love for songwriting reinvented itself into my marketing career. Because, so much of marketing is using the right words that speak to your audience - or subtly serenade them.
In this blog, I’m sharing my top 12 tips to make your marketing sing:
1. Have a hook
Let’s start with copywriting 101. Have a hook. This is a memorable moment that attracts attention. It’s the stop-the-scroll type strategy designed to draw your audience into the rest of your communication. Think Britney Spears opening with, “I think I did it again…”.
Example: Apple opened its famous Think Different campaign with, “Here’s to the crazy ones.”
2. Don’t overwork workhorse words
In marketing, clarity is king. Complexity confuses. But, some words work so hard for everyone, that they don’t stand out for anyone anymore. So, give overworked workhorse words a break. For clarity, plain English is the gold standard. But, to spice things up, mix in hints of more unique Latin flair. This will make your marketing clear and compelling.
Example: Swap “empower your potential” to “liberate your potential.”
By switching the often overworked ‘empower’, your audience will be less desensitised to your message.
3. Tidy into threes
Humans are conditioned to look for patterns in our environment. When there are three, we can see the pattern more easily. When there is more, we can miss it. Arrange in threes for marketing that resonates.
Example: The Declaration of Independence uses, “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
4. Create contrast. Add the anti-hero.
Creating contrast in visual design helps the most important elements pop. The same goes for your writing. Contrast helps make the value (and the potential failure) clearer to your audience.
Example: Kate Perry sang,
“You’re hot, then you're cold
You're yes, then you're no
You're in, then you're out
You're up, then you're down…”
The child-play simplicity of this delivery makes it impossible to ignore.
5. Add alliteration
Alliteration repeats the same initial consonant to create a rhythmic effect. With sweet subtlety, the catchiness makes your ears pay attention.
Example: Sex sells
6. Rhyme
You’re never too old for a rhyme. It’s how we first learned. With hearable harmony, it’s music to our ears.
Example: The real deal
7. Mix in metaphors
Metaphors make vivid comparisons that allow abstract ideas to become more relatable.
Example: Instead of saying taste the colours, Skittles said, “Taste the Rainbow.”
8. Play with paradoxes
Paradoxes create intrigue through the juxtaposition of opposing ideas.
Example: The humble brag
To get extra creative, take a popular paradox and return it to its original idea.
Example: “Less is more” might become “Less is less”.
As we’re already conditioned for certain ideas, an unexpected twist stands out.
9. Repeat yourself
Just like any song chorus, repeat yourself to reinforce your idea.
Example: Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream speech.”
10. Have a hint of hyperbole
Hyperbolic language adds a drop of drama to potentially plain points. The exaggeration attracts attention.
Example: Muhamud Ali saying, “I am the greatest.”
11. Move to a rhythm
Creating a rhythm creates harmony through your message.
Example: Abraham Lincoln said, “Of the people, by the people, for the people.”
It’s a natural flow that makes audiences move to your message.
12. Share a story
Facts are twenty times more likely to be remembered when they’re shared as part of a story. So, for a share of your audience’s attention, share stories.
Example: Nike’s Just Do It athlete storytelling campaigns
Don’t let your words get lost in a sea of sameness. Make your marketing sing. Win the hearts of your people.
