Contractions in copywriting – A discussion
September 30, 2013 • Glenn Murray
On Friday, I posted an infographic showing when it’s OK to use certain contractions in your copywriting.
It’s been one of my most popular posts ever, in terms of traffic and comments. Very chuffed!
A couple of comments, in particular, warranted further discussion…
Have you yourself actually used those in writing before?
Content writer, Micky Stuivenberg raised a very good question about the contractions in the outer circle – the least formal ones:
I agree some of the contractions in the outer circle look a little strange. (I actually culled “she’d’hve” and “I’d’ve” from this circle, for that very reason.) I also agree that, in some copy, they’d sound a little strange.
BUT… they do have a time and place. No, as it happens, I haven’t actually used them in copy myself, but I would. In fact, I think the tradie radio ad mentioned in the infographic is the perfect example…
Example: Picture two stereotypical tradesmen, John and Dave, talking on the building site. Smithy’s is the local hardware store:
John: Right, I’m off to get the new drop-saw at Smithy’s.
Dave: When’ll you be back?
John: Dunno. Depends how many other toys’re on special. Could be there all week!
Dave: Huh! How’ll the missus feel ’bout that?
John: Why’ll she care? I’m savin’ ‘er money!
…
I know I’ve used a pretty broad dialect above, but I grew up on a building site (my dad was a builder), and none of it would be out of place. In Australia, at least.
Obviously it’d have to be spoken properly by the voice-over guys. Not too much emphasis on the contractions. They are, after all, used to reduce vocal effort, not increase it. So ” ‘er”, for instance, would be more a schwa (like “eh”) than a long “err”. Unfortunately, a lot of these sorts of ads are delivered terribly.
See what I mean?
Were there any grey areas?
The second comment I wanted to discuss was actually on Google+. Writer, Gary Matthews, asked this:
The answer is:
- No, it’s based only on my own experiences as a writer;
- Yes, there were lots of close calls. “Must’ve”, for instance, would be appropriate on a funky sportswear website, if it was a REALLY funky website. And “Mightn’t” mightn’t be appropriate on an executive travel website. And
- I also had a LOT of trouble trying to think of examples of copywriting that should be limited only to the inner circle. The most formal stuff. When you really think about it, those contractions are acceptable in most contexts.
Doc Sheldon wrote on September 30th, 2013
As a couple of people pointed out on the last post, Glenn, the key is in knowing your audience. Amazingly, I find that a lot of my clients have never given real thought to the voice they ought to be using for their particular audience. Many just seem to default to a stiff, semi-formal, business-like tone... you know - the sort that leaves readers totally underwhelmed. ;-)
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Glenn Murray wrote on September 30th, 2013
Yep, I know exactly the sort of thing you're talking about. Nearly every prospect who asks me to rewrite their website has exactly that style. Sadly, so too do a lot of copywriter portfolios!
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Gary Matthews wrote on September 30th, 2013
Thanks for the shout-out, +Glenn Murray. Loved the further examples and clarification. If not for your articles, I wouldn't've ever considered some of these fine points. It'd've been fun to keep an eye on them all these years, if I'd've had them on my radar. (Check it out, true believers: My iPad spell-checker validates "it'd've" as _real word_.)
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Glenn Murray wrote on September 30th, 2013
LOL. See? Now without contractions, we wouldn't've had this geeky little word-nerd-fest! Thanks Gary. :-)
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Micky Stuivenberg wrote on September 30th, 2013
Thanks for elaborating on those points, Glenn. Two thoughts: 1. Your example is for a radio ad, so even though you're using the contractions in writing, it's only to indicate that's how you'd like the voice actors to pronounce the words. Fair enough. I have no issues with them being used in very casual speech (except perhaps the why'll - see point 2), but I'd never use them in public writing, even if it's social media. 2. Your example made me realise why the why'll bothered me the most. It's not "why will" but "why would", right? I'd have no problems with "why'd she care". Maybe I'm being pedantic, but why'll just feels wrong to me. I didn't major in English lit though, so maybe it's not really 'wrong' at all. Back over to you, sir. :)
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Bill Harper wrote on October 1st, 2013
I really wish people had to justify *not* using contractions instead of the other way around. I got marked down for using them in an essay I wrote at university. I tried convincing my lecturer they actually made the essay easier to read, but they wouldn't have a bar of it.
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Glenn Murray wrote on October 1st, 2013
Hi Micky. Actually, no, I meant "why WILL she care?" But I have to say, "why WOULD she care?" works equally as well. Another example would be this: John: Dunno. Depends how many other toys’re on special. Could be there all week! Dave: Huh! You might run into Steve. John: Yeah? Why’ll he be there? Now that the question is no longer rhetorical AND it's motivation is curiosity, not doubt, "will" works better than "would".
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Glenn Murray wrote on October 1st, 2013
Oh man! I thought that sort of guidance was limited to high school!
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Contractions in copywriting - When can I use them? wrote on October 1st, 2013
[…] so many great comments to this post, I wrote a follow-up, answering a couple of questions in […]
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Micky Stuivenberg wrote on October 1st, 2013
Yes that's a better example, that now looks logical to me. Question well and truly answered. Thanks Glenn.
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Glenn Murray wrote on October 2nd, 2013
Thanks heaps for being critical, Micky. Love that you thought it all through and picked it apart. Readers like you are worth their weight in gold! :-)
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