At Heyday, we’re big believers that the internet has enough beige content already.
So when we popped out a call for guest bloggers and freelance brand copywriter Kate Ryrie dropped into our inbox, whose entire mission is helping businesses sound more like themselves and less like everybody else, we were so excited to have her join our co-hort of guests.
In this guest post, Kate dives into why so much copy ends up sounding the same, how AI might be making the problem worse, and what you can do to find a voice that’s unmistakably yours.
Over to you, Kate ✨
You know the feeling. You’re on draft number five of your LinkedIn bio and it still doesn’t sound like you. You’ve written up that new offer, but something isn’t clicking. The facts are there, but emotionally? It falls flat.
And sure, you’d love to spend all day crafting it – but you’ve got more important things on your to-do list. So you close the half-finished document and get on with the day-to-day. Ignoring the cringey little niggle that says “your messaging sounds just like everyone else’s.”
The beige epidemic
The cringey little niggle’s got a point – and you know it. Right now, beigification is spreading like bacteria across almost every industry.
And more than ever, we see it in copy, where the same words, phrases and syntax appear everywhere you look. Sure, words like “passionate”, “dedicated” and “results-driven” have meaning. But when they’re plastered across every shop front? They blend into the noise.
Now, I’m not here to tell you you’re wrong for choosing words like this. Or even for using those stylistic patterns (think rule-of-three, contrasting phrases) because you know they work.
When you break away from the status quo and position your brand differently, of course the biggest fear is that you might alienate people. But that worry holds you back. It keeps you saying the same old things.
What if I told you the bigger risk is that of homogenising people until your dream customer has no idea you’re perfect for them? Because by trying to speak to everyone, you inevitably end up speaking to, well, no one.
AI-nemy number one
But wait – you found the solution! Everywhere you turn, someone (or something) is desperate to make your life easier. “Let me polish that for you,” it says. “Want me to write that for you?” It kindly offers. Who are you to resist? You plug in to your AI of choice and in a matter of milliseconds, you’ve got something grammatically perfect… and totally soulless.
Because the problem with outsourcing your voice to a tool that’s been trained on the entire internet is that what comes back could have been written by anyone. Even if your reader doesn’t guess that it’s AI, chances are they’ll struggle to connect with it emotionally.
And considering that the vast majority of decisions are driven by the subconscious, emotional brain… that’s probably worth your attention.
Your voice already exists
It’s not all doom and gloom. The light at the end of this tunnel of beige is that your unique voice is already there. It’s in your story, your beliefs, your experience. It’s in the things that frustrate you and the things that get you buzzing. You just can’t hear it – yet.
I recently worked with a go-to-market agency struggling to find a challenger voice. They’d fallen into a pattern of writing something truly differentiating… and then dialing it back with revision after revision until it sounded like every other agency out there.
My next move? I sat down with the two co-founders and asked them to write me a journal entry about their biggest market frustrations. Unedited, unfiltered, completely raw. What came back wasn’t grammatically perfect, but it was real. When I read the two entries, I felt something – the voice was alive, it just needed space to breathe. And so we had our foundation.
Copy that actually converts
The best copy does more than just explain or describe. When businesses allow their spirit to shine through and shape their comms and content, the result is twofold: more of the clients you want, less of the ones you don’t.
And yeah, that might sound scary. You want all the clients you can get, right? But the truth is, strong attraction is impossible without a sprinkling of repulsion. Trying to appeal to all the people tends to mean resonating with none of them.
When your copy is targeted, specific and full of personality, the right people will recognise themselves in your message. That means stronger engagement, more aligned clients, and the big one: higher conversion.
Sure, some people will self-select away. But that’s not a bad thing. It just means you’re attracting those most likely to value what you offer, rather than wasting time on those who never would.
Repositioning in practice
One of my clients – a fractional finance director who really was doing it differently – had a website that opened with a generic headline and list of services.
Her copy didn’t tell you that she’d built and run a sustainable, ethical business in her twenties. That she was ideas-first, future-focused, and had a real philosophy about how finance could transform a business.
When we dug into it, the voice was already there. It was already hers. It just needed room – and permission – to be heard. We went from a generic opening line to a statement that says straight away she’s not your average numbers robot.
The whole site shifted from a list of credentials to something that actually sounded like her. And the right clients will recognise themselves in that immediately.
You don’t need a ghostwriter. Really.
I’m not saying abandon your trusty AI partner. That would be silly. AI can make for a fantastic thinking buddy, first draft stress-tester, brainstorm tool… It’s just not a great ghostwriter, and that’s the distinction.
You’ve seen the AI-generated text appearing in emails, on websites, across social media. That funny feeling when a passage leaves you completely cold but you can’t put your finger on why? That’s your emotional brain tuning in before you can rationalise it.
First, trust it. Second, don’t let your writing fall into the same trap.
Ready to leave beige behind?
Finding the right voice, language and positioning for your business doesn’t have to be scary. In fact, it’s a process that’s often empowering, sometimes surprising, and always fun. If you suspect you might be hiding your brand behind safe language, there’s never been a better time to differentiate.
As generative technology becomes more prevalent, the brands that get listened to will be those that make their people feel seen. Yours could be one of them.
So if you’re ready to sound like yourself, let’s talk. Drop me a message and let’s figure out what that looks like for you.
“Tight, clear and commanding copy that cuts through – with a marked impact on my campaign revenue and repeat customers.”
— Richard Jones, Huel
“Kate this is EXCELLENT. Truly, I feel really emotional about it. You’ve completely nailed every word. I love it utterly.”
— Ylana Lovell, Founder, Temple of Play
Kate Ryrie is a Freelance Brand Copywriter with 10+ years of experience writing killer copy for pretty much every audience, channel and sector you can think of.
Give Kate a follow and a big thank you!
A huge thank you to Kate for sharing her thoughts (and giving us another excuse to declare war on beige copy).
If this blog has left you side-eyeing your website, LinkedIn bio or latest email newsletter, you’re not alone.
Kate specialises in helping businesses uncover what makes them different and turn that into copy that sounds like them, connects with the right people and actually gets remembered.
Give her a follow on Linkedin, show her some love and check out her website to learn more about her work.
Because life is too short for copy that sounds like everybody else’s ✨