The difference between passive voice and active voice in copywriting

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It took me a while to understand passive voice and active voice but once I understood the reasoning behind using each when using them in sales copy it all became clear. Read on to find out the importance of knowing the difference between the two.

The difference between passive voice and active voice in copywriting – and why it matters

This can be a confusing issue when you’re writing but today I’m giving you a very simple way to remember when to use either of these grammatical devices for the best effect in your copywriting.

Passive voice vs. active voice

First let’s tackle the elephant in the room. What are these different voice types?

Here's a very quick grammar lesson.

In any scenario using active or passive voice, we’ll have a Subject (that which does the action) an Action and the Object (that which receives the action).

In active voice we always have the Subject first, then the Action (verb) finally the Object.

In passive voice we have the Object first, a version of To Be, the past participle of the verb, then BY the Subject. 

Here’s an example where Sarah (me) is the Subject, the keyboard is the Object and the Action Verb is to throw.

Sarah (Subject) threw (Action Verb) the keyboard (Object) across the room in sheer frustration at the blinking cursor on the screen.

~Active Voice

The keyboard  (Object) was thrown (Past Participle Verb) across the room in Sarah’s (Subject) frustration of the blinking cursor on the screen.

~Passive Voice

The story is the same in each but can you see which is a more powerful sentence? Active voice is a more powerful positioning of the situation.

And this is where it gets interesting when we come to copywriting.

When we want to empower people with being able to get the results they want from your product, you’ll want to use active voice. 

If however, you want to set up the story or action as showing a powerless position (before they use your product) you’d start in passive voice and transition to active voice to show how they become the hero.

This is what many expert copywriters do in long form sales letters or sales pages.  

The customer is placed in a position where they don’t have control or they’re swept along with the current. Reading this they will emotionally connect with the idea that at the beginning of the story they feel helpless.

But then, the catalyst comes along (your product) and saves the day by empowering your customer with the ability to now do the thing they couldn’t before (and become the hero in the process).

“This is all very well Sarah, but give me a real example”... Okay!

Let’s choose the fake product that I like to use for examples... “Bye-Bye Cow’s Lick” – a hair serum that rids you of the odd kink in your fringe (or bangs) at your hairline.

In this example our Subject and Object interchange depending on who or what has the “power”.

In this example, you see in the first part of the action (before the power shift) our object and subject interchange, but the sentence fragments are all in passive voice (yellow highlight). 

To easily spot the passive voice, we look for the word ”BY” to see how the action is performed. And you may also notice how awkward the passage seems because of how it’s structured. This is how using passive voice can be used effectively to allow the shift to happen to more comfortable phrasing.

After the shift in power we see the structure become more comfortable to read and also see Sarah take the power over Cow’s Lick.

It’s a subtle grammatical device that you can weave into any copywriting to help with the transition from victim to victor. I know that sounds a bit much, but we have to remember this is the transformational journey we’re talking about. The one that positions your product as the catalyst for our hero to succeed.

Next time you write copy (and it doesn’t have to be storytelling) have a think about who or what is the Subject and the Object and in which order is the action being performed. You’ll always want to end on the position that your customer (now) has the power using active voice.

How to remember active voice vs passive voice

The takeaway is to remember the order …

Active voice: Subject (doing the action) -- Action Verb -- Object (receiving the action)

Passive voice: Object (receiving the action) -- “To Be” + Past Participle Verb -- BY -- Subject (doing the action)

It’s always been said by the “powers-that-be” on the interwebs that passive voice should never be used. I disagree. If you can transition from passive to active voice intentionally, you have the transfer of power that the customer needs to feel about the problem they are facing or the desire they want to achieve.

Warning: I’m no grammar nerd. This is how I’ve naturally seen how passive and active voice work best. However, if you see or know things to be different, I’d love to hear from you so please send me a message through my contact form here.