UPDATED JULY 8, 2025
I’m an expert in writing about the mundane
As a generalist copywriter and content writer, I’ve written on all sorts of subjects. From luxury holidays and designer brands, to bog roll, blocked drains, tooth decay and washing powder.
Personally, I enjoy the challenge of writing on less glamorous subjects. I almost always learn something interesting I never knew before or find an interesting angle that will make the content pop.
Because if you have a boring subject, you owe it to your audience to make it interesting for them, right?
What counts as a dull subject?
I’d argue that there’s no such thing as a dull subject.
What’s dull is totally subjective
Everyone is different, with different interests. Which means, what’s boring to one person can be fascinating to someone else.
And even if you find something dull, there may come a day when you need to learn more about it. For example, if your toilet gets blocked and starts to stink, you might want to learn how to fix that — and quickly.
If you can provide content that engages, educates and entertains your audience, you’ll be memorable. And there’s a high chance they’ll come back to you when they need what you’re selling.
How I make boring subjects more interesting
You might think your subject is boring, but the way you write about it doesn’t have to be.
Here are 10 of the tricks I use to make dull subjects more accessible, interesting and engaging.
1. I don’t just write words — I write music
Okay, I know that sounds ridiculously pretentious. But bear with me, because there is a point here.
Writing that’s boring to read is flat and montone
Some writing is too formal and corporate-sounding, which can turn your content into a real snoozefest. And some writing reads like a droning monotone voice. It plods on and on without ever picking up the pace, which makes it incredibly boring to read.
Good writing is more like music
Writing that captivates and engages your readers has a more musical structure.
This is best illustrated in this famous piece of writing, by Gary Provost.
This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety.
Gary Provost
Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with the energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals – sounds that say listen to this, it is important.
So write with a combination of short, medium, and long sentences. Create a sound that pleases the reader’s ear. Don’t write just words. Write music.
Notice how in the first paragraph, the piece is flat and montone, but then, in the second, it transforms. By varying the sentence length and adding punctuation, Gary makes his writing come to life.
2. I write directly to your readers
I address your audience as ‘you’, so they know I’m talking to them.
Speaking to them directly is a good way to keep them engaged and interested in what you have to say.
3. I ask questions
My writing is conversational and I want your audience to feel involved in the conversation. The idea is so it feels like more of a dialogue than a monologue — even though, technically, it isn’t.
One of the ways I do this is by asking questions.
These might be questions your audience is asking — in which case I’ll ask and then answer them. Or they might be questions to your audience that will fire their curiosity and get them thinking about the answers.
4. I make it relatable
I include elements that will be familiar to your audience and that they can relate to and identify with.
When your audience can relate your content to their lives, their work and/or their experiences, it means they see a bit of themselves. This makes them feel more connected to what you’re saying, so they’ll read more.
Making your audience feel seen and understood is key to building their trust and your credibility.
5. I set scenes
Scene-setting fires your audience’s imagination. It’s an immersive technique that takes them away from where they are now, using powerful descriptions to create a clear and vivid mental image.
That could be something relatable, something new or something transformative. Anything that helps to get your message across in a relevant and engaging way.
And, for a while, they’ll forget they’re even reading your content!
6. I tell stories
Storytelling is a compelling, entertaining, inspiring and memorable way to get your message across. Because everyone loves a good story.
A marketing story can take the same form as a traditional story — with a central character your audience can relate to, who’s experiencing a struggle or conflict. And it has an ending, in which the character either wins or loses — your choice.
The story format can breathe life into copy that might otherwise be dull or mundane.
7. I use metaphors
A metaphor is a figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two seemingly unrelated things. To put it simply, it’s describing one thing as if it were something else.
Familiar examples might be comparing a thriller movie to a rollercoaster. Or a tin of foil-wrapped chocolates to a box of coloured jewels.
I use metaphors to talk about complex issues or ideas because they allow me to substitute the complex thing for something more familiar, relatable and identifiable.
When I’m writing about a dull or mundane subject, using a metaphor allows me to reimagine it as something more interesting and engaging.
8. I find a different angle
I make boring subjects more interesting by flipping them on their heads and looking at them from a different perspective.
Let’s say, I’m writing about keeping the bathroom clean. The perpetual struggle is relatable but, for most people, the subject is boring.
Instead of looking at it from the perspective of the frustrated person cleaning, I might focus on the dirt/germs and make them my main characters.
The article would answer questions like:
- Where do they hang out?
- Where are they hardest to reach?
- What’s the nemesis that removes/kills them?
- What keeps them at bay and stops them coming back?
9. I hook them with an interesting nugget
At the beginning of this article, I said how I almost always learn something interesting I didn’t know before.
These are the kinds of things I look for when I’m researching your content. It could be a eye-opening statistic, a strange fact or something surprising and remarkable.
And when I find something interesting like that, I can make it interesting for your audience, too.
10. I show them genuine examples
There’s nothing more compelling for your audience than seeing a real-life example of what you want to show them.
I can write this for you as a before and after, a case study, a client story or a regular blog article.
And we can talk about the work you did and show the results with:
- Video footage
- Photography
- Charts and graphs
- Client interviews and quotes
- Extracts from the client testimonial.
Final thoughts
You might think your company has the most boring and mundane product or service imaginable. So boring that nobody will ever want to read about it — let alone voluntarily.
But what if I could prove to you that there are people searching for it online right now, wanting to read about it and learn about it? And what if I told you that at least some of those people could be your ideal customers?
Would you still think creating content for them was a waste of time and money?
Need a writer who can brighten up a dull subject?
I’m Jenny Lucas, a copywriter and content writer based in Leicester, UK.
My business is helping your business to communicate with your target audience more clearly and creatively.
I can help you with everything from strategy, ideas and planning; to researching, writing and optimising your content — and even sourcing images and publishing the articles to your website.
For more information, visit the content writing page of my website or get in touch with me to talk about your needs.
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