Should It Be Colloquial?

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Here is a question for advanced copywriters that I have been pondering for a while.

Some background first though.

When I was in school, about 4 years ago, English was one of the only subjects where I did not struggle. That, and Modern Studies.

I was never top of the class, and my punctuation, spelling, paragraph structure etc was always my downfall.

But the actual writing was always pretty good, but the teacher would always say that it was too colloquial. Sure, it was good for persuasive writing and creative writing, but for actually getting a point over in a professional way, my colloquial style always got me marked down.

I have had success with Copywriting for products before, and it converted quite well on all occasions, but it's always really informal.

Do you think its a good or bad idea to be colloquial in your copy, or should you be writing it in a way that gets information out there quickly and with no beating around the bush.

Cheers in advance.
#copywriting #colloquial
  • There's a reason colloquialisms are nearly universally understood. They take a fairly common experience and boil it down to something pithy (OK, sometimes pithy) and easy to understand.
  • There's a reason why "word of mouth" advertising is so effective.
    Because people use .. you've got it .. words of their mouth.

    -Ray Edwards
  • Using the language of the common man is what advertising is all about.

    That said, there are some obscure colloquialisms out there. I've read some sales letters that left me..well...scratching my head.
  • Banned
    I think using colloquialisms is a way of "getting information out there quickly and with no beating around the bush"? I've always erred on the "colloquial" side, myself, but I can see that it may depend to some extent on one's perceptions of the demographics of the intended traffic.

    .
  • Write to your audience. If they're technical, write techincal. If they're academic, write academic. If they're legal, write legal. If they're professional, write professional.
  • I would have pulled straight A's in English in high school if it wasn't for the rules of grammar. Fortunately it never hurt me one bit with writing marketing as a career.

    The thing is, the average American reads (comprehends really) on a sixth grade reading level and I've read in a few places it's actually starting to dip lower.

    If you wrote things on a purely college-level reading level, many people wouldn't understand or wouldn't read it because it would feel like WORK to read it.

    So as a copywriter and marketer, my advice is to write your copy the way your target market speaks and writes. And to hell with perfect grammar.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • “I don’t know the rules of grammar. . . . If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think. We try to write in the vernacular.”
    --David Ogilvy
    • [1] reply
    • Read any of Clayton Makepeace's work.

      He makes massive use of colloquial phrases and words.

      And I think he's been pretty successful using them. Don't you.
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