Creating Emphasis in Copy

If you’re like me, you might get a little irritated with emails or promotional copy where it seems nearly every sentence ends with an exclamation point. It’s just annoying, and unnecessary most of the time.

It always makes me wonder, why is the author doing it—are they overly excited, angry, or just trying to get my attention?

Sometimes it makes sense to add emphasis to certain words or sentences, but there’s no need to have your audience feel as though you are screaming at them. Here are a few other styles to consider.

Try using italic to call out a key word or phrase. It’s a softer, yet effective means to make copy stand out.

Or when you want words to be seen quickly in a larger block of copy, consider boldface type.

ALL CAPITAL LETTERS might be appropriate from time-to-time to highlight a single idea. But keep in mind this can be hard to read when applied to longer phrases.

Bullets can help you call attention to ideas that are:

• Simple to organize
• Concise in meaning
• And appropriate for a list

The occasional exclamation point isn’t all bad. But watch out! Too many emphasized words will give your copy a tone that feels rushed, loud, or irritating. Taking a less-is-more approach is generally best.

The best rule is to think about reading your copy out loud. If you would actually yell or stress a certain word, consider a means to show it in your written document. If not, leave it alone. Remember, just like the spoken word, if you shout every word, what you say will just be loud, not different or special, and people will stop paying attention.