Most marketing is written by people faking their emotions.

I’m not a big Star Trek fan, but remember Spock?

(I keep writing Dr. Spock, only to realize that’s someone else).

Spock was the Vulcan who didn’t really have feelings.

In fact, he didn’t really get them.

You know who else doesn’t have feelings?

Robots.

You know who else doesn’t have feelings?

Most of the promo emails written by other people in my inbox right now.

They say things like:
“I’m thrilled to announce…”
“I’m excited to share…”
“It breaks my heart.”
“I get so angry when I see this.”

Thrilled. Excited. Heart-breaking. Angry.

Actually, this is not a bad place to start. Simple emotions. Expressed clearly. This alone will improve your writing – and your ability to resonate with the humans in your audience.

But it’s still kinda robotic. Kinda Spock-like. Kinda like a marketer impersonating a real human being.

Yes, include emotions in your marketing and writing. Let’s start here.

Make a simple list of two kinds of emotions for your audience:

1) How they feel in their situation now
2) How they feel after working with you

Maybe your audience feels frustrated. Or confused. Or grumpy, dumpy, worried about looking foolish, or fed up.

Please notice, I did not say overwhelmed or struggling.

Because that is fast food language that calls in fast food clients.

Now, when you think about how they feel after they work with you, think about feedback from your clients. Maybe they feel: pumped, in control, clear, rich (not an emotion, but sometimes I pretend it’s one), fit, healthy, safe.

Your next assignment is to start including both sets of words in your writing and marketing.

But there is a caveat. I’ve talked about the difference between fast food marketing and gourmet marketing. (Read more here).

Did you know there are fast food emotions and gourmet emotions, too?

What this means is you need to proceed with caution when you use emotion-based language in your marketing.

Especially when you talk about the problem or your audience’s status quo.

There are two big mistakes I see a lot of business owners making:

1) Unintentionally insulting their potential clients
2) Using fear-based words that resonate with people who have low self esteem and no money to spend

In the first case, here are some examples:

“When it comes to ______, do you want more confidence?”
“Are you stuck when it comes to _____?”

Why this is a problem:

You are basically forcing your reader to admit that she lacks confidence or is stuck. Gourmet clients – people in the marketplace who are more sophisticated and already successful – don’t like being talked to in this way. They will tune you out faster than you can blink, because that message is not for them.

In the second case, here is an example:

A woman in the Write Club recently posted a headline for the homepage that was something like “Are you afraid that Crohn’s or Colitis will ruin your life?’”

This is a problem because the mention of fear on a homepage is simply too much for people who are meeting her for the first time.

In real life conversation, we rarely evoke the emotion of fear with people we just met. It’s just kinda weird.

So in this case, something softer is in order. Like: “Do you have Crohn’s or Colitis – and it’s holding you back from a full, joyful life?”

Here’s the thing. We are all learning here. And from time to time, if you are practicing being real and vulnerable with your audience – and using emotion words – there are going to be times you screw it up. Join the club.

(I once wrote a raw, somewhat whiny post about how I resent women whose husbands bankroll their unprofitable hobby businesses. I was kind of a jerk about it.)

The good news? I didn’t die.

And neither will you.

So go ahead, experiment with letting people see you feel – and helping them tap into their own feelings about their challenges and dreams. You may not always get it right, but each time you post, publish or send, you will be training yourself how to show up as more of a human people want to engage with and buy from online.

Stella Orange is a copywriter who helps people put their work into words. For eight years, she wrote email campaigns that resulted in more than a million dollars in sales for her clients. In that time, Stella also taught popular marketing writing workshops to business owners on both sides of the Atlantic -- and a few in Australia and New Zealand. In 2017, Stella cofounded a creative and consulting shop offering a complete and slightly unorthodox line of business advising and marketing services. She continues to write copy and advise clients on customer delight, how to resonate with more sophisticated, discerning clientele in your marketing, and just who, exactly, your ideal clients are. Stella is the founder of Show Up And Write, a weekly writing group and writes a letter every two weeks or so (here’s the sign-up). She lives with the Philosopher and their two kiddos in Buffalo, New York, a fifteen-minute bike ride to the Canadian border.

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