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Posts Tagged ‘copywriting’

Last year, Perry Marshall (who writes Google AdWords) was conducting a small intensive workshop that I attended in Chicago. One of the people in our group was a fellow who was trying to get his website working. He had gone to every seminar, studied every e-book, and downloaded every course you could imagine, trying to learn how to write compelling sales copy for a certain e-book he was offering.

As we worked, we got to a point where we were all critiquing each other’s copy, and everyone looked at what this e-book fellow had written. It was almost like he was doing copywriting by numbers. It was as if he had followed the process so that, on the surface, you couldn’t see anything wrong with his copy. But it soon became obvious that the one thing he was really missing was emotion. He hadn’t emotionally connected with his reader.

Feel Their Pain
One thing you will notice that sets great copywriting apart from mediocre copy is its emotional appeal. In fact, in my opinion, the ability to connect emotionally with your audience is the most important aspect of all.

Unfortunately, there is not really an ABC’s of emotional connection. It’s all about how you think and feel about your relationship with the person that you’re writing for.

People are buying things or taking action not simply because it’s a “good idea.” It’s because they are either moving away from pain or they are moving towards pleasure. So one thing that you need to be willing to do is talk about their pain, whatever that may be.

This applies even if you are writing copy for a business situation. You still want to talk about their problems. Your copy might read something like this: “So you’re coming into work, and you’re on the firing line. You’re so busy. You can’t ever seem to get on top of things. It feels like you’re firefighting all the time.”

Most people in businesses have experienced a situation like that at some point. It’s painful. You want to relate to their pain. You want to connect with their feelings.

Find Common Ground
It is also important to meet your reader as an equal. The most powerful copy is when the writer relates to you at your level. You never want to be seen as talking down to readers, patronizing them or condescending to them. Neither do you want to appear like Oliver Twist, holding up your little begging bowl and saying, “Please, kind sir, won’t you buy from me?” or “Please, busy executive, will you take a look at this?” You need to be emotionally connecting and meeting your reader as an equal.

One of the best ways to accomplish this is to have a visual in your mind when you are writing. Picture someone that you’re talking to, just like you would be having a conversation together. Write down what you would be saying.

Another way of doing this, especially if you don’t enjoy writing, is to get yourself a little voice recorder and role-play a conversation with an imaginary prospect. Afterwards, you can get that conversation transcribed.

If you do that, you will end up with some really great material. It will come across as very natural, compelling and lively when it’s written down. That’s because it will be written as we speak, with feelings that will connect emotionally with your readers.