One small step for a copywriter

I’ve been working with a large organisation on their new website over the last few weeks.

One of the things we’ve spent a lot of time discussing is the tone of voice of their copy. As you would expect they want to come across as serious and businesslike.

I’ve managed to get them to understand that just because their copy is warm and friendly doesn’t mean they won’t be taken seriously.

Quite the opposite in fact, because people will actually find the copy worth reading, as opposed to the usual empty corporate platitudes.

I saw a great example of what I’m talking about in a newsletter I just received from Networx. It’s by Antoni Lee from Red Agency:

Imagine if Neil Armstrong’s first words as he stepped onto the lunar surface had been, “We are delighted to announce this landing today. It positions America as the world’s leading provider of people-in-space solutions.”

Such words would have faded out of memory and into space.

Thankfully, Armstrong said something insightful, memorable and quotable: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”