The Word Wrangler

Writing advertising/marketing copy that’s designed to pull in the money requires more than just stringing together finely crafted sentences. Plenty of writers talk about the importance of a great headline to pull readers in, and a strong closing to compel them to buy, and rightly so. These are essential to creating copy that converts readers into buyers.

But one element we often lose sight of is the emotional or psychological impact our words have on the readers. Once you draw someone into the meat of your work, through your finely crafted headline, you’d better keep them reading all the way to the close.

One way to do this is by using psychology and emotional triggers that pique readers’ interests.

Here are a few ways to include psychology and emotion in your copywriting.

Get Personal

One of the words people love to hear - besides free - is you. Writing in a style that’s more conversation than sales pitch appeals to people because they don’t like being treated as just a revenue source for companies.

As companies grow larger, the consumer often feels forgotten. Just ask anyone who’s had to deal with a customer service representative who doesn’t even speak English how that makes them feel and I’m sure insignificant would be one of the milder words that come to mind.

When you write like you’re speaking directly to the reader - while addressing their wants, fears, needs and desires - you’re creating an emotional bond of trust. Getting a person to trust that you have their best intentions in mind is a HUGE step towards making a sale. After all: Sales, at its most basic level, is an agreement based on trust. No trust equals no sale.

Tap into emotions

The old line that people buy based on emotion and then rationalize with logic is true for nearly every purchase they make - especially large ones. That’s why car ads usually forego the tech specs and sell based on how driving the car will make you feel.

Before you get emotional in your copywriting, you really have to do some background research on your target audience. You must find out what makes them tick, what they want, what they’re afraid of, what makes them happy and so on.

Remember: Copy that converts in big ways always makes a connection with the reader. When you combine the connection with the powerful headline and a strong close, you can’t help but come out the winner.