What Movie Lines Teach Us About Messaging

“I’ll have what she’s having.”

“You can’t handle the truth.” 

“Here’s looking at you, kid.”

“May the force be with you.”

“Nobody puts Baby in the corner.”

 

I bet when you hear those lines, you immediately know the movie — unless you’re too young, in which case you probably have a whole arsenal of great movie lines I’ve never heard. Movie lines with punch become instantly recognizable and oh so quotable. 


There’s nothing like dropping in a good movie line at the perfect time in a conversation to get your audience to perk up in recognition, right? A memorable, smart line of dialogue is often at a climactic moment in a scene, in which the audience is already very engaged. The scenery, the music, the camera angles all contribute to making that movie line memorable. 


Notice what the movie lines above have in common? 


They’re short — less than 10 words. I bet some of your favorites are around the same length. 

In both verbal and written communication, varied length and sentence structure are ideal for engaging your audience. For your important points, short sentences are best. 


Short sentences pack a punch. Screenwriters use them to anchor a scene, transition to the next idea, and get a reaction from the audience. We remember and repeat them. 


Notice anything else about the lines above? 


Each has one of the following elements: 

  • “You” as the subject or object pronoun
  • Alliteration 
  • Parallelism
  • Active voice

Word choice and sentence structure aid in making sentences impactful and easy to remember. 


“ All right, all right, all right.” What do movie lines have to do with messaging? 


If you’re using storytelling to present your brand (and you should), you want your key messages to be your memorable movie lines. 

Write your key messages to: 

  • Be Short – less than 15 words. 
  • Vary in sentence structure
  • Speak directly to your audience – use “you” in at least one of your messages. 

For example, my key messages are:

  1. Words win customers.
  2. Your story sets you apart.
  3. Serving your clients with content builds trust in your brand.

Like the movie lines above, I use alliteration, second-person pronouns, short sentences, and active voice to make my key messages memorable.


My website, blog, and social media content reiterate these key messages. I offer stories, proof points, and context for each message.

Keeping your key messages as the central focus of all of your content creation will eliminate confusion and help you control the perception of your brand. 


You can restate your key messages depending on the context and purpose of your content. On my website, I want my visitors to feel like I’m talking directly to them about their business. The first words on my homepage: Win Clients With Words. 



My key message in the command form speaks to them directly and communicates that I have an actionable solution to their problem. 

When I’m creating content, I look for places to use key messages to summarize, introduce, or demonstrate the main point. For example, an email intro to my customers might look like: 

 

Hi, 

How’s your September going? 


I have a little confession. I’ve been struggling with comparison lately. With social media, it’s so hard not to, right? 


I have to remind myself (and I’ll remind you while I’m at it): 


No one does what you do the same way you do it. Your story sets you apart. I have clients tell me all the time that they contacted me because they felt connected or like I understood them. I love that! Customers choose you not because you’re the best, but because you’re the best FOR THEM! It’s your job to tell them why. Here’s how…


Lacing key messages into your content, like those short, punchy movie lines we love to quote, will help customers remember your message and understand your brand. 


When you know what value your brand offers and how to best communicate it, writing to your customers becomes fun!


If there’s one takeaway from this post – other than I’m a movie-line nerd – it’s this: 

Words win customers. Just like in the movies, images, talent, scenery, music, and design might impress ‘em, but words win ‘em… and stick with them. Your key messages should be just like memorable movie lines: short, repeatable, and all about your customer!


Pen & Purpose

ChatGPT: Copywriting Comrade or Competition

ChatGPT for Copywriters: Comrade or Competition?

By Emily Lewis • 20 Sep, 2023
Two years ago, I tried the marketing and copywriting AI tool Jasper (at the time branded as Jarvis). I concluded it and similar AI tools weren't worth my time or investment because the output was generic, repetitive and sometimes nonsensical. Then in November 2022, ChatGPT launched and quickly went viral on social media as users shared examples of the impressive ways they were using it. For content creation and copywriting, it was more advanced than any other AI tool I’d seen and free! The AI Copywriting Revolution 🚀 Fast forward to today, AI ( thanks to ChatGPT ) has evolved. It's now the hottest trend in town, with many media outlets predicting AI-tools will revolutionize business practices across every major industry. So, what's behind this meteoric rise in popularity? Let's break it down: Efficiency & Speed: AI tools like GPT-4 have turbocharged the writing process. A first draft that once took a writer 1-2 hours can now be done in minutes. Consistency: AI tools maintain a consistent tone and style regardless of who is inputting the information. Scalability: Not only do AI-tools enable you to create content in a fraction of the time you could do it manually, they allow you to outsource creating it to anyone that can input information. At least in theory. Top AI Tools for Business & Marketing 🛠️ While I don’t believe copywriting AI tools are a good replacement for a human writer of any skill level, they have drastically improved since 2021, and today’s AI tools are absolutely worth investing in. When coupled with a human, these are my favorite AI writing tools: GPT-4: I used it to generate this post. While I did a lot of editing, it gave me a first draft, which likely would’ve taken me close to an hour to write without assistance. Feed it a prompt, and it'll churn out a draft in minutes. The better and more detailed your input, the better output it delivers. And you can give your tool feedback to keep editing the draft. Grammarly: The free version spots grammatical errors and helps you enhance readability. Grammarly Premium does everything the free version does, plus checks for plagiarism, offers recommendations based on over 400+ writing styles, and has an AI writing assistant (although not as sophisticated as GPT-4). SurferSEO: Using AI to analyze top-performing content in your industry, SurferSEO helps you craft SEO-optimized copy based on keyword searches and queries. There are hundreds of AI tools available and dozens specifically for copywriting. Pick a few that work for you. Trying to use too many tools can easily derail your efficiency and productivity. AI needs you to function, not the other way around. Maximizing the AI Advantage 🚀 Now that you have your favorite AI tools in hand, how do you squeeze every last drop of potential from them? Here's the playbook: Customize, Don't Compromise: Don’t expect perfection. AI is not a mind-reader. It’s an interpreter of the knowledge and experiences you give it. It also pulls from other sources around the web to complete your request. The content you publish becomes your digital portfolio, so don't let AI tools diminish the quality of it. Quality Control: Always have a human check the output and edit as needed. I've never published an AI-generated piece that didn’t require edits. Feedback Loop: Get feedback from your marketing tools, audience, customers, or team on AI-generated content. If they report a decrease in quality, relevance or effectiveness, try changing your input or editing processes. What AI Can't Replace 🧠 AI can’t replace you. Because while it can put words on paper for you, it lacks: Creativity: The AI may paint by numbers, but the canvas is still your domain. Innovative ideas, storytelling, wisdom, and expertise gained from experience are firmly in your human court. Empathy: AI doesn't have a heart. It can't truly understand your audience's emotions and respond with the compassion and empathy that only a human can provide. Strategy: Crafting a content strategy that aligns with your business goals requires human finesse. AI can execute, but the roadmap is your creation. There's no question that AI has drastically impacted the marketing and copywriting industries. But like any other technology, it doesn’t function on its own. AI can’t replace a skilled human writer, but it can improve their productivity and efficiency in unprecedented ways. The new era of copywriting and content marketing is not driven by AI, it’s driven by humans leveraging the power of AI.

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By emily • 28 Jun, 2021
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