How do I add personality to my website copy?

A question many businesses wonder is, “How do I add personality to my writing?”

Defining and capturing a brand voice is a challenging task when you look at the full picture. So instead, let’s break down 5 easy ways you can add personality to your copy.

This will give you inspiration and website copy tips to add personality to your writing, with actionable changes you can make today.

How to add personality to your brand messaging – Divided by Brand podcast

I was a guest on the Divided by Brand podcast talking about this exact topic. If you prefer listening to reading, check out this conversation.

I also talk about the common mistakes brands make when it comes to their copy.

You can listen to the full episode below or head to the dedicated website for my episode – how can you add personality to brand messaging.

Key moments:

10:50 – From artist to copywriter

17:40 – What is brand messaging?

20:30 – What are the most common brand messaging mistakes?

26:50 – Where to start with personality & brand messaging

30:12 – 5 easy ways to add personality to your brand’s website copy

Why does personality matter in your copywriting?

Your brand personality is what sets you apart. It’s how you build trust and connection with your customers. Although it’s an intangible product, when your brand shows personality in its messaging, you can –

• Connect to your ideal customer
• Become a trusted authority
• Make more money

Think about your favourite musician or band.

Why do they stay in your mind? I bet it’s one of three things –

1. Their unique voice
2. Their story
3. Or how they make you feel

As a business owner, you need to know how to write hit songs AND create loyal fans.

With the right message, you will stand apart from the competition. Adding your unique voice and story to your messaging will create more loyal fans. More loyal fans mean you sell more. Fact.

So, let’s get into some actionable website copy tips…

5 website copy tips to add personality to your message

One important thing to mention before we get started is you need to know who your audience is. Without this, you could be wasting your time. Get that clear first.

With every point, ask ‘Is this relevant to my customer’ and ‘How will my customer respond to this’ before you apply it.

1. Microcopy

Let’s start with the little details – microcopy.

What is microcopy?

It’s the small, seemingly unimportant parts of your copy. Usually in the smallest font on the page. Often overlooked, when used well microcopy is small but mighty.

Think about the T&Cs section or cookie notices that are usually ignored because they’re boring. Use them as an opportunity to add an extra layer of personality to your website.

Microcopy can help you to do things like tell your reader –

• What you’re planning to do with their data
• What to expect after they sign up
• How a free trial works

It can be effective to set expectations and offer instructions. Good microcopy with personality can give your readers a nudge in the right direction.

Below is an example from Mailchimp of how they use microcopy to enhance their brand voice. It’s so ‘them’ and makes the reader’s experience consistent.

Action to improve your microcopy:

Anywhere a small message to your reader is needed, make it fun or interesting.

3 things to try with your website’s microcopy –

1. Update your cookie banner or add a fun message to your error 404 page
2. Include a statement about how you use data on your email sign up form
3. Write a sentence under your main header to address potential friction

Involve your customers. Add in some humour or an unexpected twist.

2. Call to actions (CTAs)

What are CTAs?

They’re when you ask your reader to do something.

Any button or linked text asking customers to move forwards in their buying journey is a CTA.

Standard (boring) CTAs include –

• Buy
• Contact
• Get in touch
• Sign up
• Read more

Not only are they a snooze-fest, but they also don’t persuade the reader to act.

Instead, you should be thinking about –

• How will buying your product improve their life?
• Why should they get in touch or sign up?
• What’s in it for them?

The diagram below from the Marketing Examples website is a great illustration of this. 

Action to add personality to your CTAs:

To add personality to your website, find all current CTA buttons and think about how you can make them more persuasive. Tell them what they will get if they click or sign up by painting a picture of the outcome. Let them know why they should take the next step.

Have some fun with it.

Here’s that podcast episode again, if you fancy listening to this topic instead – 

3. Stop weeing on everyone (speak to the reader)

How many times do you use the word ‘we’ in your website copy?

Instead of saying things like ‘we are experts in X’ and ‘we have the best team’, how can you make the reader the focus?

Avoid using ‘we’ too much. Wherever possible, address your reader with ‘you’.

Think of it this way – if your website is weeing on everybody, you’re doing it wrong.

Stop saying ‘Look how amazing we are’ and ‘We won this award 5 years ago’. Because you sound like you’re blowing your own trumpet.

Why should your customers care?

Monzo is a great example of addressing the reader directly and turning the focus to them (while still showing their expertise). 

Action to stop weeing on everybody:

Go through your website copy and change every ‘we’ to ‘you’. It might take some practice to reframe your sentences, but it’s worth it. Notice how it naturally changes the tone to be more conversational and relaxed.

4. Vary sentence length to add rhythm

Don’t panic, I’m not going to tell you to learn about Shakespeare’s use of iambic pentameters or writing haikus. It’s easy to start adding rhythm to your writing when you know the basic principle.

Make sure you have different sentence lengths. Short ones to build suspense. Longer ones to give your readers a more detailed view on something. Be sure to mix it up.

Keep your audience engaged – don’t clump too many sentences together. Even better if you can emphasise things in one or two-lined paragraphs.

Nobody likes to read a clumpy bit of text. Use white space to your advantage.

Copy is visual, too.

Some words need more space around them.

Below is a classic example of rhythm by Gary Provost. 

Action to add more rhythm to your writing:

Now, go away and edit any large chunks of text or overly long sentences. Add rhythm. Keep it interesting. If you want bonus brownie points, add in alliteration.

Even without changing any sentence meanings, you can change the rhythm by breaking it up. Delete the word ‘and’. Replace it with a full stop to change the flow. This not only makes your writing sound better but also makes it more accessible.

As with all things to do with writing and brand voice, there’s no one right answer. Keep playing with the structure until you read it and it builds your story the right way.

5. Answer objections upfront

Do you have something people keep asking? Are you repeating the same things over and over again? Is there something you could be doing better?

Tell your customers these things in advance. Have fun with it. You can even admit when you’re not sure or you made a mistake…

Because even if you don’t have a definitive answer, addressing your customer’s concerns upfront gives them the power to feel informed. Remove all reasonable doubt by explaining the process, including what might affect the results. It allows them to trust you more and builds on your personality.

Read more about why you should address your potential customer’s concerns in your content.

I love this example from Skittles – they took the lime flavour of their sweets away, which must have caused some outrage. But they then own up to it being a mistake on their website…

Action to answer your customer objections:

List all the frequently asked questions you hear from customers. Categorise them into each service you offer. Write down the biggest hesitations of your customers. What made people not buy from you in the past?

Write content that answers each question in as much detail as you can. Display them on your website or blog page. Be bold and talk about the problems of your industry, too. Go against common enemies. How can you answer these in an interesting way that suits your brand personality?

Work your way through the list. Or if these website copy tips are too much for you to keep up with, hire someone to help you write regular content (oh, hey).

Create a consistent brand personality

Did those website copy tips help you? Are you inspired to make some changes to your messaging? I hope this has given you the confidence to add personality to your website copy and brand messaging.

The most important thing with your brand voice is consistency. Without consistency, you won’t be trusted in the same way. Don’t jar customers with different vibes – make sure when someone follows your social media profiles, they feel like you’re the same brand as when they send an enquiry.

Get your website copy done for you!

If you’re finding it impossible to capture your personality and bring it to life through your website copy, that’s my speciality. I have a signature 5-step process to C.R.A.F.T. your message, so you get personality-packed copy you can finally be proud of.

Learn more about my done-for-you website copywriting package here.