Copywriting
Tactic

Diversify Your Words, Syntax, and Emotions

Inject variety into your writing.

Different lengths and color of blocks to symbolize word diversity

Overview

Eating the same food – even if you enjoy it – becomes repetitive and boring (Rolls, Rolls, Rowe, & Sweeney, 1981).

Same with writing. Readers lose interest if they encounter the same linguistic traits, so inject variety:

  • Words. Readers prefer a mixture of words (Hosman, 2002).
  • Lengths. Let’s write short sentences. Notice how the writing seems fine. Heck, it might seem engaging. But soon you’ll notice something. This writing is becoming repetitive. Your brain wants a change. It wants a long sentence. These short sentences are boring. So let’s read a long sentence. Notice how this long sentence feels refreshing and invigorating because of its lengthy prose—it feels like you’re breathing air for the first time during this paragraph.
  • Emotion. Researchers analyzed 4,000+ movies and 30,000+ articles, and they found that content is more successful when it shifts unpredictably between different emotions (Berger, Kim, & Meyer, 2021).

  • Berger, J., Kim, Y. D., & Meyer, R. (2021). What makes content engaging? How emotional dynamics shape success. Journal of Consumer Research, 48(2), 235-250.
  • Hosman, L. A. (2002). Language and persuasion. The persuasion handbook: Developments in theory and practice, 371-390.
  • Rolls, B. J., Rolls, E. T., Rowe, E. A., & Sweeney, K. (1981). Sensory specific satiety in man. Physiology & behavior, 27(1), 137-142.