Word Tonic Blog Post

Word Tonic is a global copywriting community and learning platform founded by Gen-Z copywriter Carolyn McMurray. Word Tonic strives to educate and empower young people interested in a writing career, and connect Gen-Z copywriters with like-minded peers in the industry.

TOV: Loud, bratty, a little bit of a hot mess, unapologetically weird, conversational, swearing welcome

As part of my Word Tonic internship, I was tasked with writing a blog post titled "Five things a BANANA taught me about copywriting" for the Word Tonic blog. The blog post needed to be strange, entertaining, teach real copywriting principles, and subtly position Word Tonic as a place to learn more about copywriting.

The target audience is Gen Z creatives who may or may not already know Word Tonic. This audience is curious, but not committed to a Word Tonic membership (yet). Readers would likely encounter the blog post via paid ad or organic search.

Keywords: Word Tonic, freelance copywriting, copywriting communities, best copywriting platform

Here are some excerpts highlighting the five things I "learned" from a banana about copywriting. If you'd like to read the full blog post, you can find it here. 

Part of my blog post was also featured in a LinkedIn post and Instagram post on the Word Tonic social media platforms.

1. Be BOLD and BRIGHT.

"Someone tells you to describe a banana. What’s the first thing you say? Yellow.

Yellow is a bright, vibrant color. It’s the color of the sun, highlighters, traffic signs, and that one sundress that makes you feel hot af. It’s a color made to be noticed.

Your copy needs to be yellow. Ok, don’t literally change all the text to yellow because then your writing will be unreadable. But it needs to be bold. Vibrant. LOUD.

To write like a banana, you need to sift through all the obvious, bland, oatmeal-colored ideas in your head and get to the unexpected."

2. Embrace your WEIRD SHAPE.

"A lot of people are afraid of being weird. They think that boring = safe.

I see a lot of freelance copywriters fall into this way of thinking. And I get it, freelance copywriting is scary, especially when you’re new and desperate for your first paid gig.

But the truth is people don’t hire boring. They hire bananas: the writer that’s a little weird, with a unique tone of voice and a fresh perspective. The writer that’s not hiding behind a brown paper bag."

3. Keep things SIMPLE.

"Ok, I know I just talked a lot about being weird and vibrant and colorful and loud.

A banana is all of those things…but it is also just a banana.

A simple, potassium-filled fruit with a mushy white center. And that simplicity at its core is what allows all the wacky, strange qualities of a banana to shine.

So before you dive into your next brainstorming sesh for a headline, blog post, e-mail, or even your LinkedIn bio, stop and take a moment. Write out what you’re trying to say: no puns, no quips, no cheeky winking at the camera. Just what you wanna say, straight up."

4. Don't let yourself ROT. 

"Maybe you’ve been curious about a copywriting career for awhile now. Maybe you’ve even been stalking Word Tonic for a while…lurking…waiting for the day you feel ripe and ready to start your copywriting career.

Or maybe you have no clue what copywriting is but you saw ‘writing’ and it spoke to something in you.

Either way, you’ve probably got a dream you’ve been waiting to pursue because you’re “not ready” or it's “not the right time.”

Well bitch, the bananas are starting to rot. What’re you gonna do about it?"

5. Grow in a BUNCH, not alone.

"Bananas don’t grow alone. They grow in a bunch, surrounded by other bananas that are just like them: funky shapes, neon colors, and all.

Nothing like writers. Writers are lonely, tortured souls that prefer to type out their twisted thoughts in solitude. Right?

Yeaaaaaah…no.

Copywriters need community—to keep us motivated, give us support and resources, and keep us accountable when we’re doing literally everything else on our to-do list except writing.

And it's best if it’s a community of your peers—funky, fruity bananas just like you."