Effective Copywriting - 1 - Using Emotion
Direct Mail Copywriting
We tend to use the term 'copywriting' to mean any situation where we use words to promote a business, but here we're talking more specifically about direct mail, websites, advertisements, leaflets and flyers.
For our purposes here, copywriting has one function: to persuade someone to do what we want them to do. But we don't use black magic or deception. The best copywriting is more like hypnotism, if anything. And, just like a hypnotist, we know we can't make anyone do something they really don't want to do. The 'trick' then, if there is a trick, is to show people why, deep down, they already want to do what we ask.
Each of us has a list of things we'd like to do but don't. We all have a list of wants that we put to one side and label 'unnecessary', 'selfish' or 'out of reach'. Or they may be things we are willing to wait for. Whatever our reasons, we want these things but we don't yet have them.
Meanwhile, one of the tricks of marketing is identifying a group of prospects who share a particular 'want' or desire, so we can offer it to them. Marketing to prospects who really don't want what we're offering is a total waste of time, effort and money. So you need, first of all, to identify your most likely customers. Then you can put your copywriting skills to work.
Emotions Always Outsell Logic
All buying decisions are made by people. There may come a time when we'll trust computers to make those choices for us, but we're not at that point yet. Even if that does happen, it will be people who programme the computers…
And people operate mostly on an emotional level, however logical they feel they are being. Most people buying a pair of practical shoes still won't buy the ugliest shoes in the shop, and when did you last see a car advertisement that made the car look unattractive? Even when we can tell ourselves we've made a sensible, logical choice, we still enjoy the feeling that gives us. Use that fact in your copywriting and you'll enjoy a lot more success.
All emotions are internal
Our feelings, of course, all come from within. We don't want to get too deeply into psychology or NLP at this point, but outside factors only stimulate feelings within us, they don't create them. When we understand that, we can start to learn what elements 'trigger' certain emotions and responses in certain people, and even how to plant or embed those triggers in our advertising copy.
Some triggers seem almost hard-wired. For example, one of the most businesslike people we know can be stopped in her tracks by just about any picture of a kitten: very sweet! But you can create other triggers by using association and 'anchoring'. By using a specific word or short phrase in close association with a pleasant emotion, you can train your readers to associate that word or phrase with that emotion. It works in much the same way that particular childhood memories retain specific associations for us. The seaside might recall happy holidays, or the smell of paper might forever remind us of school.
Thankfully, it doesn't take a lifetime to anchor a word or phrase. In fact, if we were to say 'very sweet', right now, many of you would imagine a picture of a kitten…
By using a phrase and anchoring it in that way (in this case to a kitten picture), we've created an association. It doesn't always work first time, especially when the trigger phrase is a less obvious fit to the emotion, and we often use repetition to enhance the effect, but if we now find a way to use the phrase 'very sweet' in our call to action, we can increase the chances of our prospect buying our product. They won't always recall the picture, but they might get a momentary recall of the pleasant feeling.
We would struggle to use our 'very sweet' example to sell cars, but can you imagine how we might apply it to cute yet practical children's shoes - especially if they were designed to help children's feet stay fresher?
How about:
So children's feet stay very sweet
If you now add a picture of a kitten you'll create a very powerful association, however nonsensical. After all, who would have associated Labrador puppies and toilet paper?
Positive Versus Negative
We all experience negative emotions, as well as positive ones, and sometimes the negative ones seem stronger or easier to stimulate. That leads some copywriters to go for what seems like the easier option and play on people's fears or pain. While pain is probably the most vivid feeling of all, and can even overwhelm us at times, we now understand that it's the more positive emotions that have more lasting impact in a marketing sense.
We also know that the subconscious mind, where most decisions are really made (hence the subordinate role of conscious 'logic') doesn't understand the concept of negatives. For example, we can't 'Not think about elephants'. The very sight or sound of the word 'elephants' will cause us to think about them.
So what you should be offering is not the absence or relief of pain, because mention of the word 'pain' has very unpleasant connotations. Instead, offer peace, comfort and tranquillity, health, fitness and vitality. By concentrating on a positive benefit rather than trying to sell the benefit of reducing the pain, we create an association between those positive emotions and our product.
In the same way, we possibly wouldn't use (although we might test):
So children's feet are very sweet, instead of very sweaty
As an experiment, try to find an example of copy where the writer has dwelled on the negative, and see if you can re-write it with a positive slant. Does it make the product seem more attractive?
We'll look at embedded commands and visualising your customer in part 2.
Jacqui Carrel is a partner of the UK-based marketing consultancy firm Cinnamon Edge. Visit our sites and take a look too at the blog and resources section. Get two free reports at
http://www.cinnamonedge.co.uk
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