Pro Content In a Box: Just Add Personality

Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.Comparisons are as bad as cliches.Who needs rhetorical questions?Writing is full of rules (including a whole bunch you should break) but there’s one secret that really great writers know.It’s the one thing they do that drives more readers, more shares, and more sales.This rule is the one you can’t do without.It will change the way you write.It will change the way people read what you write.(Is the suspense killing you yet???)The secret-sauce in writing is to add personality to your writing!Think about it! The most shared content on the Internet are viral cat videos and memes. You may have met Condescending Willy Wonka or Gumpy Cat by now…So yes, we’re telling you it’s time to add humor to your blog posts. It’s time to get off your technical writing high horse (well, unless you are a technical writer and in that case, carry on).But we aren’t going to leave you with that and send you off! Our friends at SmartBlogger recently shared 7 ways you can inject your blog with humor and we thought we’d take that one step further and give you some examples of the magic in action. Check out how some of the top writers online add personality to their tomes and are better off for it.

Get extreme

The Internet is the perfect place to stretch the truth just a little bit to find a connection with your reader and punch up your copy with a little personality. Instead of saying you “really liked” something you could say you were “obsessed”.Or maybe you want to tell someone that “humor is a must-do on your blog” so you say “you simply cannot live without humor on your blog”.That kinda thing.Exaggeration is a great way to go from subtle to attention-grabbing. And if there’s one thing interior design blogger Orlando Soria is not known for, it’s subtlety. Orlando Soria: http://www.hommemaker.com/2017/05/11/my-new-guest-bedroom-is-finally-done/Check out the first two sentences of his guest room makeover post:

I kind of freaked out when I finally saw my guest bedroom in its fully finished state. Which was insane, because I’d literally been there the whole time putting it together, sweating my face off and screaming at the ceiling.

Was he actually sweating his face off (we hope not) and screaming at the ceiling (um, maybe…) or is that an exaggeration?Who cares because it makes us want to keep reading and it builds a personal connection with Orlando. It sounds like he’s talking to us the same way he talks to his friends and yes please let’s be friends, Orlando Soria. You’re hired. Love you.See how that works?

I thought you’d never ask

On second thought, we totally love reading blog posts that sound like we’re reading the dictionary.Nevermind.This next one might seem like an obvious choice but it can be a bit tricky to implement: sarcasm.The trick with sarcasm is to not come across as condescending to your reader and you certainly don’t want to use it all the time.Sarcasm has great power in small doses. Just ask copywriting (and comedy) expert, Lianna Patch.Lianna Patch https://copyhackers.com/2016/02/content-fatigue/Lianna infuses her blog posts with sarcasm to grab your attention, make a point, and/or connect on a deeper level. Like this sub-heading:

Here’s what not to do… unless your idea of a good time is piling garbage on garbage.

PS: That’s no one’s idea of a good time.

Metaphors (and similes) be with you

For you word nuts out there (we’re raising our hand in the group too, k?) metaphors and similes are often lumped into the same category but technically they are different.A metaphor is when you describe something by using another thing without using the word “like”. A simile uses the word “like” to connect the two.Confusing enough? Don’t worry. We’ll show you:In Sean Platt’s post called The Eminem Guide to Becoming a Writing and Marketing Machine, he’s using a metaphor in the headline. It’s not actually Eminem’s Guide (Sean wrote it).But he uses simile throughout the post. Like this:

Listening to his music is like tuning into a live therapy session that would make Tony Soprano seem stable by comparison.

And they’re both full of connection and personality.We instantly know something about Sean (he listens to Eminem) and then when we’re reading the post and realize we aren’t as familiar with the rapper as Sean is, he tells us exactly how to envision those lyrics.

Be the worst

A rule of using humor in blog posts is that you should always bear the brunt of your own jokes. In other words, don’t make fun of other people!Instead, take it out on yourself a little bit and become the one everyone is laughing at. Or at least smiling toward.Allison Marshall scatters light self-deprecation throughout her writing and, man, do we love her for it.

And even though now I just work in my online business full-time, there's STILL a lot that's constantly going on!I mean ya'll ... I literally wear ALL of the hats.(Please take a moment to picture me wearing a very tall stack of ridiculous looking hats for a second. Have you done that yet? Good!)

Just like sarcasm (and, really, every form of humor) you want to use self-deprecation sparingly. In life and on your blog, friend.

Isn’t that funny?

Find something funny in your industry? Poke it a bit!Observational humor gives you a chance to play stand-up comedian a bit and point out the hilarity that is this thing we call life. While he might not have a blog, Tyler Littwin pokes good fun at the tech industry with his alter ego, Orlando Scampington.Scampington gets to point out all of the ways that marketers and other tech people get it wrong – and he’s now getting invited to speak at conferences to share the laughs.People love Orlando Scampington because he’s right. Remember the saying “it’s funny because it’s true”? That’s observational humor.Orlando Scampington https://twitter.com/oscampington?lang=en

Oh the irony!

How about the headline:Why Your Getting It Wrong With You’re GrammarSee what we did there?Grammar Police will love/hate the fact that the your and you’re are swapped out. And it gets they’re their attention. (did it again)This, dear reader, is irony.It’s when there’s a reversal of expectations.Paul Jarvis once wrote a listicle (an article in the form of a list) about why you shouldn’t write listicles. He also wrote an article called 8 out of 10 statistics are completely made up.If your audience is a smart one, irony is a great way to add a bit of humor and personality without deterring from the subject matter.Paul Jarvis https://pjrvs.com/a/stats/

Connect the unexpected

Ever tried to tell a story about a horse and found yourself needing a paper clip, an airplane, and a map of South Africa to get your point across?You might love making unexpected connections, the final way to add personality and humor to your writing.Like Kira Hug does. A lot.She even manages to connect shopping for the perfect paint sample to her never-ending-revisions policy (very generous, btw, Kira).You could try relating your business owning journey to dinosaurs on the hunt or maybe you want to talk about color palettes and relate it to that time you auditioned for the high school marching band.The world is your oyster with unexpected connections. Use them to draw your reader in and get them thinking in ways they wouldn’t have otherwise.

Go forth and be funny

A parting thought before you set out to add humor and personality to your writing:Humor is best used sparingly and never at the expense of others. Don’t be a Mean Girl. Also, try these tips out as casually as possible – in a social media post, an email, or on your own blog – before you go implementing them out in the wild. See what works for you and your readers and then do more of that!What are your favorite ways to add personality to your own writing?Share what you’re working with in the comments so we can learn from you!