Who’s Really Stolen Your Voice?

“There’s no such thing as writer’s block!”

If you’ve ever had a conversation with a copywriter or journalist, you’ve probably heard this one before.

And it’s true.

As both a writer for glossy magazines and a copywriter,  I can confirm that there’s nothing like the prospect of another dinner of Heinz Baked Beans to get that copy flowing. (If your muse has got her knickers in a twist I got a post coming all about that soon).

Copy blocks though, are a whole different beast.

And it’s a problem I see all the time in the small business owners and entrepreneurs I help to write their own copy and communications.

I like to call it the ‘Ariel Complex’. And the question you’ve really got to ask yourself is who (or what) has really stolen your voice?

Nope, it’s not Ursula the sea witch, and it’s probably not that you can’t write at all.

It is indeed a copy block of some variety, and the trick is finding out which one (or ones) are yours.

The thing is, you may not realise you have one at all, since Copy Blocks are often pretty sneaky little blighters, that creep around in various combinations and degrees.

  • They can stop you from knowing where to start with your writing
  • Leave you hamstrung and unable to say what you really mean.
  • Make you feel anxious about engaging with your audience
  • Confuse your message so much that you feel like no-one’s ever going to really get who you are and what you do.

And all the time you think the problem is that you can’t write.

If you’re sitting there nodding your head like one of those plastic dogs on a car parcel shelf, I can tell you now that it’s probably not because you’re a rubbish writer.

Copywriting is not award-winning literature – it’s an art and a science, and if you’re good at what you do, love it, can string a sentence together, and are willing to learn a few simple techniques, you can write half decent copy.

But before you can do that, you need to figure out which block is holding you back, and here are three of the most common:

  • #1 FEAR OF BEING SEEN

Symptoms:

  • Vanilla, boring or bland copy
  • Often no copy at all

Common Causes:

Deep down you’re uncomfortable with being seen as an authority. Perhaps you suffer from imposter syndrome, you don’t want to come across as a know-it-all, or ‘too big for your boots.’ You unconsciously censor your messaging because you’re worried your friends and family will laugh or be unkind.

Here’s the truth…

It’s time to rip off that plaster. And when you do, you’ll realise the reality isn’t as bad as the thought. People are mostly too caught up in what they’re saying and doing, and how they’re being received, to worry too much about you. The ones who do matter will see your newly vocalised passion and admire you and support you in it. The ones who don’t, will soon be so vastly outnumbered by your new band of loyal fans, that you’ll quickly stop caring.

 

  • #2 PEOPLE PLEASING

Symptoms:

  • Wishy washy words
  • Copy that flip flops from one side of the fence to the other
  • Copy that’s been stripped of any personality or passion in order to be as neutral and middle-of-the-road as possible

Common Causes: You’re scared of putting your real thoughts and opinions down in black and white. You may feel totally comfortable talking about them face-to-face or with an audience you’re familiar with, but the thought of putting these ideas out there with no idea who may be reading them, terrifies you. You don’t want to upset anyone. You’re scared of confrontation, and that some people won’t like you, will judge you, disagree with you, call you out, or be turned off.

Here’s the truth…

 If you have a powerful message to share, some people will be turned off by you – and you want them to be! Because unless someone is turned off by you, no-one’s going to feel inspired enough to totally fall in love with everything you stand for either.  Your copy needs to be Marmite. If you want to create a powerful movement or a loyal following, you’ve got to be unapologetic with your messaging. So it’s time to write for your soulmate clients and customers alone, because they’re the only ones you want to attract (and the rest won’t bother reading anyway).

 

– #3 UNDERCOOKED MESSAGING

Common Symptoms:

  • You dread being asked “So what do you do?” because you have no idea how to answer in less than 3,423 words
  • You have a clear idea of what your message and mission is inside your head, but when you try to put it in to simple, coherent and easy-to-grasp ideas on the page or in conversation, you end up with confused, smattering of thoughts and ideas with no common thread.

Cause: Your problem is clarity. You’re trying to write copy and communications without having done the work to crystallise your messaging. This is the writing equivalent of someone asking for a slice of cake, and you serving them up a raw egg, some butter, sugar, flour and a whisk.

Here’s the truth…

 Good messaging is crafted. If you’re lacking clarity, it’s time to start putting down the component parts of who you are, what you do and what makes you different into black and white. You then need to spend some time figuring out how those ideas fit together and look for common threads.

 

Think it’s something else?

It’s true, there are lots of incarnations of copy blocks, and if you can’t have a 1:1 with a messaging expert, a really good way to get to the bottom of this, is to sit with your copy and ideas and see what feelings rise to the top.

  • Where you are not being authentic, ask yourself, why?
  • What is holding you back from saying what you really mean?

If you want your communications to attract your soulmate clients and turn them into fans, followers and customers, this work is worth doing.

Want to know what questions you should really be asking about your dream customer? Download your free Better Questions to Ask About Your Soulmate Clients Worksheet here.

88 Comments

  1. Gitary
    Gitary on December 4, 2021 at 10:13 am

    Thanks for posting this piece of writing. I’m without doubt frustrated with struggling to search out relevant and brilliant commentary on this subject. Everybody now goes to the very far extremes to either drive home their viewpoint that either: everyone else in the planet is wrong, or two that everyone but them does not in actuality understand the situation. Many thanks for your succinct, applicable insight.

    Reply
  2. Tomasz Michałowski
    Tomasz Michałowski on December 4, 2021 at 5:34 pm

    For now, suffice to say that if you actually want , you will get your own this hypothesis.

    Reply
  3. http://www.m106.com
    http://www.m106.com on December 5, 2021 at 8:02 pm

    If you could email me with a few hints on just how you made your website look this great, I would be thankful.

    Reply
  4. Dowcipy O żydach
    Dowcipy O żydach on January 29, 2022 at 9:27 am

    Good evening, I’m a college English major and I’m learning a lot about writing by reading net. I actually enjoy your style of writing. It’s very easy to understand but with excellent details. Your choice of words makes it easy to check out and understand. That’s a huge portion of writing. Your viewers have to be able to understand what you’re saying and it has to be attention-grabbing. You need to challenge your viewers , so they will come back for more. You do a first-rate job with all of these tittle. Thx!

    Reply
  5. Humor
    Humor on January 30, 2022 at 11:49 pm

    the majority of People are bound to find this really important. I really like the point you are making with your last paragraph.

    Reply
  6. Hohsztapler Mirosław Kotowicz
    Hohsztapler Mirosław Kotowicz on January 31, 2022 at 1:39 pm

    I have read a few of the articles on your website now, and I really like your style of blogging. I added it to my favorites blog site list and will be checking back soon. Please check out my site as well and let me know what you think.

    Reply
  7. SSD Recovery
    SSD Recovery on March 19, 2022 at 2:17 pm

    ideas here awesome . posted some really good info I just want.

    Reply
  8. Katalog Stron
    Katalog Stron on March 28, 2022 at 3:25 pm

    Majątek niektórych przekracza wartość do której potrafią liczyć. Myślą o zemście zamiast umysł Ćwiczyć…

    Reply
  9. Wegetarianizm zalety
    Wegetarianizm zalety on April 14, 2022 at 2:06 am

    Greetings, I was surfing the web and I saw your homepage from yahoo. I read a few of your posts and think they were awesome. Thank you, I will try to visit your webpage again soon.

    Reply
  56. Zygmuś Solorz
    Zygmuś Solorz on August 11, 2022 at 5:10 am

    I was browsing the web looking for some cool stuff and came across your site. I just wanted to let you know that I think your site has some good pages and that I have already saved the page so I can visit again soon! Well done!

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published.

OUR VERY

LATEST