Every now and then, I receive the odd email from The Royal Mail. The email’s clearly written by a professional copywriter – with a chatty, conversational tone and the odd joke. But recently, I’ve noticed something very strange about the content that takes me right back to the 1990s. It’s headed ‘Dear Sir/Madam’.
First of all, it’s ironic that a company that specialises in mail can’t work the mail merge on their customer database. But, most importantly, who uses ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ in any marketing these days? I remember using it on a job application in the early 2000s but that’s about it.
The whole tone of ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ is completely at odds with the conversational style of the rest of the content. It’s as if the copywriter put the email through ChatGPT and went completely off-piste with the tone of voice.
So, why does ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ fail on so many counts? It depersonalises the copy.
You could be anyone…a parent…a teenager…a pensioner…whoever. The writer hasn’t taken the time to address you directly or discover your name.
The importance of personalising your content
When I’m running copywriting training, I always talk to my trainees about the importance of addressing a single reader in your copy…whether you’re sending your communication to 1 or 10,000 people. It’s a basic human need to be treated as an individual – because that shows you matter.
Often, I set a task where I ask my trainees to imagine they’re trying to explain the products or services they sell to a family relative – like their mum. I drew inspiration from the celebrated financier Warren Buffet who always said that he always imagined he was writing to his ‘Aunty Doris’ when penning a company announcement. It meant that he kept his writing clear and laser-focused on his reader.
Talk to your reader as if you were having a one-to-one conversation. All too often, writers fall into the trap of talking to the crowd – which always results in a cold, impersonal tone.
Use conversational language. Explain how you understand the problems and issues they are facing and how you may be able to help (I’d highly recommend reading Andy Maslen’s Write to Sell for tips on how to write human-focused copy). Make sure you’re personalising your content.
And whatever you do, don’t refer to your reader as ‘Sir/Madam’. It’s so 1996.
If you’re looking for some help to write better copy, why not drop me a message or set up a call?
