The Surprisingly Fun Way to Make Your Copy Come Alive

Feeling stuck and stiff in your writing? Use this unconventional trick for turning out irresistible, personality-packed, highly creative copy.

If you want to write gripping copy and not sound like a lifeless robot, you’re going to LOVE the tip from Chase Canyon, below.

Not only is it a fresh approach to livening up tired phrases…

It also makes writing more fun.🤸🏻

Case in point—I tried tip #9 below, and learned more than I ever knew there was to learn about why hotels tuck their sheets in so tightly.

But the beauty of random knowledge is exactly that: it’s random. So random in fact, that it can make copy come to life and feel memorable to the reader.

I’m tempted to go write for the hospitality industry now, because this seemingly trivial knowledge could impress prospects when it comes to appreciating the cleanliness of a hotel.

Cool, right? Don’t just take my word for it… enjoy Chase’s tips below.

To your writing success,

Mindy

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Enough Ideas to Fill Your Editorial Calendar Until the End of Time: 12 Hidey-holes to Find Spellbinding Copy Ideas

By Chase Canyon

Your best client is expecting another piece of brilliant writing from you by tomorrow — and you’ve got nuthin’. Problem is, your topic is vague and you don’t know where to start.

But you absolutely refuse to hand in anything mediocre. You’re a respected writer — you write majestic marketing lore that captivates your clients’ audiences and skyrockets their businesses.

You’ve got the skills and you’ve got the talent. You just need a starting point that gets you motivated.

Sound familiar? The next time you’re in this predicament, I’ve got something new for you to try …

Trivia.

In my experience, using trivia in your copy is not only a great way to inspire your creative muse, it also makes for extremely strong writing. Let me explain …

Pursue the Trivial

Trivia tidbits are quick to read and fun to learn. And that’s true for your reader, too. Plus, trivia is an excellent place to start brainstorming.

For instance, did you know that Dr. Seuss coined the term “nerd” in his 1950 book If I Ran the Zoo? That knowledge could spark an idea that leads to original copy about which gadgets today’s self-proclaimed nerds want.

Or, let’s say you write for a parenting website or a health publication. Consider the fact that the average child eats 15 kilograms of cereal a year. That might inspire you to write a post called “10 Disturbing Reasons Kids Aren’t Getting Enough Vitamins.”

Even surprising facts like “the cigarette lighter was invented before the match” can add color to a dull topic.

Once you start panning for trivia, you’ll have more ideas than you can shake an iPad at. So have a pen and paper on hand and brace yourself for the avalanche of ingenuity.

To get you started, here’s a list of the best places I’ve found for trivia tidbits.

The Rolodex of the Marketing Muse

1. Trivia books — For example, the Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader collection is teaming with thousands of wacky facts and interesting stories about how things came to be the way they are.

2. Board games — Dust off those board games that haven’t been enjoyed since the dawn of smartphones. Games like Trivial Pursuit and TriBond are a veritable gold mine of inspiration.

3. Game shows — Game shows like Jeopardy! and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire are built around facts, statistics, and quotes.

4. Social Media — People constantly share quotes on all the social media platforms. Skim your feeds and see if something jibes with what you’re writing.

5. Buzzfeed.com — This site covers everything from news and entertainment to products that haven’t even been invented yet. Maybe you can parlay the latest pop culture gossip into an article that relates to your industry, like “5 Moves Hugh Jackman Did to Get Those Ripped-to-Shreds Abs” for your client’s fitness newsletter. Or you could spin a blog post on how the latest news affects your industry. For example, the news coverage after a hurricane wreaks havoc might quote the number of people who were left without power for a week, which could lead to a go-green blog post called “5 Reasons You Need Solar Panels for Your Home.”

6. Amazon.com — A search of your topic on Amazon.com will have your brain overflowing with ideas. The book summaries, ratings, comments, and even the titles can trigger your creative juices. Don’t forget to peek at the “people who bought this book also bought this” section, too.

7. Book stores — Don’t just peruse the financial section if you’re writing about finance or the health section if you’re writing about health. Scan the displays for inspirational fodder. Check out the recent bestsellers. Creative stimulus is waiting around every corner in bookstores.

8. Cracked.com — Appropriately named, Cracked.com has some crazy info and wacky lists that are ripe with content ideas.

9. MentalFloss.com — This month’s issue answers “pressing” questions like How long will a Twinkie last? (25 days according to Hostess.) Much of the random trivia that fills the magazine is available on the mentalfloss.com site for free.

10. Yahoo Answers & Quora.com — Here you’ll find socially relevant, crowdsourced, and highly subjective knowledge. Yahoo is better for casual, rapid information-seeking and Quora is a great place for structured, expert-driven insights.

11. Dictionary.com — The dictionary.com site is more than just a place to look up words. It’s had a makeover to include loads of compelling trivia. You can find word origins, words of the day, lists, and quotes to spark copy ideas.

12. Crossword puzzles — More than just a vocabulary workout, crosswords are composed entirely of interesting facts.

Print off this list and stick a copy by your computer so you have it the next time you’re stymied for ideas. You’ll know exactly where to start when you zone out in front of a blank page and start to panic. And as a bonus, your research will be entertaining, enlightening, and motivating.

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What random trivia do you know? Share and maybe a fellow reader will feel inspired to use it in their copy.😄