The Hired Guns Blog

Think First Then Type, a column by the copywriter par excellence Daryl Lang, comes with tips and techniques to help you use language more effectively at work. After all, even the best and brightest ideas won’t catch on if you can’t get them understood.

Good writing is scientifically proven to enhance your sex appeal, persuade colleagues to do your work for you, and help you communicate with some of the more intelligent species of reptiles.

OK, I confess: I copied the style of that last sentence from Groupon. And why not? The fastest-growing company ever must be doing something right. Certainly, Groupon knows a thing or two about copywriting. Read this opening to a recent Groupon offer:

It’s no accident that soccer is the most popular sport in the world–it requires little equipment, is fast paced, has clear rules, and can be played while holding a baby. Witness some graceful and free-footed fireworks with today’s Groupon: for $15, you get two premium sideline tickets to any one of the Carolina RailHawks’ regular-season home games (a $30 value).

That’s classic Groupon: Begin with a quick, snort-inducing joke, then tell somebody they can save a few bucks on something fun. Groupon took a simple idea–a daily, local, social-driven coupon–and turned it into a massive business on the strength of good writing. A marketer might tell you this is a well-executed example of the AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) method.

But this is not some cookie-cutter marketing formula. Groupon editor-in-chief Aaron With recently told Mediabistro that Groupon writers generate enough copy to fill a 190-page novel–every day. That’s a lot of writers employing the cheerfully weird Groupon tone that persnickety advertisers and fickle customers expect.

To make it happen, Groupon developed a set of copy standards that explains how to write in the Groupon style. (A summary’s available online.)

The document lists eight kinds of jokes that are used in Groupon offers:

1. Absurd images. Sweeping, dramatic nonsense
2. Hypothetical worlds/outcomes
3. Fake proverbs, adages
4. Mixed metaphors
5. Fake history
6. Negative comparisons: “…unlike when…”
7. Highly technical language (medical, scientific, etc.)
8. Illogical comparisons and lists

How can you apply Groupon’s strategy to your own writing? Well, if you struggle with ideas or are feeling lazy, you could try crafting a Groupon-style joke the next time you need to send a memo or give a presentation.

But you’re more creative than that. Somewhere in your personality, there’s something that gets people’s attention. Throw some vim into the first part of whatever you write. Put people in a positive frame of mind, invite them into your camp, then tell them what you have to say.

Jokes don’t always work (and if you’re known around the office as a humorless crank, don’t bother trying), but they often can.

Remember, Groupon got to be Groupon by sending messages like this:

Although sprinkling coffee beans directly into cereal seems like a time-efficient practice, it will only make marshmallow ghosts too jumpy to take a nap in your spoon. Keep your bowl buddies tranquil with today’s mug-friendly Groupon: for $19, you get $39 worth of organic coffee…

[Image : ©SClements/Shutterstock]