4 Grammar Rules You Need to Break
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In this week's episode, join me as I take you back to middle school English class and discuss 4 grammar rules to BREAK if you want to write great copy.
I also unveil a method I developed over 13 years of writing to overcome procrastination and writer's block.
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(This is transcribed by 🤖 so please excuse the funky sentence breaks, misplaced periods, and typos. The robots are doing their best!)
[00:00:00]     So for some reason, when we sit down to write, in our minds, we put on this little monocle, and we set a glass of the finest scotch atop a Tolstoy novel, and suddenly we're trying to be this distinguished, learned writer on the page. And it doesn't work, and here's why.Hello and welcome to the Copy Lab podcast, the marketing and business podcast that teaches you how to write better, sell more, and ignite your business even if you suck at writing. I'm your host Sarah Estes, entrepreneur, copywriter, marketing strategist, and founder of Copy Tiger, where I help change makers, disruptors, and dreamers, get their message to the masses.
Let's get started.
Hello, hello, welcome to this week's episode. This is episode 9, and as always I am super excited to be here. Before we get into the episode, I want to give you a quick tip. So I have been talking to a couple fellow copywriters about procrastination, which is just one of the worst things about being a writer because you need to feel somewhat creative and somewhat in the mood to be able to produce a lot of writing that you think is good.
So it's something that is definitely at the mercy of the muse sometimes, but that doesn't mean that you don't need to still get work done. So I've been writing professionally for 13 years. I've been, I've been on staff at a newspaper, I've been a journalist, I've been a freelance writer for magazines, I've done long form essays, blog posts, advice columns, you name it, I have done it in the last decade plus.
And what I've learned is, I think, a way to, uh, avoid that procrastination. Because I've always had to write on deadline, meaning the stuff had to be turned in and it had to be good, so there really wasn't a lot of time to overthink or procrastinate. And so I want to share with you what I learned to do to get over the hump of staring at a blank page, writing, and having that, you know, that idea of writer's block.
So here's how I approach this, I call it creating the container and it sounds simple, but it's actually a method that is going to change your life if you don't already do this. So that's why I want to share it with you. If you are a copywriter or maybe you're a business owner who has something that you want to write that you've been putting off, whatever it is.
So creating the container just means, let's say you're working in Google docs, you open a new Google doc, you title it, whatever you're working on. And so maybe it's copy tiger homepage. copy or maybe it's September 12th newsletter. Whatever it is, actually create the document so that it's on your computer, that there is a container for it to go in when you do feel like writing.
Now, if you want to take it a step further, what I do, and again, this is when I'm just feeling not creative and my brain is not in the space of writing. This is how I move. the needle forward even if I'm not ready to just dig in and write and be creative. I will take that document because I've already created it already lives on my computer so there's a container for all this writing to go in when I'm ready.
So what I'll do is I will put the sections of what I'm trying to write. So let's say I need to write a sales page. I will Literally type headline subheadline. I'll essentially make a template. It's just like an outline and I will Format everything so I'm put the headline in h1 font. And again, this is not I'm not actually writing this stuff I'm literally typing the word headline subheadline CTA button and then I'll write this is where the body copy goes and I'll write some gibberish whatever but what I'm doing is I am creating a document that looks more similar to the finished copy than just a blank page, right?
So what you're doing when you do that is you're tricking your mind into thinking that you've done a little more than you actually have, but you're eliminating that daunting fear of... the blank page. So you go into more of an editing mode where you're shaping things and you're adding and you're subtracting when you've already got words on the page.
And that's a lot better than trying to create something from nothing essentially. So what I'll do is I'll just fill up the page with all types of things. And if I'm still not feeling creative, which a lot of times that will inspire me to start writing the words. It's interesting. It's kind of like inertia or momentum.
Like when you get going, when you just start moving your fingers and typing out words, sometimes that just kind of starts the engine in a way. And you're able to write from there and you go on and you just start writing the things. Even though you started off completely uninspired and not, you know, able to write.
So sometimes when you just get the wheels turning, then you're able to start writing actual good copy, but sometimes you're not. So what I will do is I will put as much garbage gibberish filler copy as I can to essentially fill up the page as much as possible so that it looks like something's there.
And if I continually I'm just like, I'm not feeling this. I'll go through and I'll format the text. So I will make it look like it's actually a sales page, even if all the copy doesn't really say anything good. And then, if that's it, I'll close it and I'll come back, maybe in a couple hours or maybe the next day, whatever, however much time I need.
And then what happens is that when you come back to that document and you see a lot of words there, you are able to dig in a lot quicker and you're able to get the ball rolling without dealing with so much writer's block. So that's my tip for you. If you're struggling with getting something written or you've been putting something off, create that container, create the place that it's going to go.
put in some filler copy, make it look like the finished product, even if the words aren't actually sensible at all. And that will help you get started. The inertia of actually creating something gets the motor going and will help you build the riding muscle and help you get into the swing of things. All right, so let's get into today's episode, which is all about grammar rules you need to break.
The problem I want to focus on today is formal and salesy language. A lot of people think that copywriting, because it is often writing for a business or writing in a professional space, that it needs to be formal. And that is just not true. Actually, informal copy works way better. So, if you're dealing with a problem, if your copy is too formal, too salesy, then the way to fix it is to write like you talk.
And I preach this over and over again, that great copy is conversational. It's not formal. The best copy sounds like you are talking to your best friend over coffee or over drinks and you're just having a conversation. This has to do a lot with why we get writer's block. So for some reason, when we sit down to write, in our minds we put on this little monocle and we set a glass of the finest scotch atop a Tolstoy novel and suddenly we're trying to be this distinguished, learned writer on the page.
And it doesn't work. What that does is it causes us to be stiff and stilted because it's inauthentic. So when we take on this role of suddenly we need to be this academic philosopher when we're writing, it just makes the copy sound phony and no one really wants to read it. So what I want you to do is instead think of it as copy talking.
Just completely ignore the fact that you're writing. You are not trying to write a novel. All you're doing is talking in text form. So that is an important, important mindset shift. Instead of trying to be this hoity toity fancy writer, I want you to just think of it as talking. In text form, so that's what I mean when I say write like you talk now I'm going to go ahead and apologize to any and all the english teachers out there.
I love you. I respect you, but In copywriting, we're gonna break a lot of your rules. So, let's talk about the stuff that we can throw out the window as copywriters. We all have learned specific things in school that have stuck with us our entire lives. And they're these little rules that we learned in third grade.
They stuck around and we haven't really been able to shake them. So there are a lot of adults walking around this planet with these notions of what makes good writing. And, honestly, a lot of them are just not true. Thank you. So I want to talk about four grammar rules that you definitely learned in English class that we are going to break.
And as a copywriter, you need to just forget about these rules because they're actually going to make your copy worse instead of making it better. So let's jump right in. The first rule you need to break Is ending a sentence in a preposition. We all learn this, we all learn to spot a preposition at the end of the sentence as being just this cliffhanging, awful thing.
But this is the way we talk. We actually use prepositions at the end of our sentences when we're talking. And so it makes no sense in copywriting to completely distort your sentence and make it sound all weird in an effort to keep the preposition from landing on the very end of the sentence. So, what we're going to do here is I'm going to read you some before and after sentences so that you can see the difference of when we write like we talk, it just sounds more natural and it sounds better.
So let's look at prepositions. So an example of a sentence that ends in a preposition. That sounds totally fine is the sentence, what are you waiting for? Right? That's how we say it. That's how we would say it in normal everyday life. But if you are trying to avoid putting the preposition at the end of the phrase, it's going to be.
For what are you waiting? And that sounds like a gentleman from 1870 wearing a suit and a top hat is saying it, right? It's not modern. It's not how we speak and it just doesn't work. And actually every time you try and do that with a sentence, I imagine that guy in a top hat and a suit and a monocle walking the streets of London in 1870 and That's what it sounds like to me.
I call him Monocle Marvin. So here's another sentence Monocle Marvin would say, not a modern day copywriter. He would say, on what did you step? Right? That is so formal. What you need to say is, what did you step on? Right? That is the better way to ask that question. It's totally okay to end a sentence in a preposition, especially if it makes it sound normal.
Don't go distorting your sentences trying to keep the preposition off the end. Alright, the second grammar rule that you need to break is sentence fragments. Use them. See what I did there? We all speak in sentence fragments. It's a natural way, we are not speaking in complete sentences with a, you know, subject, verb, all of the stuff, all the time.
Let's look at a sentence fragment that would be great in copy that we would actually say. It looks like this. Coffee? Yes, please. Okay, so those are two just sentence fragments that could be used in copy and go really well. Another example of a sentence fragment that sounds more natural is, I'm flat broke, but who cares?
I'll take it. The sentence fragment is, but who cares? So the way you would write it is, I'm flat broke, period, but who cares? Question mark. Right, so you can split that up and they can be sentence fragments, and it actually looks better on the page than making it a complete sentence. So another sentence fragment that is great in copy is a sentence like this.
It was the best day of my life, period, until it wasn't. Period. And breaking that up adds a lot of drama on the page, which you want to keep. So consider using those types of fragments to add to the drama of your sentence. Another great sentence fragment that I like to use is something like this. Because we're that good.
And that can be a whole sentence because we're that good. And that can exist somewhere on the page on its own. We were taught in school to always use complete sentences when we're writing, but that actually doesn't reflect how we speak to each other. So I want you to embrace sentence fragments.
understand that they can actually be used for a lot of drama and impact. Sometimes a one word sentence is phenomenal for impact. So there's all different kinds of ways that we can use sentence fragments in our copy. That's a rule that you need to break. The third rule that I want you to break in your copywriting is using slang words.
Now, slang is often looked at as the worst and informal, but I want you to try to work it into your copy. A, it gives it a lot of personality, and gives it some levity and some fun, and B, it can be kind of surprising, so it'll keep people on their toes. Another thing I love about slang is that it can help you target your ideal customer.
So if there's a particular turn of phrase that's in the culture or in the zeitgeist of, you know, whatever your ideal customer is going to gravitate towards, Using that slang is kind of like putting out a little bit of bait for someone who will get it. So, think about it. Use slang strategically, but definitely use it.
Again, it's just going to make your copy have a little more personality. And it's going to keep it from being stuffy. Use real phrases that we throw around on a regular basis, right? That everyday language. So, I'm going to give you four examples of some sentences that are using slang. Number one, other courses will cost you an arm and a leg.
Number two, I was lit like a Christmas tree. Number three, we know how to pull strings around here. And number four, this deal is a no brainer. So just those words like no brainer. Pull some strings. I was lit. Arm and a leg. Those are turns of phrases, kind of slang that we just use and we know everyone knows what it means but it is an opportunity for you to throw in something that is going to make your copy sound a little more down to earth and a little more relatable for anyone who's reading it.
All right, the fourth and final final grammar rule I want you to break is contractions. So contractions get such a bad rap all over the place. And actually they are a much better reflection of how we speak. And I encourage you to use them in your copy. Just a reminder, contractions are, instead of having they will, or we were.
You're saying they'll or we're. You're combining two words with an apostrophe. Without contractions, you're going to sound stiff and stilted, and that is what we want to avoid. So, instead of saying, they will understand when they are older. You want to write, they'll understand when they're older. It condenses a sentence, makes the reading flow a lot better, and, again, just brings your copy into the real world and makes you sound more down to earth.
Another example, You will never believe what happened. It is wild. It's much better if you say, You'll never believe what happened. It's wild. Alright, so write it with contractions, because that's how we say it. That's how it flows off the tongue better. The more it sounds like a human being is writing it, the better off you are, and the more they will stay with you and continue reading your copy.
So those are the four grammar rules that I want you to break. End sentences on a preposition. Use sentence fragments. Use slang whenever you can, when it makes sense. Don't go overboard, don't like say really off the wall obscure stuff, but throw in slang especially if it's going to appeal to your ideal customer.
And four, use contractions. They'll help your copy sound smoother and more down to earth. One last thing I want to touch on is vocabulary. One of the things I see constantly in copy that's underperforming is the use of these words that are just unnecessarily large when a short word would do a lot better.
So again, this is about speed of reading. and being able for a reader to process what you're, what you've written very quickly. Again, they don't have a lot of time. We are not trying to have someone spend tons of time dissecting our sentences and trying to understand what we're trying to say. We want them to be able to glide right through our writing.
as easily as possible. So we want them to read something that's long, but it doesn't even feel long for them because they just glided right through it. One way to do that is to use short words. So I'm going to give you some examples of swaps that I would make. Instead of using a longer word, I'm going to give you a shorter word to use instead.
So, instead of the word utilize, go with use. You can utilize this software, just say you can use this software. Instead of individual, just say person. You're shortening that word. Instead of additional, use the word more. Instead of assist, use the word help. Instead of attempt, use the word try. Instead of implement, use the word start.
Instead of numerous, use the word many. There we go. So those are some quick swaps that you can make. Now this really does make a difference, especially if you're doing this systematically. It's going to add up, so you can have a very clunky paragraph or a very clunky website that once you go through and you make these swaps of words, you can have a much more streamlined message.
So I encourage you. to go through your copy and look at what words can be replaced with a shorter word. One of my favorite ways to test if your writing sounds formal and salesy is to run it through what is called the Buddy Test. So, the Buddy Test is where you read your work out loud. So, it's on the page.
I want you to say the words out loud. And if it doesn't sound like you, Then you need to rework it. So if it doesn't sound natural when you say it, then that might be a little bit of a red flag to go back and rework it. You want to rewrite it so that it sounds like you're talking to a friend and it sounds natural when you're saying it.
So here are some sentences before and after the buddy test. Here's before. Do you struggle with discomfort around selling your courses? You are not alone. But in order to achieve success, it is critical that you master that important skill. Now, that sounded a little robotic, so when we run it through the buddy test, here's the after.
Hate selling? Join the club. But if you want to make money, you've got to learn to love it. There we go. That's a much better way to write that, and it uses sentence fragments and contractions. So, keep that in mind. That's part of the reason why that second version sounds better. Here's another before sentence.
Do you often find yourself procrastinating? This is a common struggle for many. However, to achieve your goals, overcoming procrastination is crucial. Ugh, that does not sound great. So here's the after sentence once we run it through the buddy test. Okay, here we go. Are you a master at putting things off?
You're in good company. But look, if you want to hit those goals, it's time to kick procrastination to the curb. Okay, so that's just a little more informal, more casual way to say those sentences. That is a wrap for this week's episode. I hope these tips were really helpful for you and that you can use them in Whatever copy or writing you are working on right now if you want more tips like this Please sign up for my weekly emails where I send you marketing tips and insight that will help you in your writing You can get it at copytiger.
com forward slash newsletter. It is an inbox party that you don't want to miss. And if you haven't done so yet, please follow and subscribe to this podcast on Spotify, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And of course, please remember that the right words can help you make a huge difference in the world.
So keep writing. I'll see you in the next episode.