Now how does that saying go? “Carefully chosen words paint 1,000 pictures?” Or at least that’s my version of it! One country music singer reminded me of that a couple of months ago. Truthfully, I’m not much of a country music fan. But I’ll pick up on certain “crossover” songs that I like from time to time. A friend shared Carrie Underwood’s song “Before He Cheats” with me and I immediately took a liking to it… but not for the reason you might think.
The song deals with taking revenge on a cheating lover. That’s not a situation I can relate with (thank goodness!), but what struck me was the visualization she created through the lyrics. Song lyrics are copyright protected so I can’t reproduce them in whole, verbatim in this post, but take a look at a few select passages.
Instead of saying, “I keyed the door of his truck,” the singer belts out, “I dug my key into the side of his pretty, little, souped up four-wheel drive…” MUCH more dramatic and visual, don’t you think? Rather than, “I knocked his headlights out with a bat,” she sings, “I took a Louisville Slugger to both headlights.” You can actually feel the power and frustration behind these statements.
One last example, instead of just telling us the girl her lover was cheating with was singing karaoke songs in the bar, Carrie says, ‘Right now, she’s probably up singing some white-trash version of Shania karaoke.” Do you hear the difference? What happens in your mind when you read “I dug my key into the side of his pretty, little, souped up four-wheel drive…” as opposed to “I keyed the door of his truck?” You get very specific images.
This is what needs to happen when you’re writing certain types of copy. Especially catalog and ecommerce copy. If you’re describing products, you’ve got to set customers’ minds into motion. Be highly descriptive. Don’t say, “Frog-shaped chocolates covered in mint-flavored candy.” Conjure up an image like, “Adorable, petite, chocolate froggies have been dunked in a coating of refreshing mint to create one of your favorite taste combinations.” Instead of, “The exercise bike rides really smooth” say, “The fluid motion of the flywheel glides along as you pedal mile after mile.”
I have to hand it to Carrie Underwood: The lyrics of her songs are awesome. The Eagles can also teach creative writing. So pick up some music today and take a lesson. It’s sure to greatly improve your copywriting!
