We’ve spent the morning scrolling through Instagram being suckered by an embarrassing amount of April Fool’s gags before we noticed the date…

Like this one 👇

So we thought, in the spirit of a day that’s all about being a little bit silly, we’d share one of our internal copywriting tip/mindset/approach-things that’s equal parts immature and genuinely useful.

(A bit like our guilty feet shorthand.)

We call it incontinent copy.

Why? Well, for one, because we shared a bedroom for our formative years and our sense of humour never fully recovered.
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But also because it perfectly describes what happens when your copy we-s everywhere.

(Just like the start of this email. Even pro copywriters need to we occasionally.)

💡 This week’s big idea:

Your brand isn’t the main character. Your customer is.

There’s a thing in psychology called the self-reference effect, which is basically the idea that we process, store, and remember information more effectively when it feels personal and like it’s directly speaking to us.

In fact, research shows that even tiny copy tweaks — like using the word “you” instead of “we” — can significantly improve how customers perceive your brand.

One study published in the Journal of Marketing Research found that using second-person pronouns (like “you” and “your”) had a massive effect on customer satisfaction and purchase intent, because customers felt seen, understood, and included in the conversation.

You already know that when a customer lands on your website, they’re not thinking about your brand or your USPs or your mission… they’re thinking about how your brand can help them do X, be Y or feel Z.

The problem is, that’s easy to do when you’re selling a washing machine or a pair of shoes.

But what about mission-led brands? Brands with a purpose? Brands that have worked hard to do things better or be different?

How do you write copy that shows you care deeply about your mission, your journey, your why, your impact without talking about yourself?

How to make your customers the hero of your mission-led copy

The first step here is a bit of a mindset shift to go from thinking of your copy as brand-to-customer communication and instead think of it as customer-to-brand conversation. Less of a rally cry with a megaphone and more of a chat between people who care about the same things.

In other words, frame your mission in the context of your customer’s life.

Let’s see that in action 👇

We’ve mocked up some typical copy you might see a mission-led brand use:

In terms of messaging, this is great. We know that customers love brands that do the work to be better and to care (provided they’re not BS-ing).

But in terms of copy? It could be better. It feels more like a brand patting itself on the back than a brand saying “hey, we believe the same thing, let’s be friends”.

Instead, if you de-incontinent it, you end up with something like this 👇

See the shift?

The first one makes the brand the hero. The second one makes the customer the hero.

If you’ve got copy that’s a bit we heavy, don’t worry. Our first drafts are usually the most incontinent bits of copy you’ll ever read.

We get it. At that point, you’re deep in the “what do we need to say about ourselves” rabbit hole and the only way out is to we a bit.

But once you’re ready for v.2, that’s when you can introduce a bit of copy potty training.

Here are two super-simple tweaks you can use to make sure your copy always makes your customer the hero, even if you’re writing something as mission-led and brand-focused as your manifesto or about page.

Number 1(😏): Flip your “we”s into “you”s

This is the absolute easiest way to get started and make an immediate impact on your copy.

Open up your website and CTRL+F the words we, our, us and your brand name. Then see how you can flip the script.

Ask yourself:​
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👉 Could I flip this sentence to be about the customer instead? Rather than “we do X” can it be “you get Y”?
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👉 Is there a way to reframe this so they’re the one taking action, feeling the impact, or reaping the reward?

Pro tip: if you’re really stuck, sometimes you can cheat and do something as simple as using the words “Together, we can…” at the start of the sentence.

Tony’s Chocoloney do exactly that to turn it from an “this is all about us” message to a “let’s do this together” message 👇

(Here, the we refers to your brand and the customer, so it’s cool. We’ll allow it.)

Number 2: connecting your mission to their values

Sometimes, being incontinent isn’t just about how many times you say we, it’s about who your copy is centred around.

That means that even if your copy technically talks about the customer (AKA, it uses you instead of we), if your brand is still the hero of the story… you’re still sorta, kinda we-ing all over the place.

Check out this example 👇

The first one makes the brand the hero. It uses the words “you” and doesn’t say “we”, but it still positions the brand as the one making a difference.

The second one makes the customer the hero. It plays into the values that the brand and the customer share. Now, when the customer hits that buy now button, they’re not just doing good, they’re feeling good about themselves.

And that’s a game-changer. That’s how you go from being a brand customers buy to being their brand.

Top tip: Use the 80/20 rule of thumbWhen you reread your copy, aim for a loose ratio of 80% customer-focused language to 20% brand-focused language.​
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That keeps the customer front and centre while also giving you space to not awkwardly try and hamfist everything to be about the customer. (Great news, you get to pay with Visa, Mastercard or direct debit.)

​Note: this email itself is about 75/25 split, so don’t feel like you need to count on your fingers and toes. Just as long as you feel like you’re talking about your customers 3-4 times more than your brand, you’re golden.

(And if you need a hand checking, get AI to help you out.)