Uh..oh…
Ever read your draft content and feel it lacks a spark?
Let’s be honest. A lot of business content is rather meh. It sounds boring. It lacks a human voice. It feels like anyone in any marketing department could have written it.
And that’s not what we want, eh?
You and I want to connect with our audience. We want to write with personality, so people “hear” our voice. We prefer a cozy conversation to a corporate pitch.
But somehow, when writing, we lose our voice.
Maybe you think you don’t have the talent to write well. Or even worse… you may think you’re not interesting enough.
I’ve been there, too.
You might not believe me, but it’s true … I’ve never thought of myself as a writer. I used to think I was too boring to be a storyteller. I didn’t think I was creative enough to write more than a few emails to friends.
But I’ve figured out that creativity is not for the chosen few. And when you nurture a sense of play, anyone can add personality to their writing voice.
Want to turn humdrum business writing into sparkling content?
Let’s have some fun today, shall we?
Creative writing exercise #1: Play with words
Settling for the first word that comes up in your mind?
That’s usually a word commonly used. To add a splash of personality, try to come up with a slightly more unusual or more precise word; experiment with emotional or sensory words.
This exercise works best for a single sentence, so write a tweet, choose an email subject line, or consider a blog title. Now, try rephrasing it in as many ways you can—using different words. Consulting a thesaurus is allowed.
Here’s an example:
- 3 Ways to Add a Splash of Creativity to Ho-Hum Business Content
- Drab Business Content? Here’s How to Add a Splash of Fun and Personality
- Ho-Hum Content? Try These 3 Writing Exercises to Add Sparkle
- New Blog Post: How to Turn Ho-Hum Writing Into Tantalizingly Seductive Content
- Lack of Personality? Try These 3 Fun Writing Exercises
- Boring Writing Voice? Ignite Your Creativity With These 3 Exercises
- Dull Corporate Voice? Here’s How to Seduce Readers With Your Enchanting Voice
- Lackluster Content? Here’s How to Make Your Words Sparkle
- 3 Creative Ways to Stop Boring Business Readers to Tears
- 3 Creative Ways to Quit Boring the Boots Off Your Audience
- Meh Content? Here’s How to Stand Out in a Sea of Grey Content
- Wishy-Washy Writing? Here’s How to Make Your Words Dazzle and Dance
- Crappy Boooooring Content? Here’s How to Enthrall Your Readers Instead
- 3 Ways to Add a Splash of Vibrant Color to Colorless Content
- Spiritless Writing? These 3 Exercises Add Pizzazz to Dull Content
- Whoa! 3 Creative Exercises to Put That Zing-Kapow in Boring Business Content
- Yee-Haw! Here’s How to Get Rid of Boring Business Content (Once and For All)
Which version do you fancy?
Be warned: This exercise is quite addictive, and may take longer than you think. Have fun!
Creative writing exercise #2: Add a splash of personality
This exercise helps you express your personality by using tiny details.
On About pages, for instance, you often read boring sentences like So-and-so loves travelling, photography, and spending time with her two kids.
Why is this boring? Because you can’t visualize such sentences. They’re too generic.
When readers can picture your words, your writing instantly becomes more fascinating. To allow your readers to visualize your words, simply select a few details.
Choose a statement for your About page or social media profile. Then play with different details to add a splash of personality. For instance, instead of suggesting I love cooking, I could write:
- She has spent years fine-tuning her signature dish: Beef Rendang—an Indonesian curry, slightly spicy, lightly sweetened, and amazingly fragrant
- On a Saturday afternoon, you may find her in her steamy kitchen, grinding spices, chopping onions, and tasting her favorite curry with a smile on her face
- Her perfect night out is staying in—cooking for her husband and one or two friends, chatting, and nipping a glass of wine
Note how each sentence gives you a glimpse of personality?
Creative writing exercise #3: Exercise your metaphoric muscles
Metaphors are simply connections between two unrelated topics—and with a little practice anyone can create them. No creative genes required. No talent necessary.
Let’s give it a try, shall we?
Start with picking an important point you want to make in a blog post. Let’s take the key point of this post as an example: to add sparkle and personality to your writing you must nurture a sense of play and experiment a little.
For instance:
Imagine being a kid and you’re given permission to decorate a table full of cup cakes. You’d play with different ideas and make each one a little different, wouldn’t you?
With writing, you want to nurture a similar sense of experimentation. Try different words. Play with tiny details. How does it change your voice?
Or how about:
Adding sparkle to your content is like cooking peanut sauce. First, you cook the sauce, then you taste whether you need to add a little more lemon juice, sweet soy sauce, or ground coriander. Keep tasting and adding ingredients until you have the perfect taste.
Writing works the same. Write a first draft quickly, and then add different ingredients to make your content tantalizingly tasty. How about a few extra power words here? Or a metaphor there? How does that sound? If in doubt, ask a friend for a second opinion.
Nurture your sense of play
As kids, we knew how to tell stories and draw pictures. Without worrying about results. Without worrying about what other people would think.
We got into a creative flow without that distracting inner critic.
As adults, we need to get back into that innocent creative flow. Is your inner voice telling you you’re not creative enough? Ask him to go out for a half-hour walk. Then embrace your inner child and have half an hour of fun. No pressure. Results don’t matter.
Choose the exercise that appeals to you most. Grab a drink, a sheet of paper and pen, and give yourself some time to play. Don’t rush.
Have fun!
Recommended reading on creative business writing:
How to be creative in writing (without sacrificing productivity)
14 metaphor examples: How to paint vibrant pictures with words
How word choice shapes your voice
Thanks so much! Very interesting and useful post.
Thank you, Daniela. Happy writing! 🙂
Hello Henneke,
This has been one of the most practical posts you have ever written. Although some of these suggestions may be obvious to you, they aren’t. The compelling way in which you introduce each excercise is very helpful. Loved tip #2!
Maybe more practical examples in the future?
Thank you, Virginia.
I’m thinking about creating a whole ebook with exercises like this. 🙂
An ebook with exercises would awesome! I will be looking for it.
This was fantastic! I teach adults who are learning a new hobby and the struggle is to get them to play, to move them into the ‘right’ side of their brain, so they can experiment and experience flow. Without the play, they are too analytical, and their performance is rigid.
Thank you, Kathy!
Have you read the book Play by Stuart Brown? It’s an interesting take on how important play is not just for our imagination, but also for our happiness.
I haven’t, but I just added it to my Kindle! 🙂
Thank you so much for this wonderful post and for suggesting these exercises, Henneke! I often feel I can’t get rid of the boring-bug and my mind gets stuck on the same old. But these should definitely help coming up with something better, hopefully more appealing to the reader. 🙂
Yes, it’s normal to get stuck in the same old rut. We all experience it from time to time. I find reading fiction can also help us get out of a rut.
Happy writing, Ralitsa! And thank you for stopping by.
Creative and imaginative! Your article is just what I needed. Thanks Henneke 🙂
Kind regards
Mark
Great! Happy writing, Mark 🙂
PS It’s cloudy with sunny intervals today and the wind is surprisingly cold.
Yes, I like your advice, Henneke, first to have fun with writing, with a pen and paper.
Our creative ideas flow. We can make a first draft and then fine tune it.
Good article, Henneke, Thank you.
Yes, I find a computer can sometimes stifle creativity. Perhaps because I associate it too much with trying to be productive?
Henneke, I often cook when I’m having a writing day. I’ll intersperse my writing time with cooking something simple but delicious. This brings in a sense of play and freedom. It helps free up my writing. Love your examples!
A day of cooking and writing – is there a better way to spend the day? 🙂
Very helpful! Thank you. Looking forward to writing some juicy headlines!
Great! Have fun! 🙂
Still slaving over my About page and desperate to think of all these helps as I write. How timely this is for me this morning, to launch a thorough edit! Last night, I actually wrote, “I can show you the door so you can get out and get a break, sometimes…” and thought that was a metaphor, and in a very weak way, it was, but how about “I know how to shine a beacon on that secret escape hatch, so you can slip (float?) away to a simpler world…”
At first, I thought that if I wrote this way, I’d be using a voice that was too “Henneke” for my readers, but I see, now, that if I gravitate to your voice, why shouldn’t I adopt some of the qualities that do fit my topic!
Probably I am a turtle in this race to create web content, but Slow and Steady is the preferred pace for multitudes, right? Oh, me!
When I was learning how to write, I studied writers I liked most, trying to figure out why I liked their writing, and then used their writing techniques in my writing, too. As Austin Kleon suggests: “We learn by copying.”
So, go ahead, “steal” the qualities you like. You’ll automatically mix in some of your own. 🙂
Love the cupcake imagery, Henneke. And I don’t even like sweets. 😉 Metaphors are one of my favorites. I had a boss in my corporate days who I said had a metaphor for every occasion. But you know what? You never forgot his example. 🙂
I don’t have a sweet tooth either! I originally made this drawing for my sister who loves baking cupcakes. 🙂
Good to see you again, Cathy!
Like bland food, meh writing is everywhere.
This is good news for a bad reason–you have little competition,. So a sparkling piece of writing sweeps and soars above the dismal landscape.
Your recipes to spice things up should do the trick!
Love reading your posts, Henneke!
Yep so true, when we make a little more effort to polish our words, then it’s quite easy to stand out from the crowd!
Thank you for your lovely comment, Saleem. 🙂
Hey Henneke,
Great post here. Really love exercise #1 and playing with words.
Every post a person writes has so much potential to be better. I think most writers, me included, get lazy and don’t ‘do the work’ to make our blog titles pop. And if we really want to stand out, we have to start doing that.
So #1 is definitely what I’m planning to focus on for now.
Great overall post here. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
– Andrew
Yeah, I know … it’s hard to make time to play with your headlines sometimes. But it pays off!
It can help to move away from your normal work place, perhaps go to the park or a local cafe. I’ve also found that a short train trip can be great for a short burst of creative energy.
Have fun!
Skipping to the swings and slides now with a fairy cup cake in my hand. That’s how happy your post made me feel.
Thanks for your sweet and tasty writing sprinkles Henneke. Do please create your ebook/cookbook of similar excercises. You have hundreds and thousands of fans waiting hungrily to download it.
I love the imagery of you skipping to the swings and slides with a cup cake in your hand 🙂
And thank you for the thumbs up on the ebook idea. I appreciate your input.
Happy writing!
Love this Henneke, especially the parts about playing with a first draft and picking visual words. I’m always working on those. Writing is a constant work in progress. We never learn everything, which is what makes it so meaningful. Thanks. Laurie
Yep, so true! I love learning more about writing and collecting new words.
Thank you for stopping by again, Laurie!
Hi Henneke,
Since I began freelancing full-time in July 2014, I’ve signed up with quite a few writing “gurus.” I ended up opting out of several. Others, I get but usually delete. They send too much email and there’s too much selling.
I appreciate the volume of your communication but mostly, I appreciate the value. Today’s post in particular.
I write business content full-time and yeah, it gets grey and “boooring.” Thanks to this post, I was able to spice up the title, which helped increase my interest in what I was writing, which brought up from gray to a subtle shade of green (hey, it’s an improvement).
Thanks for being helpful,
Steve
stevewagnercopy.com
A subtle shade of green sounds quite pleasant, Steve! No need to go for loud and garish colors 😉
Thank you so much for your lovely comment — it puts a smile on my face 🙂
Hey Henneke,
This post really motivated me as I’m writing a new post.
There’s always a need for improvement and you have given me some ideas I can apply to my old posts. I can put a little more personality by adding more descriptive words into each point I convey.
But in all it makes the posts more engaging, keeping your audience interested. Thanks for sharing Henneke! Have a good one!
Even choosing only three sentences or so and making them a little more sensory can make a big difference to a post.
Happy writing, Sherman. And thank you for stopping by again!
This comment is unrelated to this article but the email I received that landed me here. Regarding the email, I initially thought it was spam. Why? #1 the sender’s name was “Henneke Duistermaat”, a name I didn’t recognize. So I would consider changing the sender’s name to “Enchanting Marketing” so future subscribers can immediately recognize the sender and know its not spam. #2 When I opened the email, I still thought it was spam until I browsed to the bottom and saw “Enchanting Marketing”. At this point I still wasn’t sure how I knew Enchanting Marketing but it sounded familiar enough for me to read and click the link. To solve this problem I would add a visual reference within the email. In your case the visual reference I would add is the book cover “How to Write Seductive Web Copy”. If I saw that, I would immediately recognize and know who its from.
Thank you for your suggestion, Richard. I’m glad you still decided to click through! 🙂
You might have first learned about me and Enchanting Marketing via my book, so the book would be a good visual cue for you, but most people find my blog first and then decide to buy one of my books. I’ve also been told that in general, emails that look like they come from a person (without design elements) tend to get read and clicked more often than emails with a slick design. I appreciate there are pros and cons to every approach; and will think about what I can do to ensure people know my name before they get my first email. I might be able to improve the confirmation email or confirmation page.
Thanks for replying,
The email I got from this response was fantastic. I immediately noticed the email name was Enchanting Marketing. That’s perfect for me. 🙂
You’re right on how I learned about you. I’m not sure how I found your book but when I did I think I clicked on a link within the book that took me to your site. From there I signed up to your e-newsletter.
As for a visual reference, I do agree for some people if the content has visual design elements, engagement levels might be lower because the content appears and feels more commercial. But I wasn’t thinking about adding or changing design elements to the email content but more along the lines of adding an image somewhere within the email.
I’ve seen other emails I receive where the writer’s automated signature is at the bottom of the content with their head shot next to it. So in your case to appeal to the book and blog audience, I would consider experimenting adding an image of your book and your head shot at the closing remarks next to your name to see if your response rates improves. I’m assuming this won’t change the design elements of your emails.
Having these visual references is primarily designed and useful for early subscribers who may not remember you or your work. After maybe their 8th opened email, your subscribers maybe familiar with you enough to where you may not need the visual references anymore.
I hope this helps. Keep doing what you’re doing. It’s great work.
Because I received your email this morning. It motivated me to go back and tweak a blog post I was working on one more time before I publish it this weekend.
Thank you for your writing inspiration and tips!
Julie
Yay! That sounds great 🙂
Thank you for stopping by, Julie.
On Sundays, you can find her lying on a couch overlooking a church yard 😉
Ssssht. We don’t want people to know how lazy I am 😉
Great ideas as usual Henneke.
“boring the boots off your audience”
Made me laugh.
Thank you.
I published a guest post with nearly the same title: 11 Ways to Bore the Boots Off Your Readers. 🙂
Thank you for stopping by again, Barry!
Hello There,
How many times have I used the first words that came to mind? More times than a teenager takes a selfie.
There you go again, encouraging me to think. I hope I don’t hurt myself. Time to paint some word pictures. I hear you Henneke. Thanks.
Of course you won’t hurt yourself. Have fun! 🙂
Hello Henneke,
I never used to think of myself as a writer either. When I just started blogging, my first posts we’re rubbish!
My writing skills evolved over time through studying the art of writing, doing it and developing my own voice.
These creative writing excercises are fantastic. The first one is my favorite. It really fires up the brain to start making connections which is what creativity is all about.
#2 is something I already play around with regularly in my posts but my about page would definitely benefit from this. Thank you for the nudge. 😉
I’ve heard Kevin Kelly mention that writing actually helps him to think more clearly on a Tim Ferris podcast, I have a similar experience. Metaphors and good ideas just pop into my mind when I just make myself sit down and write. It’s like I’m tapping into my subconscious.
Other times I consciously construct them or fine-tune them to make my posts juicier after writing my first draft. The more time I spend on polishing and letting it simmer, the better my writing gets.
I relate to the emphasis you place on fun and play because they not only take away a lot of the resistance that writers often have, but they are also resourceful states to be in.
I also happened to notice that you said you’re thinking about writing a whole book of these kind of excercises. I would absolutely purchase that, Henneke.
Thank you for this lovely post.
Fijn weekend!
– Jasper
Yes, writing brings a lot of clarity for me, too. It forces me to simplify my ideas and get to the essence. I love this process of discovery 🙂
I also think a lot of us feel a lot of resistance when writing our own About page. So that’s definitely a task where nurturing a sense of play can help. Same is true for social media profiles of course. Corporate life didn’t allow me much time for play, so I’m happy to be on my own and be able to dedicate more time to having fun and experimenting 🙂
Thank you for stopping by again, Jasper. I hope you’re enjoying your weekend, too!
Henneke I like your #3 advice to write freely and quickly before you get into the habit of self-editing for ‘perfection’ on screen. It is much easier to read hard copy and add excitement away from the PC. Thanks again for more good stuff!
Paul – Sydney Australia
Yes, I don’t know why PCs sometimes seem so bad for creativity. Is that in our minds? Or is it something about the typing or the monitor?
Happy writing, Paul!
Henneke,
Lovely Post. Am looking forward to thế creative ebook you promised to make.
Thanks.
Thank you. I haven’t made much progress yet, but I WILL write that guide 🙂
I am a budding writer and work in the eLearning industry. Loved your post. Look forward to more interesting stuff fro you!
Hi Sujata, I’m glad you like this post. Welcome 🙂 And thank you for stopping by!