3 Surefire Ways to add Rhythm to your Copywriting

Any copywriter will tell you that we aim to write in everyday language. Perhaps put best by copywriting’s godfather, David Oglivy told us decades ago; ““If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think. We try to write in the vernacular.” This puts aside the stricter rules of grammar to instead adopt something that sounds right, and appeals on a human level. 

For the exact same reasons, copywriters will often play around with the rhythm of their writing. Why? Because the pace of your copy can create real impact. Anyone with a love of poetry or music will appreciate how tempo can have an emotive effect. The exact same principles apply to copywriting. 

The geeky bit

Apparently, we respond to rhythm in writing because of the way we read. Generally speaking, we do it in our heads. But studies show that it’s likely that most people hear a voice in their head when they do this. If this is true, it means that we don’t just use our inner voice, in a sense we use our ears too. So if something “sounds” right to us, it’s far easier to relate to. 

There are plenty of tricks that can create pace and often it comes in the later stages as you review, edit, tweak, and tweak again (and yes it’s true, most writers would edit continuously given the chance). But here are just three ways of adding a little oomph to your copywriting.

Playing with punctuation

Copywriting is the perfect profession for writers who like to break the rules. In fact, if you’re the type to get a little thrill from that kind of thing, it could be heaven. So let’s be gung-ho, and chuck the Oxford Book of Grammar out the window. What’s to stop us? 

In actual fact, playing around with commas and full stops is a clever way to inject pace, but go too far, and you’ll end up with something that doesn’t make sense, or sounds too staccato. Think back to the first rule; the key is to make sure copy sounds right, and has an authentic ring to it.

So how can punctuation, or lack of it, make a difference? Swot up on your poetry, listen to some music, or pick up the nearest book and you’ll get an instant idea. Take for example the opening paragraph of Daphne Du Maurier’s classic, Rebecca.

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. It seemed to me I stood by the iron gate leading to the drive, and for a while I could not enter, for the way was barred to me.”

It starts with a short, sharp sentence, giving you pause, creating tension and intrigue. Then she picks up the pace with a long sentence, broken with only two commas at just the right places, to emphasise the idea that the character is in distress, or “barred” from her path.

Working those sentence fragments

Of course, punctuation is inextricably linked to sentence lengths. Despite what you learned in school, sentence fragments can be a good thing, especially when it comes to adding drama to your writing. But how should you use fragments without creating something that just sounds badly written?

The easiest way to look at it, is that breaking up your sentences can neatly emphasise a point, so pick and choose which idea you want to draw particular attention to. The other great thing about writing in this way is that it really does ring true. People tend to speak in fragments naturally, so it makes sense to us as readers.

This little known secret has been used throughout history by many literary greats, including Shakespeare. You’ll find countless examples wading through your old school books, such as Macbeth’s, “Out, out, brief candle!” or “Farewell, fair cruelty” in Twelfth Night.  

Stressed and unstressed syllables

Varying syllables within a sentence and choosing words that force you to stress in a particular place is another literary tool perfect for copywriting. Put in a basic form, a stressed syllable is something you would pronounce louder, longer and with more emphasis than an unstressed syllable. 

Fancy another example? How about, “twinkle, twinkle, little star.” When you read these words out loud, you naturally place the emphasis at certain points. Try it, and you’ll find that you naturally stress the beginning and end of “twinkle” and “little”, and the beginning of “star.” This creates a certain beat, or rhythm as you read through. 

So, in summary, that gives you three clever cheats for adding spice to your copywriting. What have we learned? Choose your words wisely, punctuate with aplomb, and never shy away from a perfectly placed sentence fragment. (Or get a clever copywriter to do it for you.)