As a copywriter, your main goal is to connect with your target audience and persuade them to take action. But how do you create messaging that resonates with people on a deeper level? The answer lies in empathy.
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. When you use empathy in your copywriting, you're able to tap into your target audience's emotions and address their needs in a more meaningful way. This can help you create messaging that feels more human and less like a sales pitch.
It’s especially important to consider empathy in digital copywriting as digital platforms have the ability to create a two-way feedback loop. Profiles online are also seen as an extension of ourselves and as such should reflect our values and goals. Essentially, you’re speaking to your audience and trying to craft a compelling message that feels personal and is received well. In this blog, we’ll look into the ways that you can incorporate empathy into your digital copywriting.
The first step to understanding your audience is to conduct market research to gather information. This can include demographic data, behaviour data, and psychographic data. Another valuable way to collect great feedback is by conducting surveys and focus groups as this can provide insight into your target audience’s preferences and opinions.
Remember that you’re trying to talk to other people and to be sincere. To gather a good understanding of your audience you may want to ask questions such as:
You may also want to use social media listening. This is the process of monitoring conversations on social media platforms to gain insights into your audience’s pain points and challenges.
A great tool for understanding the needs, interests, and motivations of your target audience is a buyer persona. This involves the creation and development of fictional representations of your ideal customers. It allows you to market to a ‘person’ and this will create a deeper understanding and empathy for your target audience.
To create messaging that resonates with your audience, you need to understand who they are, what they care about, and what motivates them. This means doing research and getting to know your target audience on a deeper level.
There is a cliched formula to show readers that you have their best interests at heart, such as assuming you understand the problems your audience faces and then advertising your product to them using various adjectives that make the copy sound cheesy. This will then generate instant reader empathy.
This formula is as follows: At A, we know how important B is. That’s why we C, which gives you D. Where A is the brand, B is a customer’s assumed pain point, C is a feature and D is a benefit. However, this formula is overused and does not offer a unique perspective that is backed by empathy, genuine care, or understanding of your target audience.
A better way to engage with your audience and let them know that you really understand them is to use a shared experience or perception. This will allow you to introduce ideas that resonate with your audience rather than insisting that you know what’s best for them. It’s necessary to use ordinary and conversational language so that your copy does not feel forced. An easy way to check for natural tone is to read your copy out loud.
Once you’re happy with your messaging and have put it out into the world you’ll need to see how your audience is reacting to the copy. Analyze customer feedback, such as reviews and customer service inquiries, to gain insights into your audience's pain points and challenges.
For digital copywriting, it’s essential to monitor website analytics, social media analytics, and other data sources to gain insights into your audience's behavior. This includes the pages they visit, how long they stay on your website, and what content they engage with.
Remember not to worry about having to change things constantly as adjusting based on your audience’s needs will only help you build stronger relationships with your audience and drive better results for your business.
In the age of the internet and digital copywriting, it can be easy for brands to come across as simply faceless corporations. However, authentic and sincere copy can soften this reputation and allow you to build meaningful connections with your audience.
By establishing a brand voice you’ll be able to easily use empathy to get your message across. Remember that your primary role as a copywriter is to inject personality into a brand. Part of developing a believable personality comes down to having empathetic writing.
Use language that is inclusive and avoid using language that may offend or exclude certain groups of people. This shows that you care about all people, and will cater to anyone who relates to your brand as you’re mindful of people's feelings.
Some tips for using inclusive language are:
Identify the pain points and challenges your audience is facing and address them in your messaging. Show them that you understand their struggles and offer solutions that can help.
When you write with empathy, you’re relating to your audience’s pain points and offering a solution. If their problems are personal or embarrassing, you should be cautious of your phrasing.
For example, a man might not use hair-growth products because he finds it hard to accept that he’s losing his hair. He feels embarrassed. He’s experiencing heightened sensitivity to his looks and feels that he needs to hide his head.
Many marketers will use the question/response technique to grab attention such as:
“Lost your hair? Poor you. Here’s something you can do!”
This only works to increase the man’s stress. It also gives him a chance to respond with a powerful negative, especially if he’s in denial. He may feel misunderstood and therefore will not use or buy your product.
Using empathy will get you further. Copy that uses a personal experience to relate to a customer may be more effective:
“I used to feel like I had to accept that my hair was thinning. I thought I’d end up like Dad until my doctor recommended X product. So I tried it and, well, you can see the results.
Empathy lowers barriers and that is essential in closing the sale.
Storytelling is a powerful tool for creating empathy. By telling stories that your audience can relate to, you can help them connect with your brand on a deeper level. Stories that spark emotions connect with readers’ goals, perceptions, and frustrations. Emotional stories allow us to empathize.
Choose a story that is relevant to your brand and resonates with your target audience. The story should be authentic, relatable, and emotionally engaging. Use a clear structure for your stories, such as a beginning, middle, and end as this can help your audience follow the story and stay engaged.
Add sensory details to make your story come to life. Use descriptions of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feelings to create a vivid and immersive experience.
Use characters in your story to make it more relatable. Your audience should be able to see themselves in the characters and identify with their experiences. Show how the character(s) in your story undergoes a transformation or growth. This can help your audience feel inspired and motivated to take action.
Make sure your story is relevant to your brand and messaging. Tie the story back to your brand values, mission, or products/services.
Don't be afraid to show your human side in your messaging. Share stories about your own challenges and struggles and how you overcame them. This can help build trust and create a stronger connection with your audience.
Copy is meant to evoke an emotional response from your audience. So whether it’s sadness, joy, or frustration, write copy that teases emotions. This primes the audience for your solution.
Incorporating empathy into your copywriting can help you create messaging that feels more human and less like a sales pitch. By using empathy you can create messaging that resonates with people on a deeper level and inspires them to take action.
Deciding how to speak to your audience can be a daunting task. As a copywriting agency, TMG Global offers great, high-quality copy services. From helping you discover and hone your brand voice to the nitty gritty details of technical documentation we do it all.
We have a talented team and operate as a full-service content provider to make sure that our clients are achieving their content marketing goals. So, don’t hesitate to contact us today for a free content audit or to find out how we can help you.
