You’ve probably heard it takes five, seven, or even 12 touches before someone goes from prospect to customer.
That means successful marketing strategies require repetition.
Now, what if I told you there’s a way to shortcut repetition? A way to make your writing so sticky and memorable that it repeats in your reader’s mind long after they’ve read it.
Welcome to the wonderful world of rhetorical forms.
The entire body of rhetoric was codified by the Greeks of the classical age around 500 B.C.E. They looked at orators who gave successful speeches—speeches that moved their audience—and figured out what made a winning, memorable speech and what didn’t.
What we call rhetorical forms is a small sliver of that… and those forms are alive and well in both literature and advertising.
Today millions of people quote Shakespeare, often without realizing it. And almost all of his memorable quotes were forged using one or more rhetorical forms.
“Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” (Rhetorical form: Diacope)
“Is this a dagger that I see before me, The handle toward my hand?” (Rhetorical form: Polyptoton)
“To be or not to be.” (Rhetorical form: Diacope)
As copywriters, the ability to make a persuasive argument is the most important tool in our toolbox. Many of the rhetorical forms can make your persuasive case more memorable—meaning they belong in your toolbox, too.
Using a rhetorical form to create a memorable turn of phrase that highlights an important point in your copy can stay with the reader long after they’ve put down your work.
Doesn’t your copy deserve every chance to speak its special message clearly to its audience?
I’m sure you’re nodding yes,so let’s dive in to 10 of the easiest rhetorical forms to use in your copy. I’ll describe each form and include a few examples from advertising to demonstrate its use.
#1 – Alliteration: Cascades of Consonants
Alliteration is probably the most familiar of the rhetorical forms.
It’s a grouping of two or more words that share the same beginning sound. The words can be next to each other or spaced apart within a sentence or phrase.
A rule of thumb is that the closer the words are to each other, the more power they have to stick in people’s memory. Take, for example…
“Freaky Fast” Delivery (Jimmy John’s)
“Melts in your mouth, not in your hand!” (M&M’s)
“Peaceful Nights. Playful Days.” (Pampers)
“We’re not just fast; we’re FOREVER. FASTER.” (Puma)
You can even have the consonant sound within the body of a word, where its syllable gets stressed. Note the P sound in the slogans below…
“The Happiest Place on Earth” (Disneyland)
“The Quicker Picker Upper” (Bounty)
Alliteration is great when used deliberately, but it’s the rhetorical form most likely to sneak into your copy and put emphasis on the wrong piece of your copy by accident. So, be sure to screen your final draft for accidental uses that don’t add strength to your work.
#2 – Assonance: Playing Around With Vowel Sounds
Assonance is alliteration’s temperamental cousin. Where alliteration deals with consonantal sounds, assonance does the same with vowel sounds. These vowel sounds are usually found in the middle of a word and not so often at the beginning.
In his book, Elements of Eloquence, Mark Forsyth says the real problem with assonance is that modern English pronounces half its vowels as schwas. So, there’s less variety in sound to use in this rhetorical form.
That said, deliberate use of repeated vowel sounds can create a memorable turn of phrase:
“The Quicker Picker Upper” (Bounty)
“The Best Part of Wakin’ Up Is Folgers in Your Cup” (Folgers)
“Fast on your feet, not on the street” (Jimmy John’s internal slogan)
“Easy, Breezy, Beautiful” (CoverGirl)
#3 – Anaphora: The Right Words. The Right Results.
An anaphora is a rhetorical form that repeats a word, a phrase or an expression at the beginning of a series of sentences or clauses within a long sentence.
Forsyth remarks that this form is powerful… but it can be too powerful. The form can overshadow the content, meaning your reader remembers the wrong thing.
For example, the hit song “Every Breath You Take” by The Police is filled to the brim with anaphoras. Many people think it’s a romantic song. Some have even played it at their wedding, never realizing it’s a break-up song. Some have even suggested it’s a bit stalker-y. The misunderstanding may be the result of the power of anaphora.
The rule of thumb is two or three anaphoras strung together makes a memorable point. But the more you add, the more likely the topic of your copy will get lost under the weight of the form itself.
“Real milk. Real beans. Real quick.” (Costa Express)
“Zero sugar. Zero compromise.” (Pepsi Zero)
“Better Sleep, Better Life, Better Planet” (World Sleep Day)
Note that you can get the power of an anaphora, even if you alter the sentences slightly:
“It’s not that I care about money. It’s that I care about my hair… Actually, I don’t mind spending more for L’Oréal, because I’m worth it.” (L’Oréal Préférence)
#4 – Epistrophe: Don’t Make Just Any Impression. Make a Lasting Impression.
What happens if you rear-end an anaphora? You get an epistrophe.
An epistrophe is a rhetorical form that repeats a word, a phrase or an expression at the end of a series of sentences or clauses within a long sentence.
Epistrophe is a form that emphasizes its point over and over again. And, while most copy may require the repeated words be fairly close, several powerful political speeches had epistrophes that were several paragraphs apart and were all the more powerful for it. This is a technique you could apply to a long-form sales page…
“This is not just food… this is M&S Food” (Marks & Spencer)
“Keeps going. And going. And going.” (Energizer batteries)
“No other battery looks like it. No other battery lasts like it.” (Duracell batteries)
#5 – Tricolon: Copy That Delivers Engagement, Affinity, and Action
A tricolon is where you have a list of three related items… or two related items and one surprise item.
The brain likes things that come in threes. It feels complete and often has a cadence which helps make it catchy.
When you make a tricolon, you might have three items of equal or nearly equal syllables, such as:
“Snap! Crackle! Pop!” (Kellogg’s Rice Krispies)
You can also have a tricolon which has other rhetorical forms embedded within.
This example is a tricolon with alliteration:
“What photographer wouldn’t agree that this face, this fashion, this figure make the perfect cover for Seventeen magazine?” (Seventeen magazine)
You can even interject a word or two between the elements of a tricolon:
“A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play” (Mars bar)
“Keeps going. And going. And going.” (Energizer batteries)
#6 – Isocolon: Copy That Builds Trust. Copy That Gets Results.
An Isocolon is two sentences that grammatically parallel each other. This form conveys a sense of balance. It often invites your audience to compare and contrast the ideas you want them to think about. For example:
“Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline.” (Maybelline)
“It takes a licking, and keeps on ticking.” (Timex)
Sometimes, especially in more modern examples of isocolon, instead of a contrast, the isocolon seeks to create a link between two words:
“Live in your world. Play in ours.” (PlayStation)
“Your vision. Our future.” (Olympus)
“American by birth. Rebel by choice.” (Harley-Davidson)
#7 – Epizeuxis: Copy That Takes Your Sales Up, Up, Up!
It’s a funny name, but a familiar form. Epizeuxis is the repetition of two, often three, words or phrases almost always in immediate succession.
Epizeuxis is perfect for adding emphasis to your copy or content. When you repeat a word or phrase, you give it extra weight… but add a third repetition and it explodes with emphasis…
“Location, location, location” (American Real Estate Agents)
“Oh you need Fluff, Fluff, Fluff to make a Fluffernutter, Marshmallow Fluff and lots of peanut butter. First you spread, spread, spread your bread with peanut butter, add Marshmallow Fluff and have a Fluffernutter.” (Marshmallow Fluff)
“Give me a break! Give me a break! Break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar!” (Kit Kat bar)
#8 – Diacope: Words That Work. When You Need Results, You Need Words That Work.
The very basic form of a diacope is that you take a word or phrase, add a second word or phrase, and then repeat the first word or phrase. “Bond, James Bond” is a famous diacope.
However, you can make a few useful alterations. For instance, you could make an elaboration in your diacope by placing an adjective before the repeated word as in: “From sea to shining sea.”
To be extra fancy, try an extended diacope which repeats your first word or phrase twice, goes to the second word or phrase, and finishes up with another repeat of the first. For example: “A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!”
A few more examples…
“More Saving. More doing.” (Home Depot)
“I am what I am.” (Reebok)
“Always low prices. Always.” (Walmart)
“Zestfully clean! Zestfully clean! You’re not fully clean unless you’re Zestfully clean!” (Zest)
#9 – Antithesis: Copy That Works Smarter, So You Don’t Have to Work Harder
When you use antithesis, you say one thing and then follow it with the exact opposite. A famous antithesis is, “United we stand, divided we fall.”
You can use words, clauses or whole sentences, but they need to be together…
“Tough on dirt, soft on hands.” (Solvol soap)
“Tastes Great, Less Filling” (Miller Lite)
“Melts in your mouth, not in your hand!” (M&M’s)
#10 – Merism: From Social Media to Your Website and Back Again – Get the Online Results You Need
This rhetorical form refers to something by listing all or most of its parts. For example, “high and low” (as in “searching high and low”) is a merism for “everywhere.”
Don’t confuse merism with antithesis. They may look alike, but they do different things…
“We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen.” (The Ritz-Carlton) — “Ladies and Gentlemen” is a merism for “people” (or, at least, “adults”).
“What healthy dogs and cats are made of” (Eukanuba pet food) — “Dogs and cats” is a merism for “pets.”
“Seize the Night & Day” (Idorsia Pharmaceuticals) — “Night & Day” is a merism for “always.”
Your Ideas Can Stay With Your Reader Longer
Using rhetorical forms can help make an important point memorable — even if the reader doesn’t know why it sticks in their mind.
The 10 different forms you learned here are some of the most approachable. On Friday, we’ll tackle 10 more advanced forms that can make your copy even stickier, so watch for that post.
So, what do you think? Are you ready to try your hand at a rhetorical form or two? Tell us about it in the comments below. Sneak a rhetorical form into your comment for extra credit.