A hidden copywriting advantage you may not know you have
I’ve been working with a couple of clients recently — one in Spain, one in Portugal — who speak English as a second language…
And in a weird way, working with them is making me an even better copywriter.
See, one of the golden rules in copywriting is that you should write in a simple manner so that even a 5th grader can understand you. (Or even simpler, if you can manage it.)
Reason being, a confused prospect rarely buys…
And if your reader needs a dictionary to get through your sales page, they’ll probably just bounce.
Now, when I write for my list, I don’t go too much out of my way to dumb things down. Mind you, I don’t make things unnecessarily complicated either. This is a deliberate, strategic choice to cultivate the type of buyers who can benefit most from what I have to offer.
However…
For the bulk of my client work, especially in mass-market niches, I often run my copy through The Hemingway Editor (google it if you’re not familiar) to get it down to a 3rd or 4th grade reading level.
But even then, my Spanish and Portuguese clients occasionally will point out words or phrases they think are too complex. Ones I thought were perfectly simple.
And I’ve enjoyed getting this outside perspective that’s made me even better at simplifying my copy.
More people than ever before speak English as a second language.
That means there’s a very good chance part of your audience falls into that category. So if you can make your copy even just a teeny-tiny bit more simple, you can end up making a lot more sales.
Also…
In good news if YOU speak English as a second-language:
Don’t see it as a disadvantage.
It could actually be your secret weapon, forcing you to keep your writing clear, simple, and easy to digest for the widest possible audience.
That’s all I got for you today…
But if you want more practical ways to write fun, personality-driven emails that sell like hotcakes (no matter your native tongue), you’ll find them all inside my Emails with Attitude Digital Cookbook.
https://kennethturnbull.com/ewa
Stay sharp,
Kenneth Turnbull