Lyuba golovina

When I started out in copywriting, I had the good fortune of working with a terrific senior Copywriter.

The best part?

She wasn’t afraid to give brutally honest feedback — even if it did sting sometimes.

A few months into working together, one suggestion in particular changed my approach to editing and improved my copy exponentially.

Her advice was simple:

To always read my work out loud, from start to finish.

How reading out loud transforms your writing

Writing is like painting.

Every brush stroke combines together to tell a story.

But once in a while, you have to step away from the canvas so you don’t get lost in the details.

For example, when you look at a pointillist painting up close, all you see are dabs of color:

Only from a distance can you see how the points blend together to form an image full of meaning and emotion:

Same thing happens with writing — you have to zoom out to gain perspective.

Getting too close to your writing focuses your mind on the details — you look at individual words and sentences while losing sight of the flow, rhythm and emotion.

So how can you shift your perspective?

The easy way is to read your copy out loud.

Instantly, you’ll reveal the parts that don’t flow.

More specifically, watch out for these moments:

• You feel like you’re tripping over the words and pausing when you didn’t intend to
• You pick up on words that are too complicated or don’t sound quite right next to each other
• You zone out because the sentences feel monotonous and lack variation

Keep in mind, the underlying purpose of your copy is to elicit emotion in your reader, then move them to action.

But if your reader stumbles over your words or spaces out, the only emotions they’ll feel are frustration and boredom.

The right way to read your work out loud

Here’s the process that works for me:

• Let your writing sit for a few hours (24–48 hours is best)
• Read through your copy out loud in one sitting
• Avoid the temptation to edit as you go — simply highlight the parts that need work and come back to them later

Reading copy out loud gets overlooked by beginner copywriters because it takes extra time, so it’s easy to skip when you’re up against a deadline.

Yet the more you do it, the more you realize how much it levels up your copy.

That’s why this simple editing technique is the fastest way to improve your writing.

But don’t just take my word for it.

Give it a try, and see what happens.

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