Joanna Woodhouse, Writer and Copywriter

Category: writing

  • Why you should read more to become a Better Writer

    As a schoolgirl, I was an aspiring writer, so when my English teacher said reading was the best way to become a good writer, I paid attention and read more. It wasn’t a hardship because I enjoyed reading and have remained an avid reader. I have discovered many benefits to reading, including for education and wellbeing. As a writer, I agree with my teacher; the most significant benefit is its positive impact on my writing skills. Whether you choose a classic, the latest best-seller, non-fiction, graphic novel, blog, magazine or newspaper, I promise you will reap the rewards from reading.

    These are five ways reading helps you to become a more effective writer.

    1 You will learn from great writers

    Immersing yourself in the prose of the greatest writers can only positively affect how we write ourselves – even if we may never reach their level of skill. You don’t have to read the classics to become a better writer or read books associated with work or study. However, whatever you read should be well-written. As you read, you will absorb the vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, description, and techniques such as metaphors and personification (even if you are unsure what they are) and incorporate this into your writing.

    There’s a wealth of information exploring the relationship between reading and writing. Both Writing Forward and Writer’s Edit explain in greater detail why you should read to write more effectively, and Readable looks at how reading can improve your writing skills.

    2 Reading helps develop empathy

    Empathy is invaluable for a copywriter because it helps us to connect with our audience’s motivations. Schools encourage children to read because it improves their reading and writing and helps them develop empathy. With empathy, we can recognise and understand how others feel, see the world through the eyes of others, and recognise each other’s differences – all of which are essential for a successful writer.

    There has been research into how reading helps us develop empathy. The Book Trust has published many articles on how reading helps children develop empathy and why that is important. This article discusses how non-fiction can help children build empathy, and the Book Trust explains why creating empathy through books is so important.

    3       Reading can help cure writer’s block.

    When writer’s block strikes, reading is one solution I turn to. I may find inspiration from reading about the topic I am writing on. Reading can prompt a clever turn of phrase. The chance to escape into a different world for a few minutes can also be the perfect remedy to get the writer’s brain working again. 

    4 Reading expands your knowledge

    I read books to help me become a better copywriter, writer, and marketer. There’s a wealth of knowledge in print which goes back hundreds of years, as well as a growing amount online. There’s bound to be something to read on any subject you need to write about. I also read books on other topics I am interested in or wish to learn more about. Some people learn best by watching or listening, while others, like me, prefer reading. I often understand the subject and retain knowledge better when I read it. When I want to check a fact or process, I find it easier to use an index, turn back a page, or scroll up the screen than to rewind a video or podcast. Books can provide more in-depth knowledge on a subject than watching a 20-minute video. Reading also means I don’t have to wear earphones or worry about disturbing anyone with the sound from my device.   

    5       Reading provides the perfect escape from reality

    I enjoy reading for pleasure as well as to improve my knowledge. Books can provide that perfect escape we all need, particularly at the end of a busy day or stressful time. For about half an hour each day, my book transports me away from my life as a mum and freelancer and into the world of my book. Over the past 12 months, I have read about the life of Jane Austen, women in Tudor England, a 1960s US television studio, and the battlefields of the First World War, among others. Wherever my book takes and teaches me, I welcome my daily escape. It provides me with a break from the daily stresses and pressures of life, and I’m thankful I was not a Tudor woman and grateful to the soldiers of the First World War. While escaping into my book, I am improving my writing skills, developing empathy, gaining inspiration and boosting my knowledge.

    What benefits have you found from reading? What are you reading now? Do you have any book recommendations? Let me know in a comment below.

  • Six tips for easy-to-read, engaging copywriting that gets results

    Recently I stepped away from the protection of my computer screen to present a seminar to a room of businesspeople. The topic was copywriting and how effective copywriting can help businesses. One point which sparked interest was how we can check how easy our writing is to read. Writing easy-to-read engaging copy is a subject that interests me, and I am always keen to learn more.

    Why do I find this interesting? Because if our copywriting is hard to read, it won’t be read, and then it will fail to get the results we want.

    Here are five tips to help you craft words that are both easy to read and engaging.

    1. Writing for the majority

    During the 19th and 20th centuries, research was conducted to help develop writing that most people could easily understand. Researchers are investigating how best we can write words for a screen today.

    Readability formulas developed in the U.S.A. in the 20th century continue to help us write words that can be understood by the wider population today. These include Flesch Reading Ease, Gunning Fog Index, and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level.

    Rudolph Flesch developed Flesch Reading Ease in the 1940s. The US Navy later came up with the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level.

    If you get a Flesch Reading Ease score in the 60s, you are writing in plain English. To be understood by most readers, your copywriting should get a Flesch-Kincaid Grade level of 8 or lower. Grade 8 is 13-14 years old. I aim for a reading age of 12, which is grade 7.

    If you use Microsoft Word, you can find out your Flesch Reading Score and Flesch-Kincaid Score. To do this, go to editor, on the review tab and click document stats.

    How can you achieve these scores? 

    Flesch calculated his formula using sentence and word length. So, we need to use shorter sentences and simpler words. Shorter sentences are easier to read and work better on smaller screens. Try to vary your sentence length. If all your sentences have a similar short word count, they can become dull to read or too staccato. It’s time to kill your darlings if you aren’t hitting the ideal readability scores. Could you cut some sentences in two or delete words without losing meaning?

    Remember K.I.S.S, which means keep it short and simple, or keep it simple, stupid. Avoid jargon, choose easy-to-understand words, shorter sentences, and punchy paragraphs.

    2. Write in the active voice

    Writing in the active voice is more engaging and easier to read than passive voice. A quick grammar lesson: In the active voice, the subject of the sentence does the action to the object; in the passive voice, the action is done by the subject. Here are some examples:

     Active: Ben played the drums.

    Passive: The drums were played by Ben.

    Active: Barney scored the winning goal.

    Passive: The winning goal was scored by Barney.

    Active: The company tripled its sales in 2023.

    Passive: In 2023, the sales of the company were tripled.

    The active voice is more direct and makes more impact than the passive voice. Ideally, you should always try to write using the active voice. However, there may be instances when you need to use the passive voice if it is clearer to understand.

    3. Write like a journalist

    Journalists and copywriters both write for a wide audience, so it’s not a surprise that there are some practices they share. One of which is the inverted triangle technique. and is one of the ways copywriters can engage their readers.

    Using the inverted triangle means we tell the reader the most important details they need to know first. These are the details which will capture the reader’s attention, and it’s one technique copywriters can use to write engaging and persuasive copy. One example could be revealing in the first sentence how your product or service will help your ideal customer.

    Capturing our reader’s attention is the first step of the copywriting technique A.I.D.A., which stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. Once we have their attention, we can hold their interest, create that feeling of need or want and entice them to take that call to action.

    4. More you can ways to hook your reader

    You can tempt a reader to engage with your copy in many ways. The inverted triangle is one of them. You could also hook or capture their interest with a question identifying a problem they need to solve. Or an interesting statistic that helps sell your service. One of my favourites is telling a story. Stories can be memorable and emotive, provide human interest and are a powerful way of drawing the reader in.

    5. Write for the reader

    It’s important to remember your copy is not about you. It’s about what you can do for your reader, who is your ideal customer. As well as showing how you can solve their problem and writing in a style that is easy to understand, you need to use their language. By writing using the reader’s language, we can build a relationship with them, provide words they can identify with and get our message across more easily.

    6. Break up your text

    If you are marketing online, paying attention to how people read on a screen is important. Research by the Nielsen Norman Group has found that people scan when they read online. The tips already covered will help engage a reader who is scanning your words. We can also help them read our words by how we format our text. We can begin with an eye-catching headline, break our text into shorter paragraphs, use sub-headings, bulleted lists, and bold type. 

    As a copywriter and journalist, I provide writing services for small businesses, agencies, and publications. I can also help you improve your copywriting. If you would like help to ensure your words are engaging, easy-to-read writing or to find out more about my services, get in touch at joanna@joannawoodhouse.co.uk