The importance of appropriate tone in content writing

As a copy writer, it is important to know which tone to use when writing for a particular client’s website and how to establish it. Each client is selling something different and you need to establish an appropriate attitude towards each product or service, whilst keeping in mind the target audience, in order to sell it.

As an example, consider the differences between a company that sells cosmetics and one offering legal advice. The cosmetics company will most likely be targeting women as their primary audience, and they may have a specific age group in mind, so the tone of the article needs to be light and breezy, full of personality and as entertaining to read as the subject is ‘fun’. Most of all, any examples, jokes or analogies need to be ones that women will understand and appreciate and be aimed at the goals and aspirations of the particular age group. For example:

“A good quality waterproof mascara will not only give you that wide-eyed, Lily Cole look, but will also stop your eye make up smudging in the rain on the way to that hot date!”

A piece of writing of this kind is both interesting and informative, offering a relevant scenario that women will recognise whilst also highlighting the benefits and details of the product.

However, when writing for a company offering legal advice and services, the tone of the piece needs to be a lot more formal. You should use appropriate terminology and include a greater amount of essential information, whilst being concise and accurate. An example sentence of this kind of content writing would be something like this:

“In order for a divorce to be effective, it must be sanctioned by a court of law. The court will then take into account prenuptial or other agreements to determine the terms of the divorce.”

These two types of client are clear-cut examples of formal and informal tone but there is a wide spectrum in between. To get the tone right, you must always consider what a reader will want from each client’s particular website.

Christine Felton
Content Writer