How to Improve Your Copywriting Skills: Part 3

Many marketers agree there is one major factor that drives sales– emotion. With that being said, part three of our “How to Improve Your Copywriting Skills” series is primarily about that very point. If you have not read part one or part two, please consider reading them. We offer great information that is highly valuable to anyone trying to improve their copywriting skills. So, let talk about why you should use emotion when you want to improve your copywriting skills.

What Does Emotion Do for Sales Copy?

Triggering emotions from your audience makes it much more likely to drive a sale. Humans are a highly emotional species, for better or for worse. This means with just a few seemingly magic words, someone can feel real emotion towards your products or services. When someone feels a strong emotion towards something, they are more likely to invest their time and resources on it. Also, when someone feels strong positive emotions towards your business, they are much less likely to walk away. They are less likely to discontinue your services or no longer shop at your store. This is one of the top benefits of focusing on emotion with your sales copy.

When you decide to use emotion in your sales copy, you need to focus on the right emotions. Clearly, you don’t want to trigger anger or frustration for your business from your customer. So, what emotions should you try to tug out of your audience?

What Emotions Should You Use in Your Copywriting?

Truthfully, if you can do it right, then you can focus on any emotion you want. As long as the consumer doesn’t feel a negative emotion towards your business, you will likely see a boost in sales. And, which emotion you use depends greatly on your business. Of course, we cannot go through every single emotion you can use in your sales copy. So, we recommend you look at Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions to get some additional ideas. Now, let’s go through some of the common emotions copywriting experts use in their sales copy.

Frustration

As you may have realized, many marketers focus on the consumer’s frustration in their advertisements. We have all seen the T.V. commercials saying, “Tired of having aches and pains in your neck? Try our neck massager for four installments of $19.95!” In fact, it’s safe to say most T.V. commercials focus on the consumer’s frustration. This is for a great reason. Consumers who think a product will resolve their frustration are much more likely to purchase. Most products are created with the purpose of resolving consumers’ problems in the first place. So, if your products or services solve a problem for consumers, this might be the best emotion to tap into.

Hate

Hate is similar to frustration, but it is an even stronger emotion. Some people hate certain aspects about their life. It could be they hate their income level. Or, they could hate their spouse’s snoring. Or, they could hate the way their toilet runs all day and increases their water bill. Using your copy to point out that you can provide a solution to something your target audience hates will be very effective in improving your copywriting skills. However, you don’t want to be too negative. You want to give them a solution so they can feel love or happiness, as mentioned above.

Love

One of the strongest emotions is none other than love. Everyone wants to give love and feel loved. When it comes to using this emotion in your copywriting, it can be tricky to accomplish. There is a slim number of products and services that can tap into this emotion. It is best to use love if your products or services help bring the consumer or someone they care about love. An excellent example of this is Edible Arrangements and its competitors. Their whole business is about brightening someone’s day and bringing them feelings of joy and love. If you think your products or services do the same, then love is a great emotion to tap into.

Happiness

Unfortunately, feeling happiness is something that many people struggle with. Through the stress of work, losing a loved one, or burnout from taking care of family, many people deal with feelings of sadness or dullness. Fortunately, there are many products out there that can help bring happiness to people. Whether it be serotonin-boosting supplements, or late-night delivery chocolate chip cookies, there are many businesses who can use happiness in their sales copy. Truthfully, if your product or service can make anyone feel happier or less stressed out, you are safe to use this emotion.

Peace

Peace. We all want it, yet it’s so hard to achieve. Life is oftentimes moving too quickly to slow down and feel peace. This is why it is a great emotion to use in your sales copy. If your product can help people feel peace, then you should consider using it. For example, if you own a landscaping service, you can focus on customers feeling peace in their backyards. Or, if you own a salon, you can focus on the relaxation and peace clients feel when they are leaving your business.

 

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How to Use Emotions in Your Sales Copy

For all of the emotions listed above, you can use the same tactic to work all of them into your sales copy. This sounds overly simplified, but it makes a lot of sense. You simply use the words “which means.” Let’s say you deliver chocolate-covered strawberries for your business and want to focus on the emotion love. You can use the sentence “Our chocolate-covered strawberries are a favorite amongst everyone, which means the person you get them for is sure to feel loved and appreciated, thanks to your gift.” Or, if you’re a landscaper focusing on peace, as mentioned above, you can say, “We deliver beautiful and tranquil backyard landscaping, which means you are sure to feel relaxed every time you step out back.”

Keep in mind, you don’t have to focus on just one emotion for all of your sales copy. In fact, it’s a good idea to reasonably use as many emotions in one ad as you can! Just make sure the copy is logical and doesn’t sound overly stuffed with unnecessary emotion. Many emotions, such as happiness and love, tie in together.

If your business can achieve more than one emotion for a customer, then be sure to take advantage of that. The more emotionally charged your ad is, the more likely it will drive sales.

Continue to Improve Your Copywriting Skills

We hope this blog post was helpful for you when trying to improve your copywriting skills. We also offer marketing consulting if you find that you need help putting your sales copy together. Stay tuned for future parts of this series, as they will be coming soon! And if you wish to reach out to us, you can do so through the contact form below.