New ways to build your word bank

And keep copywriting inspiration on tap

All marketers struggle for words from time to time.

One of the most helpful things I do as a messaging copywriter is to stockpile interesting turns of phrase. Could be new words or clever twists on existing language.

I keep my word bank on a Notion doc. Anytime I get a whiff of writer's block, that's where I turn.

Here are a few of my latest additions (and how I find them). Feel free to borrow.

Shrinkflation

Same price, less product.

Outrageously, After Eights did this a few years ago. To me, this packaging signifies marketing psychology gone bad.

By the way, do you spot the face in the clock? That's another psychology secret, for another time ...

After Eights: sad victim of shrinkflation

Infobesity

The result of a constant search for shiny, new ideas. It’s been a problem for me (and often for the people I work with too). Too much info, so you don’t know where to start.

A moment on the desktop, a lifetime on that bulging to-do list.

Stresslaxing

Have you had this feeling too? 

It's when you force yourself to take a break, but find it impossible to get into the relaxation zone, because you can't stop thinking about your work project. Don’t panic. You're just stresslaxing.

Nappetiser

AKA a short rest for the eyes (thanks, Urban Dictionary). Like a disco nap. This could help with the above stresslaxing issue.

When emotions are hard to describe

This is officially the BEST book I've read recently for word workers.

In fact, it's potentially the Greatest Of All Time addition to the copywriter's bookshelf.

It's a dictionary of new words for emotions that we have trouble expressing.

A few examples to quicken your pulse -

Funkenzwangsvorstellung

The primal trance of watching a campfire in the dark (from German funken, spark + Zwangvorstellung, obsession).

It's a bit of a mouthful, but did you feel this when socialising outdoors during the pandemic?

Heartspur

An unexpected surge of emotion in response to a seemingly innocuous trigger - the distinctive squeal of a rusty fence, a key change in an old pop song, the hint of a certain perfume - which feels all the more intense because you can't quite pin it down.

Does a certain smell or sound make your brain reverse at random to some half-remembered experience?

If so, you've felt a heartspur.

Nighthawk

A recurring thought that only seems to strike you late at night - an overdue task, a nagging guilt, a looming future - which you sometimes manage to forget for weeks, only to feel it land on your shoulder once again, quietly building a nest.

I envy you if you’ve never felt the presence of a nighthawk.

Run don't walk for a copy of Koenig’s book if you work with words. Pure gold. I’ve also been inspired by it when working on tricky pain points in messaging.

The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig

How to avoid cringey language mistakes

Any time I coin a phrase for a client's messaging, I do a quick check on Urban Dictionary for new words or slang.

Why? To avoid cringey mistakes. 

And honestly, sometimes just for giggles.

Urban Dictionary is a crowd-sourced goldmine of slang.

My favourite recent definitions -

• buy-curious = just browsing in a shop (a good one for marketers)

• brochet = when guys get together to crochet (niche use, admittedly)

• sanctimommy = that mum who judges everyone else’s parenting skills
  

Just don't sign up for Urban Word of the Day if you're sauce-sensitive.

Found in translation

Here’s another trick I try when my Word Well runs dry.

I look for foreign translations of my messaging language and consider their literal meanings. Sometimes my findings spark interesting associations.

Side note - this is a great way to use ChatGPT as your writing assistant. However, it’s not a job for AI alone. Your brain needs to establish the connections first.

For example, if I was working on messaging for a food brand, I might consider these translations for candy floss -

• Spookasem (Afrikaans) = ghost breath

• Barbe à papa (French) = daddy’s beard

• Suikerspin (Dutch) = sugar spider

Each translation supplies a metaphor or an analogy that could be useful for a naming project or verbal brand concept.

German language shows how to paint pictures with words

All ideas are more emotionally resonant if we can picture them easily. That’s why I love learning German words for things. They’re so literal, they’re often stand-out disruptive.

Take the Schildkröte as an example. It means turtle (translates as shielded toad). Nice.

It’s not a turtle, it’s a shielded toad

Instead of insulting people by dismissing them as losers, in German you might call them Gurkentruppe (a troop of cucumbers).

(German language inspiration borrowed from Adam Alter in Drunk Tank Pink.)

Why’s it helpful?

The most effective messaging translates a concept or service into concrete visuals.

It can be turtally literal (the shielded toad). Or a disruptive image that sticks in your mind (the troop of cucumbers).

Once you know the phrase, you can't not picture them. Which makes the concept memorable.

German is gold for words like this.

• Kummerspeck = Grief Bacon (weight gain from comfort eating).

• Treppenwitze = Staircase Joke (the perfect witty retort that you think of AFTER you leave the room).

• Kopfkino = Head Cinema (that place where you drift into daydream).

• Domspatzen = Cathedral Sparrows (choristers).

For me, copywriting is all about poking around and following a scent using tactics like this. And if I discover something interesting that I can’t use right now, it goes straight into my Notion doc. Have you built a word bank for yourself or a client?

Sources & more …

The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, John Koenig.

Urban Dictionary.

Something Rhymes with Purple podcast.

Drunk Tank Pink: The subconscious forces that shape how we think, feel and behave, Adam Alter.

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Work with me

I’m back to one-to-one client copywriting work now it’s September - feel free to get in touch or download my price list here.

And if you can’t wait to work on your own marketing, jump on over to see my affordable workbooks for marketers and business owners who want their words to stand out -

• About Page fillable workbook

• Branding Kit: Naming workbook

• Selling guide for hustle-hating copywriters