In order to approach your reader, you need to understand how they feel. And for that empathy is essential.
It is usually said that content requires personality. It requires a strong and distinguishing voice otherwise it will get lost in the sea of mush and mediocrity. But, is that strong and distinguishing voice capable of overwhelming the voice of the audience?
Hence, is it really possible that we put so much of ourselves in content that our audience gets abandoned? It is certainly possible. Sometimes you do witness it on some sites, where writers cannot get enough of their writing – unable to express themselves.
What is empathy?
According to the dictionary, empathy is meant by “an ability to comprehend and share the emotions of another”. It is not just about rational analysis of how they really act or think. It is about stepping in someone else’s shoes and feeling what they feel.
For instance, you in your imagination, lay hold of a leap of faith, give in control, and accept that experience will change your thoughts. In the recent studies of researchers, they have found that when we feel emotional pain, we get hurt physically as well.
Empathy for successful copywriting
Adding empathy in copywriting is not just about asking if they are going through hard times. But, actually the key to successful copywriting is empathizing with your audience.
For instance, a person might refuse to use a hair product on the hair because they are not convinced if they are actually losing hair. The person’s emotional state is connected with a feeling of embarrassment and self-consciousness. Also, a feeling that the person might need to hide their head.
Furthermore, several marketers use this tactic of asking questions which gets easily ignored by the audience.
“Losing your hair? It’s not a problem anymore. Here’s what you can do” for instance.
This tactic barely boosts the stress in the prospect. This lets the customer come up with a negative response. Most probably when the customer is in denial (no, I am not. They are perfect).
Pouring empathy all over your content will get you somewhere further. Take notice of the advertisers that use spokesperson do this:
“I used to feel like my hair was thinning out and was losing a patch each day. Then my doctor prescribed me an XYZ product. I tried this product and now you can see the results.”
This way this person’s empathy (i used to feel the same) will work on lowering down the stress. It will get the customer to think (if it worked on this person, then…). This efficiently answers the question “why is empathy important in copywriting?”
Conclusively, empathy is capable of turning down barriers. It is the key to boost sales. Write down the emotions your prospect faces along with the issues and empathize with them. Show that you understand your customers and they can have a helping hand.
