An apple is just an apple until you bring it to life with visual references. The deep red apple sat like a jewel surrounded by blazing orange tangerines. Her deep green scarf matched her emerald eyes and was complemented by her ginger hair. Using words that describe an everyday object brings that object to life. As content writers, our job is to bring the descriptive to whatever a client is trying to sell. Sometimes that is a product or a service—but either way, it is up to us not just to give it life, but also to give it a visual life.
In the mind of the reader, we are artists who paint a picture from within the memories of the reader. We have all seen a red apple, but to set it off as a jewel makes that apple special. The words we choose enhance desire of a product or the need of a service.
It was the sixth night this week she had missed dinner with her family, and she knew the kids would be asleep before she got home. There were never enough hours in the day and the guilt of building this business was paid for in the missed time with her children. It was then that the value of a virtual assistant made sense.
We did not have to say you need a virtual assistant. The implication was tied to the vision that was created within the text. Creating a scene that people can relate to provides the motivation that drives sales. This is the gift that content writers bring to advertising. In glossy magazines, the use of photographs display the visual link to products. In text, it is descriptive words that provide the visuals that are sometimes more powerful than photographs.
For clients, it is important that advertisements, blogs, and articles be rich in texture and visually stimulating by text alone. We talk about conversions within marketing, but that process needs to happen within the mind of the reader. When topics are relatable to the reader, then the battle for conversion is nearly finished. In addition to picking the exact keywords, choose a list of descriptive words that tell the story of your product or service.
As she walked across the street she felt the eyes of the world on her, and she smiled. She felt good, and nobody needed to know that her new dress was a $20 sale find at Marshall’s. It was a rich find, and she would use the $80 she saved for other treasures that prompted handsome men to open the door for her.
The whole idea is to spell out the reasons without blurting out the purpose. Let the reader’s mind make the connection in a subtle way that plants a seed that you can harvest all year long. That is the power of using visual words. Make your text come alive by telling a story we all want to hear.
David S is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
