Why You Must Practice Empathy in Order to Be a Successful Copywriter
Some people are natural empaths. Some people are not.
And that’s fine. We’re all made differently. But I do believe that anyone can (and in many situations, should) develop the skills of empathy.
I am an empath (still trying to figure out if this is a blessing or a curse). I have the ability to share the emotions and feelings of others—even people that I’ve only known for a few minutes. I’m the type of empath that puts myself in someone’s shoes—as if I was them—and will go out of my way to try to make this person’s situation better.
So what does empathy have to do with copywriting?
One of the first tasks—and I would argue one of the most important—a copywriter has when beginning a project is to create an audience analysis (or customer profile).
As a copywriter, you must discover:
Who you are writing to
What are their interests and desires and pain points?
What makes them happy, angry, fearful, proud, etc?
What makes them tick? And so on…
Your main goal is to tap into the head and heart of the audience you are writing for. You want to move beyond simply knowing them. You want to know who they are and how to relate to them. You want to understand their feelings and emotions.
In marketing, this process is often called creating buyer personas.
The problem I have with buyer personas is that they can be overly generic. In order to truly understand your audience, you must create personas that go beyond demographics, income information, education, or current job title. Yes, all of this information is important but it only helps you understand the basics of your audience.
You’re not getting to know them—as if they were a friend.
Let’s take a look at our own lives. How do our friendships often begin? Usually, it’s a slow process—we ask a couple of questions to find out more about each other. But when we start to open up, become vulnerable, and truly understand what makes each other unique, that’s when a friendship begins to blossom.
The same is true for your audience. By getting a grasp on who your audience really is, you begin to branch out from generic personas and give yourself more opportunities to meet each individual need.
This will show a more human side to your brand and you open the doors to loyalty and trust.
We all know that emotion sells. If you can tap into the emotions of your audience, you will easily be able to persuade.
So how do you use empathy to create a personal audience analysis?
I want to begin by saying that generic data such as demographics and income are not a bad thing. You will need this information. You just can’t rely solely on it. To create an audience analysis that relies on empathy, you’ll need to get the answer to some of the following questions:
How does your audience view your product or service? How do they see it and how does it fit into their world?
How does your audience think about your product or service’s benefits? How do these benefits personally affect them? What do they like about them?
What may cause your audience to not buy your product or service? What fears or apprehensions do they have about the purchase?
What products or services (similar to yours) make your audience happy? What works for them? What expectations will they have about your product or service if they buy it?
How do you practice empathy?
Practicing empathy goes beyond simply asking a group of people a list of questions…even if these questions are empathetic questions.
In order to practice empathy, you need to put yourself in your target audiences’ shoes. Imagine what they’re imagining. Feel what they’re feeling. What do they dream about? What keeps them awake at night? How do they make decisions? Who do they trust?
Leo Burnett hit the nail on the head when he said, “If you can't turn yourself into your customer, you probably shouldn't be in the ad writing business at all.”
How do you gather information for an empathetic audience analysis?
Call them. Survey them. Send them questionnaires. Hang out with them (if you actually have time for this). You can go to Quora to get a better understanding of what people are wanting/searching for. Or you can create a social media forum and invite them to join in on a conversation.
In most situations, you’re trying to figure out what attracted them to a specific product or service. No matter what form of communication you use, your main goal is to ask them more personal questions. The deeper questions. Get to know why they are who they are.
When you take the time to practice empathy…
You will long to understand the needs, wants, and aspirations of your audience. Who they are, what their likes and dislikes are, and what drives them.
You will be able to actively listen. Yes, talking has a time and a place but so does listening.
You will be able to picture these people as friends. Take a moment to envision them walking into the coffee shop or driving to work. Get personal with these personas. You know what your friends want for a gift. Would you be able to guess what this target audience likes enough to buy them a gift as well?
And most importantly, you will make your audience feel understood. They will feel heard. They will feel like you’re speaking directly to them. And that, right there, is what will get them to want to know more about your product or service—and to ultimately buy.
Next time you sit down to write copy, take a step back and focus on empathy. It won’t disappoint.
