Why Good Copywriting isn’t About Being Shakespeare 2.0

Many new copywriters fall into the trap of thinking their job is to write like a novelist or poet. Flowery vocabulary, dramatic pauses, and ornate sentences creep into their drafts. The result looks impressive on the page, but it rarely moves anyone to click, buy, or sign up. Good copywriting does not need to sound literary. Imagine writing a copy about a fixed index annuity for a financial firm, but you focus on prose. You would be failing your client who hired you to guide readers toward action. 

Annuity Advantage explains the concept as an investment that earns you interest based on the changes to the market index. If you’re writing on any technical theme like this, what should you really be focusing on if not fancy messaging? Let’s find out.

Everyone Wants to Be Understood

One of the fastest ways to lose a reader is to talk about yourself. Brands often make this mistake. Their copy is filled with “we,” “our,” and “us” instead of “you.” But people are not looking to read a company biography. They want to know if you understand the experiences they are going through.

As Salesforce’s State of the AI Connected Customer report shows, 80% of customers now consider the experience a company provides as important as the product. The same goes for business buyers, who are 86% more likely to buy if a company understands their goals.

This is why the best copy you come across tends to read like it is written by someone who has been in the reader’s shoes. When you highlight frustrations, obstacles, or even small annoyances your audience faces, you create instant trust. 

For instance, a line like

 “Still waiting three days for a reply?”

 lands so much more effectively than

 “We offer fast customer service.”

If you notice the difference, you’re actually noticing empathy in action. You are showing that you see their problem before offering your solution. Every reader wants to feel heard. Essentially, a copy that mirrors a reader’s concern will make them lean in, and a copy that skips straight to selling will make them pull away. 

The next time you’re about to write, consider putting the prose on standby and ask yourself the following question. “Am  I proving that I understand the reader’s life, or am I just describing my product?”

You are Not Targeting the 1% Audience

If you’re new to copywriting, it can feel odd to see the overwhelming emphasis on “simplicity.” You wonder what’s wrong with using bigger words that could describe something better. While it’s true that a word like “Justifies” explains a sentiment like “It’s worth getting” in one word, it’s not a daily word.

Take a moment and reflect on the last three days of your personal life outside of copywriting. How often did you use or even think of the word ‘justifies’? For most people, the answer is probably zero. Readers who land on a website or read emails are already stingy with their attention budget. 

They don’t want to waste time processing words and phrases that they don’t use every day. As a new copywriter, remembering this can be hard. It actually takes discipline and effort to keep things simple. The fact is, it’s absolutely necessary, and data backs this up.

Through a large-scale survey, researchers compared 50 pairs of synonyms and found they could distinguish the more engaging word with 84% accuracy. Unsurprisingly, simpler, easy-to-use language significantly boosted engagement.

Thus, you really have to strip away extra words until what is left is direct and undeniable. That does not make the copy dull. In fact, the clearest sentences often feel the most confident, as the following two examples show: 

Example A: “Our software facilitates seamless collaboration across teams.”

Example B: “You can work better together.”

Here’s a simple rule to keep in mind: long, complex sentences slow people down. If you want your copy to perform in the real world, read it out loud. Does it sound like something you would say to a friend without pausing? If not, it needs trimming.

Combine Empathy, Simplicity with…?

Real-world grounding. 

The fact is that effective copywriting revolves around understanding the environment where your words appear. This is why the best copywriters borrow from psychology and design. They think about attention spans, eye movement on a page, and the triggers that make people act.

PR Newswire highlights one study by Integral Ad Science, which used eye-tracking technology. The results showed that contextually relevant ads were able to capture more attention and enhance outcomes like brand favorability and purchase intentions. 

The same logic works with copy. You have to be relevant to the world of the reader.

What’s more, you have to compete with memes, notifications, and everything else demanding attention. If your copy somehow feels detached or abstract from the real world that people live in, then it’s incredibly hard to create a connection with your reader.  

This is something new copywriters need to pick up fast. According to Mordor Intelligence, copywriting is a market that will be worth over $42.83 billion by 2030. SEO Copywriting was the largest content type at 28.43% of the copywriting market share. SEO copywriting is one area where it’s really easy to focus on the SEO side of things and lose sight of the key fundamentals we’ve been discussing. So, take care to remember: empathy, simplicity, and real-world grounding, always.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are the 4 C’s of copywriting?

The 4 C’s are clear, concise, compelling, and credible. Basically, your writing should be easy to understand, straight to the point, engaging enough to grab attention, and backed by trust. When all four click, your copy is way more persuasive.

2. What is simplicity in writing style?

Simplicity means cutting the fluff and saying things in a way that’s easy to grasp. It’s about using everyday words, short sentences, and a natural flow so readers don’t get lost. Simple writing makes your message stick without feeling dumbed down.

3. What are the Big 4 emotions in copywriting?

The Big 4 emotions are fear, greed, love, and duty. They’re the strongest triggers behind human decisions. Copywriters tap into them to push action, like urgency from fear, desire from greed, connection from love, or responsibility from duty. They’re powerful motivators.

All things considered, copywriting is not about impressing anyone with your literary talent. Some of the strongest copies look almost too simple at first glance, but they work because they connect immediately.

If you want to grow as a copywriter, practice understanding your audience better than they understand themselves. Keep your language clean and natural. And remember that your words are always fighting for attention in a noisy world.