Some of the phrases we hear the most regarding people writing copy or looking to hire copywriters are that they have run out of words, and don’t know what to say. One of the tricks to alleviate this “writers’ block,” is to create word lists. Every business should already have a keywords list, but there are also two other word lists you should have for your business.
In September 2019 I briefly went over word lists in a live video on my Facebook page. Recently I started loading my videos onto youtube for easier sharing here on my blog you can view this video titled Find Your Words below.
This article will go into greater detail of the 3 word-lists you need for your business and how to develop and use one.
What are the 3 word-lists?
The 3 word-lists you need are first your keywords list. The second is a list of words that you come across during your market research that just sound good. Basically the second list is a “warm-fuzzy” list. The third is for words that make you cringe when you see them used, they are words you want to avoid.
Keywords List
If you have not already put together a list of keywords for your business, here are a few tips to help get you started. Keywords are the words that people are most likely to use in searches that will bring them to your business. When developing your keywords list you must consider your audience, the problem you solve, and the solution you bring. The words that describe these will make up your keyword list. According to the latest reports by hub-spot, a website that specializes in reporting and understanding the statistics surrounding content creation and SEO, keywords matter based on the intent behind their use.
When it comes to your audience, consider their emotional state. How do they feel about themselves? What professions are they in? How old are they? Are they married, single, divorced? Are they male, female, transgender, are they amongst the LGBTQIA+ community? All of these questions will help you to develop words that describe the person you speak to when developing your copy and your content.
Next, consider the problem you are solving for these clients with your business. This will help to develop the largest part of your keyword list. What are the pain points your clients are experiencing? Perhaps they are struggling to manage their time, feel depressed, are stressed. This will differ depending on your business and what it is you do. Do a keyword search to determine what your audience is searching for.
Finally, consider the solution you actually offer. Maybe you provide guided step by step instruction for getting organized thereby overcoming stress and managing the use of your clients’ time. Consider the words you would use to describe what you do and how you do it. Look at your current clients if you have them and ask how they would describe what you do.
Looking at these three aspects of your business should help you build a hefty keyword list for your marketing and SEO. Your keyword list is essentially your topics list.
Your Good Words or “Warm-Fuzzy’s” List
Sometimes our brains work too fast. It can be difficult to keep up. We end up saying things like: “What’s that word? I think it starts with a k? Hey, insert name of friend, co-worker, husband, wife, mom. What was the word I used at that time when we were talking about that thing?”
Yes, even as a copywriter, I myself have had these very moments. The thesaurus can sometimes be my best friend. It is a tool I highly recommend you use when trying to come up with new ways to describe products and express ideas to your audience when you feel your content and your word choice are becoming overused and beginning to sound redundant.
Occasionally the thesaurus doesn’t cut it, because what happens when you do not know what the word you are wanting to use or thinking of using actually is? What happens when the word that comes to mind doesn’t actually have the same meaning as your intentions?
This is what the warm-fuzzy list is for. It is for keeping track of all those GOOD word moments you come across as you are looking at your competition, or doing the daily scroll of your network feeds and social media pages. In the old days, businessmen would read the paper to catch up on the latest trends and business news. Today we business people scroll our social media pages and favorite business sites for inspiration and news. As you do so I want you to give special attention to the words that are drawing your attention. Keep a list of your favorites and when you reach a writers’ block in your own marketing pull out this list and use it to spark ideas in your business.
Your Cringe List
So your warm fuzzy list is for keeping track of the words you love and that spark something inside of you when it comes to your business. The cringe list is where I want you to place the words that you feel are overused or cliche. While cliches may have a place within your marketing, they can also hurt your marketing as well. People want to know what makes you different not the same as everyone else in your industry.
Similar concept to creating the warm fuzzy list, with the cringe list I want you to keep track of the words and phrases you come across in the daily networking scroll that you view as overused, pompous, or just make you shake your head.
The reason for keeping a cringe list is not just to help you with knowing what words you want to avoid, but also to help you with producing a list of words you can throw into your thesaurus in order to locate and find new words that have similar meanings for when you feel yourself wanting to use a cliche, but cringing at the overused language of it.
How to use the lists?
There are many uses for the three lists discussed in this article. Earlier this week I wrote about building a business through content creation the first step being to choose your main content creation platform. There are three platforms blogging, video, and podcasts. These three lists: keywords, good words, and cringe-worthy words are a great place to start when brainstorming your ideas. Here is a list of ways you can utilize the three-word lists in your business.
- brainstorming
- social media post creation
- research
- hashtags
- reminders for when your brain just isn’t bringing the word to you
- style-guide builder when you outsource (words for your team to use and words to avoid)
- SEO building
- brand development
There are probably many more ways in which you could utilize these lists depending on your particular business. However, at a universal level, this is everything developing these lists can help do for you and your business.
If you would like to learn more about using content to build your business, join my group Focused on Content Creation over on Facebook. I will be hosting a few mini webinars discussing how to increase your profits with a blog over the next few months, plus a 10-day content creation boot camp in the second week of January. You can stay up to date on all of these great events by joining my Facebook group or following me on my business page.
That’s a great post! Didn’t even think of creating those types of list… but it will help me so much. Even more so because my first language is French and I work in English online.
I am so glad you enjoyed this post. I studied French in college, it is a beautiful language. I can read it pretty well, but definitely need more practice with speaking and responding.