Crafting Messages That Stick With Your Audience

We interact with different types of textual information every day. It may be Ads on our phones, emails in our inbox, and posts on social media. We hardly remember the majority of them. However, there are some that echo in our minds. They affect the way we think, feel, or even purchase.

Those are the messages that stick. And the good news? You can create them too. It does not mean to use the fancy wording or complex language. It has something to do with simplicity, clarity, and how humans perceive information. Let’s find out what you can do to create messages that are easy to remember and stick with your audience.

Know Who You’re Writing For

The initial step is having knowledge of who you are talking to. Your message won’t be able to turn heads until it is aligned with the likes and dislikes of the target audience.

Suppose you are writing a copy for a shoe brand specializing in running shoes. When writing to an athlete, you pay focus on performance, speed, and support. But when you are targeting everyday walkers, you will mention comfort, style, and price. Same product. Different message.

Example:

• Addressing sportsmen: “Run faster. Train harder. Break your limits.”
• Addressing passersby: “Enjoy yourself the whole day, go shopping and stroll at night.”

See the difference? They are both discussing shoes but in different wording tailored to different audiences. When you get to know your audience, the words sound personal. You can also count on Audiense to understand your target audiences and make your messages more personalized. And these types of personalized messages are never forgotten.

Keep It Short and Simple

The best messages tend to be the easiest. People are confused by long sentences and complex words. When your reader has to pause and think too hard, he/she will walk away.

Consider memorized slogans. “Just Do It.” “Think Different.” “I am Lovin it.” They are slogans from popular brands such as Nike, Apple, and McDonald’s, respectively. They’re short. They’re easy. That’s why they stay with you.

One of the tricks is to avoid unnecessary words and keep your message short and simple, making it easier for your audience to remember it. You may also get assistance from Sentence Shortener to add conciseness to your messages. It uses artificial intelligence to remove fluff or unnecessary wording from the provided messages.

For example:

Lengthy and Complex: Our company focuses on offering the customers high-quality solutions that should be customized to suit their unique needs.

Short and Easy to Remember: We provide you with quality solutions tailored to your needs.

The latter is less difficult to read. It feels more natural. That’s what you need to replicate while writing content for your audiences.

Use Stories

Stories last longer in the mind than facts. They create pictures and connect with emotions. It’s easy for people to remember something presented as a story rather than a plain, emotionless text.

For example:

Consider reading this sentence: “There are many individuals who do not save towards retirement. It’s true, but not very sticky.

And here is another one to test you: Mark served a 30-year career. He never saved much. At the time of his retirement, he was unable to afford bills.

The second one draws a clear picture. You can imagine Mark. You can feel his struggle. It is more difficult to forget that. So, stories help readers connect emotionally, which ultimately contributes to making your messages hard to ignore.

Repeat the Core Idea

Repetition aids in idea retention. Once you listen to something, you may forget. When you hear it again and again, it is retained.

Consider television or social media adverts. They do not simply present you with the message once. They keep on repeating it, so people develop a sense of recalling it on their own. This is the reason why you still recall jingles or slogans made many years ago.

The trick is that you are not supposed to repeat the same sentence. Repeat the same thing but with a variation.

Example:

If your core message is: drink more water, you may say:

• “Your body should have water to make it strong.”
• “A glass of water will make you fresh.”
• “Skip the soda. Choose water.”

Different words. Same idea. Repetition makes it stick.

Give it the Touch of Hope, Excitement, or Humor

People respond well to those messages that provoke them emotionally. When your message is one-dimensional, then it dies. If it sparks emotion, it lasts.

However, feelings do not need to be intense. Your message may become memorable even with little doses of humor, hope, or excitement.

Example:

Flat: “Our app saves you time.”

Emotionally-connected: Spend less time on spreadsheets. Work less on what you don’t enjoy doing.

As you can observe, the second version conveys the message better, and people will be more likely to recall it whenever they feel the need to incorporate an app that saves time.

Let’s have another example. Suppose you are fundraising to raise money for animal shelters. Instead of going with “Donate to help stray animals,” you should come up with something like this: “One little gift will put a lonely dog to bed tonight.”

As you can tell, the second version strikes harder to provoke emotions than the first one. This is how you can make your message memorable.

Make It Actionable

A good and catchy message not only remains in people’s minds, but it also makes them act. When your readers nod and do nothing, it means your message has failed to do its job.

Doing an action does not mean buying something. It may be about clicking on a specific URL, downloading an application, subscribing to a newsletter, or thinking in a different way. It is about making your readers do the desired action you want them to perform.

Example:

You should avoid writing “Eating vegetables is good for your health.”

Try to make it actionable like this:
“Add one green veggie to your breakfast today. Your body will thank you tomorrow.”

As you can see, the second version does not only convey the information, it also provides readers with a clear picture of what to do. This is how you can create messages that stick.

You can also rely on Call-to-Action Generator to add appealing CTAs that drive both action and engagement. It helps you create intriguing messages that encourage readers to take the next step.

Wrapping Up

Crafting a message that sticks isn’t about sounding smart. It’s about sounding real. Know your audience. Keep your words simple. Use stories. Repeat your point. Add emotion. Make it actionable.

When you do these things, your words won’t just be read. They’ll stay. They’ll matter. And most importantly, they’ll move people. So, the next time you sit down to write, ask yourself: Will this message be forgotten tomorrow, or will it be remembered by the people?