Everyone’s heard it: Words matter. But unless you spend your days obsessing over nouns, verbs, and adjectives, (Hi! 👋), you may not have thought about why word choices truly matter.

As a copywriter, I have to convey specific messaging in an allotted format. For example, an email announcing a new phase of construction, and compelling prospects to come choose their homesites. How do I accomplish that? By carefully selecting just the right words.

Different words convey different messages. Positivity or negativity. Excitement or dread. Passion or disinterest. Humor or gravity. Urgency or calm. The slightest change – even just one word – can alter a sentence’s meaning completely. For example, the difference between being “the only exclusive 55+ builder” versus “the only exclusively 55+ builder”. Or the use of words that may seem similar but have very different meanings. For example, “simple” and “simplistic”. Every word matters.

The Benefits of Working with A Copywriter

As marketing experts, our main goal is for our builder’s audience to “get it”, whatever “it” is. Accordingly, we are practitioners of careful, thoughtful, and deliberate communication. No matter the format – banner ads, blogs, social media posts, websites, print ads, advertorials, emails – we ensure that the story we’re telling is straightforward and consistent.

That level of care and clarity is one of the benefits of working with a professional copywriter. When we write, we are deliberate. We spend time choosing just the right words, constructing sentences in a particular way, and putting things in a certain order so that the desired message is clear and unmistakable. From headlines to bullet points to calls-to-action, every word has a purpose.

Whether it’s 90 characters in a Zillow ad, 40 words in an animated banner, or 1000 words in a blog, every word is considered carefully for tone, meaning, and voice. A range of questions need to be answered:

• Does this convey the point of the piece quickly and easily?
  Open House This Weekend!
• Does it have the right tone for the community?
  Beachside townhomes: Open House Margarita Party This Weekend!
• Does it correspond to the builder’s brand voice?
  Sincere & welcoming: Come meet the builder during our Open House this weekend! We can’t wait to see you.
• Does it adhere to the builder’s preferred tone?
  No fluff, straight to the point: Get your questions answered at our Open House Event this weekend.
  Warm & fuzzy: Join us for Breakfast with the Builder. While you’re here, meet some of your new neighbors as you tour your new home and community.

Our choice of words is how we tell your story, exactly as you want it told.

Discovering Your Brand Voice

Another objective of our marketing is to portray each builder’s brand accurately and consistently, from logo to color palette, imagery to design elements, website to sales office, billboards to facebook ads. That means translating the builder’s brand voice authentically via copy and design.

What is your brand voice? If your brand is a character, then your brand voice is your brand’s unique personality. It is how you communicate and present yourself to your audience. It’s what you say – and how you say it. Your brand voice should also be recognizable as belonging to you. It should reflect your mission, your credo, your passion. It should resonate with your target audience.

For example, Apple’s voice is confident and direct. They are industry leaders. Their messaging is simple and clear. Short sentences, with dynamic phrasing.

Your brand voice should be uniform across platforms. It should sound the same on social media, in emails, and in the sales office. Developing a consistent voice can help your brand cut through the noise and stand out among other builders. This consistency also helps build trust with your buyers. By building a trusting relationship, you are better able to show your buyers what to expect from your company, i.e. product, processes, and customer service.

When we work on branding with our builders – whether we’re starting from scratch, doing a rebrand or updating a website – we ask a variety of questions that give us insight into the builder. The questions are designed to elicit responses that tell us not only how the builder sees themselves, but how they want to be portrayed (or NOT portrayed) to their buyers, their competitors, and their community at large. The answers to these questions help us create their brand voice.

Creating your brand voice requires a bit of introspection. It means sitting down, usually with members of your team, and thinking about who you are as a company. What is your current voice? Do you like it? Do you want to change it? Do you need to change it? (It often comes as a surprise to some builders that their own team members have VERY different impressions of what the company’s brand voice sounds like.)

Sometimes, finding your voice means figuring out what you DON’T want it to be. For example, not too serious, not unreliable, not old fashioned. That’s actually a good thing. Those descriptions (serious, unreliable, old-fashioned) are words that tell us volumes! We now know that the builder would prefer their voice to be fun or light-hearted, trustworthy or dependable, innovative or original. And that gives us a guide for all of their branding.

As your copywriter, my job is to make your company, your product, and your employees SING! By using carefully chosen words that support your brand and accurately describe your homes and communities, we ensure that prospective buyers feel like they know you, whether they see an ad online or drive by a bootleg sign.

Never underestimate the power of words. Learn more about our copywriting and creative services including our Brand Discovery Package here.

Written By: Megan Farrell