3 Writing Tips to Add Your Personality to Your Writing

As the owner of a professional copywriting company, the two biggest questions I get are: “Will the copy sound like me?” and “Do you have any writing tips to make my writing sound like me?”

And, I get it. Making sure the words you’re using to market and sell yourself reflect your personality is a huge deal.

But … what if you don’t feel like your personality IS reflected in your writing? Or, maybe you wish you could express your personality more strongly.

What do you do then?

Glad you asked!

Below are three writing tips to get you started adding or strengthening your personality in your writing.

However, a quick disclosure: This isn’t something you learn once and are done. Becoming a better writer, and having your writing reflect your personality, is an ongoing process.

These writing tips will certainly get you started in the right direction, but there’s no question the best way to get better is to write a lot. Like most any skills, the more you do it, the better you’ll get.

Tip 1: Get clear on the specifics of your personality.

I realize your first reaction may be something like, “Duh! Of course I know what my personality is.”

My answer would be great! Now describe your personality to me in three to five words.

Not quite so easy, is it?

So, here’s the thing—in order to reflect your personality in your writing, you need to actually know what you want reflected.

And, to make it easier on yourself, you’ll likely want to drill it down to just a few characteristics that you would like to see in your writing.

Are you funny? Quirky? Passionate? Compassionate? Smart? Not-so-smart? Polite? Seductive? Sexy? Wild child? Fun? Loyal? Sweet? Spicy?

I also encourage you to ask people who know you well to give you the top three to five words they would use to describe you. (You’ll likely discover things you don’t see in yourself.)

Now, if you’re an entrepreneur, business owner (or work in a business), or have some sort of public persona, there’s another level you should consider, which is the “brand’s” personality.

It’s very likely the brand is going to have a different personality than you do.

And, this could be subtle. Bill Simmons, who became famous writing for ESPN, would often talk about how lazy he was in his writing. Looking at his output, I seriously doubt he was lazy, but as part of his brand personality that relates to “every guy,” being the lazy guy who just wanted to watch sports and movies all day made a lot of sense.

Tip 2: Get clear on your perspective.

Part of what makes you “you” is your perspective on things. And, part of how you gained that perspective is from your life experiences.

Think about how you grew up. What your family was like. What happened to you in school. What happened once you became an adult.

How did all those experiences shape you? How did they color the way you perceive the world?

How would you distill those experiences into a few words or phrases? Have they led to you being open minded? A fighter? A peacemaker?

In many cases, your customers and readers are going to gravitate toward you because of your unique perspective. So, flaunt it.

Tip 3: Start to track the words you use and the angles you pick in your writing.

Here’s where you start tracking what actually ended up on the page versus how you imagine your personality to be.

Do the words you choose match your personality?

Or are you coming across as timid and tepid, when in real life you’re bold and brash and unashamed?

Make a note of how the words you’re choosing make you feel. Do the emotions match you in real life? And, if not, what words WOULD?

In addition, make a note of the angles you’re choosing. Whatever you’re writing about as a point of view—does the point of view match your perspectives?

For instance, let’s say you’re writing a “how to make homemade pizza” article. Believe it or not, there are hundreds if not thousands of different ways to put your unique spin on making homemade pizza:

* Maybe this is an old family recipe, and some of your fondest memories are making it with mom.

* Maybe you had the best pizza EVER in Italy, but the chef wouldn’t give you the recipe. Finally, after a lot of trial and error, you figured it out … and here it is.

* Maybe this is a gluten-free version. Or dairy-free version. Or vegan/raw version.

* Maybe this is a low-cal pizza, with half the fat and calories, but all the taste.

* Maybe you’re skeptical of a pizza crust made with cauliflower, but, amazingly enough, this is actually pretty darn tasty. Your kids even loved it.

Each one of these examples is about making homemade pizza, and yet each has a completely different angle and perspective.

That’s where your personality and perspective begin to come together to create the juicy magic that can only come from you.

If you want more writing tips, including digging into writing copy that attracts, inspires, invites, AND that captures your personality, you may want to check out my Love-Based Copy books.