How About A Little Tea and Empathy

My father had a saying he loved to tout, especially when I was acting especially spoiled, "I complained because I had no shoes, until I met a man with no feet." And such was my first lesson in empathy.

Empathy as defined by Webster means, "The ability to understand how someone feels by imagining what it is like to be them." An important emotion in life, but especially important in copywriting.

I think the one biggest mistake beginning copywriters make (and I know because I was once one and did this all the time) is to begin writing based on what the copywriter thinks, believes, and would do. Usually you miss the mark and your copy doesn't "read" true to the actual person or "target" you are aiming to convince. Rarely are you the "target." After all, copywriting is the art of persuasion and as the best salesperson knows, the more you know about your customer, the more you can put yourself in their shoes and know and understand them, the better your chances of persuading them to buy or use your product.

This involves a little research, no, a lot of research actually. It involves sitting back, before the writing begins, and asking questions like "How old is my target?" "What is their lifestyle like?" "What's important to them?" "Where does my target go after work?" "Where does he/she shop, have dinner?" "What is the biggest issue my target faces when it comes to my product?"  "What's keeping them from using or taking advantage of my product?" 'How can I convince them it is easier/more affordable/more convenient?"  "When my target asks the question 'What's in it for me?,' how do I respond?" And these are just the beginning of the process.

Empathy in copywriting means figuring out how educated your target is and writing in a way they will understand or be the most familiar with. Studies show, we will pick a product, even if we've never used it, based on some familiarity with it, such as the color scheme, the shape of the packaging, etc. When I wrote the brochures and other advertising materials for a public hospital, the writing was completely different than when I wrote sales sheets for a software firm. You have to "talk" in a language your target will understand and believe.

Over the years, copywriting has taught me to be a more empathetic person in general. After years of studying various customers, clients. targets, people in general, I'm a little more mindful of why some people act the way they do, even when I don't like it.  I think my father would be proud.