Copywriting is, quite simply, the writing of copy. Great copywriting is much more. It’s about knowing your audience, intimately. It’s about showing them your empathy for their pain, your top-shelf solution, and spurring them to action. Superior copywriting doesn’t stop there: it reveals the real, living and breathing substance beneath your brand because…

…are you ready?…

copywriting doesn’t sell products and services. It sells people.

A proficient copywriter can sell work boots to Paris Hilton – as long as that writer makes it clear that he recognizes her problem and has a solution that will ultimately, on some level, change her life forever.

Persuasion is not the same animal it once was. It has evolved to become less like a wolverine and more like a golden retriever. In the past, product was king, outrageous claims were made about those products, and clever wit found its way into most copy. Now, business names, straplines, and sales copy work to dig up the emotions that companies know will grasp the attention of their ideal clients and to create memorable experiences for the people who matter the most.

One example of effective copywriting is found with the long-established brand, Lysol. I’ll bet they wouldn’t have much luck selling their no-touch hand soap system using the product features and benefits alone. Let’s think about this: the product is costly to purchase and requires batteries and unique refills. It claims that you’ll stay cleaner because you won’t have to touch the germy pump…wait a minute. How good is the soap in that refill? Should we even have to worry about the germs picked up from the pump when the antibacterial soap is the best on the market?

None of this matters to Lysol’s ideal clients, who are, by definition, germ-phobes. They have come to trust Lysol as a market leader because its brand was built, largely by clever copywriting, to signify safety and cleanliness for self and family. And yes, the emotions they have tapped trump common sense. This is the power of solid, branded copywriting.

More than ever, this is the age of emotional purchasing. The economy has affected most of us, and one might think that would make price point a deciding factor. Think again. More than clamping our wallets closed, years of floundering economic status has made many of us emotionally raw, looking for security, a good investment, and something that just makes us feel good.

A great copywriter harnesses the power of emotion. He or she reveals you, your values, and the essence of your brand to the world so that people can make those emotionally driven decisions that have become all-too common in this, a new purchasing age.

Is your copy working for your brand? It is reaching the right people – and then touching them with words that grasp mind share and become ultimately unforgettable? Contact me today at jacindalittle@gmail.com for a free analysis of your current copy or to learn more about what a professional copywriter could do for your business. You may also like my Facebook page for writing news and tips.