This week, I've been completely swamped. I really didn't think I'd have the time to post this week, and I was starting to feel quite guilty about it. However, I've been engrossed in watching the Democratic National Convention, and - hey presto! - I'm inspired to write.
Listening to a great deal of the rousing (and not so rousing) speeches made this week, I started thinking about how similar speechwriting can be to content and copy writing. Here are my thoughts:
- Always be audience-aware. Bill Clinton has always been extremely "camera-aware" - he knows
that the world is watching, and says and does things that will make him look a certain way to his audience. An excellent example of this is when he mouthed "I love you" as Hillary made her "I support Barack Obama" speech. When copy writing, you must be audience-aware – know who you are speaking to, and say the right things to make them do what you want them to do (buy your product, inquire about your services, subscribe to your RSS feed, etc.).
- Make it interesting and engaging. While many speakers bored many of the attendees to tears and were ignored by the attending TV media, Montana governor Brian Schweitzer brought the crowd to their feet with his rousing speech targeting “petro-dictators” and ending with “That’s it, baby! Let’s go win this election! God bless you! God bless America!” If your content is not interesting or engaging, no one is going to pay attention to it. Even if you've optimized and promoted the hell out of it, it will just get clicked away from if it’s simply too boring to read.
- Talk about a problem, then present a solution. The entire convention has been about the problems with the current administration, the adverse ways average Americans have been affected, and how McCain will just be "more of the same" What’s the solution? Barack Obama, because he represents "change for America". The same thing goes with writing copy for your website. Prospects won’t convert into sales or subscriptions if your product or service doesn’t help them solve a problem they have. You must address that problem, then tell them why your product will solve that problem.
- Hit emotional points. Did you watch Ted Kennedy's speech? There was hardly a dry eye in the house. Not only was his phenomenal recovery from a brain tumor enough to reduce delegates to tears, but his speech about better healthcare for all Americans was pretty emotion-inducing as well. Find out what makes your audience emotional – either what moves them to tears and to sympathize with a certain situation, or what excites them and makes them happy. Think of creative ways to touch those emotional points through your copy and rally them behind your product.
What other ways can political speeches be likened to writing copy and content, and how can we learn from them? Tell me your thoughts!














