Posted by: Bob Bly
January 6, 2009
Issue 583

Improve copywriting with “experienced-based empathy”

In one of his lectures, AWAI co-founder Michael Masterson told his audience – mostly new and aspiring direct response copywriters – “I highly recommend you have children.”

Copywriter John Forde also advised his readers to have children in a recent issue of his Copywriter’s Roundtable e-zine.

Michael and John want you to have children not just to experience the joys of parenting, but because it will make you a better copywriter.

How so?

The most crucial part of copywriting is your ability to understand your readers — and reach them on a deep, emotional, personal level. And the more you are like the people you are writing to … the more experiences you have shared with them … the easier it is to be empathetic with them.

I call it “experienced-based empathy.” It means being able to relate to a person because you are in their group or have common experience or background.

Experienced-based empathy is a powerful technique. Not only does it enable you to get inside the minds of your prospects in a way other marketers can’t. But you can actually use it in your copy to forge an instant connection with your reader, e.g., “As a CPA, I know all too well how time-consuming it is for a busy accountant like you to keep up with constant changes in the tax code.”

Of course, you cannot become a member of every target market you write for: you can’t be all things to all people. A man, for example, can’t be a woman (for the most part). Therefore, one can argue that a female copywriter is a better choice to write ads for feminine hygiene products, bridal gowns, or cosmetics.

As a rule, the more well-rounded your knowledge, and the more experience you have in life, the wider the range of audiences to which you can write with strong empathy and understanding. But you can’t know everything about everything.

The solution? Broaden your knowledge and experiences, but do so selectively. The best areas in which to acquire new knowledge and experiences: Markets you want to write for, as well as characteristics or habits that are widespread rather than unusual.

For example, the “norm” in America today is to have children, not to be childless. Therefore, if you never have children, you distance yourself from your readers who are average people. In addition, you are at a disadvantage when it comes to understanding the responsibilities and emotions of parenting, because you haven’t been there.

Do I think you have to be a golfer to write good copy for golf clubs, golf balls, or golf books or videos? It’s not mandatory. But if I had to choose between two copywriters of otherwise equal experience and ability to write my golf ad, and one played golf every weekend and the other had never played, I’d probably choose the golfer. If you are a golf-playing copywriter pitching a golf account, it can’t hurt to let them know you’re a duffer.

I do believe copywriters should pick and choose their projects based, in part, on their knowledge of and experience with the product and its market. For instance, at the beginning of my career, when I badly needed the work, a book publisher offered me a project writing direct mail packages for books on hunting and fishing. I turned down both topics – the hunting and the fishing – for slightly different reasons.

Hunting was easy. It sickens me. I love animals. I could no more write enthusiastic copy about killing a warm-blooded animal than I could write copy telling people to smoke cigarettes.

I do not have the same problem with fishing. I have gone fishing. My older son likes it, and fishes off the dock of our weekend lake house. My father loved fishing with a passion.

I’ll do it. But I don’t love it. And so I turned down the assignment to write copy for fishing books.

 I understand fishing well enough to write empathetically about its positive points. Fishermen are usually nice people. But I told the client that plenty of people – and copywriters – love to fish. I advised him to find a copywriter who is passionate about it. I only tolerate it.

In business-to-business, “becoming your prospect” can be even more difficult. I once wrote copy for a company whose products were sold to orthopedic surgeons. It was not realistic for me to become an orthopedic surgeon just to write better copy for this client (even if I wanted to, I couldn’t get into med school).

On the other hand, I knew an account executive at an industrial advertising agency assigned to a welding account. To better understand his target market, he took courses at night and became a certified welder.

I am a chemical engineer, so during the first half-decade of my career, I worked largely with industrial clients, particularly in chemical processing and related industries. Not only did I understand the client’s prospects better, but engineers working for my clients felt more comfortable talking with me, knowing I was one of them and not a typical “ad guy.”

When home computers were introduced, there were more copywriting opportunities in high-tech than in industrial marketing. I enrolled in night school and trained as a Certified Novell Administrator. Again, by training to become an IT professional in a class full of IT professionals, I became better able to understand and empathize with IT professionals on a deeper level. 

While I’m not recommending you totally change who you are, here are some suggestions that can enable you to market more confidently to a broader range of prospects:

1. Read widely in many different fields – not just marketing.
2. Seek out new experiences – snorkel, sail, rock climb, build a new deck. If you volunteer to feed the homeless at a shelter, do you think that would improve your copy to raise funds for your client’s homeless shelter?
3. See popular movies – the ones grossing $100 million a year or more.
4. Get married, have children, adopt a dog or cat (or both) from an animal shelter. This will allow you to experience emotions you might otherwise miss.
5. Whenever possible, buy and use your clients’ products. Own shares of their stock.

Talk to people. You may discover that a relative, neighbor, or friend can give you insight into a group they belong to (Vietnam veterans, boat owners, Wiccan) that you might have to sell to some day.

Robert W. Bly
Guest Contributor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE™

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10 Comments »

1. Comment by Katie Langston - Small Business Marketing Wizard — January 6, 2009 @ 11:02 am

   Bob, nice post. Understanding your prospect is probably the most important thing you can do so you can write and market to them directly. I also love the idea of living life to the fullest–because it makes you a happier, more rounded person–and richer, too!

2. Comment by Caleb Osborne — January 6, 2009 @ 11:58 am

   Bob

   Great post.

   I especially like the tip to watch high grossing moviews (Schwartz recommended that too) and to talk to lots of people and meet lots of people because you never know what type of groups they belong to… I can’t count how many times my “networking” has helped me!

   Thanks
   Caleb

3. Comment by Sarah clachar — January 6, 2009 @ 1:15 pm

   Bob,

   Good post. I’ve found myself taking notes on little day to day experiences like feeling annoying pain in my hip so I can’t run for a few weeks, or focusing intently on how it feels when I’m run down with a cold. (I write primarily health-related copy.) My point is - not only should you get these experiences, but focus on them, even take notes so that when you need that understanding, it’s clearer, down to little details that might otherwise be overlooked.

   Another benefit from having children - if you want an opportunity for honing your persuasion skills, parenting is it.

   Sarah
   Natural health copywriter

4. Comment by Bernie — January 6, 2009 @ 2:04 pm

   Bob, enjoyed your post this morning. I also advocate having children but for a slightly different reason.

   Here is why. Good copy is very direct and simple to understand. My daughter is four years old. When I explain complex things to hear, I have to break them down into pieces for her.

   I use the same strategy in my copy. Bite sized chunks of easily digestible information.

   It works wonders, and gives really low FK scores.

   Cheers!

   Bernie

5. Comment by Susan Connors — January 7, 2009 @ 2:13 am

   Hi Bob

   Happy New Year

   Broadening your life experiences is something that I find invaluable when working with clients.

   I like how you say you cant be all things to all people. This is so true and a HUGE mistake I made earlier on in my career.

   Kids - I have a very extended family, three step daughters, four grandchildren and four biological kids under 10. Plus a wonderful husband - so can definately use that knowledge to advantage.

   We also have a crazy dog we adopted from the pound, a lovable giant who cannot catch a ball for his life
   A crazy cat that tries to jump onto the back of my computer chair and does some of the oddest things I have ever seen a cat do.

   Today, I took my family touring. We went for a drive to see where I went to High School and spent a lot of time growing up in. Things are still similar, only I have come through eons and countless lifetimes since I was at school 21 years ago.

   Now, to figure out niches and where to write - that is not easy for me. One of my hurdles which I am working on overcoming.

   Thanks for a great article and practical information.

   Sue in Aus
   http://www.marketingforlife.com.au
   Blog: http://www.marketinginaus.com

6. Comment by Brian — January 7, 2009 @ 4:27 am

   I agree with Bernie and would add that reading childrens books to your kids is also a great help

7. Comment by Cathy Goodwin — January 7, 2009 @ 11:17 am

   As usual, terrific comments. I find it’s easier to write copy for a client when I understand *their* clients’ pain.

   But I feel compelled to add that adopting a dog or cat (or having a child — I haven’t done that) is a serious lifetime commitment. My current dog was up for adoption because her original people got bored with her and left her in a yard all day. She’s a great dog but still has “issues” from the experience.

8. Comment by Larry Pelley — January 7, 2009 @ 9:08 pm

   Hi Bob

   I do think you’re right, Copywriters should first
   choose prjects based on knowledge and experience…which
   would have better equipped one to reach out to other fields.

   You say: john Forde and Michael Masterson advises aspiring
   copywriters to have children, to- enable them to better acquire the attribute; Emphaty…yes, I agree, when one
   experiences the joys, and ups-and-downs that come with
   being a parent, you will have mastered an art that’s an
   endety by-itself. I’m a parent, of 4 children, Jason,
   the oldest, jared and Donnalee,a twin, and Spencer our
   youngest…they are all on their own now, doing great
   for-themselves…still a blessing to us.

   Your mention of a person learning, Welding, to be better
   equiped to write on that subject. That mention, touched
   with me, because, I’m a pressure Welder, have been for some
   26 years, so, thanks for that mention. I know I will be
   able to apply this Welding subject, in my writings,during
   my copywriting course with AWAI.

   Best Regards
   Larry Pelley

9. Comment by Adriana — January 12, 2009 @ 3:04 pm

   Congratulations and thank you for your very interesting and useful e-mails… I am the single mother of an eighteen years old daughter who has won a partial scholarship at the Computer Science Department of the University of Birmingham, where so far her credits are very high, and am trying to learn my way into on-line business, so that I can cover for my daughters expenses (I live in Romania)… so I find your information more than useful… Thanks again and God bless!

10. Comment by Michael Perry — January 26, 2009 @ 8:41 pm

    Bob is always right on when it comes to knowing what works, why people write good ad copy and for what reasons.

    This high impact article is no exception. Clear, concise and to the point about who does best to be better positioned to write articles for greatest appeal.

    Thanks Bob,

    Michael G Perry
    Las Vegas, Nevada